Stage 3 - Design
Once you've determined that kinds of information that should be included in your website, it's time to consider the design. How will the website be structured? How will information be accessed? What will the pages look like?
Architects must consider both functionality and visual appeal. In other words, a client might like the look of a flat roof, but it may not work well in a rainy or snowy environment. Although a spiral staircase sounds cool, many homes also have a traditional staircase.
Web developers must consider the visible and invisible design elements of the website. In other words, file naming and organization are just as important as cute animated graphics.
This section of the website contains two elements: technical design and web design.
Read Chapter 12: Design and Documentation in Information Architecture for the World Wide Web, 3rd edition by Peter Morville & Louis Rosenfeld.
Read Web Design Guide for some background information on designing web pages.
Read Top Ten Design Mistakes from Jakob Nielsen's Alertbox.
Learn More
Fixing Your Web Site - Great resources from Vincent Flanders for helping you build an effective, efficient, and appealing website. Don't miss the following articles: What would Amazon.com do? and Web Pages That Suck.
Style Guide for Online HyperText - This is a "classic" resources for developing effective, readable pages.
Writing Well for the Web by Catherine Titta - Learn how to write for the web including writing style, headlines, and common writing mistakes.