Design is a SMALL part of a website, there are many seemingly invisible considerations when developing a website. They include:
- Architecture
- Technology Choices
- SEO Planning
- Programming
- Content Production
- Marketing and Promotion
- Maintenance Strategy
Design is considered the VISIBLE side of a web site, and the rest is considered INVISIBLE, or if you like numbers we are looking at a perspective 5 to 95 ratio. The Iceberg analogy is representative of the visible and invisible components of a web site.
Visible = The tip of the Iceberg
Just like an iceberg, what you see when you go to a website can be a fraction of what lies under the surface. The design and information presented are simply end results of a more complex strategy.
Invisible = What sunk the Titanic
A website is not just something that you throw onto the world wide web and hope it works. It all starts with an need or objective that needs to be met. From this comes one should form a strategy for meeting that objective. Without a firm understanding of what you're trying to accomplish and how to make it happen your website may never come to fruition, and if it does it may not be as effective as you would like it to be. It involves many stages including purpose, budget, functionality, content, flow, and structure.
Poor planning prior to the design phase could literally "sink" the project.
