subject: Web Design - A Quick Guide [print this page] Are you looking to setup your first website? Here is a quick and simple guide that you will help you get your website up and running. Just follow the steps below.
Step 1: Planning.
Your website consists of a series of web pages that link to one another. It's important to know how the pages link and interact with one another. The most commonly seen approach is the hierarchical method. That means you start with one page, and the link downwards. The first page will be your homepage. So where do you link to from your homepage? What are some of the other pages you want to create? A diagram can help you put everything together.
Here, it is important to clarify your goals. What do you want your visitor to do when he lands on your website? Do you want him to browse your products? Or do you want him to buy something immediately? Knowing your goals help with the rest of the steps.
Step 2: Tools and resources.
Next, prepare all the web designing tools and resources. You will need three important pieces of software - an html editor, a photo editing software, and an FTP software. The FTP software is for transferring files to the server, and is not used during the designing process. If you don't want to work with a coding software, you may need to hire a web designer to do that for you. Simply communicate the information from step 1 to your designer.
You may also need to compile all the images that you want to use and pass them to your designer. Your designer will then be able to integrate these images into your website.
Step 3: Finalizing your theme and style.
Start a discussion with your web design to finalize your overall theme and style. What colors would be appropriate? What type of graphs would be most ideal? Do this before the actual work starts. It's easier to get it right the first time than to have to go back and make edits again and again.
Step 4: Working on the website.
Make sure that you receive constant communication from your web designer about the progress of your website. If you see something that you don't like, respond immediately. Don't wait until the entire site is completed before commenting. Some changes (e.g. linking structure) can be time consuming. If possible, use an Instant Messenger to communicate with your designer on a daily basis. Typically, an average site takes about a week to be completed.
Step 5: Final checks.
Before accepting and approving the project, do some final checks. Look out for small little items that may have gone wrong. If possible, send the link to some of your colleagues to see if they can pick out anything wrong. Correct these mistakes before accepting the project.
