This is a guide to web design and development which, together, may involve the full range of tasks involved in putting together a website except, perhaps, for the content.
Web design generally refers to the design process as it relates to the front end of a website, including markup, and it generally overlaps web engineering and development.
Web development may include web design but, strictly speaking, the development of a website usually refers to writing markup and coding and may include content management systems, client and server-side scripting, web server, and network security, and e-commerce development.
Comparisons might be made between the building of webpages and home construction. Sometimes a building is designed by an architect and built by a home builder. In the case of simpler projects or larger companies, there are times when the construction company completes the entire project, from design to build.
When an architect is hired to design a house, the standard components that he considers include the room types, such as bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens, as well as the things that are necessary to connect them, which may include stairways, doors, and hallways, and things to put into these rooms, like windows, closets, sinks, and lights.
Compare this to the building blocks that are available for use in the construction of a website, which may include headers, above-the-fold branding, primary and secondary navigation, various types of menus, footers, and so on.
In the same way that an architect needs to know the type of building he is being asked to design, and the construction company needs to know what sort of a structure they will be building, web designers and developers need to know what type of a website they are being asked to design and build. For example, there are simple brochure-type sites, blogs, community sites, e-commerce sites, educational sites, entertainment sites, news sites, web applications, and hybrid sites that may require various functionalities.
We often speak of our use of the web as if we are visiting the websites that we bring up. In reality, they are coming to us. When an Internet user types the URL of a website into the address bar of his web browser, his computer transmits a signal to the website's server, and the server responds by sending bits of data back to the user's computer. This data includes images, raw content, and the instructions necessary for the user's computer to reassemble the data, which is known as HTML or another markup language. The user's computer takes the data and reassembles the files based on the markup and styles that were created by the designer and developer.
Most web browsers today support standard protocols, so websites will display similarly on one browser as on another, but there may be some differences, particularly when a website uses newer styling attributes that may not yet be supported by all browsers. The color depth and monitor resolution may also make some differences, as might the operating system on the user's computer. Only a few years ago, these differences were stark, but this is no longer the case.
When a business, organization, or individual wants a website, there are a number of ways for this to come about.
Those who are familiar with HTML or other markup languages may choose to design and develop the site entirely in code. Once the common way of creating a website, this is seldom used today, given the complexity of the task and the alternatives that are available. For those who wish to do this, however, there are code editors that will simplify the project, to varying degrees.
There are web applications, often included in web hosting plans, that allow someone to assemble a website online, largely by dragging and dropping preconfigured components. More complex sites may be created using free or premium software with content management system (CMS) capabilities, which allow images and text to be added to a predesigned site without technical expertise in coding.
More and more, platforms that were developed for blogging are being used to create all sorts of websites. WordPress, for example, isn't just for blogging anymore.
There are also WYSIWYG HTML or web editors that may be purchased or, in some cases, downloaded for free, which can greatly simplify the task of putting together even complex websites. While there is a learning curve, these editors make the job a lot easier than creating it from scratch.
Finally, the choice most often used by businesses and organizations is to hire a professional web design and development firm to complete all or part of the task. Many of these can be found on the pages below.
See Also: Web Editors
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Recommended Resources
Started as a mailing list in 1997, the site has been online since 1998, featuring several years of informational articles on the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a focus on web standards and best practices. Authors who have contributed to the online magazine are featured alphabetically, and a style guide and general information for new authors is included, along with sponsorships, permissions, and copyrights. Articles are sorted by topic.
https://alistapart.com/
The informational site offers tips and suggestions on a number of topics related to website design, development, and maintenance, including the choice of a domain name, web hosting, development platforms, and the tools that are necessary for good web design, project management, learning, specialization and analysis of competition, targeted audiences, and website design hints, and ways in which to come up with inspiring ideas for web design.
http://about-website-design.com/
Offering a free plan, as well as four premium options, billed annually or month-to-month, the hosting company offers a free online website builder. Using preconfigured templates, background patterns, icons, fonts, and border effects, premium templates are available for sites featuring blogs, image galleries, forms, shopping carts, forums, and file uploading. Links to websites made through DoodleKit are given, along with client testimonials and a blog.
https://www.doodlekit.com/
Firm creates professional ecommerce websites for a wide variety of businesses, as well as helps market ecommerce businesses.
https://ecommand.co.uk/
In business since 1997, Homestead is a web hosting company in Burlington, Massachusetts that offers its customers WYSIWYG tools to build and publish their own websites. Although it began as a free service provider, it currently offers three levels of free hosting. During a trial 30-day period, customers can choose a site design from hundreds of templates, customize it by using either their own graphics of choosing from a library of images, then publish the site.
https://www.homestead.com/
hPage is a free website builder that allows businesses, professionals, bloggers, and organizations to create their own website easily. Users can select from over 300 awesome design templates, use features like guestbook, sitemap, contact form, member area, password protection, etc. for their websites, own a domain, create e-mail addresses, and much more. Over 10 years in the market, more than 2 million websites have already been successfully created with hPage.
https://www.hpage.com/
The software and hosting company offers web tools for individuals and companies to create and maintain HTML5 websites, e-commerce sites, and blogs without the necessity of being able to write code. Each of its services is bundled, and hosting by IM Creator is a requirement. IM Creator offers free hosting for students, artists, and non-profits, with two levels of premium hosting for others. Its services, features, templates, and affiliate programs are highlighted.
https://www.imcreator.com/
OSWD features standards-compliant code from the Open Source community. Available designs are sorted into two areas: those considered favorites of the OSWD staff and premium designs. Alternatively, a visitor can opt to browse all designs. For each design, a sample site is included, in which users can view the template pages. Additionally, links to live pages allow users to view some of the designs in use, and the most downloaded designs and best contributors are highlighted.
http://www.oswd.org/
Offering free hosting and three premium hosting plans, Site123 offers an intuitive online website editor. Requiring no HTML or coding knowledge, sites are responsive and mobile friendly. Custom domains are available with its premium hosting plans, with no extra charge for domain registration. Various SEO tools are provided, and an online store is supported. Sample templates are displayed, along with its pricing plans, customer reviews, and support data.
https://www.site123.com/
Clients of SubHub can publish content and make money from subscriptions, memberships, e-commerce, and other options. Its backend features allow site administrators to enable multiple membership levels, including annual, monthly and other recurring plans, shopping carts, with member profiles, discussion forums, a calendar of events, social media integration, drip content, and promo codes. Operated as a Software-as-a-Service program, SubHub is fully hosted and managed.
https://www.subhub.com/
Written by Patrick J. Lynch and Sarah Horton, who have worked together on interface and graphic design projects since 1991, collaborating on the Web Style Guide in 1997, which was published in print form in 1999, and is included here in a web form. Its content is sorted into chapters, including strategy, research, process, information architecture, site structure, page structure, interface design, graphic design, typography, editorial style, images, and video.
https://www.webstyleguide.com/
The online website creator allows people without expertise in coding or HTML to create a fully mobile and responsive website in seconds. Upon answering a few questions, the builder will choose a layout, pull in images, and even start the content. Site owners may use their own domain, and other features include e-commerce availability, email addresses matching the domain, and access to website statistics. A free option and three premium options are available.
https://www.websitebuilder.com/
Weebly is not only a web design tool but web hosting service made primarily for online shopping. Founded in 2006, Weebly offers a free hosting plan, as well as three levels of premium plans, which include a free domain. The features of its plans are compared side-by-side, with prices and support options for each. Using an online WYSIWYG editing interface, in which users build using its drag-and-drop functions, the online tool automatically creates a mobile version of each site.
https://www.weebly.com/
Made up of a rich set of graphical user interface objects, a modern object-oriented programming language, an integrated debugger, and a multi-platform compiler, Xojo allows users to build a user interface with drag and drop, built-in support for graphics, database servers, and Internet protocols. One language is used to create web applications, rather than HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript, AJAX, and so on. Xojo web apps are compiled into binary code, so the source code is not stored on the server.
https://www.xojo.com/products/web.php
