Design Process Ideas

Designing a Web page is very similar to designing software in certain ways. Many different approaches can work, and so you may have to experiment to see what works best for you. There are many ways to accomplish the same effects, and so there is room for personal preference and style in how you build Web sites. These definitions of different design methodologies are not hard and fast, but they are practical. Most likely, the end result will be a mix of these techniques!

• Storyboards and Wireframes: A purely informational, architectural schematic that shows major content placement, primary and secondary navigation, and light functionality. By putting all page elements down on paper, you can see what you're designing before you start the visual design phase. Plus, looking at wireframes in relation to each other (interactive wireframes) gives you an idea of page flow.
• Outlines: Hierarchical decomposition of the domain. This kind of categorization is more about analysis than design, but it will guide the design process:
• Makes finding info faster and easier.
• Divides info into smaller, easier to digest chunks.
• Emphasizes the similarities between info.
• Points out the differences between info.
• Provides "paths" to information.
• Rapid prototyping: Create a rough design for the site. Hack out some variations, then iterate over the promising approaches. Continue until you're happy or you run out of time.
• Incremental development (design and implementation) as methodology. The Web is not like paper: everything can -- and will -- be changed after it is first published. The basic idea is to rough out the pieces of the site, and then systematically expand the various sections until you're done. You can easily change a page or a style sheet or a template, and simply update whatever has changed. You don't have to design the entire thing before creating anything. As you gain experience, you'll develop a design methodology that works for you.
• Create an "impression" of something you like, or combine things you like from different sites as a starting point. Develop the site from that point using whatever methodology suits you.