- Content — the substance of the website. The largest and most important aspect. It’s why the website exists and what visitors come to see.
- Functionality — dictated by the content, the purpose of the website and the audience… what interactivity is required/ desired to fulfill the website’s aim.
- Usability — user-friendly with a simple and reliable interface. The design must make the content easily accessible no matter the technology its viewed on.
- Visibility — a website must reach its audience. The site must provide quality content optimized for search engines and to attract visitors/ backlinks.
- Appearance — graphic design creating the optimal layout and visual style to reinforce the message being communicated.
For quality content, the site must then meet functional requirements, ensure usability and visibility. Only once this is achieved can or should the appearance be decided.
A successful website is one that communicates effectively with its target audience. You may ask, what’s the primary means of communicating? Words. Copy writing is essential in effective communication and it’s no accident that the vast majority of online content is the written word.
Attention-grabbing headlines and ad copy, creative and memorable marketing messages, engaging web content, and strong calls-to-action… these all place different demands on the design.
Web design is dictated by content and therefore by copy. Everything from the number of pages, structure, semantic XHMTL and onsite SEO to the layout…
