Web design encompasses a variety of disciplines and skills in the creation and maintenance of web sites. These skills are used to help the end user understand, interact and enjoy their interaction with web pages. The many different disciplines of web design cover web graphic design; web authoring; usability, including standardised coding and user-friendly applications; and search engine optimisation. Each discipline requires its own special set of skills, knowledge and experience. Web designers need to use the correct software to achieve the correct effect.
Web designers work to produce a complete and user-centred interactive website. Web designers work with developers to decide on the look and feel of the site and to create the content that will be placed on it. The interaction design focuses on creating an efficient user experience for the consumer and the interaction designers work with the client to establish what information the consumer will find and how they will interact with it.
The focus of web design is to make the information easily accessible and functional. There are many methods used by designers to achieve this and many different things can be achieved through the web design process. For example, the use of Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is a major factor in successful web design. This language allows for a high level of communication in a dynamic manner. A great web designer will be able to make the site easily navigable and user-friendly so that people enjoy using it and return regularly.
Another aspect of web design involves the use of graphic design. Graphic design refers to the aesthetic appearance of a web page through the use of typography, images and colours. Web designers should be skilled in developing appropriate graphics and ensuring that they are consistent with the overall theme of the website and are of a high quality.
Social media websites and online communities are another important area of web design work. People who frequent these sites often share different types of interests and can provide useful feedback to designers. Social media websites can include anything from a blog to an online diary. Through the use of social media websites designers can interact with users and learn about their online experiences. Through this user research designers will gain valuable feedback which they can use to improve their web design work.
User experience is another aspect of web design that should not be ignored. This term is defined as the level of satisfaction that users have when using a product or software program. It is also referred to as user interface, human-computer interaction design. A great web designer has the skills to incorporate both usability testing into his or her web design work.