Web Design

Web design is the practice of conceiving, building and then implementing websites, according to client instructions. Web design is comprised of two sides – the development or ‘back end’ aspect which includes scripting, knowledge of HTML and CSS and programming in general. The front end or the design aspect includes page layout, graphics, content creation and user interaction. The aim is to achieve a balanced ‘look and feel’ which is also easy to use and enjoyable. It is important to know the target user audience and their goals as well as the objectives of the site. Is the site promotional? Is it educational? Is it academic or job specific? Will it be a set of static pages designed purely to inform (brochureware), or will it enable the user to send and receive information, complete a form or purchase goods and services (dynamic)?

Websites can be built using a purpose built web authoring tool such as Adobe Dreamweaver, or hand coded using a text editor such as Emacs or Notepad. A web authoring tool enables less experienced designers or designers without a programming background to build a website easily and quickly. The downside to this is that if any changes need to be made to the code, the non-programming designer will struggle to understand what needs doing and why. Opting to hand code can eliminate this problem as well as ensuring neater and better code. However, this is more time consuming as well as requiring specialist skills in this area.

A good website is one that will have been designed with its users in mind, is accessible and usable as well as a pleasure to use. It will have made good use of search engine optimisation and is compatible across PC and Mac.