What does it mean to design a website?

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تشغيل August 14, 2021

Of course Website design is the process of planning, visualizing, and arranging online content. Today, website design goes beyond aesthetics to include the general fundamentals of a website. Web design also includes web applications, mobile apps, and user interface design.

So Did you know that website design can have a huge impact on your performance in search engines like Google? This article will give you some useful insights on how to design a website that not only looks good, but functions properly and ranks high in search.

Searching for Inspiration

Usually Those who intend to design a website are looking for inspiration everywhere. Here are some of the best sites to help get your creative juices flowing:

First and foremost Check out our blog posts for more tips on finding inspiration

Choosing a tool for website design

There are two main approaches to designing a website: Using a desktop program or using a web design tool. The program you decide to use will vary greatly depending on the quality of your team, your budget, the type of website you want to build, and its technical requirements.

1. Desktop applications Website Design

Desktop programs require designers to create their design and send it to the programming team, which then converts the design into code. The most popular disctop programs for website design are Photoshop and Sketch .

This is usually the style that companies follow because it allows designers to focus on the look and feel, while all the coding challenges are transferred to the development team. Unfortunately, this approach can be expensive and time-consuming

So To avoid involving a developer, it pays to use a website builder to design a website with fewer technical requirements.

2. Site builders Website Design

There are many website builders on the market today that offer a wide range of features and services. Prepare Wix and Squarespace and Webflow Just a few examples of website builders Famous people but who differ in design capabilities, template options, price, and overall editing experience. On the other hand, be sure to do your research, experiment with free trials, and decide which platform best suits your website's needs.

Website builders design adaptive or responsive websites, which offer different building experiences. These concepts will be discussed in more detail below so you can better understand which builders will work for you. If you don't know how to code, it's essential to familiarize yourself with the freedoms and limitations of different website design tools. For example, although WordPress It is the most commonly used platform for websites, however, it is not popular with visual designers due to its limited customization options.

Before you start building a website, determine the needs of your website: Are you creating a photo gallery? How often will you update your site? Do you need a contact form? So you should choose a website builder that can help you achieve these goals effectively.

Website Design Elements

before As you begin designing a website, it's important to consider the appearance and functionality of the site. Integrating these elements will increase the site's usability and overall performance. The usability of your site includes elements such as an easy-to-navigate interface, proper use of graphics and images, well-written and well-positioned text, and a color scheme. The performance of your site therefore refers to its speed, ranking, searchability, and ability to attract your audience.

Visual elements Website Design

So Here's a quick overview of the elements to consider while designing your website to make sure everything works well together. Each section will offer tips and tricks to help you get started.

Written version

Requires Website Design Process Essentially, your website's appearance and text go hand in hand. It's important that content writers and designers work together to create a cohesive design with balanced elements. So focus on creating text parts (using text blocks) to complement your graphics and images.

Related topics: What is the best web design company?

Lines

You should choose a font that complements your overall design. The font should be paired with your color scheme, graphics, images, and strengthen the overall tone of your website. So tools like Canva's Font Combinator in Find a perfect match for your font.

Colors

Of course Colors are one of the most important elements to consider when designing a website. Keep in mind that there are many misconceptions about the psychology of color, so it's more important to focus on colors that complement your overall design and the tone of your website. Align your color scheme with your brand and the messages you want to convey to your audience.

(Source: www.freshconsulting.com )

Related: Perfect design

Layout

The way you decide to arrange your content will have a huge impact on both the usability and functionality of your site. There are no specific rules to follow when choosing a layout, however, there are some key principles to keep in mind. So make sure to consider the needs of your target audience and avoid using an excessive layout that may detract from the messages you want to convey.

Shapes

Using graphic elements in web design can help integrate text and images seamlessly, and help with the overall look of the site. Combining beautiful colors and shapes can help capture the attention of your visitors and contribute to the overall flow of your site.

Related topics: 8 Best WordPress Themes

divergence

Spacing is a key element for creating visually pleasing and easy-to-navigate websites. Every element in your design will involve spacing in one way or another. Proper use of whitespace is critical in creating a design that perfectly balances text, images, and graphics. So keeping the spacing consistent can help your users navigate your website with ease. The concept of white space is definitely a priority for modern web designers.

Pictures and icons

Stunning designs can communicate a lot of information in just a few seconds. So this is made possible by using powerful images and icons. Choose images and icons that support and strengthen your message. A quick Google search for stock images and icons will generate thousands of options. To help simplify your search, here are a few favorites:

Free images and icons

Featured images and icons

Shutterstock (Getty)

Video

Incorporating videos into web design is becoming increasingly popular among designers. When used correctly, videos can help your users experience or understand a message that cannot be properly conveyed through text or image. Keep in mind that just like having a TV screen in a restaurant, visitors' eyes will be drawn to moving images. Make sure your videos don't compete or detract from other important elements.

Functional Elements of Website Design

These functional elements are essential to keep in mind when designing your website. A properly functioning website is therefore essential to rank high in search engines, and to give users the best possible experience.

Mobility

Your website's navigation is one of the key elements that determine whether your website is functioning properly. Depending on your audience, navigation can serve multiple purposes: Helping first-time visitors discover what your site has to offer, providing easy access to your pages for returning visitors, and improving the overall experience for each visitor. So check out these best practices for more tips on navigation.

You can start your site with us Web Design Company

User interactions

In the same vein Your site visitors have multiple ways to interact with your site based on their devices (scrolling, clicking, typing, etc.). The best website designs simplify these interactions to give the user the feeling of being in control. Here are some examples:

Do not automatically play audio or videos
Never underline text unless it is clickable
Make sure that all forms Mobile Compatible
Avoid pop-ups
Avoid Scrolling

Animation

There are a lot of web animation techniques that can help your design capture visitor attention, and allow visitors to interact with your site by providing feedback. For example, adding "like" buttons or forms can help keep your visitors engaged. If you're new to web design, we recommend keeping Simple animation to avoid developer intervention.

Speed

No one likes a slow website. Having to wait more than a few seconds for a page to load can quickly deter a visitor from staying on or returning to your site. No matter how beautiful your site is, if your site doesn't load quickly, it won't perform well in search (i.e. it won't rank high on Google).

Top site builders will usually compress your content for faster load times, however, there are no guarantees. Be sure to look for site builders that will work best with the content you'll have on your site. For example, PageCloud optimizes your images to ensure fast load times for sites with large and/or multiple images.

Related: Google Page Speed Test

Site structure

Website architecture plays an important role in both user experience (UX) and search engine optimization (SEO). Users should be able to easily navigate through your website without encountering any structural issues. If users get lost while trying to navigate through your site, chances are your "crawlers" will as well. A crawler (or bot) is an automated program that searches your website and can determine its functionality. Bad navigation can lead to a poor user experience and site ranking.

Cross-browser and cross-device compatibility

A great design should look polished on all devices and browsers (yes, even Internet Explorer). If you're building your site from scratch, we recommend using Cross-browser testing tool to make this tedious process faster and more efficient. On the other hand, if you're using a website-building platform, the company's development team usually takes care of cross-browser testing allowing you to focus on design.

Types of website design: Adaptive vs. Responsive

Understanding the pros and cons of adaptive and responsive websites will help you decide which website builder will work best for your website design needs.

You may come across articles online that talk about a whole host of different website design styles (static, fixed, fluid, etc.). However, in today's mobile-focused world, there are only two website styles to use to properly design a website: Adaptive and Responsive.

Responsive Website

Adaptive web design uses two or more versions of a website that are customized for specific screen sizes. Adaptive websites can be divided into two main categories based on how the site detects the size to be displayed:

1. Adapts based on device type

When your browser connects to a website, the HTTP request will include a field called "user-agent" which will inform the server about the type of device trying to view the page. The adaptive website will know which version of the site to display based on the device it is trying to access (e.g. desktop, mobile, tablet). Issues will arise if you shrink the browser window on a desktop because the page will continue to display the "desktop version" instead of shrinking to the new size.

2. Adapts based on browser width

Instead of using a "user agent", the website uses media queries (a CSS feature that enables a web page to adapt to different screen sizes) and breakpoints (specific display sizes) to switch between versions. So instead of having a desktop, tablet, and mobile version, you'll have versions with 1080p, 768p, and 480p widths. This provides more flexibility when designing, and a better viewing experience as your website will adapt based on your screen width.

(Image credit: UX Alpaca )

Pros

WYSIWYG editing (what you see is what you get)
Custom designs are faster and easier to build without code
Cross-browser and cross-device compatibility
Fast-loading pages

Cons

This means Websites that use "Device Type" can appear broken when viewed in a smaller browser window on the desktop
Restrictions on some of the effects that only responsive sites can achieve

Responsive Website

Responsive websites can use flexible grid layouts based on the percentage each element takes up in its container: If an element (such as a header) accounts for 25% of its container, that element will remain at 25% regardless of the change in screen size. Responsive websites can also use breakpoints to create a customized look for each screen size, but unlike adaptive sites that only adapt when they hit a breakpoint, responsive websites constantly change according to screen size.

(Image credit: UX Alpaca )

Pros

Great experience in every screen size regardless of device type
Responsive website builders are usually rigid which makes it hard to "break" the design
Tons of templates available to start from

Cons

Requires extensive design and testing for quality assurance (when starting from scratch)
Without access to the code, custom designs can be tricky

It's important to note that website builders can include adaptive and responsive features. For example. Filed PageCloud Recently a series of features that allow your content to behave Responsive Although the website itself is still adaptive.

Adaptive Website Builders

And so It can be argued that Wix and PageCloud They are the two best visual website builders on the market today. They both use an adaptive approach, which means their drag-and-drop and WYSIWYG capabilities are second to none. You can create almost anything without having to write a single line of code.

Wix has been around since 2006 and has since then developed a wide range of features and templates to suit almost every business need. Today it is considered one of the easiest tools for beginners.

Although it's hard to pick a winner in this category, here are a few things to keep in mind:
If you are looking for

For the most customizable experience, choose PageCloud.
Something that's really easy and you don't have a lot of design experience, choose Wix.
Working with a developer, choose PageCloud.
If you want many template options, choose Wix.
If you want a professional website design, choose eKitch is the best web design company.

Since both systems offer free trials, we recommend trying them out before making a decision.

Responsive Website Builders

Tools like Squarespace offer creation tools Websites Fast Responsive, however, this means that your editing experience is very limited. Creating a responsive website is difficult, and without knowing how to code, it's almost impossible to create unique websites with responsive website builders.

In short This is where more complex web design tools come into play, such as Webflow and Froont . Here are some pros and cons to consider when thinking about adopting one of these tools:

Pros

Ability to create customized responsive sites without having to write code
Unparalleled control over every element on the page
Ability to export code to host elsewhere

Cons

Complex tools with steep learning curves
Slower design process than adaptive website builders

Online store design

E-commerce websites are an important part of website design. So Creating an online store that is easy to navigate, informative, and accurately displays your products is critical to creating the best online shopping experience for your customers.

If you want to learn more about starting an online store, check out our article to get 5 Easy Steps to Create an Ecommerce Website!

Next steps

As a result This article will help you better understand the basics of web design. To review, let's take a look at some of the key elements in designing a beautiful and functional website:

1. The user always comes first:

User experience should be at the forefront of your design, as it will ultimately be your users who decide if your website is worth visiting.

2. Choose the best website builder for your needs:

Ask yourself what the main functions of your website are, and choose a website builder that ensures these needs are met.

3. Balancing visual elements:

It's important to maintain a balance between text, graphics, multimedia, and color scheme to avoid overstimulating a website that detracts from the messages you're trying to convey.

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What does it mean to design a website?

Searching for Inspiration