The world of website design can sometimes be an elusive place. Certain colors, fonts, and aesthetics will highlight your brand, show your content is up-to-date, and make your business shine, while others will give subtle hints to customers that they’re better off somewhere else. Not to mention, there are many considerations involving accessibility and functionality when dealing with design that are extremely important.
For today’s blog post, we took a look at some of the pressing questions about website design on the question-and-answer site, Quora. The answers, however, are from the Vervology Team, based on our own expertise in the field.
“What Is Web Design?”
Website design encompasses all of the decisions an individual makes when laying out a website in a way that will be intuitive for users and aesthetically pleasing. An effective website design encompasses all aspects of your brand, including colors, fonts, logos, and pictures.
It also goes beyond these aesthetic choices, however. When designing a website, certain aspects like accessibility and search engine optimization need to be at the forefront of the design process.
In a nutshell, website design is taking a look at the company’s branding and making sure that the site is functional for everyone to use, a clear representation of the business’s values, and pleasing to look at.
“What Is The Difference Between a UX and UI Designer and a Web Designer?”
Realistically, all three of these job titles will have overlapping skills. At some smaller organizations, one person will hold all of these titles. However, there are different connotations when talking about each of them.
A web designer is typically someone who is focused on the graphic design of a website and the aesthetic pieces that go along with it. A UX (user experience) designer will typically employ user research as a way of making the site easier to use and making sure nothing is clunky or confusing. A UI (user interface) designer may be more focused on the logistical layout of the site, designing and implementing the buttons users click on, and generally considering how all elements will appear on the screen.
All of these skills are essential to the proper functioning of a website and work together in order to create the most show-stopping end-product.
“What Is The Difference Between Web Development and Web Design?”
While website design is more concerned with the artistic elements that make up a site, web development relates to more of the technical aspects that help make a website functional.
A web designer may use programs, such as Creative Cloud, to create a website that looks great and makes sense. A web developer, however, will take these designs and use programming language to bring them to life. They are often known for taking a static, non-interactive page and adding elements for engagement, like links and buttons.
Again, there will always be levels of overlap between these two positions, and some people may do both jobs, but only identify themselves with one of the titles. The important thing to remember is that a web developer and a web designer will work together very closely to ensure the website is cohesive, working properly, and looks professional.
“What Are The Most Important Principles of Web Design?”
While there are many different principles relating to website design and different people will give different answers, here are a few of the principles that Vervology feels are most important to highlight:
Consistency
As with any aspect of your brand, it’s important to be consistent. The colors and fonts that are used must be exact. The tone and voice of any written materials should all line up with your company’s values. Any content should be formatted in the same style each time.
This also goes for web pages. They don’t need to all look the same, but it should be clear that they all go together. There should be a uniting theme that promotes consistency across the entire site.
Mobile Optimization
With around half of the world’s internet traffic being attributed to mobile devices, it’s important that a website can easily be viewed on a tablet or smartphone. Without this important aspect, you could actually be repelling potential customers, plus hurting your chances of ranking well in Google.
Load Time
Your website should load in about 1 to 2 seconds, ideally. Any longer, and you risk losing people. A few of the elements that affect load time are file types and sizes of images, as well as the types of plugins that are being used on the website.
Readability
There are several aspects that could affect whether or not your site is accessible. Certain colors, fonts, and text sizes may make it difficult for some to read. All pages and buttons need to be clearly marked as well, making sure they convey what will happen if someone were to click on them. Spacing should also be a consideration in this category, too. Words that are packed tightly onto a page are neither visually pleasing, nor easy to read. The same is true for those that are spaced too far apart.
For more information on design and accessibility, WCAG is a great resource.
To Conclude
Website design is an absolutely essential piece of a business’s website, albeit a little confusing from the outside looking in. There is no one proper definition of what a web designer does, nor are there hard limits on what their job might entail.
However, if you’re looking to build or redesign a website for your business, you will need a skilled web designer at the helm. Vervology can help with this. Get in touch with us to talk about how we could revamp your website’s design, or create something completely new. We’re happy to help out!