Why a functional design?
With a functional design for your website you determine which functionalities should be included in the website and how they should work. This is useful because then your internet agency knows how to realize the new website. Thanks to a functional design, few misunderstandings can arise about how the digital end product should work, provided that the functional design is complete of course.
What does a VSD look like?
Any internet agency uses a different format for a FO and one is more extensive than the other. It differs per type of assignment what should be in the FO, which is why there is no one correct format for a FO. However, a FO usually consists of the following elements:
- Wireframes of all page templates that should be included in the website
- Use cases per user type
- A description of functionalities, possibly supplemented with a technical design
- An elaboration of the UX (user experience) and the UI (user interface)
- A demarcation of the activities that fall within the scope of the quotation and those that fall outside it. For example, hosting, content migration, SEO work, multilingualism, etc.
- Often a brief overview of target groups and goals. This is often taken from the strategic document that was created earlier.
- A sitemap of the website
- An explanation of the chosen techniques that will be used
In the near future we will further explain the various parts of the functional design on our blog.
When do you create a functional design?
The FO is always created at the start of the project because otherwise a designer does not know what to design and a programmer does not know what to build. Your internet agency often makes the FO. As a customer, you often have an idea of your target groups, goals and what functions should be included in the website. Your internet agency will translate this into a FO in consultation with you.
Can I also get started without Functional Design?
No actually not. That's because before you start a web project, you want to have 100% clarity about what should be included in the website and what should not. Your agency probably wants that too. It is the time to fully align expectations between client and agency. An internet agency can often only make a good quote for you if there is a FO. Without a FO, an internet agency cannot actually make a good quote for you because they have to estimate all the work for you in advance without knowing exactly what will be involved. exactly has to come. That will be pure guesswork and you should not want that as a customer or as an agency.
There may be a good reason why there is no FO, for example because it is a relatively small project or because there is already a design in which all functionalities have been designed. If your agency does not work with a FO in a project, ask why that is. If you have any doubts about whether expectations are properly aligned, ask your agency to create a FO with you.
What is the difference between a functional design and a visual design?
A visual design always follows after the functional design has been created. The functional design is a document in which: proclaim how the new website should look like and what it does, a visual design (or design) is the visual effect of them. In a functional design, for example, you determine which blocks and elements should appear on a page (and in what order) and a designer then develops this into a visual design.
Other names for a functional design
It may happen that a different name is given to the FO. At Van Ons we sometimes call a VSD a technical document. We do this to avoid confusion for the client and to indicate more clearly that this is not the case the design but to develop the site based on the techniques we will use.
How much does it cost to make a VSD?
This varies greatly per FO and per website. The most important factor that determines how much time should be spent on a FO is the complexity and size of the website. A website with a few pages with a blog section is less complicated and smaller than a platform with my environment or links to external systems. Creating a FO can therefore take a few days but could also take several weeks. For a “simple” website you can assume a few days to a week, for a website with links of my-environments often more than a week.