Introduction

Designing a website that is visually enticing, easy to navigate, and most importantly, optimised for achieving the intended goals thus requires following a sequence. To create a website, irrespective of whether a blog, a business site, or an e-business site, it is healthier to follow the following process. Here are the main distinct steps that get involved in the web design process:-

The main distinct steps in the web design process

1. Planning and Research

Website design and development mainly begin with planning and enough research work regarding the website. It is where the goal of creating a specific site is determined, the target audience is defined, and achievable objectives are set. It is also the time to learn about competitors and scavenge for ideas. You also choose the site’s structure at this stage, though sometimes a site map containing main and subordinate pages may be created.

2. Design and Wireframing

After the planning, it is now the time to start designing. This commences with wireframes; these are relatively simple models that depict the architecture of each page to be developed without the specification of the aesthetics. Wireframing in the context of site design is useful to adequately visualize the path the user follows and ensure that the offered flow is sensible and efficient. That is, after the wireframes have been approved, we can proceed with the actual design of the sites. This is where operation elements such as the colour balance, fonts, and photographic or other visual assets are introduced. It aims to achieve a design that corresponds with the company’s image, has an aesthetic look, and has effective navigation.

3. Development

The development phase now commences after the finalisation of the design. Here, the appearance part is developed by web designers in conjunction with the developers to have the created design turn into a fully functional website. This involves coding the part that users see while the other part of the system that the users do not see, including the servers. It is also the level at which interactive features, forms and databases are incorporated. Responsiveness is important when designing the website to work correctly among the devices.

4. Testing and Launch

To familiarize yourself with the application and to avoid a situation where some defects are noticed during the performance of the live run of the script, it is essential to conduct a test run with a lot of caution. This is to search for bugs, ensure that the site is responsive in all browsers and devices, and check all forms, including all the interactive elements. Again, to ensure that the website is effective, it is feasible to confirm that the site takes a relatively short time to load and performs well under some circumstances. You have a live website if it is structured correctly, functioning accurately, and at the right time. But this is not all about the work that’s done.

5. Maintenance and Updates

When the website is constructed, it has to be maintained so that it will run as it was designed to do. Some of the activities during the implementation phase include updating frequently, security tests, and updating content. Appreciating the site’s impact and making ignorable changes can be very important to the website.

Conclusion

It is also a collaborative process, which is both technical and artistic, centred on planning as well as on action. If you are to stick to the planning, design, development, testing and maintenance stages mentioned above, it would be easy to develop a website that has the outlook that will make the eyes of the spectator or the users react positively and also meet the goals and objectives of the business.