Brilliant Web Design

1 Getting started with web design

Understanding the web design process

Exploring the fundamentals of good web design

Back end

Exploring common web page building blocks

Understanding visual web design principles

Keying in on your audience



2 Defining your goal and vision

Conducting a client survey

Gathering existing assets

Setting measurable goals

Choosing the right site type



3 Assembling your tools

Choosing a blogging platform for site design

Choosing a content management system

Customising a blog or CMS design with templates

Accessorising a blog or CMS with plugins

Choosing a web page authoring program

Choosing a graphics program

Choosing multimedia development tools

Obtaining an FTP program

Exploring more web design tools



4 Designing your website structure and layout

Content

Website structure

Link strategy

Wireframing

Layouts

White space and heavy design

Using website templates



5 Adding colour

Considering colour associations

Mixing primary colours

Identifying complementary colours

Creating neutral colours

Identifying analogous colours

Altering colour with saturation

Changing colour values

Cheating with an existing colour scheme

Designing a colour scheme

Translating colours into codes



6 Designing the text elements

Font types and font families

Font size

Font weight and italics

Padding text

Text colour

Word spacing and letter spacing

Line height

Text alignment

Text as graphics



7 Accenting your website with graphics

Images and branding

Graphic types

Where to get graphics

Working with graphics programs

Using CSS for web page backgrounds



8 Putting your design in motion

Flash

Animated GIF files

Video on the web

JavaScript animation

Audio



9 Implementing a content management system

Content management basics

Reviewing your needs

Installing WordPress

Choosing a template

Customising a template

Adding content

Expanding features with plugins



10 Designing and processing forms

The form tag

Using text boxes

Using form elements

Using tables to line up forms

Creating a form without using a table

Tabbed forms

Multiple page forms

Validating form input

Processing form data



11 Designing for different platforms, browsers and screen resolutions

Accommodating different operating systems

Designing for differences in monitors and screen resolutions

Designing for different web browsers

Accommodating different user preferences

Accounting for slow internet connections

Dealing with the mobile web

Accommodating users with disabilities



12 Designing for speed

Testing web page loading times

Identifying bottlenecks

Reducing HTTP requests

Reducing image file sizes

Specifying image dimensions

Using CSS sprites

Creating an image map

Adding an HTTP Expires header

Caching CMS-generated pages

Gzipping components

Moving CSS to beginning and JavaScript to end

Streamlining CSS

Streamlining JavaScript

Minimising DNS lookups



13 Attracting traffic with search engine optimisation

Understanding how search engines work

Using links strategically

Making your content search engine friendly

Adding a robots.txt file

Adding an XML sitemap

Adding a meta description

Adding meta keywords

Optimising images

Optimising video

Increasing site popularity

Avoiding bad SEO practices

Reducing mandatory user actions

Using secure servers only when necessary

Using permanent redirects

Avoiding Flash sites

Avoiding cloaking tricks

Analysing and adjusting your SEO



14 Securing your website

Grasping website security basics

Identifying the primary security risks

Assessing your need for increased security

Securing your computer

Choosing a secure web hosting service

Updating your blogging platform or CMS

Managing your site from a secure network

Choosing and protecting passwords

Locking down file permissions

Maintaining a separate database for each site

Hiding your site's login page

Implementing SSL (secure socket layers)

Transmitting form data securely

Backing up your site



15 Developing an e-commerce site

The purchase cycle

Implementing a shopping cart/basket

What to consider



16 Monitoring and improving your site

Testing your website

Analytics

Marketing your site



Jargon buster

Troubleshooting guide