Don't Start with the Home Page

A typical web design process starts with the look and feel of the home page. Much time is spent in selecting layouts and colors. Purpose, content, and usability take second place in the process. Using this typical method can be compared to building a house without building a solid foundation. There is a better approach.

The design of the home page and the overall look of the site should coincide with the purpose of the site. An e-commerce site will have page layouts and features that are different than a site that showcases an artist's portfolio. It is very important that you outline and clearly define your purpose before the start of design. Finding this purpose can be a daunting task. Make sure you take the time and narrow down the ultimate purpose of your website.

Ultimately, your website will need some type of content. For an e-commerce website, you will need product descriptions and photos. For a news-based site, you will need a source for news. The type of content you display will affect the design of the website. In many occasions, you will have several types of content on your site. Do you need an image gallery, or an article manager to display your content? It is very important that your designer knows what types of content you will need on your site before the start of design.

Will your content be ready once the website has been developed? To avoid launch delays, it is important that you have at least the minimum amount of content ready to implement. More content can be added after the site launched, but a minimum amount needs to be ready before launch date.

The process of user interface design is critical in web development. Before a single pixel is laid down, you must consider how you want the user to interact with the website. When users were asked about what feature they like most on a website, many responded by stating, "ease of use", as the most important feature a website can have. You don't need to be an expert in user interface design to create a "friendly" website. Put yourself in the user's point of view during this process. When you shift your view from web owner to web user, you will gain new perspective in how your site needs to look. Don't overlook this process. Your website's layout design should be based mostly on this critical process of development.

Only after you and your designer have done extensive brainstorming on the three major aspects outlined above, the design process can begin. Now, you can talk about colors, graphics, fonts and the look of the site. This design approach may seem backward to many, but it is a more logical approach. Don't be tempted to have the "get the site up now and fix it later" mentality. Do it right the first time by having a solid foundation before building the home page.