Overview of Web Design

Web design is both art and engineering, and you must attend to both disciplines to create successful Web sites. If a site is gorgeous but unusable or broken, then it will not be used. If a site is useful but dull, it will not be used except by the most dull of people (unless you have a captive audience). The right balance between style and substance will vary, depending on what kind of site you are building.

This section describes different aspects of the Web site design process, including:

• Approaches to Design : describes some different ways of going about the design process.
• Design Principles : discusses some useful design principles.
• Designing and Building a Web Site : how to go from an idea to a working Web site.
  • Gathering Requirements: figuring out why you want to build it, who will use it, and what the site must do to be successful.
  • Designing a Site: creating the look-and-feel and specifying the necessary functions of your site.
  • Building a Site: turning your design into a tangible site.