Web Design

Web design is the deceitful and graphical production of content shown on the Internet in the form of Web sites and other Web applications using many dissimilar forms of media. A Web site is a group of information regarding a particular topic or subject. Designing a website is defined as the arrangement and construction of Web pages that in turn make up a website.

There are several aspects in this process, and due to the rapid development of the Internet, new aspects may come out. For distinctive commercial Web sites, the basic aspects are:

* The site design is defined by the subject and content.
* The site should be user-friendly, with the interface and navigation simple and reliable. If the site is large enough and contains enough information, a site browser may be needed so that information can be found quickly, without using the navigation tools.
* The appearance should consist of a single style that flows throughout, to show consistency. The style should be professional, look good and most of all is appropriate to the users and site content.
* The visibility of the site's text and information should be dominant as that is what the users are visiting for.
* The site must also be easy to find on the internet and if possible should be scheduled on most, if not all, major search engines.

A Web site typically consists of text and images. The first page of a website is Home page or Index. Some websites use what is commonly called a Splash Page. Splash pages might include a welcome message, language/region selection, or disclaimer. Each web page contained by a Web site is an HTML file which has its own URL. After each Web page is created, they are typically associated together using a navigation menu composed of hyperlinks. Faster browsing speeds have led to shorter awareness spans and more demanding online visitors and this has resulted in less use of Splash Pages, particularly where commercial websites are concerned.

Once a Web site is completed, it must be published or uploaded in order to be viewable to the public over the internet. This is done using an FTP client. Once published, the Web master may use a variety of techniques to increase the traffic, or hits, that the website receives. This may include submitting the Web site to a search engine such as Google or Yahoo, exchanging links with other Web sites, creating affiliations with similar Web sites, etc.