What is Website Design and Development
Website design and development is the process of creating a website from start to finish. Website design is about the way things will look, both as individual pieces and as a cohesive and comprehensive unit. During the design phase of a website details like the User Experience, or UX, and the User Interface, or UI, are laid out in fine detail. This is also where decisions are made about the colors, design, layout and fonts. Web Development is where all of the ideas, designs, and user flows are made real, or rather developed into pages that can be viewed on the web. In other words, website development determines how the website functions for the user.
Elements of Web Design and Development
Website design has many elements that front end users may not notice. In fact, a common misconception about website design and development has to do with the time and effort involved in seemingly simple tasks. Some of the common elements of web design and development are listed below:
Layout
The layout includes the arrangement of headers, navigation menus, content, imagery, graphics and footers. This will vary depending on the purpose of the website and how the developer wants the user to interact with the website.
Visual hierarchy
Visual hierarchy has to do with the way the website flows visually. It involves the process of deciding which visual aspects should stand out on each page and how the aesthetics will work. This is where things like color, spacing, sizes and other things come into play.
Navigation
Navigation is how the user gets around the website. The developer analyzes site architecture, menus and search bars The easier it is for users to navigate and find the information they are looking for, the better.
Color
Color is what gives the website a brand image and a personality. Certain colors might have different meanings, or help to direct the use to a certain place on the website. The color palette could be pre-determined by the brand the website is being created for. These colors are important in making the website flow and allow the user to recognize the brand.
Graphics
Graphics are made up of the logos, icons and any other images that are used throughout the website.
Speed
Speed is one of the more important elements of website development. If it takes to long for pages of the website to load, users will get frustrated and not want to use the website.
Accessibility
Accessibility is all about who can or cannot use a website based on how they have access to it. It is important to prioritize accessibility to ensure that all users can properly use the website and its functions equally.
How Can I Improve My Website Design and Development?
If you are interested in working to improve your website, there are a few things you can focus on. We wanted to give you some good advice, so we asked a member of our web team what are the top three things about website design and development that people should focus on if they were interested in improving their website? Here is what he said:
- Be a student of the web. Be on it always, but be healthy about it. The only way to see and know what the current trends are is to be immersed in them. And try to keep in mind that almost every website is for the user, not you. Make it what the user would want. Make it accessible to all.
- You don’t have to know everything or learn every programming language. It is perfectly acceptable to have a specialty and to know where to look or who to ask when things fall outside of that specialty. Asking for help is hard amongst programmer types. We want to have already known the thing, so we tend to not ask for help right away. Be smart and ask for help. The only stupid question is the one you don’t ask.
- Take breaks! You could benefit from giving yourself a break from time to time. We are our most valuable asset; ourselves and our minds, so give it some time to rest and heal. Also, long durations of hard critical thinking burns calories! So, treat yourself and your mind to a cupcake or two!
Website Design and Development has a lot that goes into it, and we are here to help! Collectively, our web team has close to 50 years of experience with website design and development and they would be happy to work with you on your next web project.
If you need more help or want to chat about how Uptown Studios can help you elevate your website, visit our website to learn more! Email Tina@uptownstudios.net if you would like for us to send you over a proposal for a new website or just a tune up on your current site.
