Project planning
Developing a website usually requires planning. In the first phase it is important to know the project objectives and answer questions such as:
Is this a new website developed from scratch or the redesign of an existing site? If it is an existing site, what do you intend to improve?
What do you want with the website? What are its objectives? Communicate a company or brand? Attract potential customers? Sell products online? Others?
What are the characteristics of the public that will use the site? Does it address any kind of public? Do people have any special needs or characteristics? Are they people used to using the internet or people with little experience with the online medium?
What is the deadline for development? When should the website be finished and ready to be launched online?
What will be the functionalities of the website? Will it be necessary to involve other collaborator profiles in the project? (like programmers, copywriters, multimedia designers, or others)
Will the site need frequent updates? Will it be necessary to use any content management platform? Examples: WordPress, Drupal, or other? There are many solutions on the market.
Site Development
In a second phase you have to consider the development planning, which can encompass tasks such as:
Designing the layouts of the various types of pages;
Image editing;
Creation from scratch or adaptation of HTML, CSS files. If programming and databases are involved, solutions such as PHP and MySQL are popular;
If necessary, create a blog or e-commerce features. Free platforms are available;
Take into account the usability of the site;
Responsive Design (Preparation of the site to be viewed correctly on various types of devices that have different screen resolutions: desktop computers, tablets and cell phones);
Place the contents (texts, images, videos, databases, advertising, others)
Install tracking codes for statistical analysis, such as Google Analytics;
Perform tests, corrections and adjustments, among other tasks.
Follow-up
Even after launch, the work may not be finished. It will be necessary to follow up on the project, correct or improve any element that is not performing as desired, perform statistical analysis, monitor traffic and whether the objectives are being met.
These are just some of the factors to consider when creating a website. Depending on the complexity and characteristics of each project the functions of a web designer can vary. The profession of web designer is important today, when we live in the digital age and technology is part of everyday life for more and more users. If you are interested in web design and want to pursue a career embracing this profession.