7 steps for developing a web design

Web design is a variant of the graphic design which involves a certain requirements. Qe have to think in the use of colors and languages, but also need think on its application on the web: think about the usability for the user, the hierarchy of information, adapting the design to the screens of different devices (responsive design), and so on. This implies that for a good web design we need great creativity, but we need also essential skills and a working method. In this article we will explain our method, the process we have set up our new web design.

1. What does our customer want: the first thing to do is listen to our customer. He has to explain us what he wants to achieve with the web, to which audience he wants to address, and how he imagines the web design. Sometimes could happen that the client gives us insufficient or contradictory information, and we must insist that we have to have clear information from the beginning, and then not spend hours in modifications. 
   
   
2. Content analysis: from the material send by the client, we get an idea of the material that we'll have for the web. Consider the sections that will have, what volume and format of images, texts, videos and other elements we'll have, will help us to design a web design that fits well with our material. A common mistake of some designers is to create a very nice page with full-screen photo, for a website where the customer give us images that can not be full screen displayed, for example.
   
   
3. Market analysis: see what are doing our direct and indirect competitors. The colors, structures, graphical languages, functionalities and web programming usability. With this information and the briefing that the client gave to us, we determine if we're going to do something similar to the other sites of the sector, something in common with the sector but with distinguishing features, or look for something completely breaking with the rest of competitors. Usually the best thing is the middle way (for example if we have to make a website for a dentist with black background it would be groundbreaking, but perhaps not right suitable), but not always.
   
   
4. Habemus logo? This is a very important question. The logo is the basis of the brand identity and in thw web should be highlighted, and its combination with the other elements of the web, good. If the logo is given by the customer, it is advisable to propose a web design by taking as a starting point the logo: its colors, fonts, effects, iconographic elements, etc. If we find that the logo is outdated or does not correspond with the message that the brand wants to transmit, the best and most honest decision is to propose our client a new logo. Although many designers the best situation is when a company is newly created and can start from 0, also creating the logo.
   
   
5. A language for the web: the next step is to choose the language, which essential elements of typography we are going to use (it is generally advisable to do everything with a type or family of them), the iconography we'll create, the colors to use, and so on. These elements will be the body that will give coherence to the web.
   
   
6. Visual hierarchy and information architecture: the importance of each content and what predominance must them have we must bear in mind. This is essentially due to two reasons: to get the user when it lands on the web passing through our funnel, and our friend SEO, to determine the important h1, h2, h3...
   
   
7. Visual / functional balance: are two areas that often have their friction, and sometimes incompatibilities. The beauty is not always functional, and functional is not always pretty. We advise about web designs that do not cross certain red lines: the SEO or and the responsive web design. Respecting the web design optimization of these two elements, you can give free rein to creativity. For example, one type of visually attractive but bad for SEO the Parallax, as we explained in another article.

These are, broadly speaking, the steps and important elements of the process of developing a custom web design, as we do in La Teva Web. We hope that the article has been of your interest. If you want, you can consult our websites and see if we fulfill what we preach;)