WebDesign

Devnet understands that there are many aspects in the design process, that need to be considered.  We understand that with growth of the internet that many new design aspects have emerged and these need to be considered in any project. Most web design projects that Devnet are contacted about involve commercial websites.

We re-enforce the following four main aspects when planning a website:

Website content: This is the body or substance of your online persona, and the information included should be relevant to the site.  The content should always target the visitors purpose and reinforce what the website is about.

Website usability: the website should be user-friendly, with the interface and navigation following the concept of keeping design simple.  It is also very important that your website hosting and CMS is reliable.

Website appearance: your website graphics and text should follow a single style that flows throughout your website to show brand consistency.  The design style should be professional, appealing and relevant to you brand.

Website visibility: your website should be easy to find via popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo.

Issues with Web design
We understand that with many great projects there is often conflict between different business goals and design methods.  Web design is no different and we work with our clients to ensure that these are mitigated.

Liquid versus fixed layouts
We understand that there are a number of local factors to be considered when implementing a web design project. These include variance in user screen size, web browsers, and the size and characteristics of fonts displayed on screen.

Devnet choose to used semantic based design with Cascading Style Sheets “CSS” to control the appearance of the website on users screens.  The advantage of this solution is that it allows for more precise control over the layout of a website and accurate placement of objects on webpages.  The use of CSS allows our developers to be consistent with your brand and design throughout your website.

The issue with liquid design is that it often doesn’t suit websites that don’t have a lot of content “text”.  We design our clients web pages to ensure they are suitable for the majority of visitors whilst still optimising the use of available screen space.

Flash
Some of our clients require elements built in Adobe Flash included in their web design.  Flash is a popular program used to display dynamic content such as sound & video or interactive applications to website visitors. According to Adobe Flash study, 98% of US Web users have the Flash Player installed, and are able to view content. We don’t advise our clients to build an entire website in Flash as it presents issues around being correctly optimised for search engines.
 
Website Planning
Devnet understand that before building your website we need to take the time to plan what is required in the website.  We define the purpose, and what content should be developed.

Website Purpose
The purpose of the website is the first and most important step in the design process. This statement should be clearly focused on what the new website will accomplish and what your website visitors will get from it.  This clear statement will also help with the rest of the planning process, particularly content development and will ultimately help define your audience.
Devnet understand that short and long term goals for the website help make this purpose statement clear and allow for future expansion and improvements.  Goals should also be set with measurable objectives to track the progress of the website and outline its success.

Website Audience
This is the key group of people that you expect to visit your website, and it is important to know exactly what they will be looking for when they visit.  The purpose statement or goals will help identify the target audience who expect to find particular website content.

Website Content
The purpose for your website must be clearly defined, and organising your content to match your audience needs is a key process in the web design planning.  Any elements which do not support your website purpose or accomplish audience objectives need to be removed at this stage.  We work to define each category and organise content according to our understanding of website users requests.

Website Compatibility and Restrictions
We ensure that all our websites are W3C compliant as this caters for the largest share of viewers of your website.

Website Planning documentation
Devnet works to ensure a visual plan of your website is developed with brand, design, audience and content taken into account.  This prototype model for your website allows it to be reviewed, changes suggested and enhancements planned.  This design review process increases the likelihood of a successful website.  

Devnet takes every step to keep you up to date with the latest technology has to offer, please view our case studies to learn more about our past projects.