Web Design

Web Design is the process of constructing a series of web pages – in order to form a web site, which can be accessed via the Internet. A web site includes amongst others, a series of graphical images, content, a navigation scheme and links. The aim is to present information in a clear, easy to read and well structured manner so that the user can explore the site easily and satisfactorily. Other important factors are ensuring that the website is accessible for all types of users, especially those with some form of physical impairment such as blindness. In these cases, the webmaster needs to ensure that the website can be accessed by screen readers and voice activated software such as Jaws and Dragon Naturally Speaking.

A website needs to be planned, designed and thoroughly tested at all stages before implementation. This ‘design cycle’ includes defining the purpose or objective of the website, before moving into user needs or what the user expects from the website – known as ‘requirements gathering’. This is then followed by a series of rough sketches of the site in order to get an idea of its architecture (or underlying structure). A series of mock ups or prototypes are produced which aim to give an impression of the overall ‘look and feel’ (appearance and behaviour) of the site. From this, the final design is selected and then built; using either a commercial web authoring tool, such as Adobe Dreamweaver or hand coded using HTML and CSS.