Insights
Creating websites is, without question, one of my favorite things to do as a designer.
It’s funny, because I never expected it to be. In fact, I was pretty intimidated by it at first. And who wouldn’t be? It’s a lot to wrap your head around. But now that I understand it, that’s exactly why I love it. I always jump at the chance to design a new website — and the bigger and more complicated, the better.
I tend to think of myself as a “left-brained” designer. I love to be creative, but I thrive in structure. Web design gives me a chance to cultivate both aspects of my personality. I get to create something beautiful, and I get to solve a puzzle while doing it.
As a designer, I must consider both form and function, but web design takes this to an even higher level. Websites are interactive. They’re clickable. They’re updatable. They work best when they conform to the screen-size and functionality of the device on which they’re being viewed. All these variables (and more) must be considered and accounted for.
It takes an entire team to build a website from start to finish. The role of a designer is just one of many that works closely with coworkers to ensure the quality of our product.
So, what steps do I recommend when designing your website?
1. Discovery
This is as much a part of the design process as any. Gather your team and meet with your client to familiarize yourselves with your brand, discover your objectives for the site, and identify target audiences. To create a successful design, you need to understand its intended purpose. It is important to draw a distinction between personal design preference and effective visual communication at the beginning of the process.
2. Sitemap
Content should drive design. While you don’t need specific verbiage to begin design, you do need to determine what information is going to be shared and where. What should be featured on the homepage? Will the site need a blog? How many success stories or testimonials do you plan to include on the page? This allows the creation of accurate visual language and hierarchy.
I also recommend deciding how important systems should function. Should news articles be sorted into categories? Will any featured events span across multiple days? These types of functionalities will require visual cues.
3. Design
Now that you’re sufficiently prepped, you can start the actual design! I typically start with the homepage, which will establish the look and feel for the rest of the site. After designing your homepage, I recommend pausing to review and get feedback from your internal stakeholders on things like colors, fonts, and layout. Once you receive approval, you can move on to the rest of the site.
4. Flexibility
At Encore, we try to make our websites as adaptable as possible. Rather than designing each page individually, which would take much longer and result in inflexible design and code, I recommend creating the necessary set of complex systems (think news feeds, property tools, or event calendars) first. Then pair this along with a versatile element bank that can be used to build and update the more basic pages across the site at will. This mix-and-match element bank includes things like body copy, pull quotes, images, videos, tables, resource libraries, and more — all custom-designed to match the approved aesthetic of the site.
5. Responsive
Design your site to adapt to any device at any size, as each type of device presents its own unique set of challenges. Mouse-over effects, for example, are effective on desktops and laptops, but cannot be used on touchscreens. Buttons must be large and spaced out enough to tap with accuracy on a phone, but not so large that they crowd the limited space. Font sizes need to be adjusted. Elements need to be rearranged. This step of the process truly is like solving a puzzle.
Once these steps have all been completed, the site is finally ready for development! All that’s left is for you or your designer is to consolidate the files and transfer them to your talented developer.
But I love this part of the process, too. Perhaps the only thing better than designing a website is watching it come to life.
Looking for an interactive website that is designed specifically for you? Contact us today!
Come back next week to learn more about how EDSuite writes copy for websites.