Site Redesign - what is a good approach?

General General Questions
1

I am planning to redesign my website based on Cs-cart 2.2.4 and give it a complete new and customized look. I plan to get a PSD designed first for my website and then get it slices and coded through a cs-cart expert. But I want to clarify a few doubts before paying a huge amount to the web developers :


  1. Is it a right strategy to get it designed first on PSD format (photoshop) and then get it coded? I want to get the design part right first.
  2. I regularly update my featured products and move around boxes quite a bit on the homepage. Will I be able to do so even after this heavy customization?
  3. Can a PSD design be exactly be replicated as it is on the CS-cart after slicing and coding?



    I am new to this whole customization this. I want to make sure I am taking the right approach before paying hundreds of dollars to the web designers. Experts please give me your valuable opinions.
2
  1. Design in PSD is necessary. This will make sure you get what you paid for
  2. It's possible and should be done that way
  3. Yes, that's why PSD design exists but it also depends on how professional your design integrator is
3

Yes, a PSD will make things tons easier for anyone that will be integrating your skin. I know I definitely prefer it this way. I love getting a PSD with the homepage, the category page, and the product page.



Thanks,



Brandon

4

Is very important to have a clear concept on how the visitors will go from page to page.

Web design is more about planning a sequence, a tour.



Examples:

a. The home page represent the opportunity to create trust. Do you show the SSL and other business verified seals, phone contact, user reviews, videos?

b. The most important page is the product detail page. Do you need bigger buttons? related products?

c. Is ok to have the image and the price on top and leave descriptions below? Do you need the image detail in a popup window?

Etc…



Visitor don't look the page as looking a picture in the wall. They look for thing to “explore”.

I have seen some custom “skins” with “nice” home page but with the same cs-cart boring grid list and detail pages.

5

Great guys. That clears a lot of my confusions. So is it necessary to get the PSD design sliced and coded through the web designer itself (who won't have much knowledge of Cs-cart templating) and then get it ported through a CS-cart expert or just pass the PSD designs itself to the Cs-cart developer?



The advatange of the 1st approach wud be that I would know how the website would look practically with all the javascript scipting rather than looking at the static PSD designs. The disadvantage is that I would be re-inventing the wheel and paying extra with the CS-cart developer coding the PSD designs again in the 2nd stage. Or are CS-cart developers smart enough to work with the HTML/CSS coding written by other designers?



I am totally naive with these things as I am getting it developed the first time.

6

I've done it both ways and either way is cool. Having a html page done before hand was nice because the colors of different things were already set. The sizes of the fonts were there and all of that stuff.



The thing is though, a html page is totally not necessary. Anyone who is doing skins for CS-Cart shouldn't have too much trouble breaking up a PSD.



I guess I'm just saying that it is cool either way.



Thanks,



Brandon