Web Design 101 – Everything You Need to know

A website is one of the most crucial assets for your brand as we advance in a tech-driven environment. Web design involves the creation of the overall look and feel of a website. Even if you operate a physical business, you still require a website to expand your offerings into an online brand. By doing this, you can establish authority while growing your clientele beyond a small local following.

There are several design tools available now that can assist you in creating websites with the appearance and feel you desire.

What is Web Design

A website builder will take your design and make it into what you need even if you don’t understand coding.

Web design has numerous components that work together to create the finished experience of a website, including graphic design, user experience design, interface design, search engine optimization (SEO) and content creation. These elements determine how a website looks, feels and works on various devices.

Web design is different from web development, which is the actual coding that makes a website work. When you’re building a website, you need both web design and web development. Although you can find web designers who are also web and UX developers, these are distinct skill sets.

Web Designers

Web designers use your ideas to create a prototype of your future website that displays how it will seem.
Web designers handle the creative side of creating a website.

Web Developers

Web developers take the mockup your web designer created and translate it into a coding language to display it on the web. They are also referred to as engineers or coders.
They create widgets and other tools specifically for websites in order to make them usable.

Your website’s user-friendliness is ensured by a user experience developer or UX developer.
They use their technical expertise and design talents to build websites that draw in and retain visitors.

Are you still debating if you need a website?

Here are a few justifications for why web design is essential:

Professionalism

Having a website enhances the credibility of your company.

You have a unique domain when you have a website.

You get a branded email address from that domain, which confirms your commitment to the long term.

Having this in place makes logical because some email systems won’t even let you send emails from personal addresses.

Your email campaigns should always be sent from a domain-matched, professionally branded email address.

Advertising

Your website pages can feature stunning graphic components that highlight who you are and your offerings.

This makes your brand more recognizable to both present and potential customers.

Testimonials

How does it feel to work with your brand?

Particularly if they don’t have to seek them, people adore hearing about these things.

Make sure any press coverage or positive reviews are prominent if you have received either.

For people to locate you and learn more about you, you should have an online presence in addition to these three.

It is your company’s “virtual” side.

If you’re creating an eCommerce website, you already know that having a store that is both aesthetically pleasing and simple to use is one of the most crucial aspects of your business.

The same applies here.

Nowadays, it is simple and inexpensive to build a website, which is essential for assuring long-term success.

Can you afford not to have a website when there are billions of people and businesses using them to attract more customers to their goods and services?

You can maintain your competitiveness and grow your global footprint in this way.

You must adjust to what functions if you want to succeed in business.

With an online presence, you may keep selling your goods and services even if your brick-and-mortar experience a brief hiccup.

Your consumers and competitors can be found online in the modern world.

Don’t you need to be there?

You can find inspiration for your website anywhere.

Save anything you like when you see it.

It’s not unusual to find distinct components from many websites that resonated with you.

The secret is creating something that is both user-friendly and provocative.

Bring your brand to life with your website. Design from scratch, connect a domain, analyze traffic, and optimize for SEO. SIGN UP

What is web design?

It’s the process of planning and building the elements of your website, from structure and layout to images, colors, fonts, and graphics.

Curating content with care and thinking through how to share it online is web design.

It’s where you use graphic design to produce images with useful components for fantastic user experiences.

When creating a website, it’s important to consider the UX design, mobile apps, and website functionality.

You may quickly ascertain the kind of site that is best for your products and services with the aid of a website builder.

Types of Web Design

Depending on your audience and objectives, there are a variety of themes with adaptive and responsive web pages.

Responsive vs. adaptive web design

Consider whether you need an adaptive or responsive website when you begin to plan your website.

This aids in selecting the appropriate website builder.

Although there are numerous terms used in the field of website design, there are just two website designs.

What are the variations?

Websites that adapt have two or more versions.

For particular screen sizes, they are modified based on how the website recognizes them, they can be divided into two categories:

Device type: The “user-agent” field in the request, which is included after the browser connects to your website, tells the server what kind of device is being used to view the page.

Adaptive websites are aware of which version to show.

Because the user agent will still identify the desktop as the initial device, users may experience problems if the browser window is reduced to accommodate multiple windows.

Browser width: In a browser, media queries are used by the website rather than the user agent, which uses pixel widths rather than variations dependent on the device. This is more flexible and provides a better viewing experience for the user.

Responsive websites use the flexibility of grid layouts based on the percentages of each element in the container. Responsive websites have elements that will stay at certain percentages no matter what the screen size is. The value of these types of sites is that they constantly change according to the screen size being used.

Some web builders have both adaptive and responsive website features which are even better. This means the website can be adaptive while being responsive at the same time.

Web Design principles

Good web design follows certain principles to have a cohesive look and feel. While each designer can create as they wish, these principles are usually standard in the industry for guidance:

Balance

The key is balance.

As a result, the site’s content is all visually balanced, both symmetrically and asymmetrically.

Contrast

Contrast is crucial, just like in photographs.

Putting components in good contrast creates depth and encourages visitors to browse your website.

Emphasis

Your website pages should contain a variety of distinctive components.

Your audience should be drawn to certain elements on your page, such as your logo, specific buttons, or photographs.

Emphasis ensures that it is the prevailing trait.

Rhythm

This is how elements recur to strengthen specific messages through coherence and consistency.

This contains your logo, brand’s typography, and colors.

Movement

Your visitors will be guided from one aspect to the next by movement.

The dimensions, hierarchy, and angular relationship of specific components all influence this.

Hierarchy

The most crucial elements of your company, such as your logo and company name, should always be shown at the top of your page.

On your website, important information should be highlighted.

Unity

The way that all the components come together to make a visually interesting website is through unity.

So that there is no misunderstanding or sense of overwhelm among website visitors, you should make sure that every component is cohesive and aesthetically pleasing.

People will stop visiting your website if there is no unity.

White Room

Every website needs white space to help the elements breathe. It provides room for balance, hierarchy, and emphasis, and lets everything be arranged without looking like there’s too much in the space.

Functional elements of web design

All websites need functionality. The speed, how well it performs, and other elements are all a part of this functionality. There are specific components of web design that must work together for a website to perform at its best.

Navigation

Multiple pages can be included in a single website’s design.

When they arrive at the main page, your visitors may easily find what they’re looking for thanks to the navigation.

The majority of websites contain a menu that leads visitors to their intended location.

The pages are connected by the menu and can be further divided into parts.

UX

Many people are confused by UX when they see it.

User experience, sometimes known as UX design, is the term.

User experience is more crucial than ever because it has to do with how you build a website that attractively presents your goods and services, how you brand, how the site works, and how usable it is.

Every website should have excellent interactions, information, and of course, goods and services.

There are seven things to take into account: usefulness, usability, findability, credibility, desirability, accessibility, and value.

All of these should be considered when developing a website to provide the best user experience.

Visual components for websites

You cannot advance in decent web design if your design is not aesthetically appealing.

Your website’s aesthetics and functionality are both crucial.

This means that your brand’s colors should coordinate with its fonts, graphics, and other components.

For a functional, unified site, you must have the following components:

Header

One of the first things a visitor to your website will see is the header.

It occupies prime real estate at the very top of the webpage for maximum effect.

Your logo, navigational menu, business name, and, in some situations, contact information can all be found here.

Footer

Every page of your website has a footer, which is at the bottom of the page.

Any crucial information you want visitors to know should be contained here since this is the very last item they will see.

You can add more contact information here, people can sign up for email here, and social media may be located here rather than in the header.

color palette

Many people are unaware of the psychological effects of color and how crucial a part it plays in building your brand.

Your website’s color scheme determines its overall mood.

The colors associated with your brand should be used consistently to support it online.

A major color should be the color that dominates the entire website, a secondary color, which should be consistent but not as much as the primary, a color or colors for the accents, which should be utilized to draw attention to particular details, and of course, white space.

It doesn’t have to be white, but it should provide the elements with some breathing room.

Background

The history of your website is significant.

You want to make the most of this property.

Because that’s what visitors view as they scroll down your page, it establishes the mood.

The background of your site can be solid, textured, dynamic, or static, but it must be an essential component of the graphics.

It should be attention-grabbing while still maintaining the integrity of the other parts of your website.

Parallax scrolling is frequently used to provide the desired look and feel.

Typography

Consider the font you employ to convey your brand.

You cannot ignore it because it is yet another visual element.

It matters how those fonts are set up on your website.

People can spend a long time on your website if the typeface is effective.

Typography enhances the website’s aesthetic and gives focus where it is necessary.

Use legible fonts that are also consistent with your brand.

They ought to follow the color-scheme formula exactly.

Use primary, secondary, and accent typefaces to enhance the user experience.

Think about the type you use to communicate your brand. It’s yet another visual aspect that cannot be ignored. The font and arrangement of those fonts on your website matter. The right typography can keep people on your site for a while. Typography complements the website’s style and adds emphasis when needed throughout the site. Use fonts that are readable and, of course, on brand. They should mirror the formula for the color scheme. Primary, secondary, and accent fonts to heighten the experience for your users.

Imagery

From the time someone views your website, your website’s images may support your messages.

If you’re a consultant, you can use your graphics to showcase your services, your location, your products, images of events, or branded favicons.

Whatever method you choose, make sure the graphics enhances and is engaging for the whole website.

The images you select must be clear and pertinent.

Having clear, undistorted images is always a good idea.

If you don’t have original photos, there are several websites with stock photos that you can search through to locate the ones that are most consistent and cohesive with your brand story.

Animation

Your website should be able to stand on its own.

That entails acting uniquely from how you would observe others acting.

A great method to start separating yourself from the competition and blazing your trail is by including animation on your website.

Additionally, animation can control how your users behave.

Use animation to add dimension to the user experience or to elicit a response on your website.

Here are some fantastic methods for including animation on your website:

Call-to-action (CTA) button that instructs your visitors to click and do action

Use arrows to point users to specific sections of your website

Short loading times to make them wait patiently (make sure the bars are quick)

Four Stages of Web Design

Stage 1: Architecture | Layout.

Stage 2: Content | SEO | Navigation.

Stage 3: Graphics | Colors | Multimedia.

Stage 4: Launching | Analyzing | Revising.

Create a Stunning Website With Proweb Developers

We make sure to use the appropriate tone and voice for your brand while developing your website.
All of these factors are crucial, but without the correct messaging, you won’t be able to connect with your audience (yes, even if your website is pretty). This is why you need a group of experts to clone your website, and you must be very selective while contacting a website designer for a quote.

Utilizing the appropriate site builder is important because of this.
With the aid of a web professional, businesses can quickly and easily create their websites using Proweb Developer’s Website Builder.

One of the best features of this website builder is the attention to detail and all the website components we covered, such as the distinctions between adaptive and responsive websites, web design principles, functional parts, and visual elements.

What Does a Web Designer Do

A website’s layout and design are created by a web designer.
Simply said, a website designer improves how a site looks.

To produce graphic components, they employ design software.
Website designers typically have UI, or user interface, experience, which enables them to carefully build a site that is user-friendly and simple to browse.

A user’s perception of a website and the business is directly influenced by its aesthetics.
Your work as a website designer could have an immediate effect on a business’s reputation.

According to research, it takes website visitors less than a second to form an opinion about a website, and that opinion frequently includes the brand.
According to research, 75% of people acknowledge evaluating a brand’s legitimacy based on its website.

As a result, companies are putting more emphasis on website design, and it’s reflected in the job market. Jobs in this field are growing 13 percent faster than the national average, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Web Design Job Opportunities

For those exploring this job opportunity, there isn’t just growth in the field, but a good wage as well. The median annual pay for a web designer in the US is $77,200, in Nigeria, it’s about 800,000 Naira.

Web Design in Nigeria

Getting the best website designer in Nigeria is easy, but you must be careful to avoid the amateur. Proweb Developers will offer you the best web design demo templates to choose from. They also offer great benefits for clients.

Can I teach myself web design?

Achieving anything is easy once there’s a passion for it, and learning web design should not be for fun, you would need a pro to take you on it, to give it a business approach. The resources you need are readily available at ibomweb.com, but it is up to you to apply your knowledge and improve your skills further through constant practice and application.

To really make web design easy and affordable, some designers and developers in the field have offered free training on website management and free website management for clients. Proweb developers offer both services free for all clients.