Once you have a clear idea of what you want out of your web site and who will be using it you can start your design

Your site might be one page or many. Most web sites have a a home page, the page most visitors see first, and other pages that are connected to the home page and each other with hyperlinks

It is a good idea to draw a diagram of your site to show what pages you are planning and how they are linked to each other. This is called a site map. Each page should have, preferably, a single word name, such as design, which is used for this page. Use lower case for all your pages and do not have gaps if you have more than one word for the name of a page. If you must have more than one word join them together with an underline (above the p on your keyboard). Use names that clearly describe the purpose of the page.

Sketch out what your pages look like. It is best to have a consistent colour scheme and layout for your pages

Pages will have the following features:

• Headers and Footers
• Text
• Images
• Graphics
• Hyperlinks
• Navigation aides, such as breadcrumbs
• Tables
• Forms
• Animations
• PDFs

Keep your site and page design simple, for your benefit as a designer and for the benefit of visitors. Complex pages are harder to read making it more difficult to get your message across. If you have too many pages and poor navigation your visitors will get lost and leave your site.