Ask questions via twitter! Message any question to @answers on twitter. We'll publish the question and send you a reply each time there's a new answer.
Next Question

Answered Question

connected... connected...
 
January 27, 2009 03:56 PM

Web Design: What do you use when you plan out a website? Do you storyboard, Photoshop or pencil and paper

If you storyboard, do you use a specific software or draw it out? If you use Photoshop, do you Adobe or do you use some other graphics program? If you use Pencil and Paper, what is the process that you use? Any examples would be nice. Thanks!
Interesting Question?  Yes (0)   No (0)   
RSS
 
 

Best Answer  Chosen by Asker

joez430 joez430
 
 January 28, 2009 04:08 PM
I will list some steps I have taken for my work. You'll probably want to start out with a wireframe which defines your interface. There are a few programs that will allow you to create this. Adobe Illustrator, Microsoft Visio, ProtoShare etc. Planning you site navigation is an integral part of your design.

On to comprehensive layout. You can find your stock photography, clipart, or whatever materials you want to incorporate into your new site. This will be a part of your proposed design offered to your client. After your layout is done in your favorite graphics program (I use free graphics software called Paint.net) I move on to finding a structured template to work off of.

There are many free templates readily available on the web. I'll list out a whole bunch of resources for you to reference. Please let me know if I can further assist. If you haven't already I would also recommend learning CSS. CSS will allow you to everything from positioning elements or creating div boxes. There are plenty of tabless CSS designs out there you can work off of. I use a site called http://www.w3schools.com/ to reference anything related to HTML, CSS, Javascript etc .

CSS will allow you to make only one change that effects the entire site. Keep this in mind while designing.

Free Stock photography
-----------------------------------
http://www.sxc.hu/
http://www.everystockphoto.com/

Free Web Templates
------------------------------
http://www.opendesigns.org/
http://www.oswd.org/
http://www.openwebdesign.org/
http://www.freecsstemplates.com/templates.html

Icon Sets
--------------------
http://sixrevisions.com/resources/40-beautiful-free-icon-sets/

Best open source resources for developers
-------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.webappers.com/

I hope all this helps you!

Asker's Rating:


Helpful Answer?  (1)   (0)    Tip joez430 for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 

Other Answers (4)

Sort By
drmatt drmatt
 
January 27, 2009 04:31 PM
I first think about what experience I want the user to have. I follow Apple's lead... it's all about the UI And KISS. I also keep in mind that I want the web to continue changing, so I want to make it easy for myself down the line. Computer are made to make things easy for us humans. I think I've used paper/pencil to mock up what I want and then I go off the the 'net to see if there's anything pre-made that I can use. I would NEVER use Photoshop. That's like boiling an egg with a nuclear pile. But I DO use Adobe's GoLive (since discontinued). I love the ability to use a template over the entire site. One change to the template changes every web page! Mmmm...

Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip drmatt for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
vandal913 vandal913
 
January 27, 2009 05:44 PM
When I've designed a website in the past, I've used a variety of methods to plan it out, including both pencil and paper and Photoshop. Pencil and paper, without a doubt, is where I first start any design project. Technology is great, but there's nothing like the freedom of a fresh sketch (in most cases, quite a few sketches actually!). I tend to storyboard when putting together my sketches, so that I can fully prepare for designing and create a 'visual site map', so to speak. Once I've picked out a couple of potential designs, I'll move on to the computer and begin to imagine these coming together on the computer screen. Photoshop can actually be helpful if you are doing a fairly basic website using such software as Dreamweaver and Fireworks. Obviously there are certain constraints you are forced to work under when using Photoshop to design a site, but for a basic user or someone just starting out it can be a good tool for website design.

Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip vandal913 for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
williamwac... williamwac...
 
January 28, 2009 03:59 AM

Pencil and Paper !? YIKES!

I am not an expert but I have done a couple of dozen web sites.

 

I am not nearly artistic enough to creat a decent site from scratch. For those who are artistically challenged like myself, find a site or two or three you like. Make screen shots. Then use something like Front Page, Expression Web, or whatever HTML editor you like to create your new site picking the best elements from the screen shots.


Source(s):
Personal opinion.


Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip williamwaco for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 
cmealerjr cmealerjr
 
January 28, 2009 10:23 PM
The first thing I do is review what graphic resources the client has provided. These will give you a good feel for the personality of the client. Then I take them into photoshop and see what I can play off of and how it mixes with other items. Usually after that I have a pretty good idea of where the site is going to go visually.
Source(s):
2 years of web design


Helpful Answer?  (0)   (0)    Tip cmealerjr for this answer
Permalink | Report
   Reply  
 
 

Answer this Question

How tips and payments work

This question has already been resolved. You may add an answer to it but you will not be eligible to win best answer or any associated tips.

Related Questions

No questions found.
View All Web Design Questions

Ask a Question


140 characters left
Top of Page
Buy Mahalo Dollars with Credit Card or PayPal

Top Members

This Week All Time
  • buddawiggi
    buddawiggi
    2nd Degree Black Belt
    26710 Points
    M$774.34 Earned
  • kty2777
    kty2777
    Purple Belt with a Brown Tip
    5216 Points
    M$196.67 Earned
  • opher
    opher
    Purple Belt
    3852 Points
    M$152.92 Earned
   See All
 

Most Popular Tags

mahalo(1566)
twitter(940)
iphone(460)
music(458)
google(346)
food(312)
internet(300)
online(287)
beer(277)
money(260)
facebook(252)
movies(250)
apple(249)
aotd(235)
answers(220)
health(217)
video(201)
free(200)
dog(200)
windows(196)
   See All
 

Categories

Welcome New Members


 
 
Mahalo Dollars are the currency of Mahalo Answers.

Each Mahalo Dollar costs $1.

Once you earn more than 40 Mahalo Dollars, you can request to be paid via PayPal. Each Mahalo Dollar is currently worth $0.75 when paid out via PayPal. Learn More

 
 

Please log in to use this function.

Answers Home | Ask a Question | Earn Points | How Tips Work | Widget