Avoiding blunders in your website design

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If you’re involved in online business, chances are you’ve already had a taste of the web design process. But now, more than ever, with so many websites vying for customers’ attention, it’s important to hone your skills and take your projects to the next level. 

The latest web design for business requires an understanding of the changing online world including the evolution of mobile Web access. With more competition, there’s a need for greater consideration about what sets your Web presence apart. And with the growing number of skill sets required, there’s also a need for more collaboration with highly skilled web design teams.

Reference: Blunders That Will Sink Your Web Design Project.

Shawn Hessinger writes a succinct, useful article about what not to do in designing your website (and blog, too).  However, I'd begin with formulating your strategy, especially as it first clarifies your purpose and sets your objectives for your website.  This may mean sketching out or story boarding it, before your fingers tap any code.

Once strategy is clarified, and your audience is targeted and profiled, then you can consider how they are likely to view your website and on what device.  This is less of an issue these days than, say, three or four years ago.  Facebook had an app for BlackBerry, but its functionality was so poor that I deleted it.  I simply decided to open the site via browser.  But navigating it was like scrolling a small window all around the same page.  Plus, it was slow as molasses.  It was still a better alternative than the Facebook app.

I have several sites on Blogger, Google's blogging platform, and because Google knows the criticality of mobile technology and users, my sites look and navigate quite fine on my iPhone.

Forging a good working relationship with your design team is crucial indeed.  I had the misfortune of working with designers who were unprofessional, overpriced and undercompetent, so I ended up aborting all projects they were working on for me.  But I knew early on that it was crucial for us to forge a good working relationship and set clear expectations.  I had to rely on them for changes, and they held the key to my sites.

Last year I learned to develop my own websites and blogs, using more user-friendly tools and platforms that again weren't around three or four years ago.  I am a startup entrepreneur, and I have to work with the means I have and the resources I can muster up.  In time I will engage a design team, of course, but for now I relish having control of my sites.