The first thing you need to do when beginning a new project, is to know your client. What kind of site is it going to be? Who?s going to look at it? Why should they come to the site? Will it be static, or will it be dynamic? Then many more questions will come later.
The first thing you need to start with is your colors. This is where CSS (cascading style sheets) becomes very important and quite a handy tool. To keep a site simple and professional (that is unless you?re Walt Disney), you?ll want to minimize the colors you use in your graphics. Try not to use more than three or four variations of the same color.
Another thing to keep in mind, is try not to use more than three or four different kinds of fonts. Generally, font-sizes will be the distinction factor for what context is different from another.
Try to find a color that is fitting for your client. If it is for a particular institution that already has a logo or schematic colors that were already pre-defined, try to incorporate them into the Web site as best as possible.
If you?re designing something for a school, keep in mind things like the school mascot, school colors, background, & history.
If it?s a Sports site, you might want to look for some sporty kind of font for your Navigation menu.
When all else fails, ask your clients what they think would be appropriate. Although you?re the one with the idea?s, and most likely being paid (or being asked to do the job), being creative is not always easy.
Another thing to keep in mind is photos. What kind of images will you be using? Photos are always helpful no matter what kind of site you are building. It is pleasing to the Human eye to see photos along with what they are reading. Nobody likes plain text. It?s dull and boring. Part of the main reason for avatars and smiles and image uploads were introduced to Forums was to make it more lively and to show emotions. Sometimes it?s a bit difficult to display emotions without proper images.
If you are building site for the NBA, people want to see pictures of the players. They want to see stats, and they want to see video clips.
If you?re building a site for pre-marital counseling, people might want to see ?where? they?re getting counseling. It?s a crazy idea, but sometimes a picture of building could be more helpful than you think.
Then finally, that last piece of advice for designing the right site for your clients is to trust your Godly instincts. Sometimes staring at a blank page can be very frustrating. So go outside, walk around the block, and tell God your problems. You?ll be surprised how much he knows about Web design. Even for secular sites!
-Dustin Diaz
Dustin Diaz
www.polvero.comDustin is active member of the Christian-web-masters.com forums. He brings the same energy and excitement to the forums as he puts into his web design work. Check out his site at www.polvero.com