User research and testing reports
Understanding the needs, desires, and limitations of users is central to
the success of the design of the site or web application. This approach of
designing around the user’s needs is referred to as User Centered Design
(UCD), and it is central to contemporary design. Site designs often start
with user research, including interviews and observations, in order to
gain a better understanding of how the site can solve problems or how
it will be used. It is typical for designers to do a round of user testing at
each phase of the design process to ensure the usability of their designs.
If users are having a hard time figuring out where to find content or how
to move to the next step in a process, then it’s back to the drawing board.
Wireframe diagrams
A wireframe diagram shows the structure of a web page using only
outlines for each content type and widget (Figure 1-1). The purpose of
a wireframe diagram is to indicate how the screen real estate is divided
and indicate where functionality and content such as navigation, search
boxes, form elements, and so on, are placed, without any decoration or
graphic design. They are usually annotated with instructions for how
things should work so the development team knows what to build.
Site diagram
A site diagram indicates the structure of the site as a whole and how
individual pages relate to one another. Figure 1-2 shows a very simple
site diagram. Some site diagrams fill entire walls!