Internet Design

The History of the term ‘Internet Design

Internet Design as a term is usually coined by those wishing to learn or wanting Web Design services, however historically 'Internet Design' meant the combination of hardware, software, and users, that became the Internet, which as a system that has grown substantially since its earliest days and now impacts so many peoples lives on a daily basis.

What is Web Design

Web design or website design is a process of planning and arranging content, be it text, images, video or data so that it can be shared online via the World Wide Web (www). Many businesses, organisations or clubs have their own websites, these will all have been designed by someone and then developed (built), usually the design and development is all done by the same agency or individual.

There are a number of different factors that are at play when it comes to designing and developing a new website and although the simplest of sites can be created utilising online generators, these usually have numerous limitations. For the majority of sites online they were created by either agencies or freelancers who have the expertise and experience to craft a site that achieves the desired outcomes.

Poor Web Design

Unfortunately in most cases not enough attention is given to the process prior to the design and development phase. It's not uncommon for those wanting a new website to ask an agency or freelancer to build then new site, in doing so they (the customer) reals off a list of what they would like to see, potentially stating other similar sites they have seen and like and from there it is simply handed over, designs are created and work begins. This so often leads to a new website that may look different, fresher and more contemporary, but still misses the crucial elements needed for a website to be effective and benefit the company or organisation moving forward..

Good Web Design

Good, effective websites have a different starting point, or even pre-starting point, that happens before the designing even begins, this phase is often termed discovery. Discovery enables an agency to truly understand the company, the customers of the company including their journey (how they find the company or how they look for the products/services the company offers).

Only then can a clear picture be created that shows what the customer needs to find or achieve for the website to be truly effective and increase the company's revenue or sales. With this understanding and clear goals in place the content, be it written copy, photos or videos can be pulled together, the designer can map out the customer journeys onto the new site navigation and the individual pages can be wireframed and mocked up. Only then can it begun to be crafted by a developer (or team of developers)

Launching a Website

Once a new website goes ‘live’ the process should not stop there, all effective websites continue to evolve and grow, ideally key pages would be monitored and adjusted based on data and insights gleaned from the visitors to the key pages, such work is at the core of conversion optimisation. The sole focus is to increase the interactions of visitors that visit the website, the aim is to increase the number of sales or leads a page generates. In other cases new content could be created regularly to ensure visitors return or to gain new visitors to the site.