A Web Page is a scrollable document that displays
information in an artistic and purposeful way. It may
contain text, graphics, photos, animation, sound, video and interactive elements that
allow the viewer to answer questions, provide data, order products and services or just
have fun by ‘playing’ with special-effect tools and games.
Web Pages are linked together to form a "Web Site’ of the individual or organization owning it. The Web Pages need to be stored on the Internet Service Provider’s computer (ISP Server). The first page (Home Page) needs an address for the public to find it. This address (URL) either includes the ISP’s address, followed by the Owner’s User ID, or, a registered Domain Name. It may be short, simple and easy to remember (e.g. www.montland.ca)
- Ease of navigation
- Clarity of content
- Esthetic appeal
- Humour and surprise
- Different and unusual
- Attract visitors
- Hold their attention
- Make them feel good
- Inform them about your business
- Entice them to follow it up
- Generate business for you
Web Page Design is a process as much artistic as technical. It has the following phases:
- Layout of Navigation structure (creating and linking pages)
- Composing text for each page (information content)
- Selecting/creating graphical elements (photos, graphics, icons, composites, etc.)
- Preparing graphical elements (optimization for size, quality and speed)
- Designing/coding interactive elements (data collection forms)
- Creating Special effects (animation, audio, video, games, etc.)
- Formatting each page for artistic/psychological impact
- Coding/optimizing pages for Search Engines
- Installing Web Page on Host Internet Server (ISP)
- Registering with Search Engines
Since Web Pages are so different in content, complexity and size, it is difficult to give estimates on design costs until there is a good understanding of its nature. Simple Websites (depending on size and complexity), usually fall in the $500-$1000 range. For larger and/or more complex sites that require special techniques, I can usually give you a realistic estimate after the initial consultation.