Why PSD to HTML conversion is crucial to web designers?

WEB DESIGN | August 25, 2015

Any company that wishes to succeed has to take the help of social media and the Internet for advertising and marketing. The official website of any brand thus should be eye-catching as well as informative and must be presented in a manner that is convenient for the users. Website designing is a subtle talent that requires substantial knowledge in coding and conversion of document forms. Most web designers worldwide prefer to make use of the services of Adobe Photoshop for the primary design of their websites. Adobe Photoshop is usually preferred because:

Optimizing the images to be used
Creating an initial layout of the website also known as mock up
PS can also be used as a measurement tool
For graphic designs

The initial layout, after being created in Adobe Photoshop is converted to HTML or CSS. This process of psd to html conversion online is crucial for any web design, is known as slicing. Slicing of a Photoshop document is important for creating responsive, interactive websites with hand written simple codes as the base. An explanation for this conversion is because of some aspects of web designing:

Semantic Coding

To develop a remarkable search engine, semantic coding is the go-to option for all web designers. It makes the website more competent and user friendly.

Cross browser compatibility

As the web is expanding, new browsers are coming into play. A perfectly designed website should look just as attractive on all the web browsers. HTML version makes the website compatible with all the browsers available. A browser specific code is integrated into the HTML document while conversion.

CMS theme integration

CMS stands for Content Management System. Any site that takes a lot of time to load is annoying to the user. Reduction of the loading time is the primary aim of CMS. It is integrated into the resultant site that is created from the PSD to HTML conversion.

Smartphone responsive

In the age of smartphones and tablets, most of the people prefer to access the net on the go using their smartphones. Compatibility on a smartphone is extremely essential for the success of any website. Conversion into HTML makes the site mobile friendly.

Designing the code

A web designer is needed to provide shape, creativity and movement to the images. There are two approaches, designing by coding and coding by designing. The former can ruin your website design completely. It is wiser to use the latter as then the code is auto generated by using Photoshop tools like Macaw. It gives the web designer the flexibility to be creative.

Need to convert PSD to HTML

It is very difficult to write down a code without preparing a mock up or template of how exactly the website should look like. Leaving aside the technical terms, the main aim of this conversion is to convert the template into a fully functional website.

Image assets

Modern times have come up with browsers that support all the features of the new CSS. But earlier, it used to be a daunting task for designers to create cross browser effects without the use of images. Designers would have to create coding tricks to place the images into the code after creating image assets like rounded corners or shadows. The need for this has been eliminated by the use of Photoshop as a tool for preparing a mock up. Other than this, image assets are also required for creating a single screen resolution.

Other web enabled gadgets

Other than desktops, many gadgets like smartphones, tablets, and now even high end cameras are used to connect to the web. Designing for just one type of resolution is no longer worthy. The resolution changes for every gadget and here comes the use of Photoshop as a primary web design tool.

PSD TO HTML conversion risks

Recently HTML 5 has been launched. This may pose some problems for web designers although it won’t affect the conversion directly. HTML 5 is ineffective in handling some errors and issues like unformatted CSS or XHTML.

Adobe Photoshop is also being upgraded over time, so as to make it more effective for utility as a web design tool. The Adobe Edge reflow CC is one of the most optimum tools for building responsive websites. Other features, like incorporation of Photoshop Generator have made it easier for plugin authors. Designing of mobile friendly websites is also becoming easier with the newly introduced features of Adobe Photoshop.

The fading trend of PSD to HTML coversion

Although it is extremely important and still one of the best means of website design, PSD to HTML conversion is now taking a backseat. The main reasons are:

Adobe Photoshop is pixel based whereas websites are subject to change. There is no fixed screen resolution that a designer can assume and work on. Also, responsive website designing is important.
The newly incorporated features of CSS have made it extremely useful and now images are no longer required wholly for assets like shadows and rounded corners.

This doesn’t mean the end of Photoshop. It is an extremely important tool and will remain so. All web designers are still using exporting images and generating high fidelity full mock-ups by using Photoshop widely.

As these conversions are a little complex, many companies provide PSD to HTML conversion services. Pixel perfect HTML is one such company that provides PSD to HTML conversion services. Their expert coding services make websites attractive, robust and interactive. Packed with all necessary images, graphics and features, the websites are written using hand written simple codes.

Conversion of PSD to HTML is an extremely important task in the overall development of a website. It requires any web designer on Photoshop has created the skill of a web developer after the initial design. Proper use of Photoshop is necessary for designing any website.