Web Design - Week 4

After class the other night, I realized how easy it can be to create your own website; however, is that necessarily a good idea? Since technology makes it simple for someone to create a website that does not necessarily mean that the creator understands how to make a good website. Did they think through the entire process from start to finish or did they just randomly place pictures, logos and words on a page? There are several things to think about before someone creates a website. For instance, What is the objective of your website, who do you want to attract to your website, what would you like your domain name to be, who will you choose as a server for your website and why is that important? All of those are questions that should be answered before someone creates their website.

Since some creators of websites may not logically think through their design, they could end up with a bad website that people do not want to visit. If the website is for business purposes, the creator may want to think about hiring someone to build their website or they may want to consider learning more about website design. Even though the website might look attractive to them, what does it say to the reader. After all, the reader is the important piece in this equation. For instance, if you have things flashing and scrolling and different colors that might look cool to you, is it too much for the reader to look at. Will the reader actually stop and look at your website to figure out what you are talking about? Probably not, as the reader of a website is scanning it at first to see if it is something that interests them. If the reader has to look for the purpose, they will move on.

If you decide to higher someone to build your website, this could be costly. Also, each time you want to update your website, you will probably need to go back to your designer and pay them to fix something. A website designer may also make the website complicated and not user friendly. That is something that you should be careful of when choosing a designer. Therefore, a designer may not always be feasible. If you have the time to learn about the tools you need to create a good website, it may be worth it in the long run. This way each time you want to update a picture or a link or add a page to your website, you can do it yourself without having to pay someone (assuming that your provider will not charge you to change it).

Something else to keep in mind when building a website is it is easy to navigate. If the website is too fancy or too difficult to navigate, then the reader may move onto another website. Usability is important in website design. There is also accessibility. Can everyone access your website? You may be thinking, yes if they have access to a website. This may not always be the case. What if someone has a disability? Can that person access your website and find it easy to use? This is yet another important concept when developing a website.