Part One: The Initial Concept
The initial concept is perhaps the most crucial of all steps, and often the most misunderstood. Many difficult projects can be achieved with good planning and communcations, while even the simplest designs can become nightmares when they lack a cohesive and unifying initial concept. Put simply, "form follows function" and thus a professional designer will take the time to understand the function, in order to perfect the form.
This stage is typified by a lengthy consultation and questioning, possibly over several sessions. It is at this time that the client and the designer must agree on common definitions and clearly define the total scope of the project. Ideally the designer will, after consulting the client, prepare a comprehensive list of goals that meet the client's needs and present that to the client with an accompanying schedule of target deadlines for each stage of the project.
Brukenet Web Design offers one free hour of consultation at the start of every new project, because we believe in the importance of good planning. If you are considering a new web site, or a modification to an existing site, please contact us for a free consultation today.
Part Two: Gathering Resources
Each site is unique, but all sites have some features in common. Some of the most common resources that a site needs are quality images, professionally written ad copy, videos, and sales or contact information. While we have talented writers, photographers, and videographers on staff it is often beneficial for clients to provide the images, ad copy, and other resources that are necessary for the site -- this saves time and money that could be better spent elsewhere, and it ensures that we, the designers, have clear and detailed input regarding how you want your site to visually appear.
When preparing images to submit to a designer it is best if the images can be saved in a .psd file format if possible, or else a .jpg, .png, or .gif file format; other formats will usually requre some level of labor to convert them into a proper web-based format. Similarly, videos should be in a .mov, .mpg, .wma, or .avi format for the best utility and to avoid any delays or costs associated with converting files to a proper format. Please note that if you already have some flash video and wish to submit it as a resource then it is vital to include the original .fla file in addtion to the .swf or .flv files.
If you do not have any images or videos then we can attempt to find suitable royalty-free stock video and stock photos online, but this is often time-consuming and thus an expensive service. As an alternative we can photograph or record a video of any product samples you send to us. We have local models that we can use to produce short infomercials, and we are willing to travel under an expense account if necessary to capture exactly the images and videos you want for your site.
When submitting ad copy, please refrain from using Microsoft Office or any advanced word-processing software as these programs often leave hidden bits of mark-up code in their content which can cause trouble with transfering that content to a web page. In our experience, the "wordpad" tool which is found under "accessories" in most windows installations is an excellent way to prepare ad copy for submission to us.
If desired, we have several local marketers that we work in partnership with who are capable of writing original ad copy for your site. Please inquire for an hourly rate if you wish to have us produce any of the writing for your site.
Part Three: Designing Graphics
Once all the available resources have been gathered, it is time to design any desired custom graphics. It is at this stage that we would merge multiple photos to create new photos, edit photos, design animated flash graphics and videos,
Part Four: Creating Page Layouts
Page layouts are one of the most basic elements in designing a website and should be carefully considered. Most pages have three basic parts - a top part which is called a "header" or a "masthead" where the site's logo (and sometimes nagivation menu) is prominently displayed, a bottom part which is called a "footer" where copyright and trademark information (and sometimes specialized menus) is displayed, and the main body which contains the actual page content. While these divisions are not actually required, the are common enough that most people have come to expect them and they should at least be represented even if not emphasized.
A second consideration when preparing a page layout is to determine if the page width will be fixed or fluid. Fluid layouts have the advantage that there is no "wasted" space to either side of the site - the site itself will change width to match the browser window. Fixed layouts do not change size and can sometimes lead to large areas of visible background. The advantage of a fixed width is that pages can be laid out exactly and they will always appear the same regardless of the size of the viewer's browser; this is particularly suited to sites where several images need to always line up with each other or in which the number of lines of text needs to remain constant. The advantage of a fluid width is that there is no wasted space - but at the cost of uncertainty in the final appearance of the site.
A final consideration is the number of columns and the arrangement of sidebars, if any. traditional sites often feature a sidebar for navigation on the left or a sidebar for news items on the right - or both. This format tends to work well for sites without images or with only small images. Sites that have larger images tend to benefit from a one-column layout. In either case, it's important to decide which style will be used early in the design process.
Part Five: Making Dynamic Content
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Part Six: Testing The Prototype
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Part Seven: Completion & Hosting
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Part Eight: Maintenance & Updates
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