Web Design Ethics
 Web design ethics can sometimes be a very sticky spot. Like everything else, there is a code of ethics when it comes to web design. These ethics will help protect both the designer and the customer from things such as fraud. When dealing with a potential customer or customer, you have to have a very firm set of rules when it comes to dealing with both potential or current customer and clients. Work done by a web designer can come with an exclusivity contract. This means basically no working for the competition until the design is done, in plain English.
Another tenet of the ethics deals with the design itself. All designs must be original to the designer and not ripped off from someone or somewhere else. This also will hold true when it comes to using illustration, computer software and other forms of design to form the completed web design to the satisfaction of the client paying for the work. Designers must uphold themselves to a high standard when dealing with design work and clients. This means keeping everything about the transaction up to date, and all information private. Keeping appointments with the client also must be done to ensure the work goes well.
Treat Everyone With Respect
Sometimes there can be a bit of a grey area when it comes to certain ethical considerations. Above all, the designer should treat the client with respect and commitment. It makes no sense to just treat a client like dirt. That is a quick way to get yourself out of business. As with everything else, matters pertaining to payment and contracts should be upheld and treated with respect. The emphasis on ethics is in no small part by and because of those who have taken advantage of those and not followed a code of ethics.
They can make it very tough on the ones who do follow the rules and also gives them a “black eye” so to speak. There are many designers that are very ethical, both in the way that they treat their clients as well as the transactions that they provide. It makes sense to follow a code of ethics so that both parties can work together to create the vision of the client. This way, both know what they are getting into and what the considerations are as far as any contract or transaction, no matter who the client is.
Other ethical values that now come into play include environmental issues. So it is no surprise that a code of ethics for the web designer has been put into play. This is not to say that designers are not ethical. 99 percent of designers are ethical to a fault, but who could blame them? Each designer must decide for himself/herself what those ethics will be and how they will govern their business and their clients. It is not the idea of the author to either teach ethics or preach to the choir. It is simple to state what ethics can and should be used when dealing with clients. |
Do It Yourself
Web designing doesn’t have to be just the realm of a professional web designer. Now, you can indeed design a web site yourself, even if you are a beginner. How is that, you may ask? There are several different ways for you to accomplish this feat. One starts with using do it yourself templates that can be found all over the web. The idea though is to have in mind what you want the site to do and accomplish before you look for templates like this. Bear in mind, that you have to make sure the template is what you want.
They cannot be returned so choose carefully. There are also services such as Geocities that will give you the beginning site to design from. There are many such sites like this that will allow you to design a site of your own. You do not always have to go to design school to be a web site designer. However, you do also have that route if you so choose to get formal training so that you can have the full tools of a web site designer at your disposal. Between the templates, free sites and schooling, you have a lot to choose from.
Great For Beginners
As with the templates, the sites are also geared for beginners as well as advanced. Most of these sites are strictly point and click. This is a very simple and effective way to create a site of your choosing. These sites will also offer business as well as personal sites to design by using their templates so that you have a professional looking site. They also offer help so that your site turns out looking professionally produced. Once these sites go live, then you can attract business or do whatever you want the site to do.
Choose between different fonts, backgrounds, foregrounds and music for example. There are many style details that you can choose from when it comes to designing your own site. Now bear in mind that some sites will let you use HTML, JAVA and other types of programming to make your site come alive. The main thing is finding what you want to do with the site in question and set about designing it in that particular fashion. It really isn’t hard to do. So no matter what road you take, you can be sure to design something to your heart’s content.
So as you can see, it is not hard to be a do it yourself web design person. By far, if you want to do this without schooling, then this is the way to go. Schooling is also encouraged if you really want to learn the full thing. This can also give you additional access not only to tools but to jobs as well. The answer is yes, if you are thinking about being a DIY web designer. There are certainly many ways to accomplish that task without looking like a greenhorn. No matter your style, you can make a web page like a professional.
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NetReach - The Way To Go
 We have all heard the line “Choose the right one for you” when it comes to web design. Granted, that is a simple piece of advice, but how simple is it really to choose the right designer or team of designers for you? Read along and you will be given tips to do just that. It is hard enough to find someone in the sea of competition that currently prevails. There are many wonderful designers and not so wonderful designers available both on the Internet and through a phone book. So just how do you choose?
One thing is to look at their portfolio of web designs. By viewing their designs, you can get some idea of what they have designed in the past. You may also want to contact those people to see just how satisfied they were with the design in question. Also ask yourself, does this fit in with my vision of what my potential site would look like? Other questions to ask would be of the people who paid for the design. Were they happy with it? Was the price right for the design? Some of those questions can give you the answers that you need.
The Bottom Line
Let’s talk about money here. Money is the bottom line with everything. You will be paying for the designer’s talent. Now, should you go with a high priced or a low priced designer for your site? The answer to that will be dependent on how familiar you are with web design. Remember that expensive is not always better. Sometimes cheaper is. You also need to be sure that their style and yours work in the same harness. If it doesn’t, then find someone else. There is plenty of competition in the sea.
Bear in mind also that different designers will have different skills that will be needed. You might want to keep that in mind when hunting for a designer. If you have special needs for the site then talk to them about it. Let them know all the details about the site design. When it comes to money, make very sure that everything has been spelled out properly and that they can indeed do what you are asking of them before you sign any type of contract or agreement. This protects the both of you from unwanted problems.
So in short, you need to make sure when you are hiring a designer for the web that their prices will work for you, their style fits your own, their skills are exactly what you need is of the highest importance. Here is something to remember when talking about price for projects. A large corporation will expect to pay over $500 for a web design. A smaller business will pay less than the stated amount for work on a site. This will also include special pricing for special skills such as flash or other types of specialty work. This is what it will take to find a designer of your choice for the design you have in mind. |
Usability In Design
 There is a wide term and definition of usability. In design of web sites, it means the way that the site can be used and transverse. When you are designing for the web, you need to keep in mind that usability is the one thing that can sink a design. You have to be able to navigate the site easily and any type of visitor should be able to use your site without problems. This includes easy to read navigation and text as well as links. The way that these are designed can depend on who uses the site and how easy it is to use.
This might sound like a simple idea, but in some cases it can be quite complicated. For example, if you have a color challenged or visually challenged person trying to navigate the site, do you have navigation that they can see and understand to get through the functioning site? If not, then you might want to go back to the drawing board. You can put so many bells and whistles on a site that you can crowd out the usability factor for those that may have a harder time trying to get through your site.
Test, Test and Test more
When working a potential web design, you need to make sure that all links and hyperlinks work properly and lead to the page that they are supposed to. Nothing frustrates a reader more than to have a 404 error on a page. Worse yet, they lead to a page that you have absolutely nothing to do with. This is not to say that designers are sloppy. They are far from it. Sometimes mistakes are made. When dealing with other usability issues such as a shopping cart, vendor or third party supplier, all of those must also work properly.
As stated before, usability issues mean different things to different people. When it comes to web design, you need to design for maximum usability, and minimum of the bells and whistles, unless otherwise instructed by the client. Usability can also go into testing, such as AB testing or split page testing. This can tell you which one of the two is the better choice as far as usability is concerned. It will save you money in the long run and will also allow for a more usable site which is indeed user friendly. The more that can use the site the better!
When it does come to the usability issues, most of the issues have already been covered in this article. A potential customer has to be able to use a site in order to get the most out of it. If you are expecting a high volume of traffic to a particular design, then all of the kinks must be worked out before having the page go live. It is just that simple. Covering all the angles when it comes to the problems of usability will net you great rewards as well as your client. Usability is the one route to success when designing. |
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Suitable Design
 When you are looking at usability features when designing a web site, there are several things that you need to consider when it comes to the usability function of your site. First of all, your website does have to function correctly which means all of the parameters should be working such as flash media, links, shopping cart and other variables that are usually involved with this type of design. There are also other considerations that you need to think about, such as those that may be blind or visually impaired. Have you considered that aspect?
Can the site be navigated well? Does it look too busy or just right? Remember that usability has many different functions in site design and each one should be considered before your site is complete. If you have extras that are a part of the site, they should function well. The site must also be able to be not only navigated, but also taken into consideration the experience of the person that may potentially be visiting your site. Do you have a help page or a contact page for information about the company in question?
Other Helpful Factors
Here are some other features that should be considered when it comes to the usability issue. Do the colors of the site mesh well or are they a mismatch that could be possibly hard to read for someone visually impaired? Each design element that is used in a site design must function as a whole and add to the total usability of the site. Your page must flow well and if it doesn’t, then you have a major problem with this. Your design must also meet the client’s specifications. Any design specification that doesn’t work should be reworked as far as usability goes.
When you get right down to it, usability simply means the ability to use the particular design for a site. Here is an idea for you to think about. If your design looks good on paper but doesn’t flesh well, then you need to rethink the design. There are different areas where usability could be a problem and this does include updating and reworking. Design is a big part of any type of web design. It has to be usable in order to work and get people to stop and look at the web site, especially if it is for a business.
With all the business details that are also a part of the design, each of these must be able to be used in a design. Usability can also be tied in with functionality. You simply must be able to use each of the design elements to make a fully functioning web site. Remember to look at each element and see whether or not the function of the particular design will work or be usable for any site that you may be dealing with. When designing, you will come across many different elements that may not be usable. This is the way that you determine the usability of any type of design element. |
 Colour Choices
Web design is one of the hottest jobs around and one part of that job is to be able to use color correctly. No matter what colors that you decide on for the site, there is a right way and wrong way to use color. Let’s talk about the wrong way first. You have seen the ugly designs and web pages whose colors clashed, ran, were eye blinders ect. When you are using color, you need to consider the palette that you are working with first. This should be your first consideration.
When it comes to color, a web page is really no different than a painting on a wall. You have to shade and contrast so that your page is not so far out there that no one can read what is written and is turned off by the violent clashing of color, unless your client is known for that sort of thing. Then that is, of course a different story. In your designs, you want to find the most complementary colors for your design so that the page looks nice as well as being attractive. While you can use certain colors that may be a little eye blinding, this would work well on an Andy Warhol site but say for a site like Microsoft that really won’t do.
Get clear choices
Your client will give you some idea of the palette that you will be working with. Remember that there are many shades that will compliment each other in the same color family. Use of contrast is also a way to create interest visually. Basically there are three colors which can be mixed together to make other colors. There are many different color combinations that can be used here. The right use of color can and often does make a difference in how the design and page will be viewed. Use of shading and shadows in design using color makes an interesting statement for any design. You can have the best design in the world and by making a mistake with color can deep six your design and get it rejected.
Designers of all sorts are used to dealing with color in all its applications. It should be easy to complete a complimentary palette or bring colors to your design that will cause the design to be unique and different, even if the design may not be. With all the colors that are available now, especially in design programs, you have a wide range of choices to make your selection and put it to work. When you marry design with color, you have a marriage made in heaven. Colors can make the difference in a design. A design without color is like a day without sunshine. The design will look dull and lifeless without color unless the design is a total black and white setup.
It is little wonder why color is often called the song of the universe. It can make your designs sing and bring people the designed site in question. |
Remember All Principles
 If you are a designer for Internet or web, there are several principles that you will need to pay attention to in order to get the job done and the site fully designed! On the one hand, it is the proper use of design elements that will create a memorable site. On the other though, you need to be sure that your design is eye catching as well as standing out from the crowd. This will bring repeat business to you time and again. Style is another part of the design process. How you design a site can be a work of art or a caveman drawing.
Functionality is another part of the design process. How the site is supposed to function and how usable it is are other parts of the whole. You may also take into consideration the way that a site is supposed to load as well as maintenance. Those are also key functions of web design that sometimes get overlooked by the public at large. Usages of fonts as well as things like Java for example also need to be considered. That is just the tip of the iceberg.
Who Is It For?
You have also got to remember who the site is for and design it with them in mind. Granted this is a lot to remember, but this shouldn’t scare you off. In fact it should challenge you to design the best site that you can when it comes to any site on the Internet. You have to have ebb and flow and the design must be sound enough to be judged on its own merits. Navigation can also be a problem with a site and this is another design element that needs to be paid attention to very carefully.
With that in mind, remember that any design should be balanced. An unbalanced design may not only leave your client feeling sour, the site will possibly have to be re-created if the site is really unbalanced. It gives someone the feeling that they are on a ill created site and may not want to come back. Balance among all design principles is the best way to make a client happy and provide them with a good solid site that will be profitable. Time is money and first impressions are all you get. So you have to do it right the first time.
If you have been designing for a long time, what has been spoken will be old hat. But if you are new to the game, keep this advice in mind. The principles of web design really shouldn’t scare you but challenge you to do your best and design a knock out site that your client will really love. These principles haven’t changed over the years and they don’t look like they will start changing anytime soon. Following the principles of designing for the web can not only build your reputation but also build your business. Follow these and your designs will take off like a bird on the wing. |
Its All In The Design
 When it comes to web site navigation, design is all important here. The ease of navigation will allow people to find what they want on the site that you are designing. Be aware that there have been many problems with design in sites regarding the ability to navigate through the entire site design. When you are designing a site, take into consideration that you have possibly a color blind or vision impaired person that wants to navigate your site. Now what do you do? The answer is very simple and very realistic.
You design navigation that even a person like this would be able to see and use. This can be taken to mean that an alternate system of navigation should be included. The one complaint besides ill designed web sites is the ease of navigation. That is one of the big things that can be a giant killer. It can also kill the client’s business if the navigation is sloppy or worse yet, put into such eye blinding colors that no one can see how to navigate. This is the worst case scenario to encounter. No matter what you do, navigation is very important.
Execute Your Plan
This is where proper planning and execution come into play. Designing this correctly will add to the ease of use of any designed site. No one likes to try and navigate through an unholy mess and will just give up in frustration. This is what you DON’T want! There are several different navigation systems what you can put into a web design that even a child could follow and still have a beautiful design. It can be a series of buttons or arrows that are prominently displayed along with other forms of navigation.
Make sure that your links in your design also work. That is indeed another source of frustration when it comes to clients who will surf the design. Everyone will want to surf a page that looks fresh, has clear navigation and the links work properly. No one truthfully wants to see a design that is old, grey and not working worth a peanut. That kind of design can get you fired quickly. People have to be able to navigate without any sort of problem or error such as an error 404- page not found. That is really frustrating.
What people want is a nicely designed site that is fresh and exciting. They also want to be able to navigate the entire site without too much trouble or frustration. You have to deliver that in any web design no matter how complicated. That is why it has been stated that navigation is not for a faint of heart designer. It takes someone that will step to the plate and design the proper site with the proper navigation. The rewards are countless for a person of this sort. If you can design a site with excellent navigation as well as design, then people will flock to the site, as long as it is fresh and new. |
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