Web design usually involves many varied disciplines and skills in the maintenance and production of websites. The different parts that encompass web designing include interface design, graphic design, authoring, proprietary software, standardized code, search engine optimization, and user experience design. Although some designers may specialize in all the aspects of web design, most designers usually work in groups, each tackling a different aspect of the process.
The term web design is mostly used to refer to the design process involving the front-end design of a site that includes writing markups. In the wider scope of website development, Web design is partially more complex than web engineering. This is because web designers are expected to have the technical Know-How in usability and be at par with the current website accessibility guidelines if their work involves creating mark up.
HTML and CSS in Web design
HyperText Markup Language, commonly known as HTML, plays a big role in web design. It gives the website its meaning and structure by defining what the content is, for instance, paragraphs, images, headings, etc. Cascading Style Sheets, or what is commonly referred to as CSS, is a display language used to enhance the appearance of the content on the site, for example, the use of colors and fonts.
Both the languages CSS and HTML are used independently of each other and should be maintained when dealing with web design. For instance, in all your web related activities such as “Web Design and development, appearance, website, homepage, HTML,” HTML should not be written in a CSS document vice versa. The general rule is that HTML should always represent content, while CSS should always represent how it appears. For those who are beginners of HTML, in some cases, you might encounter strange and often new terms, but with time you are likely to become more conversant with all of them. However, the commonly used terms in HTML you should begin with include attributes, tags, and elements.
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New standards in HTML and CSS
To enhance “Web Design and development, appearance, website, homepage, HTML,” the W3C recently released new standards for CSS CSS3 and HTML HTML5. Additionally, the W3C released new JavaScript APIs. Although they are all new, they are all individual standards. While the new term HTML 5 solely refers to the latest version of the HTML and a number of the JavaScript APIs, it is common to hear most people use it to refer to a lot of the new standard CSS3, the HTML 5, and JavaScript.
Technologies and Tools used in web design
Depending on the production process, web designers use a wide range of varied tools in their work. Though the principles behind them remain the same, the tools and technologies are updated with time by the current software and standards. To create design prototypes or images formatted for the web, web designers use raster and vector graphics. The main technology used in creating websites is the standardized markup, which can be generated or hand cooked using the WYSIWYG editing software. Furthermore, there is proprietary software that uses plug-ins to bypass the user’s browser versions. They are mostly WYSIWYG but with the choice of using the scripting language of the software. Search engine optimization strategies may also be applied to check the search engine’s ranking and suggest ways of improving it. Other tools used are the markup validators and other tools used for testing accessibility and usability. This is to make sure that the website meets the website accessibility guideline.
Homepage design
Most Usability professionals and experts such as Kyle Soucy and Jakob Nielsen have on several times insisted on homepage design for any website success since the homepage is an essential part of a website. However, in the early 2000’s it was discovered that a surging number of web traffic was inconsiderate to the homepage and was directly going to the contents of the pages via e-newsletters, RSS feeds, and search engines.
Due to this, it is evident that homepages play a lesser important role in any website’s success. In 2012 and 2013, rotating banners and sliders, also known as carousels, became a prevalent web design component on homepages. The carousels are used to display recent content in a specific space. However, while undertaking “Web Design and development, appearance, website, homepage, HTML,” it should be noted that carousels often damage a site’s usability and search engine optimization.
Web development
The term web development refers to the work involved in coming up with a website for the World Wide Web. Development usually ranges from simple single page sites using plain text to complex web applications, social network services, and electronic businesses. Tasks in web development include web design, client liaison, and e-commerce development.
Website appearance
Your site’s feel and look are more essential than just displaying the information you want, but doing it in a way that appeals and creates attention from your target audience information. Multiple factors should be taken into account when scaling out the appearance of your website. One of the major considerations is your intended audience. Look at their nationality, gender, age bracket, animations, colors, animations, and graphics.