Web Design Tips

I have been doing web design for about five years now. I started doing web design as a side job in college, and it turned out to be something I continued to do as a fulltime job once I graduated. Through all of this time, I have learned a great deal of lessons. The lessons I learned have been the hard way, but I?d like to share a few of them with you so you can learn some the easy way. The tips I have focus on the client; from determining what they do and don?t like to hammering out the specifications for the web site, I?ll relate to you some of the experiences I?ve had and my best practices.

My absolute best practice, which I highly recommend to every designer, is to ask the client to provide you with a document that displays a few of their favorite web sites. Underneath each URL, ask them to provide a paragraph or two of why they like the site so much. Tell them to be as specific as possible. Also, have them include any bits about the site that they actually don?t like. This document will help you greatly in crafting your design for the client. By receiving this, you are getting a glimpse at the client?s tastes; you?re seeing exactly what they like and can tailor your design to what they like.

Likewise, just as you asked for a list of sites in their industry that they like, you?ll also want to ask for a list of sites in their industry that they don?t like. Just like with the other list, you?ll also want a full description of exactly what they don?t like about the sites. I found that some of my clients don?t like drop down menus using this method. I?ve also found that some clients don?t like to have to scroll. You find out little things like this that you wouldn?t normally get from just a conversation. Having these two documents has helped me immensely.

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.

These are just a few tips for you to think about. They certainly are not things that I was thinking about when I first started out as a designer. Now, they are some of the first things that I think about and talk to the client about. These few simple things have drastically reduced the number of revisions I?ve had to do because I already have a good idea of the client?s likes and dislikes.

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