94 responses to “My Breakdown of the Web Design Process”

  1. Dave George

    Excellent writeup !

    1. John Alden

      I think Dave, it’s weird and somehow cool that this process is nearly exactly the same as mine! But it’s an excellent writeup nonetheless :)

      1. Ryan

        Hi John,
        I am glad to hear that someone else follows a similar process, haha. Thank you for the kind words!

  2. Rakesh Solanki

    Nice way to show how should manage projects. Thanks

  3. Ryan

    Thank you both for the positive feedback!  I wasn’t sure if anyone would actually read through the whole thing, haha!

  4. Stephen @ Custom WordPress Plugins

    Hi Ryan,
    Nice post – although I really came to check out the KeywordLuv issue you reported a couple of weeks ago (sorry about the delay in responding, but I’m looking at it now).

  5. Paul Galbraith

    Great post Ryan – I really enjoy reading about the creative processes other designers use, so this thorough breakdown was very insightful. It’s extremely useful for all designers to have something like this to refer to, thus ensuring all areas are covered. I personally have a check list I use when designing, it helps to keep me focused through each stage of the process.
     
    BTW, good luck with the move, hope it all goes well.

    1. Ryan

      Thank you Paul.  Everyone has their own creative process, and I’m glad I’m not the only one who enjoys hearing others’.  In regards to Checklists, I came across a good Pre-Launch checklist for web sites from Box UK.  I’ve included a link in the Additional Resources section.  No matter how positive I am that I have all bases covered before launching a new site, the checklist is good at reminding me of things I missed, haha.

  6. Mac

    Wow. Man, you should consider sticking this in some kind of a downloadable document (maybe a shared Google Doc or something) because it’s a wonderful but absolutely MASSIVE list.
    Good work all around though – crazy thorough process explanation.

    1. Ryan

      Hi Mac,

      Thanks for stopping by, and also good idea with the downloadable version!  I added a PDF download to the top, check it out and let me know what you think.  Any feedback is welcome.

      Thanks again!

  7. Keith Davis@Public speaking and Presentations

    Hi Ryan
    Are you trying to make me turn green with envy… moving to Southern California!
    Hope all goes well.
    As for this post… you put us all to shame with the amount of work you have put in – congratulations for a great piece of work.

    I’m writing this on a laptop with I.E. 6 so “Correct any cross browser compatibility issues” is particularly relevant. LOL
     
     

    1. Ryan

      Hi Keith,

      Haha, thank you for the well wishes!  Southern California will definitely be a change, and I am really excited for the opportunity.

      It’s funny, I didn’t even start writing this with the intention of posting it; it was just going to be a brief guide at first.  Once I started writing, however, I just couldn’t stop.  And if a website can pass the IE6 test, I usually give myself a pat on the back, hahaha.

  8. Property in Cyprus

    Cracking writeup.

    Should be really useful to any web dev and also a valuable document for anyone taking over your role at the company?

    Can we ask what you are leaving to go on and do?

     

    1. Ryan

      Thank you!  I work with several Freelance clients out in California, so I am hoping to expand and do more work out there.  I have been looking for full time work as well, and the job market in the field seems to be a lot stronger in Southern California.  I have the opportunity to move with my girlfriend, who is originally from the Los Angeles area, and we decided to take it!

  9. Yogendra

    Thanks a lot such a nicely composed post. I was looking for such fully explained content.I will definitely use it for my next assignment. :)

    1. Ryan

      Hi Yogendra,

      You’re welcome!  I hope you found it useful.  What type of assignments do you have?

  10. Cindy@The Game of Life

    First of all, I love the design on your site… simple, effective and SHARP :)
    I am a designer myself but I’ve always thought of webdesign as a very long, complicated process.  It is easier to design simple mockups in photoshop but coding always gets me because of a lot of design elements.  But I guess thats what webdesign really is.
    I recently set up my very first wordpress website on my own, so I’m browsing sites close to my niche and found yours.   Thanks for this useful guide, I’ll keep coming back to it for some tips :)
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    1. Ryan

      Hi Cindy,

      Thank you for the compliments!  It took me quite a few attempts to reach my current design, and I still have a lot more I would like to do, haha.  I checked out your website and I like your work!  I am not sure what initially drew me to web design, but I’ve found I like the whole process.  Maybe I’m just a bit of a nerd, but even the coding I enjoy.  I like the fact that there is a never ending amount of new things to learn, and I feel so accomplished after getting it right!

      I also love WordPress, the flexibility still amazes me.  I hope to see you around, and good luck with your website!  I’ll be sure to check in!

  11. James

    Ryan – top notch explanation of your process. It’s pretty thorough and detailed; nicely done.

    As the guy who just moved from AZ to New England, I’ll be watching to see how your reverse migration goes!
    James’s latest post …Lighthouse StepsMy Profile

    1. Ryan

      Thank you James.

      I just got into California yesterday and I’m also looking forward to seeing how the migration will go, haha.

  12. Sire

    Great writeup Ryan. I gave it a tweet and I noticed it didn’t register on your icon. I reckon there may be a fault there somewhere as I was wondering how come no-one else tweeted this post.

    Hope your move goes well and that you’ll have a great time in your new home.
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    1. Ryan

      Thank you Sire! I was kind of wondering if I was ever going to get a ReTweet, haha.

      I installed a new plugin, but I’m not sure if I like it. Do you have any recommendations? You haven’t steered me wrong yet.

      1. Sire

        I use Topsy on Wassup. I like it because it allows the user to personalize the tweet rather than tweeting just the title.
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  13. Thes

    I agree with your blog. This is also what I learned in web design mistakes. Do not blend advertising inside the content: blending advertising like Adsense units inside your content might increase your click-through rate on the short term. Over the long run, however, this will reduce your readership base. An annoyed visitor is a lost visitor.
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    1. Ryan

      I definitely agree! I see far too many blogs that are so jam packed with advertising that I can’t even find the content!

  14. Montreal

    Thank you a lot!!!! What an extensive article :)

  15. Chintan Kotadia

    Very informative and thanks for sharing it.

    Bookmarked for the future usage. :)

  16. John Alden

    Hi Ryan. I love the breakdown you present on web design. As a not-so-tidy person, i’ve never actually tore the design process in pieces. But seeing this, it’s correct most of the time :)

    Oh and i wish you good luck on your journey to CA. I personally love it there :)

    1. Ryan

      Thanks John,
      I’m glad other people follow similar practices, haha. It’s reassuring. And I have to agree, California is a great place!

  17. Bradly

    Hi Ryan,

    What type of images we should use to make a layout? Where can we find the royalty free images for layout?
    And also can you tell me how can I validate flash based website through W3C validator ?

    1. Ryan

      Hey Bradly,
      It really depends on what you are making the layout for. I use http://www.sxc.hu and other free stock photo sites for mock-ups and such. If you are putting together a finalized design for a client, then there are several ways to go about it. I usually ask the client if they would like to provide their own images/photos. If they wish not to, then I also love taking pictures myself if it is sensible to do so. Don’t forget to factor that into the estimate! If all else fails, there are endless amounts of stock photo sites out there. The provider of imagery for the final site should be outlined in the proposal.

      I don’t work with Flash that much, so I don’t really have good advice on validating it. One of the reasons I tend to shy away from Flash is the fact it is not really standards compliant. I also find that a lot of things you can do with Flash can instead be done with standards compliant methods, such as jQuery.

      Although I am not an expert, I hope this helps!

  18. ali

    thanks for this useful information and i glad to be here . thx again

  19. Nick Hurst

    That is one hell of a write up but your spot on, I will be using this as a quick reference guide when I do my next website design. Cheers.

    1. Ryan

      I’m glad you found it useful! Thanks for stopping by.

  20. Studio3

    Great article….i enjoyed reading it!

  21. kirsty

    This is useful for all those web designers out there. Being a web designer means also that you have to have a great imagination and a creative skills. And of course knows about the tools use for web designing.
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    1. Ryan

      The imagination and creative skills do come in handy, haha. And with the ever growing technology, there’s always new tools to learn.

  22. J_Sporto Boots

    This is good bro, I’ve worked with people in a professional capacity with nowhere near the organisation and breakdown that you’ve provided here. I’d consider sprucing it all up a bit and selling it as an ebook :)

    Good luck!
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    1. Ryan

      Thanks for the comment! Organization can be tough to stick with, but it definitely helps to have a concrete outline. I haven’t made an eBook before.. any advice? Haha.

  23. Eco Homes

    Awesomely detailed write up, I designed and manage my own website in a bit of an ad-hoc way, I perhaps need to revist it and take on board some of the functionality and presentation ideas you have detailed to make sure they actually work for my website visitors a bit better. Paul from Eco Homes

    1. Ryan

      Hi Paul! I’m glad you found the write up helpful. It can be hard to keep the whole process in order, but it does help in the long run.

  24. aengus

    Some interesting takes on the process. Very thorough. Thanks, well worth the read.

    1. Ryan

      Thank you for the comment! I’m glad you were able to get something out of it.

  25. Gelato Sundae

    Hi Ryan. I love the breakdown you present on web design. As a not-so-tidy person, I’ve never actually tore the design process in pieces.
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    1. Ryan

      Haha, being tidy can be a difficult thing to keep up with. That’s why I wrote this when I did. I don’t stick by it 100%, and every project is different. But it does help to have some type of outline to go by!

  26. toko online

    easy to read, to understand, to practice specially for me, the newbie
    thanks Ryan!

    1. Ryan

      I am glad you were able to find this useful! Thank you, and good luck! If you have any questions, you know where to ask!

  27. implicit

    Very detailed from concept to the final launch, can be followed by any newby because is clearly explained
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  28. PlastikaStudio

    Nice concept. Easy!

  29. Boogie

    hi Ryan,

    thanks for sharing information with us. Your information is very helpful for web designer. If they follow that rules they will be successful.

  30. Drew

    Really in-depth post. Do you mind if I use this as a basis for an article I’m working on? It would obviously be original but the way you structured your post and pdf work well and I’d like to emulate that.
    Drew’s latest post …Rodz-N-Rydz Restaurant WebsiteMy Profile

    1. Ryan

      Hello,

      As long as your article is original, then I won’t mind. A link back to this post might be nice, too! Either way, I’d love to see your finished article!

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    This made a extremely good read, thanks a lot for taking the time and effort to talk about this with us all. all the best chris dean

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