I began my design career as a print designer creating ads for a phone book agency. As with both print and web, the focus was on producing eye-catching design while using all the elements provided by the client. But during my time there, I felt restricted by the amount of space I was allowed for each project. At the most, I was given about 90 square inches—a little smaller than a letter-sized sheet of paper. Including all of the information provided, as well as any stock imagery requested by the client, was a bit of a challenge sometimes. But this challenge was not usually solved using aspects I learned from my formal education.

So I made my transition into web—a more fluid type of design and an ever-growing technology. With my design background, I assumed the transition would be a smooth one, but I learned that web has some fundamental differences. I learned that web design—as with all other mediums—has its own set of challenges.

The first I’ve noticed is that the building and maintaining of a website takes more time than creating static designs. You have to take into account that a website can be interactive—or reacts to a user’s actions such as clicks, input, and scrolling—and requires constant upkeep. To keep track of these actions and other capabilities, it is a good idea to make a site map.

Another challenge is that you must build to fit multiple monitors, browsers, and devices. What looks great in one browser may have a major issue in another. And now with all the new devices, we must be even more careful. This is one of the more obnoxious obstacles every developer must face.

But the biggest challenge I’ve had to face is the process itself, the steps when building a website. I have never been a patient person so when I learned that it was better to have an actual plan prior to designing a site, I by nature wanted to ignore it. But I have since discovered that it is as ultimately essential to have a plan prior to building a website as it is to building a house or baking delicious cookies.

Mmm…cookies. That sounds like a good idea. Click here to download the blueprint for my favorite cookies.