Website Design encompasses a number of disciplines and skills in the creation and maintenance of sites. These areas of website design normally involve web graphic design; web user interface design; content writing, including standardised coding; user experience design and search engine optimisation.
Website Designers also work on the Search Engine Ranking Reports. It is important that SEO is included in their design works as this is what helps your website to rank in the search engine results. There is no point in having an aesthetically pleasing website if no one can find it. This is why it is important to work with a Web Design Gloucester company to ensure that all the elements you need in a website are designed correctly.
Working with the designer will initially start with a consultation where the client explains what they need and what are their objectives for the website. In turn the designer will begin by browsing websites that are relevant to the client’s business requirements, using a mockup version of the website in question. This allows the designer to get an idea of the look and feel that the final website will have.
Next, they will design the layout or user interface. They will focus on the key features and functionality of the pages of the website, such as the layout, the navigation and functional aspects of each page. A graphic designer will then create the images that will be used within the layout, and any additional artwork or visual images that will be displayed on the landing page, if any.
How to choose the right web designer
A good designer will focus on measurable goals for your business rather than vague promises of a clean, modern look. They should ask about your company, your audience and what you want the site to achieve, so the brand is represented properly.
Look at their past work to judge their style. Do their sites vary, or do they all look alike? Ask whether they handle graphic design as well as programming, and if not, who they recommend. Ask about search engine optimisation too, so you know the site will support your marketing goals.
Be clear about your budget from the start, so you are not repeatedly offered extras you cannot afford. Think about what happens after launch. If someone else will maintain the site, find out which platforms and programming languages are being used. Finally, check that you will own all the rights to the finished site, including the content, code and custom graphics, with stock images being the usual exception.
Choosing the right images for your site
Images are as important to good website design as the written content. They should fit the business and reflect both its vision and what it offers. A service-based business will need very different pictures from one that sells products, so choose images with your own customers in mind rather than simply picking whatever looks attractive.
There are several ways to source them. Stock image libraries offer a huge choice, and your web designer may be able to access some for you. Bespoke photographs, taken specifically for your business, can give a more personal and authentic feel.
Product photos need particular care. They should be taken professionally, or at least with the products styled and laid out in an appealing way, because customers rely on them to judge what they are buying. Remember that images also affect performance. A site’s speed and how well it works on mobile devices influence how it ranks in search results, so pictures should look good without slowing pages down.
What a web designer does day to day
A web designer creates and supervises the visual side of a website, from layout, colour and fonts to the text, graphics, photos and video on each page. The work applies both to new sites and to updates that improve an established one.
The job starts with talking to clients and stakeholders to understand what the site is for. From there the designer produces plans, layouts and designs that present the company well to its audience, runs tests, and makes sure the site works smoothly so the user experience comes first.
Web designers may work for an agency serving many clients or within the development, marketing or design team of a larger company. Alongside the design itself, they optimise sites for speed and usability, work with developers so that designs are built properly, and bring in brand elements with marketing colleagues. That mix of skills is hard to recreate with a do it yourself website.
