Twelve skills / knowledges needed for the design of a web site
Archive - Originally posted on "The Horse's Mouth" - 2010-01-24 18:37:49 - Graham EllisI used to list seven knowledges / skills that a web site designer needed when I started web language courses such as Java or PHP ... but that element is no longer one that I present in quite the same way. However, an opportunity this morning to take a newcomer to providing interactive web content through the skill had me finding even more that before - a full round dozen! Here they are ... as they say on the TV "in no particular order".
1. Legal aspects
2. Security
3. Data Management
4. HTML and CSS
5. Natural Language
6. Design
7. Time and Motion
8. Politics
9. Interaction
10. Systems Analyst
11. Programmer
12. Subject
Comment may be needed on some of those
5. By "Natural Language" I mean English for a page that's in English, etc - the spoken / written language for the page.
8. Politics means that skill to work with and influence the people for whom you're putting the site together, who may be much more senior than you, so that the result is a good and practical site.
7. Time and Motion. Ah - I think that's an old fashioned term, but it means who people use and navigate through the site.
9. Interaction - ensuring that the questions are clear, correct and that people can fill them inand know how to - also how you intereact with the users.
1. Legal issues. DDA, Copyright, libel, incitement to break the law ... you need to know about these and make sure that you'll be providing a site that's allowed (and interesting)
12. And finally ... it helps to know a bit about (and have an interest in) the subject of the site.