The Power of a Process

As web developers at a creative agency, we find ourselves completing the same tasks for each of our web design projects. Creating a detailed website design and development process can help make you complete your projects faster and make you more efficient. Not only can it keep you as the web designer on track for the project, but you can also include your client into project making decisions and help them understand their role in the project. All web developers and designers work at their own speed and truly have their own work style. The best way to become successful is to create your own process that fits your style as a web designer.

A web development process is an outline of steps that need to be taken from start to finish to complete a web design project. The process divides and categorizes all of the work that needs to be completed step by step. As web designers in Chicago we like using web development processes in order to track the progression of each project.

Planning

As web developers in Chicago we believe that the planning stage in any design project is the most important. Whatever is decided and mapped out during the planning stage sets the stage for the rest of the project. The planning stage involves the web designer and client having contact on what needs to be done and when it should be done. When in the planning stage, be very conscious of your client’s goals and target audience in order to create a powerful tool for their business. While planning your project, document it all! Gather all of your information into one consolidated document. Also be sure to include a site map. Before making any move on a CMS or website, always create a rough site map of what you plan on having on your website.

Design

The design portion is probably the most fun part of the entire process. The main purpose of the design stage is to create a visual representation of what the completion of your project will look like. Creating mockup based designs can give you a great idea on what your website will look like before even entering the development stage. Mockups are also a great way to share information with your clients and gather their input as well.

Development

The development stage involves the bulk of the work in a web design project. When in the development stage be sure to keep all of your code organized and refer frequently to the original plans made in the first step. When beginning the development stage, take a strategic approach and take it one step at a time. If you are using a CMS like Wordpress, Joomla or Ruby on Rails now is the time to implement the CMS and make customizations. The final step in the development stage is filling your web design with content. Even the simplest pages require tight typography and careful attention to detail. Ultimately your web design should be a clear representation of the quality of your work, so be sure to test all of the links and pages that are attached to the website before launching.

Launch

Once you believe the project is completed and the client has approved of the site, it is now time to launch your website. The purpose of the launch phase is to prepare your website for public viewing. It is time to transfer your site and all files that go along with it to a live server. Once it’s moved over, check it out on your computer, mobile device and make sure it looks perfect.

As web designers in Chicago, we have a certain web design process that we use on every single project. When creating your own process, keep in mind your own personal work habits and set goals for yourself to help keep the project on time. The process will be different for each designer and will vary based on each client and project. Develop a process that fits you, only then will the process be truly useful. 

Comment or questions on developing a creative process?  Feel free to comment below or contact us.

Choosing a CMS

Have you ever wondered what is lurking behind all of your favorite websites? Web designers in Chicago have many different options when they are first presented with a web design project. There are many different Content Management Systems available for web designers such as Wordpress, Joomla and Krypton. With so many options how to you choose the one that is right for your website?

There are many different types of CMS available for editing and managing.  When considering a content management software there are many things that may come into play with your decision. Some CMS platforms are more based around blogging than a pure CMS website. Other CMS platforms are more compatible Search Engine Optimization. Before the design comes into play, you always need to consider what your main target is with your web design. Things to consider when choosing a CMS:

1- Cost: Cost is always an important aspect when making a business decision. There are many different types of CMS available for free and commercial.

2- Security: There is nothing worse than experiencing spam on your beautiful web page. Commercial CMS are licensed version platforms. They may be expensive, but they will be worth the money when it comes to security.

3- Flexibility: Open source CMS provides the flexibility that most designers in Chicago strive for. With flexibility you will be able to create exactly what you are envisioning on your computer screen.

We have collaborated a list of different Open Source CMS to highlight the differences.

­Wordpress:

Wordpress was released in May of 2003. Wordpress is a free content management system based on PHP and MySQL.  It was first introduced and geared towards bloggers and is now used by over 65 million users and not just for blogs, but for websites as well.  As mentioned in the previous blog Awesome Wordpress Plugins, Wordpress allows for many different customizations.  Plugins allow Wordpress users to extend their abilities with web development in a multitude of ways.  There are over 18 million Wordpress plugins available.  Wordpress is very well-organized and very easily learned by new users.  It is a favorite CMS among SEO companies due to its ability to implement and track Search Engine Optimization results.

Joomla:

Joomla is also a free content management software and is written in PHP.  There are over 30 million Joomla users and it is still rapidly growing.  Joomla was introduced in 2005 and just recently released their newest version, 3.0.2, which was produced last month.  There are over 10,000 free and commercial extensions available for Joomla users.  The Joomla extensions include plugins, templates, modules, components and languages.

Drupal:

Drupal is another content management system that has a very large amount of users.  Instead of focusing on blogging like Wordpress, Drupal is purely CMS for websites.  There are a wide variety of optional modules that can add forums, user blogs, profiles and more to your website.  The Drupal CMS is used by 2.1% of websites worldwide.  Although Drupal is seems quite difficult to use, it has very basic website administration and installation.

Awesome Wordpress Plugins

As a marketing company in Chicago we like to use different types of websites with different features depending on our clients' needs and goals. We truly enjoy working with Wordpress for the simplicity and versatility it provides.  Wordpress offers a wide range of options and downloadable plugins for your convenience.  Plugins are available for download on the Wordpress website and can range in price.  Below are some of our favorite plugins:

User Spam Remover:

If your planning on having viewers become users on your webpage, the User Spam Remover plugin is a must for your Wordpress website.  Not only does the plugin serve as a protection plan, but it’s also conveniently free of charge.  The plugin was designed to automatically delete spam accounts that have never been used.  There are customizable settings that allow you to set a threshold for inactivity to easily separate spam users from real users.

Social Metrics:

If you’re a fan of social media, the plugin Social Metrics would be a great find for you. Social Metrics is an additional dashboard on your WordPress admin panel that allows you to easily track your posts on social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.  It’s an easily designed plugin that gives you important results seconds after being downloaded.

W3 Total Cache:

One of the most important things you need to keep in mind with your website is the speed in which it takes to load and its overall performance.  Web surfers are very impatient and will not waste their time on a website that is moving slow.  By downloading the W3 Total Cache plugin your website will load 10x faster. The plugin will easily cache every page on your website giving viewers the user-friendly site they will love and want to visit again.

SEO Rank Reporter:

As a Search Engine Optimization Company, it is very important for us to check our SEO status on a daily basis.  Wordpress now has a plugin called SEO Rank Reporter that can be viewed directly on your admin panel on your website.  You can now easily check the your SEO rankings through Wordpress without having to use a third party software.

WPTouch:

Web design is at a technology peak especially with all types of smartphones and tablets at nearly everyone's disposal.  As Chicago graphic designers, when we design a website, we always consider the mobile version aspect and ask ourselves, “What will this website look like on a smart phone or tablet?”  Fear not because after installing the WPtouch plugin your website will automatically generate into a mobile or tablet version if someone were to view it on a smart phone or tablet.  The plugin has detection abilities and scales down according to the device your viewing the website from.  This is an easy way to create an efficient website that will be perfectly viewable on any device.   

ThreeWP Activity Monitor:

For the security of your website, installing this free plugin will definitely be worth your time.  The ThreeWP Activity Monitor allows you to track all of the activity on your website.  Any time anything is added or updated it will be recorded on this plugin.  It will show exactly what has occurred including logins to help ensure that your website is completely secure. 

Have your own favorite Wordpress plugin you’d like to share with us?  Feel free to comment below or contact us.  

Fonts and Web Design: Make Your Website Viewer-Friendly

As vain as it may seem, font can greatly affect the way people feel about your website.  Believe it or not, website design is not all about aesthetics.  Website design is also about functionality.  The font size, style and color can alter the decisions people make when they view your website. 

As Web Designers in Chicago, we scrutinize every part of the website design process down to the smallest detail.  Font choice can make or break whether your content gets read or discarded.  Consider our tips when adding text to your website:

(1) Easy to read: Readers should not have to squint or struggle to read your website’s text.  While that cursive font may look decorative and unique, it may be hard for the vast majority to read.  If you feel a creative font is necessary, then the best bet is to search for one that is still decorative and unique, but is still legible. 

(2) Attention grabbing: You can use font on your website to grab your readers’ attention.  Indenting, spacing or even colors used appropriately are all great ways to use font to grab readers’ attention.

(3) Size:  Sizing is important to website text.  Website font for the main content shouldn’t be too small or too large.  Large fonts should be used for titles, headlines, or headings to set them apart from other content and to show importance.  Size up your fonts accordingly. 

(4) Identify keywords:  Give your readers a dose of the main point by highlighting keywords.  This will draw their eyes to the right words.  This way, even if they are only skim reading your articles or blogs, they will still be able to grasp the main point.

(5) Standard style: Say what you want about standard style text (that it’s blah, boring, over-used, etc.), but it’s the most widely used for a reason.  And that reason is that everyone has those fonts and most people find it easy to read.  You may love using an obscure font on your website, but if the viewer doesn’t have that font, they won’t be able to read your content.  Now your super cool font isn’t so super cool anymore.  Think twice about standard fonts.

If you have any questions or comments about website design, feel free to drop by our contact page.  We love talking about Chicago Web Design.