With the internet having virtually taken over contemporary business, it behooves you as a business executive to join the bandwagon. The principle here is simple, you will have millions of potential customers at reach and your overheads will reduce significantly. Learn how anyone can do web design!
Making it Work with Web Design
To tap into this billions rich platform, you need a well-designed website. This is where the problemĀ lies because most entrepreneurs do not want to invest in web design and hence end up creating shoddy platforms coined from free templates.
To appreciate why you need professional web design services for a professional website, here is a look at the complicated process that goes into creating successful user-friendly pages:
Planning Stage
This includes gathering of information of what a client wants. In essence, this is the stage where you give your goals, target audience and type of information to appear on the page.
During this stage, drawing up of a project charter happens after requirement analysis. Finalization of contracts and other documentation including copyright and closure clauses also takes place then.
Designing
Once a developer understands what you have in mind, he starts the creative process of putting it down. The wireframes are developed and prototype pages created on Photoshop. This is an intricate process involving a team of professionals such as graphic designers among others.
The most intricate part of designing is of course coding and this is a highly technical skill. Slicing of the Photoshop mockup is done and writing of HTML and CSS code for basic design completed. Validation of the code is also a crucial step at this stage.
Web Page Development
This is the actual creation of your website. Most of the programming work takes place here including implementation of the CMS or ASP/PHP framework you are using to set the page running. Creation of templates and other special features takes place at this stage.
This stage also covers content loading and even though you have provided all the content to a designer, he still has to go through it. Testing of links and functionality is essential here to ensure everything is perfect.
Launch and Delivery
This is another important stage where as the website owner you play a big role. Your designer wants you to check everything as he tests and verifies every aspect of the page. He also polishes off minor details. The most important skill here is HTML/CSS knowhow because this is what determines if your page validates.
If the page meets your standards, it is time to deploy it using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program to a live server for public viewing.
A lot of effort goes into the process including final diagnostics to ensure there are no broken links, spellings and such minor issues. SEO is also an important component during these early stages and a reliable web designer ensures your page has full optimization before launch.
Maintenance
At this stage, you have the website to run but your web designer will be available to offer customer support when issues arise. If you are running on a CMS such as WordPress, administration will be an easy affair.
Do you think you can hack this on your own? If you want an outstanding website, it is better to let professionals do it. You will learn a lot more in the process.