The Art of Successful Web Design Project Completion

A web design project is like a baby with new parents. Nobody has a clue as to how it is raised even though they have had plenty of education and training. Like each baby comes with its own sets of demands and angel moments, each website needs to perform to specifications and can be absolutely wonderful. How to get there is what this article is about!

The best place to start is at the beginning and in the beginning there are parents. The client and the web designer, in this case, are the parents. It is their job to create the best possible resource (web design) within the set deadlines. It has to be appealing, informative and whatever else it needs to be. This is where the client and the web designer have to sit and figure out the best approach for the web design, the target audience, the content structure, website architecture and of course, budgets.

The next step in the web design project is acquiring all the necessary materials. The logo design, the actual web content, the colour schemes to be used, all the pictures and fonts these need to be stored and filed in a way in which they are readily available to the designer at a moment's notice.

The website needs to appeal to a particular target group. Like a fast food restaurant web design needs to appeal to families and teenagers. A hotel web design needs to appeal to business travellers or vacationers. So who is your website design catering to?

Next, the design project specifications. It can happen that the client is unsure about the design costs or what the website is supposed to do. In such cases, the website design project can suffer if ground rules are not laid down, if the foundation for making the website is shaky. Clients may not be aware of graphic design costs. They need to be educated, to be shown what a website can do and achieve and what sort of budgets are required to shape up a basic information delivery website to the bigger ones that runs on user generated content and CMS.

Ask the client for a site map even if it is hand written and in bullet points. Agree and sign-off on milestone dates the date for content materials delivery, the date for the initial presentation of options, the date for site architecture completion, the site functionality completion and finally the design completion. Stick to these dates as closely as possible.

Defining budgets for website design projects can be an issue. Sometimes the client wants to sign up a deal before knowing what the final output will be in rigourous terms to be adhered to. In such cases, it would be wise to take the time and get to know the client. Ask questions that will not only help you understand the clients' needs but also help them clarify their own needs.

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