What is web design

By web design, many understand the purely visual design of the pages of the site, which affects its external perception. Whereas in reality it is – first of all, work on the optimal structure, usability and the most convenient arrangement of content. And from this point of view, it becomes clear that web design is, in many ways, the logic of presenting information, which has a significant impact on the effectiveness of your site in many ways.

More about the term

Web design is a type of design related to the field of web development, that is, the creation of websites. It includes the design of user interfaces (or ways of presenting content) and their most optimal visual implementation. Simply put, the task of a web designer is not only the ability to create a spectacular “picture”, a competent color scheme and composition.

It should also logically distribute individual design elements so that it is convenient for the user to perceive information and images on the page and interact with it. Since graphic design interacts with web development in this profession, web design also implies knowledge of the basics of web technologies.

Web design highlights and features

As already mentioned, the web designer is responsible for the visual representation of the site structure (page, application), which would provide maximum convenience and ease of perception for users.

Unlike the same graphic design, therefore, composition, work with the arrangement of individual text and graphic blocks, fonts come to the fore here. It is also necessary to have a good understanding of the capabilities of the CMS (or the so-called “engine”) in terms of presenting certain elements. Here, first of all, the limitations of the html-code or flash standards matter.

As a result, it is up to the web designer how exactly the resource will be perceived by the user. How easily and quickly he will find the most important information, navigate the site navigation, understand the content of the pages and perform one or another action.

For example, he will use the online request form, click on a particular product, image, video, text material. Finally, the most important thing is to place an order for a product or service. The main task here becomes, therefore: to highlight important information about the company, product, service, pay attention to the benefits and logically lead to the purchase or sending an online request.

Relevant elements, links and buttons should be clearly and well presented, easily found and unambiguously perceived. In recent years, there has been a trend towards the most “light”, minimalist structure, without bulky text blocks and images.

A separate topic is web resources of the promo category. Or those where the main goal is to attract maximum traffic through content. It is also the main “product” of such sites: online games, photos, music, videos, articles, etc. Here the role of graphics is noticeably increasing, flash animation, video clips and cartoon characters are used.

However, all these elements already require the involvement of relevant specialists, while the main task of a web designer is still the most optimal structure.

How exactly is the work on the page design built?

As in the case of graphic design, a design layout is created in a graphic editor, representing a “layered” composition of individual elements. Each of them will subsequently be made also separately.

As a rule, first a layout is made for the main one, in which the general style, color and compositional solution is worked out. Much attention is paid to the so-called “header” – the top of the main page, where there is a logo, the name of the organization (or resource), contacts.

In the header itself or under it, as a rule, the main navigation elements are placed so that the user can immediately go to the most important sections and find the information they need. “Header” sets the overall style of the site and is one of the main elements that the visitor pays attention to in the first place.

It often uses corporate colors, as well as fonts provided for by the company’s brand book (if any). It is important to immediately interest the visitor, explaining to him, at the same time, what exactly he can find here and where to go for additional information. It is not worth overloading the “header” with text and detailed navigation, because it will be very difficult to perceive all this “at once”.

The next important element is navigation. As a rule, at the time of creating the layout, the general structure of the site, the name and content of the main pages are already known. They also need to be placed in the form of a list of buttons / links that would be easily perceived, well readable and noticeable.

At the same time, the list should not be very large, and the names of the sections themselves should not be too long and incomprehensible. As a last resort, you can use subcategories, when under the link to the section, when clicked or hovered, a list of subsections is revealed.

Particular attention should be paid to the navigation block if it is an online store catalog or a thematic rubricator for news and entertainment portals. However, this task should be attributed to work on website usability or web analytics. As for the visual presentation, navigation is usually placed on the left side and duplicated in the form of links above and / or below.

Content and filling syraniki

The main part of the page is occupied by content that will help to present the company or resource in the eyes of the user in the most beneficial way. In the case of a corporate website, this will most likely be a brief informative text and / or a photo of a product or service. In the case of entertainment and news portals, the most popular or relevant photos, materials, articles, posts, etc. are often placed on the main page.

For an online store, it would be best to place bestsellers and / or new items in the main block. The task of the designer is to make this area optimal in size and location so that it is in the center of attention and helps to convey the most important information.

It is also worth considering the placement and design of banners with promotions or links to interesting sections, online request forms, examples of work. An important role is played by buttons with which you can send a request, make a calculation, place an order or leave a comment. They should be visible, attract attention and encourage action, without annoying or disturbing the overall composition.