10 Useful Design Concepts for Web Developers

No wonder the term developers carry a baggage of responsibility for building something. Their task is of vital importance not only to the thing that they develop, but also to the community as a whole. And in this connected world, the ones who are letting the businesses sail right through the challenges and competitions are, indeed, the web developers. The more intriguing the task of developing the web applications sounds, the more exciting it actually is. However, even a slight negligence or deviation could rob the excitement of the entire process. This is what lays the burden of maneuvering in the right direction on the web developers. I have tried to sum up what all a web developer needs to know, which are as follows:

• Design Is More Than Visual : To put it in a clearer way, design is not only meant to derive the visual satisfaction, but is also meant for unveiling a fascinating meaning. But it seems as if we perceive the design as merely the visual part of any website, which is like devaluing the entire concept of designing. As a matter of fact, it is the design only that weaves the entire experience of the visitor starting from stumbling over the website or a decisive visit to binding the interest of the visitor till the intended purpose is met. Also, such experience leaves an indelible impression on the mind of the visitors. Such is the worth of design!Factually, design is the bearer of the why and how the visitors should use the site. It decides the loading speed of the website, which if too heavy, can delay loading pages and thus, can lead to trying the visitors patience. Further, it is the design only that commands the interaction between hover, click, and touch; wherein, a failed attempt can mess with these three. And last but not the least, the speed at which new content and features of the website are put across is the derivative of, yeah, design. These properties of design present the right picture of its power and influence.

• Focus Should Be On The Users : Okay, all pains and all endeavors to develop a website are being taken to appeal to the end-users. If the businesses fail to deliver the intended message to the target audience or to meet the underlying purpose via web, then the main role of the website or the application is deemed to have failed. Just to be a bit more cautious to not to wander away from the right direction, I would like the developers to take a note to decide on everything and I literally want to emphasize everything here keeping users at the locus of such decisions so that developers can achieve the goal of conversion oriented web design.The design should pave the way for the user to achieve the goal, while enjoying the benefits like speed, effectiveness, and pleasure all along. And what is the key to the website or app's success is to know your users from their demographic to the reasons of landing at your website and the way you want them to feel while they visit and while they leave the portal.However, this is not to claim that the designers shoulder all what a user is made to experience; designers are the torchbearer, period!

• Good Details Entail Better Designs : Sometimes in fixing the entire picture, what one ends up is compromising on the details. But, do not forget that the more power an appealing layout has to attract a user the more ability poorly stated details have to annoy anyone. Trust me! Thence, it would be foolish if care is less spared on the details. If green then what exact shade of green; if content, then what particular text that would carry the link; and things like that. However, the problem arises when one get stuck in too much of detail. Timely focus and on what to focus are the pointers here.

• Get To The Basics Sketch : No matter how much an old-school formula this is, sketching indeed helps you heed to everything starting from the hierarchy to the content and the flow. The best thing about sketching is that it is easy to do, quick, and cheap. Being a developer, a new idea must alight on your mind after every, say, thirty seconds. Moreover, when it comes to put forth the ideas about layout and everything else, sketching is reckoned to be the best way possible to do it. And it does not come with any set of rules scribble and erase or scribble and cut or scribble and scribble.

• Work On White Spaces : A developer needs to grasp this concept. Too much of white space and less white space, both of these things hold enough competency to put off a user. The work of such spaces is to give a break to the user; the break is important. Probably that is why, we have sentences and paragraphs rather than a long block of content. So, there is no question of ignoring them. However, the efforts should be invested on using them properly. And the secret to making an effective use of them is balance and link. Make sure that the spaces have some relationship with other things and spaces on the web page.

• Grids Are Not Limited To The CSS Frameworks : Yeah, that is true! Grids were first acknowledged in designing, which is now known as the International Typographic Style. From deciding the relationship between the objects to laying a solid foundation to visual alignment and helping create a vertical and horizontal rhythm plus optical balance, grids are used for all such purposes. These things harmonize and generate a perfect visual system for the users. Furthermore, grids are empowered to act on the unity of the design. And so, selecting one for your project on the premise that which one is the easiest to employ would not necessarily reap the benefits in every situation. Choose wisely!

• Don't Emphasize Everything : HOW DOES IT FEEL READING THIS? If even things of less importance are highlighted throughout, chances are more that the content would lose the effectiveness somewhere in the beginning only. Therefore, care should be taken to lay emphasis on one particular and substantial element on the entire page. Having set a visual hierarchy enables the reader to glide through the page to the end, rather getting stuck in the middle.

• Maintain A Folder That Motivates : It is the thing that we have been doing at the amateur level; but this is something that the professionals are increasingly adopting. A gallery that has all the things that motivate you visually or conceptually always comes in handy whenever feeling uninspired or deviated. These things could be anything that stimulates you pictures, videos, movies, posters, banners, and websites. Consider it as a referral point or anything, it will always succeed in igniting new concepts and designs.

• When Designing, Adopt A Problem-Solving Approach : Think designing as a set of problems that needs a thoughtful way to cope up with. Everything that makes the part of the page should be well reasoned and should be meeting a distinct purpose of the user or the design. Sometimes, stating a problem become harder than solving it. In such cases, working in the reverse order is the trick to get by.

• Stop Wondering, And Start Analyzing : Have a critical point of view about the things that do not seem to appeal to you in any way. Rather than approving the design for the sake of approving it, voice your opinions on the things that you feel would have been better if, say, changed the color from blue to red or if changed the position of the text, or if presented the logo in a bigger font. P.S. give or seek for constructive feedback whenever deemed necessary.

Where all the businesses are striving hard to make a mark, a well-designed website or application is enabling many to have the upper hand. And, who is holding the bridle of the web the web developers. These 10 points will at least ensure that the web developers are at ease and deliver what is expected from them.