Whether you need a website for a new company, or you just want to revamp your site from 1997, you are not alone. There are a lot of people out there who are stuck between a new company and a meaningful web presence. For someone who is not the most tech savvy, there are a lot of questions about web design and development that need answers. This article will give you a good understanding of what the process is all about, what you will need to get it done.
What Is Web Design?
The term ‘web design’ has become almost synonymous with the term ‘web development’. However, people in the business of creating websites think of the design of a website as the appearance. What kind of menu do you want? What color scheme and fonts do you want to use? What do you want to put in the footer?
There is an infinite number of ways for a website to convey information or provide functionality. A good design puts that information and functionality together in a way that everyone can interpret. A good design means the difference between people being able to find and hear your message – and them leaving your website with a bad taste in their mouth.
What Is Website Scope?
When we are talking scope here, we are talking about content and functionality. A basic way to think about is that content shows stuff while functionality does stuff. It can be hard to distinguish between the content of a website and its functionality but let’s give it a try.
What Is Website Content?
The content of a website is the copy (the words) and the imagery. You may be thinking that the content of a website is not as important as the functionality (or vice versa), but you would be wrong. Your content and functionality need to be mutually complementary. In order to achieve this the content of the page should direct traffic to the functionality – such as your contact page – in an intuitive and simple way. I like to think of the content as a sort of treasure map – or funnel – that leads to your functionality. Most companies do not want people to get to their site just to look at the pretty pictures, they want people to follow through with a call to action of some sort.
What Is Website Functionality?
Functionality is what your website does. What happens when a user clicks somewhere or types in information? Most websites do not need a lot of functionality. Maybe you want you users to be able to sign up for a newsletter, call your phone with a single click, or fill out a contact form. A more complicated example would be letting users make a purchase.
What Does It All Mean?
What it really boils down to is knowing what you want. When you hire someone to design and build your website, it will be a lot less complicated – and therefore less expensive – if you know what you want. Meet with your web designer/developer and hammer out your functionality and design requirements, but then get out of the way and let them do their job.
Website design is a trade that has been developing for decades. It is a trade that has become more and more nuanced and complicated. If you are thinking about designing and building your own website, ask yourself this question: Could someone with no training and a basic understanding do your job? The answer is no. When you hire the right people, you can keep on doing what you do well, and let them handle the rest. Your website will be the face of your company… and you don’t want your company to have an ugly face!!!
