Web design is the design of web pages, websites and web applications using HTML, CSS, images, and other media. Web design is in contrast with web development, which includes web server configuration, writing web applications and server security.

A website is a collection of information about a particular topic or subject. Designing a website is defined as the arrangement and creation of web pages that in turn make up a website. A web page consists of information for which the website is developed. For example, a website might be compared to a book, where each page of the book is a web page.

There are many aspects (design concerns) in this process, and due to the rapid development of the Internet, new aspects may emerge. For typical commercial web sites, the basic aspects are:

• The content, substance and informational value of the site, from its target public's point of view
• The usability of the site, navigation scheme, intuitive interface, compatibility and reliability of dynamic functions
• The appearance, what's communicated by the styles, aesthetics, and professional appearance of the pages
• The visibility of the site on the Internet, particularly within the major search engines, effected by compatibility with those search engines and all of the above.

A website typically consists of text and images. The first page of a website is known as the Home page or Index. Some websites use what is commonly called a Splash Page. Splash pages might include a welcome message, language/region selection, or disclaimer. Each web page within a website is an HTML file which has its own URL. After each web page is created, they are typically linked together using a navigation menu composed of hyperlinks.