How to: My Web Design Process (Part 3)

Welcome back guys. Thanks for taking the time to read the third installment in my web design process series where I discuss the steps that I take when creating a web site. This series is geared towards both the creative professional and employers or individuals looking to hiring someone for their next project. Please keep in mind that this is my process and each designer may do things differently. In this post I am going to talk a bit more about the planning stages. I cannot stress enough the importance of creating a strategy when you embark upon a new web design project for yourself or a client. The topics that I will cover in the following paragraphs will deal with creating the wireframe, the construction of a sitemap, master successful content organization and dealing with contracts.

website wireframe

Create a website wireframe for each page of your project.

Creating a wireframe is a very important part of the process. I usually don’t do this until I’m a bit further into the process but i will discuss this briefly. A wireframe is very necessary. Do not skip this. This is the blueprint for your completed design. Creating a simple wireframe of your entire site will save you a lot of frustration in the end. This can be done with a pencil and paper or with Balsamiq or Axure (to name a few).

Create a sitemap to plan the structure of your site. Once again, the key word here folks is planning. This can be a simple sitemap using, once again, a pencil and paper or you can use Mindmeister or even iWork. This is simply a breakdown of pages and content structure of the site.

Web Design Contract

Doing a bit of research to create a killer contract to get you paid goes a long way.

A contract might be necessary if you are creating for a paying client. This doesn’t need to be in any legal jargon. Most people would rather not read this confusing stuff anyway. Are you a lawyer? No. You are a creative professional. Create a contract in everyday layman language. This way the document doesn’t become too confusing for the reader. Not sure how to go about creating a web design contract? The guys over at WebDesignTuts+ have a great article about contract writing. This should help get you started.

Well, that’s all that I have for now. Next time I will talk about making sure you have the proper resources needed to complete your project, choosing a domain name and a web host.

Thanks for reading. If you have any comments, questions or suggestions please feel free to drop me a line using the form below. Until next time. Peace

 

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