What is Web Design?
Web design is the process of generating ideas and design concepts for websites and webpages. It also involves the arrangement of the webpage’s aesthetics, as well as its application to represent the overall purpose of a website. In this sense, web design basically depends on the theme and the reason for the creation of the website.
In achieving a good collaborative effort between the client and the web designer, different elements are involved in the creation process. These elements are as follows: layout which is how the texts, advertisements, and graphics are organized; colour and fonts depending on the client’s taste, personality and purpose for creating the website; graphics comprising of the icons, images, and logos that enhance the aesthetics of the website; and content which is possibly the most important element of a website because content contains the message and/or purpose of the website. Hence, the website’s content should always be relevant and clear so that readers will not be confused about what the website is about.
In order to be a good web designer, there are certain technical skills that you need because web design is not as easy as it looks. While web design can be seen as an easier job compared to web development wherein web developers have to be knowledgeable on complex web scripting languages, being a web designer also requires skills on certain web scripting languages in order to efficiently design a remarkable website. Web designers utilize HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Although they are considered as basic web scripting languages compared to the more complicated ones, knowing them is still recognized as an important skill for any web designer.
Aside from the technical skills, web designers are expected to have marketing and communication design skills. A good web designer should know the particular website design or layout that would work for specific niches or target readers. The marketing and communication aspect of web design may depend on the target readers’ culture or age group. Another skill of a good web designer is being able to understand the website’s interactive design for the readers, as well as their overall experience in using the website interface. Proper labelling, putting clear disclaimers, and creating a layout that represents what the website is about are factors to consider when it comes to the user’s design experience. Moreover, the interactive design of the website is important — readers would be attracted to visit the website more often because of the ease of navigation.
In general, web design does not only involve beautifying a website because it transcends to a greater purpose, which is to create a great user experience for the readers. This can be done not only with the layout but also with the relevant and useful content and interface of the webpage. As what web designers usually say, they are not the only one doing the work because in the first place, designing a website is a collaboration between web designers and their clients — in this endeavour, they are trying to reach the same purpose and goal.