The field of web design and development has made significant strides in recent years, with frameworks like Bootstrap simplifying the process. Modern websites are now highly dynamic, responsive, and interactive.
Despite these advancements, the initial stages of website building remain unchanged from the early days of the Internet. The process still involves creating a design and converting it to HTML and CSS.
This workflow allows custom site creators to leverage the expertise of professionals in two different fields, resulting in a unique and visually appealing end product. JavaScript developers add interactivity to the client-facing part of the website, while back-end developers connect the site to a database for data manipulation.
But can we skip the design phase and jump straight into coding HTML and CSS?
The answer is no, and here’s why:
- Designers use graphic editors like Photoshop or Gimp to create unique and visually stunning designs. Without a visual representation of the webpage, it becomes challenging to assemble the elements correctly in HTML/CSS.
- Graphic editors allow designers to experiment with color combinations effortlessly. Trying different color codes in HTML and continuously reloading the page to see the changes is time-consuming and inefficient.
- Some visual effects, like lighting effects, cannot be achieved solely through HTML and CSS. Graphic software is necessary to create these effects.
Thus, a graphic editor is essential for creating mockups for complex and unique websites, with Photoshop being the preferred tool. While there are other tools available, such as Adobe XD or Figma, Photoshop remains the industry standard.
Once a design is created in a PSD file, there are three options for converting it to valid HTML and CSS: do it yourself, use a PSD to HTML converter, or hire professional markup developers.
Let’s review these options.
The Most Challenging Way: DIY PSD to HTML Conversion
If you’ve ever purchased or downloaded a design and considered converting it to HTML and CSS yourself instead of using automated tools or hiring professionals, you’re embarking on the hardest path.
Without a background in front-end development, this process can be time-consuming. You’ll need to invest time in reading tutorials and practicing before you even start coding for your website.
Building the page is only part of the challenge; you’ll also need to thoroughly test it across different browsers, platforms, and screen resolutions to ensure responsiveness.
The bottom line: converting a Photoshop design into HTML manually is undeniably more trouble than it’s worth.
The Simplest Method: Use a PSD to HTML Converter
The market consistently adapts to the demands set by businesses. This is precisely what occurred in the realm of PSD to HTML conversion. Companies required quick markups, faster than most existing PSD to HTML conversion services could provide.
This led to the emergence of numerous PSD to HTML conversion software options. Here are a few examples:
It all appears almost flawless, doesn’t it? Just upload a design into a tool like one of these, click a button, and voila! Your HTML file is ready.
However, businesses soon realized that automatic PSD to HTML conversion using specialized software didn’t deliver the value they desired. The low cost and swift conversion time were overshadowed by significant drawbacks found in every commercial or open-source PSD to HTML converter. The following are the most apparent of these:
- Converting PSD to HTML using an online tool can be a headache when it comes to making changes to the code. Instead of relying on online tools to convert your PSD to HTML, try using one of them and then open the resulting HTML file. If you have experience in development, you’ll be surprised at how messy the code looks. The elements on the page are fixed in position and have specific pixel dimensions instead of relative units.
This means that even the smallest changes to the code can easily break it. When users scale the page, the elements may overlap or cover each other partially or completely. It’s one of the major drawbacks of using a PSD to HTML converter.
- Google doesn’t favor code generated by PSD to HTML converters. Anyone familiar with digital marketing knows the importance of ranking high on search engine results pages. With hand-coded web pages, developers follow Google-friendly practices such as adding Alt tags to images with relevant keywords and optimizing meta tags for better visibility.
However, when you convert a PSD file to HTML using a converter, these optimizations are NOT automatically applied. You’ll have to manually fix these issues if you know where to look. Otherwise, you might need to hire professionals, adding extra time and cost to the process.
- Automated PSD to HTML converters can produce bloated code vulnerable to cyber attacks. Even the best software can generate incorrect and invalid code. Improperly closed tags, elements not allowed by the document type, and other errors can cause various problems:
- Different browsers may render the invalid code differently, resulting in inconsistent page displays.
- Hackers are attracted to websites with invalid code produced by PSD to HTML converters, as they can exploit vulnerabilities.
- Bug-infested code from converter software can significantly impact your site’s speed and performance.
The Best Approach: Hire a Professional PSD to HTML Conversion Developer Instead of Relying on Automatic Converters
As you can see, despite advancements in technology, PSD to HTML converter software is far from perfect. That’s why it’s worth considering working with a professional developer specializing in PSD to HTML conversion.
By partnering with an expert, you can expect clean, efficient code that renders perfectly on any device and ensures excellent search engine visibility. This approach also contributes to fast loading times and smooth performance, which no PSD to HTML converter can guarantee.