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#1 2009-03-30 14:14:21

stephan
Plugin Author
From: Bochum, Germany
Registered: 2004-07-26
Posts: 196
Website

Best practice discussion: How to do website concepts

Hi all,

whenever I try to find some more in-depth information on creating websites I end up with a zillion ressources on how to solve technical issues from chosing xhtml over html or fixing some css issues in firefox. But what I am really looking for, is how to come up with the concept of a website. Or, in textpattern lingo, the categories and sections for my site.

Does anyone have good advice on how to approach the initial (conceptual) design of a website (or rather a site structure)? Any weblinks to interesting articles or usability support? How do you go about creating a new (textpatern) site when talking to a customer (or yourself)?


Yoko for Textpattern – A free blog themeMinimum Theme – If all you want to do is write.
Note: I am currently not actively using Textpattern, so I am not in the forums very often

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#2 2009-03-30 22:44:32

gomedia
Plugin Author
Registered: 2008-06-01
Posts: 1,373

Re: Best practice discussion: How to do website concepts

The Textpattern Solutions book is worth looking at, even though it was written before all the great new features of 4.0.7.

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#3 2009-03-31 14:36:06

nemoorange
Plugin Author
From: Washington DC
Registered: 2006-11-29
Posts: 90
Website

Re: Best practice discussion: How to do website concepts

stephan – I hear you there! Design blogs are rife with minutia, and it’s terribly difficult to find worthwhile content that matters, especially if you are just starting out as a web designer.

I found An Introduction to Using Patterns in Web Design by 37signals’ Ryan Singer to be pretty enlightening. He provides a good practice for planning out layout of a page, but I think it can be extended to planning out the site itself. In short:

  • Write down a list of everything you want in your site
  • Group the items that are similar
  • Organize those items in terms of most important to least important

As a Textpattern user, you should also read “
Understanding Textpattern Building Blocks
by Destry Wion. This is a in-depth examination of the fundamentals of Txp. While it may seem like a lengthy read, I’m sure you’ll find a wealth of information in there. It’s very well written and exposed a lot of concepts I would have never thought about. Specifically, Destry talks about the relationship between Articles, Sections, and Categories.

Also, in an act of shameless self promotion, you might as well stop by dropshado.ws. This is my web design blog that I’m writing for new designers like myself. I try to keep the content relevant, and not dive into “top 20 CSS tricks” lists.


Txp admin themes | dropshado.ws – a blog for design noobs like me

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#4 2009-05-12 19:42:52

kvnmcwebn
Member
From: Ireland
Registered: 2007-01-27
Posts: 724
Website

Re: Best practice discussion: How to do website concepts

Russ Weeklys site, max design has a good process on it somewhere.


its a bad hen that wont scratch itself.
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