If you are looking for a post that breaks down how to build a website from scratch in a detailed step by step guide, then you're in the wrong place. However, if you are someone needs a website for their business, and want to know exactly what to ask for when commissioning a site, all you need do is read through the five categories below.
UX
The first thing that you need to ask for and have an understanding of is UX, short for user experience. What this relates to is how the person accessing your website will use it and get the most out of that experience.
What that means is that this part of web design is related to creating the infrastructure of your site, including things like wireframes, user flows, and task flows as practical as possible. This being something that will require extensive research, critical thinking, and testing from your design professional.
In fact, it is a pretty complicated process, but what you need to remember when it comes to UX is that this stage of the design process is all about making sure the people that you want to most use your website are considered and factored into the way it's created. Something that is used to help improve customer engagement and interaction and so can positively affect your business.
UI
UI or user interface is another element of website design that those commissioning a project will need to know about. In fact, you will often hear of UX and UI being talked about in the same breath as they are closely related.
However, UI differs from UX in that it is primarily focused around the visuals of a website, something that means it has a lot in common with graphic design. In fact, the critical areas of UI that those commissioning a website need to be aware of include branding, layout, and even the icon and illustration styles that are used.
Apart from UX and UI, there are other things that those looking to have a website created for their company need to have a good grasp on. One of these things is SEO or search engine optimization.
SEO is the process by which websites are found and displayed by search engines such as Google. Of course, this is a prime concern to all business owners because they will absolutely want their company to be found easily by potential customers.
In fact, research has shown that those businesses that are able to use SEO to get their business displayed on the first page of a search engine will have the higher rate of clicks thoughts than any other page. Put simply, this means if your business shows up first, you are likely to get the lion's share of customers.
Of course, there are some things that aren't directly linked to web design that you can do to improve your search engine ranking, such as use an SEO agency for content marketing. Although, it is also vital that SEO be factored into the design of a website at its creation as well, as this can help to strengthen your rankings and ensure our business always ends up above your closest competition.
Images
Those commissioning a website will also need to consider what type of images they want to include, something that often sits just outside the realm of UI and in its own domain.
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In fact, it is crucial to carefully consider the use and style of images displayed on your website because not only will they set the tone for what you are trying to convey, but they can also provide an added layer of engagement and interaction as well. Something that once again will have a massive effect on how successful your website is.
Mobile optimization
Finally, if you are looking to get a website created for your business, you must also understand that it will not only be viewed on people's desktop computers. In fact, the vast majority of users will access your business's site on a mobile device such as a tablet or smartphone. What this means is that it's imperative you check that the person that is designing your site will include mobile optimization in the package they are offering.
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In fact, if they don't, then you will need to ensure that you specifically request it. Otherwise, you could have the best looking and performing site, that can easily be found, but that ends up looking awful for most of the people visiting it. Something that certainly won't do your business much good!
