Web Design Best Practices
The more you work at any job, the more little things and lessons you learn. This is no different with web design. As a web designer for the past six years, I have learned a great deal about how to work clients to come up with the best designed possible for them up. Sometimes you won?t always love the designed, but as long as the client does, it is a job well done. I?d like to share just a few best practices that I?ve developed over many years of doing web designed for a wide range of clients.
The best thing that I developed for working with clients is what I call the favorites document. The favorites document is a template I give the client to fill out that has a slot for them to list four of their favorite web sites that are in the same niche as their site. Then, underneath each web site, I have them write a paragraph or two about what makes the site so good to them. This is very helpful because it helps me get some insight into the clients design tastes. Knowing this will help me when I start designing because all know what elements to include.
Just as I capture their favorite websites in the same niche, I also have them provide in the same document a list of the other sites in the same niche and that they do not like. This does the opposite for me, it lets me know the design elements that they do not like. Again, they provide a paragraph or two about why they do not like those sites. These documents are so valuable because even before you have started to design you already know of some of the things that the client really likes and that the client really does not like.
My final best practice focuses on the navigation. The navigation is critical for the web site. If your client has put together a navigation layout be sure you thoroughly review it and understand it. You?ll have likely done many more web sites than they have, and you can provide tips and information on how to better organize their content. Once you have done this, you can help them lock down the navigation. Locking down the navigation helps you because you can then determine how to best layout the website. This helps to determine whether you want to implement a left side navigation, right side navigation, or navigation that runs across the top.
As you progress and do more and more designs, there are many other little things that you?ll come across. I hope that you?ll take the time to write a document like this that passes on this information to other web designers. Thieway we?ll all get better is by sharing our information. The tipses above are just a few that I learned in all of my time is a designer. I learned from my mistakes and it?s important that you do the same.
