The 101 of Web Design

Ever wondered what web design really means? Or what it entails? It sure does have a nice ring to it. website in so many ways.  But one thing we all can agree on is that websites of all niches and themes are responsible for not just making this world a jet age, but more importantly, a global village.

What it is.

The art and process of designing/creating a website are what is referred to as web design. It usually has a lot of aspects to it. From the layout, the graphic design, right down to the content production. Most of the times, we use both web development and web design interchangeably, web design deals more with the technical part of the entire web development process. Diving into the industry takes a lot. But don’t be scared, if you need help you can check out Webdesign Frankfurt.

What you need.

There are many programs/languages used to design a website. Generally speaking, websites are created using a markup language known as HTML (which is the framework of the entire site), while the design aspect is handled using what is called CSS (This defines the content and metadata of each page), in simple terms, the layout of each page is handled by the CSS. The combination of both HTML and CSS determines how the pages will appear on different browser.

As a web designer, you get to choose from hand coding each page from scratch (typing HTML and CSS from scratch) while others prefer using WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get), such editors include Adobe Dreamweaver. This type of editor provides designers a visual interface to work on, for designing webpage layout efficiently. This type of software automatically generates corresponding codes for both HTML and CSS. The last option you have is to make use of the Content Management System. Such systems include Joomla or WordPress. These Content Management System helps to provide with different website templates which you can then choose from and with the help of plugins add more layout and functionalities. This time, rather than using a text editor, you will be using a web-based interface.

Even though HTML and CSS are used to design the look of the entire page, it is still worthy of note that images are added externally and cannot be generated using both HTML and CSS. That was why we stated earlier that web design is a broad industry. In this case, graphic designers will also be needed as their job is to create images needed for the particular web page. There are tons of graphics programs that can help to achieve this. Such programs include Fireworks, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator. These images are then optimized for publishing.

Getting Started.

If it’s a long – time dream of yours to become a successful web designer, there are some skills that you require to make that dream come true. Here are some of the skills required to become a successful web designer. The first category is known as Technical skills.

Technical Skills.

Don’t know what these are? Well, the technical part of web designing is one major reason people don’t want to venture into the industry. the strange acronym and intimidating terms. But the interesting part of this is, they are pretty awesome and are very easy. You just need to be dedicated and diligent.

•    UX

If you’d love to be a graphic designer, there are things you need to be conversant with. One of which is the UX. Though it sounds like something born from the matrix movie, it is not. User Experience which is the full form deals with handling your website from the point of User-First perspective. It is more about designing a website that gives users precisely what they need. It entails doing research on your “users” and creating different personas. Using a site map, you will lay out both the pages and the content. This will allow you to figure out the path your prospective users are likely to take on your site.

•    Visual Design

The name is self-explanatory. To be a great web designer, you need to have a vast knowledge of the designing part of the web, also, the visual design aspect also helps you pay attention to the digital products. The design rules and principles are what helps to determine the overall appearance of the site. These usually range from the color theory, typography, to the grid systems. To break it down further, visual design helps you to create mood boards, and play with web fonts, not forgetting the color palettes too.

•    HTML

This is one of the terms that make this category a technical one. One might one to think that web designers don’t need to know how to code, well, that was in the past. To be a great web designer in this day and age, you need to be conversant with this particular language. The full form is HyperText Markup Language. This code is responsible for putting content on your web page.

•    CSS

Just like the HTML, the Cascade Stylesheet is the code responsible for telling different web browsers how to deal with the style and format the different HTML on the web pages. The CSS allows you to adjust the color, font and add an amazing background to your pages.

Soft Skills.

This is one part of web design that many people don’t know about. Acquiring soft skills allow you to have a better management strategy for great functionalities of all pages.

•    Communication.

The first one, which undoubtedly is one of the most important parts for me is communication. For a web designer, you need to always stay in touch, coupled with that is learning how to pass your point across. This includes keeping your client up to date.

•    Time Management.

Another soft skill you need to acquire is the ability to manage time effectively. It doesn’t matter whether you are going into the industry to work for a company or be a freelancer. You need to learn how to manage time. This is key.

Conclusion.

Though, there are other things that you must take note of, learning all of this is a great starting point. Good luck.