The most important part of any website, from personal blogs to high dollar business is that of the layout. Your layout can make or break your site, either reeling the audience in, or driving them away. So how does one go about designing a layout that can effectively do the “reeling?� It doesn’t take much: a pen, a few pieces of paper, and a little creativity and your in business.

          The first step to designing a layout is determining the purpose of the site overall. Who is your target audience and what do you hope to present to them? How much information will be available, and in what way is it to be presented? Start your layout journey by writing intent for the site, and figure out what type of people are likely to visit it. If you’re targeting an audience of lay people, with limited computer knowledge then you’ll want the layout to be user friendly, and easy to understand. If the site is for the more technical crowd then focus on dynamic components and complicated aesthetics. It’s all about the audience in the end.

          Next, sit down and brainstorm everything that you want included on your site. Plan and map out any content that will be featured, and how important each piece is. A good way to do this would be to create an outline, starting from the top and working your way down. Once you’ve determined what components will make up the site then you’re ready to begin the process of organizing it all.  Take a look at your outline and then write down any common themes, or categories that have emerged. Without some kind of grouping all the information on your site will end up an unorganized bundle of nothing, so having clear categories is the key.

          Now that you’ve determined who you’re designing for, and what message you hope to convey you’re ready for the overall look and feel of the site. First determine your knowledge of the various codes and practices that go into a website. What do you really know? What technical aspects are you fluent in and what could you practice a bit more on? This makes a big difference when designing a site based entirely on HTML or one based on Flash or Macromedia components. Once you’ve determined what you’re capable of, you can begin the actual design. Always design with your audience in mind, and always put it on paper before putting it into practice. Sit down and actually draw out how you want the site to look. Where will this category go? Where will that link fit in? If it’s on paper actually coding it will be a breeze. By drawing out the design you’ll have a rough idea of what you want it to look like, and designing it will just be a matter of tweaking the code to make it look like your vision?

          The most important part of web page design is working towards the intended audience. Your audience wants organized information, and a clean design that conveys your overall message, without getting lost in a jumble of links and miscellaneous information. By planning and having a little foresight you’ll better be able to serve the people you’d want to.

This article is the property of http://www.Elegant-Templates.com
Copying and publishing any article from our site is allowed but you have got to give us a back link and keep the author info in tact.