Web Design Layout Tutorial Part One: Define the Purpose of Your Website

Defining a Web Site :

The very first step in designing a Web site is to define it. To properly define a site there are three questions that must be answered.

1. Who is the end user
2. Who is the owner or client of the website
3. What functionality will be necessary for that user or client

Too many times I see half-cocked web designers rush right into building a website with a bunch of bells and whistles, that is obviously built by someone who thinks flash and bling is kind. Guess what? When people have a slow modem connection and there is a bunch of flash components to a website, it sucks.

I try to keep it clean here, but there is nothing more annoying than waiting for a webpage to load. It takes me back to hearing echos of the AOL dial up sounds of a fax machine and dial tone. Today, most people have a fairly high internet connection speed. But, the only time flash should be used on a site is, if it is a site that is intended for big corporations to see from the comfort of their office building, where their internet connection speed is at business grade.

Now that we’ve covered what you don’t do for the end user, let’s talk about the owner of the site. If you are creating a site for a family to post a bunch of photos on or perhaps, to write blog posts on; there would have to be some basic functionality of loading photos, blog posts and maybe some embedded videos. You would want it to be streamlined and easy to use.

Building websites isn’t just about something that looks pretty on the internet. We have to keep the owner of the site and the user in mind at all times during the planning, building and launching phase of the project. This tutorial feels like I am writing it for my students, but it is necessary to put this out there in as much detail as possible. That’s why, in part two throug (whatever number I stop at) I will consult with eWeb Marketing Management’s Head of Web Development, Keith Dennis to fill you in on more YOU should know about web design layout.

And to find out how your business is going to lose money this year [WARNING] click the green box at the top right of this site. You will be redirected to our home site, where you will find a similar green box. On that one, simply click the get free report button and a PDF file will open in a new window.

I spent some time writing you a report I think you will find urgent and will help you out.