and finally.

3. Always plan the site out before you start. This might seem kinda silly I guest, but I was self taught and I wish someone had said this to me,you will save soooo much time and bother.

 

 

 

How do you all plan your website?

 

say you have been asked to make a website for a company

 

where do you start?

I promise I'm not being cheeky here, just asking... is this the same as the discussion here?

Or are you after something different?

I always start during the meeting, asking if they have any visions of what they want the website to look like, then I ask for some examples of work that they like, so I can meet their brief properly, then of course it's just colour schemes etc, once that I just use their ideas and my expertise to design a nice looking website .

 

Obviously making concepts in photoshop etc first

I always start during the meeting, asking if they have any visions of what they want the website to look like, then I ask for some examples of work that they like, so I can meet their brief properly, then of course it's just colour schemes etc, once that I just use their ideas and my expertise to design a nice looking website .

 

Obviously making concepts in photoshop etc first

 

 

ok..

 

so do you design the website in photoshop first ye?

I promise I'm not being cheeky here, just asking... is this the same as the discussion here?

Or are you after something different?

 

 

ermmm

 

no..I dont think so...but that thread can help

I always talk in-depth with the client at a meeting (if possible) or via telephone before I even think about touching the keyboard lol.

 

I gather as much information as possible on how the client wants the website to look; colours, photos, images, example sites etc etc.

 

I would then go away and start my mock up, first of all on paper with rough sketches of the layout and style etc. I will then bring that to life in photoshop so I can show the client and get feedback. Once agreed on the layout I will ask for any text for the site (pref on disk or via email etc) and begin adding content.

 

During the process I always contact the client, to make sure we are heading in the correct direction.

Now I'm going to be cheeky because this all seems strange to me!

 

So you sketch out the design, create some mock-ups, agree the layout and then add the content?

What if the content doesn't fit or differs from the discussions to date (it does happen!)? How do you decide where to put content, what needs emphasising, what relates to what and how to section it (site architecture/ navigation) etc. Do you ever consider the content as a source for design inspiration? Copy contains lots of design cues that can shape a design.

Is it most important what the design will look like or how effective it will be for the client's business? Is how it looks the most important factor of a website?

Surely an effective design is there solely to make the best of the content (including images and widgets and what-not) and it's harder to do that by trying to fit the content to the design rather than the design to the content?

 

Apologies for being cheeky - no offence meant to anyone I just see things from the other side.

Now I'm going to be cheeky because this it seems strange to me!

 

So you sketch out the design, create some mock-ups, agree the layout and then add the content?

What if the content doesn't fit or differs from the discussions to date (it does happen!)? How do you decide where to put content, what needs emphasising, what relates to what and how to section it (site architecture/ navigation) etc. Do you ever consider the content as a source for design inspiration? Copy contains lots of design cues that can shape a design.

Is it most important what the design will look like or how effective it will be for the client's business? Is how it looks the most important factor of a website?

Surely an effective design is there solely to make the best of the content (including images and widgets and what-not) and it's harder to do that by trying to fit the content to the design rather than the design to the content?

 

Apologies for being cheeky - no offence meant to anyone I just see things from the other side.

This is true, but the thing is, clients more often than not, want a mockup of the site so that they know what it's going to look like! How is it that you can go against what the client wants, even if it does make sense to do it in the order that Wizely suggested?

 

Sorry if I'm off topic, but I am very curious!

 

Regards,

 

Brendan

How do you all plan your website?

 

say you have been asked to make a website for a company

 

where do you start?

In reality planning a site has nothing to do with how it "looks".

 

Your first task is to learn about it's purpose, objectives and desired outcome. To do this you need to learn about the company you're dealing with, their products, their customers, their content, and what they want to achieve.

 

Once you've gathered that information you can start planning the structure for the site's content. How do you best present the content? Does any content need to be categorised, or be cross referenced? Is the site being built around a CMS, if so are there any related issues to deal with? Are there any accessibility issues?

 

When you have the structure sorted it might be worth building the site around a wireframe layout so you can test for any problems. I often do this with CMS based sites to get the layout and basic styling in place.

 

Now you can open up your image editor and create some graphical templates to suit your wireframe. Once your "design" is agreed, just slip the "presentational" graphics into your style sheet and you're virtually done

Thank God for Bluedreamer!

I thought I was going mad and was the only one!

Thank God for Bluedreamer!

I thought I was going mad and was the only one!

The fivers in the post

The fivers in the post

That wouldn't be an Amazon voucher now would it Mr. MOTM?!!!!

Don't answer that! Better leave this thread clear for photoshop slicers and dreamweaver table-makers to show that content is just what you put in at the end and research means using an online colour picker! I'm just teasing... oh, come on... I'm teasing!

That wouldn't be an Amazon voucher now would it Mr. MOTM?!!!!

Don't answer that! Better leave this thread clear for photoshop slicers and dreamweaver table-makers to show that content is just what you put in at the end and research means using an online colour picker! I'm just teasing... oh, come on... I'm teasing!

He he - do I detect some <sarcasm> there?

This is true, but the thing is, clients more often than not, want a mockup of the site so that they know what it's going to look like! How is it that you can go against what the client wants, even if it does make sense to do it in the order that Wizely suggested?

I would say what the client wants is for their website to get them as much business as possible. But, because most web designers out there seem to focus on the visual aspects of a website, the client thinks and talks about colours and images.

 

If you explained how you operate (by focusing on creating websites tuned to selling not looking pretty) then I'd suspect you'd start having different conversations - about what the design must achieve not what it looks like. After all, you're the designer - you should be designing what's most effective to make the most of the client's content and get him money; not talking about what colours and layouts they like - it's your job to chose the right colours and layout!

 

Now it all depends on what kind of designer you want to be I suppose but as you move further up the food chain away from 1-man bands without a current website, the focus is going to be more and more on how much money the new website will make the client. Focus will be on content, functionality, reliability, accessibility, usability etc. (i.e. the guts of it) rather than graphics - that's why there's a general trend that the bigger the company, the simpler the design - less cluttered, minimalist etc. These guys understand what makes a website effective. For me it's the sign of a 1-man band when I see a website crammed with OTT graphics and naff content.

 

I suppose what I'm saying is your website's copy, what you say to the client and what you ask in a brief shouldn't be all about 'design'. Focussing on the client's business needs and content will be more successful and serve the client better. Also selling designs based on how it will get the client more money, rather than how pretty it will be, is the way to go - especially if you want to graduate to bigger clients.

 

It'll never work - clients just want to talk about colours and layouts? Well they will if that's all you talk about - both on your website and in meetings. I blame the fact that anyone with photoshop calls themselves a web designer without having the first clue about what web design is really about or what a website is for.

great advice wisely, when creating visual products its hard not to become entirely focused on how it looks and forget how it feels. the more i learn about this business the more im loving it but also the more im realising its not just about html and stylesheets. no one will care how it looks if they cant find it so we have to consider SEO from the begining, we have to understnad the business, where its come from and where its going to make the site future proof. I guess a website is a little like dress for the job your want not the job you in, we have to listen to the ambishons of the buisiness and cater to them. ok its found and looks cool with great content, btu the only reason for a website is more custom - not always but 99.999% - so having a clear stratagy from the begining on how to convert visitors to customers is a massive part of the design. So many, oh so many sites i visit on a daily basis are wonderful at telling me nice little stories but hardly any are tempting.

Thank you for the great response Wizely! That certainly answers my question

 

Regards,

 

Brendan

How do you all plan your website?

 

say you have been asked to make a website for a company

 

where do you start?

 

Create a document that is signed off by the client.

 

That document should answer 3 key questions:

 

· What do you want your Website to say?

· Who do you want your Website to say it to?

· What do you want the visitors to do on your site?

 

There is a great article on this process here:

 

http://minttwist.wordpress.com/2008/10/30/...bsite-planning/

 

D.

I agree that document should answer 3 key questions:

 

· What do you want your Website to say?

· Who do you want your Website to say it to?

· What do you want the visitors to do on your sit.

 

After that in meeting we should decide that what should be the layout of the website.

According to requirement we should decide the layout.