For those not involved in web design, I thought it might be interesting for you to see how a site “comes about” - the first steps, if you will.
Step 1 - Get the Sketchbook Out
Before starting to sketch ideas, you will inevitably have talked to the client - about their hopes, their aims, and perhaps given input on focussing those aims in terms of their web presence. Better to do a few things well, than many things poorly.
The sketch naturally takes on board the myriad websites, typography articles, and artwork you have recently seen. While imagining the site you take into account what is possible in HTML and CSS - this is where pure designers often fall down. You will also be thinking about search engine optimisation, and human user interface issues.
There’s a great maxim that’s worth printing on a wall in front of you - “KISS” - Keep it Simple Stupid.
Step 2 - Conceptual Digital Artwork
Using your graphic applications of choice, you “invent” the digital version of the sketch. An onlooker would probably think they are looking at a real website - and indeed, many early website prototypes are a sequence of fake screenshots.
Once the artwork is finalised with the client, it may well end up being chopped up - to turn it into elements more suited to the eventual HTML bounded version.
I’ll do another post soon with how the HTML, CSS and Javascript gets written - and possibly even how that version of the site gets ripped up again to suit WordPress, Drupal, or some other content management system.