Website design process
Website design production is the art of communicating within a technical medium. A communication project is undertaken because of particular needs, a website is but one of the potential delivery vehicles. The goal of each delivery mechanism is the same - meet the communications needs within specified bounds. The place to start designing is at the end of the user experience. A user comes to the website with a certain amount of knowledge. Then spends time at the site and leaves with more knowledge. The extended knowledge the user has gained is the product of communication. If the website matches the initial communications goal, then the website design was a success. If the user walks away with something different than was originally planned, the website design did not succeed. The following are the steps required for successful website design process.Define Goals
The first step of any website design process is to discover the communications goals of the website. What does the client the user to know after he or she has visited the website? Most clients will swear that they have already created their goals. But, chances are, the goals they outlined are not the communications goals. To discover the communications goals ask your client to finish the sentence: "After using the product, the user should…".
Discover Constraints
The starting point for website design is as blank as the writer's page. However, no real life project is without bounds. A good web designer views constraints as positive proactive design elements rather than as hindrances. Bounds not only define where we can't go, but also delineate what paths we can take. Each of the major design areas (technical, aesthetic, and informational) will have their own constraints. The most important constraints to discover for all parties are those of target audience, venue, and target delivery vehicle. Who is being addressed, and on what platform. Explore too, however, ideas of tone, graphical requirements, cultural or language requirements, computer literacy of audience, connection speed and any future plans for the website. Other imperative constraints are budget and time frame.
Prioritize and Convey the Constraints
The next step is to meet with each of the designers - technical, aesthetic and informational - and prioritize the constraints. Determine which constraints will be most difficult to meet, and which will be easiest. By addressing the constraints in order, from most to least difficult, we have the best shot of dealing with all the constraints.
Develop New Constraints
Look at the new website design to determine any implied new constraints. Reprioritize the new constraint list and develop a new round of high level ideas. Now, however, look at the design ideas for the next level of complexity.
The scariest thing about website design is that solutions present themselves. Good web designers construct tighter and tighter bounds around a problem, and watch as the solution emerges all by itself.
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