Questions to ask when designing a website
1. What are your client's or company's core values?
Determining the core values of your company or the client you're working for can help you design multiple aspects of a website. A core value is a fundamental belief of a person or organization, and these can guide your design choices, such as for the function of the website, your target audience, specific features you may add and the general image that you want the site to portray. You can hold meetings with your client, talk to your supervisor or brainstorm independently to list some core values that you can use to inform your website design process.
You or someone you're working with might want the website for a variety of reasons. Websites can inform the public, encourage communication, offer promotions or provide business services, such as e-commerce or appointment scheduling. Consider why you want to create a website and what its purpose will be.
Websites are interactive pieces of content. Visitors of a webpage may view information, fill out forms, connect with other visitors or make purchases. Determining what actions your visitors can perform on your website can help you determine what features you need to install and may allow you to create a more detailed website design before you create the final product.
There are multiple different types of websites that serve different functions. Try to choose a website type that works best for your needs. For example, if you're making a website for a cosmetics sales agent, you may want to choose an e-commerce platform instead of a forum.
Your audience is the type of people that you want to view your website. You can categorize a target audience depending on a variety of factors, such as age, gender, interests or where they live. Determining the audience for your website can give you insight into various features or aesthetic choices you can use to attract them to your site. For example, if you're making a website whose audience is business professionals, you may want to use neutral colors and simple, clear formatting options.
Creating a new website is a different process than redesigning an existing one. If you're updating a website, there are other questions that you may ask yourself to help you create a better site. Some questions you can ask if you're redesigning a website include why you're redesigning the page, what you like about the old website and what features need to change.
Creating an image or general feel of your website can give the brand or organization associated with the site an enhanced sense of identity and may attract more visitors. Consider brainstorming certain characteristics that you want the website to portray. You can use your core values to help you create some ideas for your website's image.
Brand elements are particular elements that people associate with your brand, such as logos, taglines, color schemes or images. If there are brand elements you want on your website, you can use them to inform other design decisions. For example, if the ice cream company you're making a site for has a vanilla ice cream cone logo, you may create a website with a darker background so that you can see the logo clearly.
When designing a website, you may want to ask yourself what technical specifications your site may need to perform properly. For example, if the website has graphics, music and multiple pages with various features, it may require more bandwidth than a site that only contains a background and text. Try to think about your technical capacity in advance to ensure that your website runs smoothly.
There are multiple options for where you can host your website. Some hosting sites have particular tools or functions that you can use while creating your website, while others require you to build the site from scratch. Deciding on your hosting site can help you determine various aspects of your website, such as how many people you may need, what features you can include and how much time the project may take. If you have pre-existing requirements for those aspects, consider finding a hosting site that fits your needs.