You have just finished putting together an awesome design for your client. You are happy with it. Your client is happy with it and green lights the project to move forward. Now you need to convert that beautiful layout into a functional web site. How do you go about doing that? Do you have the time? How far away is your deadline?



There are many different ways a designer can get a project converted. One option that every designer will have is to do the actual conversion themselves. Converting a project into a workable website is not a very difficult job but it can be time consuming. The problem with the designer doing the PSD to HTML conversion is normally the designer is well versed in creating the design and not necessarily knowledgeable in the actual conversion process. The conversion process can take even longer to complete if they don't even know the basics of HTML or CSS.

A popular way most designers use to convert their projects into HTML is to use the graphic software that the design was created in. For instance if the design was created in Photoshop or Gimp, these can be used to help in the process. Graphic design tools can be easy to learn and use since you don't have to learn about any actual PSD to HTML codes. For a designer this is one option for converting their PSD designs into HTML, but they do need to keep in mind that for overall success, some prior knowledge of CSS and or HTML is actually needed.

One of the advantages of doing a conversion yourself is the fact that you get to do the work the way you want. You have the freedom to make changes in the appearance to the final product. If you are not pleased, you just make the necessary changes and upload those changes to the server once again until you are satisfied. This can also take up precious development time.

Another method is the use of online tools that have the capability of converting Photoshop files into HTML code. Some of these websites use an automation tool that can turn your PSD file into a template for use in various Content Management Systems such as Joomla or Drupal. Most PSD to HTML conversions generated by these automated sites result in functional HTML pages but the underlying code may not be valid or semantically correct.

Another option that is available and one that has gained popularity recently is to utilize the services of individuals or companies that specialize in PSD to HTML conversions. As with any service, there are different options available as well as cost and are dependent upon the individual or company chosen. This option can save developers and designers precious time and can alleviate the headache of doing the actual coding themselves.

Some of the benefits of utilizing a service provider such as this are semantic code. Once a conversion is complete the underlying HTML should separate the presentation (graphics) from the actual content (information). Another benefit is browser compatibility. Service providers can make sure the project will look the same no matter which browser the visitor is using. Probably the main benefit any service such as this can provide is W3C compliancy. W3C World Wide Web Consortium is the institution that is charged with outlining software, guidelines, tools and specifications every website should follow. These are just a few of the benefits of using a PSD to HTML service and remember most of them have turnaround durations that are as short as two days.

With a little research, developers and designers can find the option that will not only suit their needs, but more importantly, suit the needs of their client.