What does web design mean? A simple and easy to understand guide
The term web design dates back to 1991, when the world's first website was published. Today, after more than 3 decades, there are over 1 billion websites active on the Internet and it is no wonder that this field will continue to exist for a long time to come. Berield specializes in web design services and is ready to show you all about this new field. So, if you are here to learn more about the world of web design, you have come to the right place.
Web design is only a part of the site creation process, so in this article we will focus on industry terms, we will discuss tools used and we will give you some useful tips. Here's what we're going to discuss:
- What is web design?
- Tools used in web design
- Principles in web design
- Web design techniques
- Visual elements in web design
- Types of websites
1. What is web design?
Web design is the art of planning and arranging content on a website so that it can be accessed online worldwide by the Internet. Graphic designers and web designers combine graphics and text that determine the visual appearance of a website - such as its colors, fonts, and graphics - as well as shaping the site's structure and user experience. Contrary to popular belief, web design does not involve programming, but only graphics and positioning of the constructive elements of a website.
Nowadays, creating a website is one of the pillars of an online presence. Because of this, the world of web design is more dynamic and active than ever. This field is constantly evolving, and it is necessary to keep up with all the ever-changing electronic devices to meet the growing needs of website owners and visitors alike.
Web design is often a collaborative process that combines knowledge and tools from related industries, from graphical interfaces (UI design) to SEO optimization and user experience (UX design). Web design often brings together professionals in these fields who can optimize the performance and quality of a website.
2. Tools used in web design
Web designers need their own set of tools to create and design websites. There are some key elements that will determine what types of tools you will use and at what stage you will need them.
Here are some questions to think about: How big is your team? What budget do you have? What technical knowledge do you need? How complicated do you want the design to be? To answer these questions, you will need to use either CMS tools (eg Wordpress for beginners) or more advanced tools such as Figma, Sketch, Photoshop, Adobe XD or Illustrator.
CMS Designer: are great tools for beginners because you don't need any programming knowledge or experience with software in the field. CMS designers (which come pre-installed with different graphics themes for Wordpres, for example) are enough to build great looking graphical interfaces. However, they have their limitations, and for more demanding interfaces, you will need more advanced design tools.
Advanced Tools: One of the most popular web design tools is Adobe Photoshop. This is a software developed by Adobe, it is paid and can run on Windows and MacOS. Photoshop helps you build not only websites but also banners, logos, and other graphics needed in web design. Figma, Sketch and Zeplin are completely free web design tools with which you can create graphical interfaces easily and quickly, online, directly in your browser.
Thanks to new technologies in the field of networking and high download speeds in recent years, it has become possible to integrate visual elements such as animations and video content into websites. So some professionals have tools like 3DS Max, Adobe Premier Pro or After Effects for creating dynamic video content.
As you gain more experience with a range of web design tools, you will know which ones are best for you.
3. Principles in web design
The principles of web design are the rules that a designer must follow to create an efficient and attractive graphic. The basic principles of design are: emphasis, balance and alignment, contrast, repetition, proportion, movement and white space.
Web design differs from art in that it must have a purpose. Visually, this is interpreted by the fact that a set of graphics and text has a focus, a point of focus to help users understand the message and make it easy for them to navigate the pages of the site.
Emphasis
The first of the 7 design principles is emphasis, referring to the focal point of a design and the order of importance of each element in a design. Suppose you create a book cover. You should be wondering: what is the first piece of information my readers need to know? Is it the title? Or the author of the book? What about the subject or publisher who published the book?
Do a mental exercise. Let your brain organize the information and then place your design in a way that communicates this order. If the title of the book is the most important information, place it in the center or make it the largest item on the cover. Learn about color theory and use strong color combinations to make the title of the book the most visible graphic element.
The same principle can be applied in web design. Display the most important information on a webpage so that it is easily visible.
Balance and alignment
Never forget that every item you place on a page has a certain weight. Weight can come in color, size, or texture. Just as you can't put all your furniture in one corner of a room, you can't cram all the graphics into one page. Without balance, your audience will feel as if their eye is sliding off the page.
Symmetry creates balance through equal weighted elements aligned on each side of the centerline. On the other hand, the asymmetric design uses opposite weights (such as contrasting a large element with several smaller elements) to create a graphic that is not uniform but balanced.
The symmetrical design is always pleasing and is rarely considered boring. The asymmetry is bolder and can bring real visual interest, but there is a risk that not everyone will like it.
Contrast
Contrast is what people mean when they say that a design "stands out". It comes out of the page and imprints itself in your memory. The contrast creates space and difference between the elements in your design. Your background must be significantly different from the color of the elements so that they work harmoniously together and are legible.
If you plan to work with text, understanding contrast is incredibly essential, as it means that the weight and size of your text are balanced. How will your audience know what matters most if everything is in bold?
As you search for really powerful and effective design examples, you'll notice that most examples have only one or two fonts. This is because contrast can be effectively achieved with two strong fonts (or even a strong font with different weights). As you add fonts, the purpose of your design is diluted.
Repetition
If you limit yourself to two strong fonts or three strong colors, you'll soon find that you need to repeat certain things. That's ok! It is often said that repetition unifies and strengthens a design. If only one thing on the cover of your book is in italic sans-serif blue, it can be mistaken for a mistake. If three things are in sans-serif italic blue, you've created a motif and regained control of your design. Repetition makes it easier for your design to be assimilated and memorized by customers.
Repetition can be important. Anyone starting a startup knows that one of the first things you need is a strong logo to show on your website, business cards, social media, and many other promotional media.
Proportion
Proportion is the visual size and weight of the elements in a graph and how they relate to each other. It often helps to approach your design in sections, not as a whole.
Grouping related items can make them less important - think of a box at the bottom of your cover for author / publisher information, or a sidebar on a search bar website. Proportion can only be achieved if all elements of your design are well sized and well placed. Once you master the alignment, balance and contrast, the proportion should appear organic.
Movement
Movement means controlling the elements of a design so that the eye is led to move from one element to another and the information is communicated correctly to your audience. Movement creates the story or narrative of your work: this is the book, it is written by this author, is published by this publisher, it costs so much. The above elements - especially balance, alignment and contrast - will work for this purpose, but without proper movement, your design will be boring.
If you look at your design and feel that the eye is "stuck" on a certain element, then it is too big, too bold, slightly off-center, it has no complementary color. In this case, go back and adjust the design until everything is in harmony.
White space
All other design principles deal with what you add to your design. White space (or negative space) is the only one that deals specifically with what you don't add. White space is just that - the blank page around your graphics. For beginning designers it can be a dangerous area. Often, by simply giving a graphic more space, it can go from mediocre to successful. You need white space to let the graphics "breathe."
White space does not sit there doing nothing, but creates hierarchy and organization. Our brain naturally associates ample white space around an element of importance and luxury. It tells our eyes that objects in one region are grouped separately from objects in another.
4. Web design techniques
Nowadays, it is extremely important to design an exceptional website that will help you stay away from the rest of the competition and well ahead of your competitors. However, a well-designed website is not enough; A good website should help you build your brand as well as your business strategy. A professional web designer must know these techniques.
Responsive design
Due to the incredible growth in the number of mobile devices, responsive web design is no longer a user-only (UX) -disciplined discipline. All web designers need to understand and consider responsive web design as a component of their strategic planning.
Responsive web design refers to the creation of a design that automatically adapts to any device (desktop, tablet, mobile). Although web designers do not program websites, they need to create graphics for all possible devices. Although it is more work, it adds value to any website. In addition, search engines may penalize your website if it is not responsive.
Compress graphics
Efficient compression of graphics (banners, images, icons) can significantly enhance the user browsing experience. Although the download speed has increased significantly in recent times, there are still geographical areas where the internet connection leaves much to be desired. Compressing items helps minimize file size, reducing website loading time. It is the duty of web designers to compress and choose the types of files used in building a website.
5. Visual elements in web design
The visual elements of a website are just as important as the principles of web design. They work together to shape its appearance and functionality. From color palettes to fonts and videos, these details play an important role in the user’s browsing experience and in shaping your brand. In this section we’ll cover the most important visuals of web design, along with some tips and ideas make your own aesthetic decisions:
Header
In web design, the header is the top section of a website page and is the first thing visitors see when they reach a site. In such a strategic location, a header is generally used to display a navigation menu, company name, logo, or contact information. The header is usually repeated on all pages of a website.
Content
Content is the section of a webpage that contains the information that describes that page. Here are the texts, images, banners that make up the message that is intended to be transmitted to users through that page. This content usually changes as the URL changes.
Sidebar
The sidebar is an element of web design that is located either on the left or on the right side of a website that aims to highlight a menu, a banner or a text. This may in some cases make the user browsing experience easier due to the fact that it is different in positioning from the content, which makes it stand out. Web designers usually choose this space to place promotional banners.
Footer
A site footer is located at the bottom of the page and, like the header, is repeated on every page of your site. Because it's the last thing visitors will see, it's a good place to add and repeat important information that they missed without taking up too much visual space. A footer is also a common place to include contact details, a map, an email sign-up bar, or social media buttons.
Forms
It often happens that some website owners need a method of exchanging information between themselves and their users. Whether we are talking about a simple contact form or a newsletter subscription form, an order form on an online store or a simple product search, the forms come to our aid to carry out this exchange of information. When you want to request information from users, we recommend that you use as few fields as possible, the minimum required. After all, who wants to fill out forms all day long? For example, if you need a user's first and last name, use only one field for this, not two for each. The first and last name can be automatically separated directly from the database if needed.
The forms are composed of several types of fields: input, texting, tabs, radio, checkbox, etc. Their choice depends on what information you want to collect from users.
Buttons
Buttons play an important role in web design because they lead users to certain pages or to certain clear actions. These must be easily highlighted and the message they need to convey must be clear and concise. In advertising, the buttons are also called CTA (call to action). But beware: too many buttons are upsetting users, and too few are reducing conversion rates. You have to find a balance. Our recommendation is to display a single button on the screen, regardless of the scroll position.
Icons
Icons make a visual contribution when we want to highlight a button or a piece of text. They are used to associate a piece of text with a visual element to facilitate the distinction between the information transmitted in a web page. As with buttons, icons should be used sparingly, as using too many can destroy the aesthetics of a web design quite quickly.
Typography
Typography refers to the visual aspects of the text, such as the choice of font and its arrangement. An essential part of web design, typography can be used to complement the aesthetic style of a website or to reinforce the messages written along a page.
When choosing the best fonts for your site, keep in mind that typography can be just as important as the words themselves. You'll want to choose readable fonts that match the stylistic theme of your site and, above all, your brand. Similar to a color palette, you can choose primary, secondary, and accent fonts. to direct the way a visitor perceives the content of the site.
Color scheme
When it comes to web design, the color palette of your website will set the tone. Not only that, but strategically spreading a color palette can play a key role in consolidating your branding.
When determining the color palette of a site, decide which shades will represent your primary color (which is the most dominant on the site), the secondary color (used consistently, though less than the primary color), and the adjacent colors (used in smart way to highlight certain details of the site).
Most large websites follow the principles of web design and use the visual elements mentioned above, so using these techniques, you can't go wrong.
6. Types of websites
There are over 1 billion active websites in the world, but they can be categorized into several primary types. Learn what these categories are and you have every chance of becoming a successful web designer.
- Presentation Websites / Companies
- Ecommerce websites
- Information / Educational Websites
- News websites
- Socializing websites / Social networks
- Organization / Non-Profit Websites
- Search engines
- Online portals / Announcements
- Government websites
- Fundraising / Crowdfunding Websites
- Portfolio websites