Fundamentals of web design: design
Think carefully about the topics to be presented on your site and how they can ideally be treated. Is the page mainly based on texts or are the contents mainly composed of images and videos? Do users need to register to fully use the site? Should a payment system be integrated? Is a comment function required to allow users to give feedback or not? how expensive your project is, how long it takes and how much your costs are.
Get an idea of what measures and contents are needed to achieve your goal , through brainstorming, research and exchange of opinions between colleagues . Thus you will have a complete picture of the designed website, which will facilitate you in the next steps.
Target of the website and user expectations
Who is the target audience of your website ? Define it. Always keep your goal in mind: if you promote a product or service, you must define your target audience and adapt it to the site design, even if it is an information portal or a forum on a specific topic. Ultimately, whether you want to propose a commercial offer, or if you choose an informative one, every manager of a website should know which group they try to involve. In fact, only those who know its users can model their own page according to these parameters.
In many areas, standards have been set for content and their presentation. Thus, for example, on the online sales pages there is always a search function with practical filters. Each sector and each reference group has its own characteristics that distinguish the contents and the presentation on the web. It is important to know this kind of user expectations , especially if your site deviates from current patterns.
The structure of the sitemap
Now follow some guidelines to decide the structure of the web page . To perform this task, it is advisable to create a sitemap, ie a diagram that reproduces the structure of the pages and the links of the individual pages. To get a general overview, visualize the hierarchy of your internet page with pen and paper or directly on the PC. In doing so you will not only organize the content of your site, but at the same time will determine its navigability . In the sitemap you establish the site links, sort each page according to their importance and create a brief description of the programmed contents. Obviously the structure of the pages must remain clear and must not contain too many sub-pages for each category.
Website layout
Linked to the creation of the sitemap is the draft of the website layout. In this case it is not the final design of the site, but only the order and function of the contents on the individual pages. Choosing the layout, you will decide for example where to enter the menu, how users reach the sub-items of the menu and where the website logo is placed. The other elements to deal with in the layout draft will depend on the contents. Other potential features of the site to be integrated and to reflect on are:
- A comment function for visitors
- Links to social media, social media buttons, with which users can share and show their appreciation for the contents of the site
- Sponsor announcements, banners and videos
- Affiliate link to partner companies that you promote on your site
Furthermore, you will have to reflect in time if you want to optimize the display of your website for different devices (PCs, tablets, smartphones, etc.). Generally, adapting the site’s graphics to different display sizes has advantages and it will often be necessary to re-order the individual components of the page. The sitemap and the layout are always connected to each other and must be planned from the beginning in the design of the individual elements.
