How to design a website and how to become a freelance web developer. Spending a few hours a day can definitely help you understand how websites work. There are many books and online articles you can use to get started with the first phase of developing a website.
There is a process to developing a user-friendly, beautiful website without paying for a service or relying on a third party.
1. Mockup Designs – Your First Step
My first step is always mockup designs. Mock up three distinctly different compositions to visualize color schemes, layout grids, and header and footer styles. These foundational elements play a huge role in the web interface.
Present the web design mockups to your client to finalize the direction and delegate project deliverables. Focus on following the brand identity to maintain consistency throughout all marketing materials. Once final approvals have been made, the mockup moves into the web development stage with a strong focus on user experience and functionality.
2. Web Development – Turning Designs Into Code
The engineering stage requires a specific strategy around functionality and layout proportions. The key is to start with your layout widths and call-to-action grid “buckets.”
Focus on the digital brand strategy and develop a clean structure from the header down to the footer. Once your core structure is set, concentrate on where functionality will live in the layout to support an authentic, engaging user experience. Maintaining proper website optimization throughout development will increase online traffic, usability, and accessibility.
You can learn more about this phase in my Web Development overview.
3. Website Optimization – Final Polish Before Launch
The final step is website optimization. Quality assurance is critical: go through each webpage to ensure functionality and responsiveness are working properly with no errors.
Adding an SSL certificate is important to secure server files and databases from malicious attacks. Run audits across major browsers to flag any conflicts or layout issues and to confirm the website design is consistent.
Once this is complete, optimize the website for SEO strategies and page speed. As optimization work is completed, you should begin to see an increase in website traffic through Google’s search algorithm.
Conclusion
This process takes time to learn, but it’s the foundation of building clean, functional websites. If you stay consistent, you’ll see results and move closer to becoming a freelance web developer in Orange County—or anywhere else.
Take time to review other WordPress development companies and research web development languages on Google to sharpen your skills and stay inspired.
