Web Design 101:
The redesign of The Metropolitan Online

-- Craig Johnson

As you may have noticed, The Metropolitan Online has had a new look for some time. A redesign of the Web site was launched in January of this year, and additional subtle refinements have since been made in an ongoing effort to give the Web site a more professional appearance. In the coming months, you can expect to see additional improvements and enhancements to The Metropolitan Online’s appearance and content.

With more and more people turning to the Internet for their information, it’s important to have a Web site that is easily navigable and usable. On average, The Metropolitan Online receives 2,000 unique visits per month, and it’s been my mission to ensure that each one of those visitors is able to use our Web site effectively. Whether it’s in my capacity as Online Editor, delving into the physical construction of the stories to ensure that they translate online to easily digestible information, or as Web Designer, ensuring a consistent navigational scheme and Web site design, the process of publishing and maintaining The Metropolitan Online is a strenuous, albeit enjoyable, task.

One of the difficulties with Web design is the lack of true design reference and instruction. Even at Metropolitan State University with a comprehensive Computer Information Systems (CIS) major, there are only two true design courses that deal with electronic media. The remaining courses available consist of true art media, such as drawing, painting, and so on. While experience with these courses can be valuable, it’s often difficult to translate physical design into the digital realm.

So where does one turn for design help and assistance? The Internet of course—but not in the "type Web design into Google^tm and magically get the answers" sort of way. As with any artistic endeavor, you need to study what those who have gone before you have done. The Internet is a great place to find examples of both good and bad design.

When I began to redesign the Web site last September, I consulted with a number of professional and personal contacts to determine the best way to approach Web site design. Their advice and experiences, along with some of my own, gave me a wealth of insight into how real world Web design actually works.

What does the client want?
Oftentimes, Web design starts with the phrase, "We need a Web site to do X." The focus then becomes on surrounding "X" with relevant information, self-promotion or advertising. In the case of The Metropolitan Online, the mission was to make The Metropolitan available online in an easy-to-use, convenient and professional manner.

What does the client need?
In a perfect world there would be no difference between what a client wants and what a client needs. However, this is rarely the case in Web development. It is possible to create dynamic, media-rich Web sites that are masterpieces of design that fail miserably because either no one can use the site or because there is no one to maintain it. A general rule of thumb is the flashier and more cutting-edge a Web site is, the more often it will need to be updated to avoid user burnout.

What can you deliver?
Not only is this a basic question of design and programming ability, but a question of how long you’re going to be around to maintain it. If you provide a heavily-customized Web site for a client you should expect to remain involved with the development, maintenance and refinement of the site for a long time—or be able to train your replacement effectively. If not, you can expect the Web site to fall into disrepair due to lack of maintenance after six months and fade miserably into the wasteland of lost Web sites after a year.

The answers to those three questions may seem simple at first glance, but they became the focus of my efforts in redesigning The Metropolitan Online. I wanted to make sure that the Web site had a distinctive, professional appearance, and that it delivered The Metropolitan’s news in a relevant, timely and easy-to-use manner. I also wanted a Web site that would be easy to maintain and update, one that allowed future revisions without a complete overhaul every three semesters. Before I even started hacking code, I drafted an outline of what The Metropolitan Online truly needed in a Web site, and that became my blueprint for the Web site’s design.

Next Time: Design prototypes, or "How about this one?"