Hi, I was wondering when you guys decide to create a new site what steps do you take first? e.g. draw out, modify an original template ....

Thanks
Jal

i just think about it in my head and start typing!

Basically thinking about any menus, where the main content will be, where the navigational bar will be, where the logo will be, and other stuff. Sometimes i may use templates but most of the time i just strart from scratch.

Once you get going it's fairly simple from then, you just keep going and going...

I start by thinking about what the site will be about. What industry is it in. What will the content be. I research other similar sites to see what I like about them and generate some ideas. I try to let the content lead things. A site about children's toys will look much different than a corporate site.

Once I know what will be included on a given page I work out where each element will work best. Should the navigation be on the left, the top, the right, things like that. Drawing it out on paper first is a good way to start the design since it's quicker and you can draw a lot of rough sketches before spending more time with a graphics program.

Sometimes I will borrow from other sites and then modify it to make it mine. Other times I just create my own design from scratch. Depends on the site and how creative I'm feeling when I'm working on it.

You know, no matter how many times i draw out the ideas before hand, the outcome isn't even similar. So, i determined, the only reason i start a design with traditional materials (pencil/paper) is to get my mind going in that direction. Once i sit down with the code, it turns into a giant puzzle that was just waiting for me to fix.

Something i try, from time to time, when i'm struggling with the design is to type out a bunch of random css and relative divs. Then i move it around until i feel like i can work with it. It does kind of take over after a while.

As far as the design vs. graphics... which comes first, i switch it up. Sometimes i like to make the graphics first, based on nothing but their "flow", and sometimes i'll just lay a bunch of boxes out in code and fill them in with graphics.

Any way you look at it, I think if you start with a pencil and paper, you'll always end with a pad and a mouse, so... why not get to the good stuff from the start.

Remember, none of this means anything if you don't have content. Know what you'll be putting in those boxes and you will find that the "building" of the web page is more like "wrapping" a gift of information.

Yeah I know what you mean about things changing from the paper to the monitor. I think for me it gets the creativity going. I think the difference in approaches that Ape and myself wrote down really just shows there is no one way to design and develop a site. You'll probably get as many different answers as people who answer. And truth be told I really don't do the same thing with every site. Some sites just pop into my head from the start with a very clear picture of how they'll look and others I need to play around with a lot before I find what the site looks like.

If I am using a CMS, then I like starting out with a minimalistic template, and then modifying it beyond recognition.

I am actually in the process of doing a full step by step SEO tutorial that has other tips on fully making and starting a website to see it please click here

I will be doing more updates very soon, you can also comment on anything you don’t understand and I will reply with some help this also will help others.

I basically start by regist4ering a domain name that I think is worth anything and then I design the site around that.