Planning is crucial, if not the most important factor, for a smooth running, efficient web project. By planning, you will save yourself untold headaches and many heated rows. Do not be tempted to jump right in and start coding. It’s a sure-fire recipe for disaster and without doubt, certain to add heaps of additional production hours as you hunt down the bugs caused by changing code halfway through.

Mocking up pages is a great way to visually engage the client and give them a solid interpretation of how the site will look when live. Use Photoshop to construct the visual. We adopt the 960 grid system so that a standardized format reaches the web developers. The beauty of using Photoshop is that these visuals can be put online for proofing and what the client sees is virtually what the client gets when the site is built.

Use the Colour Contrast Analyser from www.wat-c.org. This gives you the heads up from an accessibility point of view. At the design stage you can work out what colours work and what don’t. Using this tool will save hours when you realise, a lot later down the line, that the site isn’t compliant. Most council’s and other government bodies insist upon compliance, so ignore this tool at your peril.

Always use clear and concise navigation. Make it stand out. The last thing you want to do is ask the visitor to hunt for it. Remember to keep the visitor uppermost in your mind. Don’t take the easy route when coding if it makes the navigation clumsy or hard to follow. Think about the visitor. You want them to get to their destination as quickly as possible - simplicity and clarity, that’s the key.

HTML should be written in a clear, standards compliant manner. This will not only help all browsers and accessibility-assistive technologies to understand your content but will also have the added effect of helping search-engine spiders to crawl your site accurately and easily.

Follow these 5 key tips to good web design and you’ll find yourself sailing through the production process, saving you priceless man-hours and impressing clients with your efficient, professional approach.