When It Comes to Web Design, One Thing's For Sure: Nothing Stays the Same

With the web constantly evolving there are important components to consider before your redo your website and invest valuable time and money.

Simplicity. In recent years, simplicity was hardly what was on the mind of many businesses with websites. The more graphics, banners, ads, Flash movies and other bells and whistles, the better. Not so today! Now it's about simplicity in design, helping your visitors get from point A to B in the quickest, easiest manner possible. The fewer page elements, the better. Ideally you want to bring your visitor from point A to B in three easy steps. You don't want your visitor to get lost in all the confusion, you want to help them stay focused on the goal! Think clean, minimalist, and intuitive.

Responsive to the needs of your target audience. More and more people are accessing the internet from Smartphone's, tablets and laptops - it's not the dinosaur ages anymore, when the only way anyone could go online was from a desktop computer! The fact is, over the next few years it's likely that even more devices will make it possible to access the internet on the go, and your website should be designed in a way that makes it accessible to these platforms. Sure it takes more time and ability to meet all of these demands, however reponsiveness is necessary.

Typography. Because the primary focus is content, what could be better than content that really stands out? Big, bold headlines that cannot be ignored. The web fonts available today allow web designers to indulge themselves. From big and beautiful to contemporary, sleek and just plain good-looking, content can be a beautiful thing today. Google fonts has created a seemless integration through code that can be embedded in your website to insure all browsers can see your styling.

Of course the most important thing is to deliver what your user wants in terms of information, services, products, etc. This isn't something you can guess. You need to take the time to understand your target market and what their needs are. However, with so many choices today and the rushed world we live in, people want what they want now, and the easiest way to get straight to it in the least amount of time is the best. When looking for a web designer to create a memorable online presence for your company, be sure to keep simplicity and responsiveness in mind!

Designing a Mobile Website: What To Consider   

Coding Tutorials - How These Can Save Hours of Turmoil

Programmers and developers do not realize one big fact that, no matter how good they are in their field, a simple mistake or overlook can cost quite high prices. If you are a programmer yourself, you would know that after hours of continuous work, the code becomes very easy to figure out and implement. Development becomes absolutely no problem. In fact, the speed of work is also enhanced. However, at the same time, the frequency of getting errors increases with the increasing hours of work.

One of the main reasons as to why this happens is because the mind gets tired and can't figure out exactly what is going wrong out there. Several programmers tend to change ways and plans of the project at this instant. But, is this the correct procedure after all? On the other hand, client satisfaction also comes into play where programmers cannot bargain with the software requirement specifications. At this point, you should realize the fact that tutorials can be a great help for your code inspection and walk through procedure. You must be a very good developer and an apt technician (only then would you be hired for the project, of course!), but a code walk through becomes severely necessary when detecting errors of this kind. The main advantage lies in the fact that tutorials have the same content as you are implementing. Once you go through the tutorial and check with your implementation, you can quickly differentiate between the two and get the problem solved.

New programmers need a lot of help. Once they start a new venture in their designing and developing career, they require a constant support to back them up. These people can be susceptible to quite a lot of problems and errors. They get highly benefited from the use of tutorials.

Specialized languages like JAVA, PHP, etc. follow certain syntax. Syntax are the forms or patterns of writing the code. These syntax can be availed from tutorials books and magazines. However, only syntax does not help always. Learners can face problems while implementing this syntax. One of the prime reasons behind this is that, books do not offer complete guides to all syntax. If that would have been the case then authors could not have managed covering huge number of topics in single volumes. At this point, only an article or blog related to your topic of interest can come to the rescue. These articles are written topic specific. So if your query is regarding HTML forms, you can get a detailed overview of the implementation of forms and its sub elements. In this way, a lot of time is saved for newbies, and professionals get the required backup help when they need it.

Designing a Mobile Website: What To Consider   

Getting Started With User Experience Crafting for Websites

Okay, this is a tough topic, because it involves really hard problems and really easy problems, however I'm not here to tell you how tough it is, I'm here to give you an easy introduction to crafting user experiences.

So, first off, what do we mean by crafting user experiences? Put simply it's what users remember when they visit or use your site. It could be 'man, that site was the coolest' or 'oh, this is so buggy'.

Now, the first order of business is figuring out what you want your users to feel?

Do you want them to leave your site feeling happy? Excited? Efficient? Smart?

Second thing, who are your users? Give an age-span together with professional background. Do you know anyone like that? Excellent, go ask them when it where the last time they felt what you want your website to make them feel.

I assume that you already have a site, now take a look at that. No, really, exit this page, look at yours and return to this. Now.

First order of business, grab all the low hanging fruit. Read through all the popular material that's older than a week and look for obvious spelling-mistakes and sentences that sound strange. Remember, text is the gold standard for communication on the internet at the moment (video is quickly gaining ground though). Also check to see if your articles are up to date, it's usually better to cut than keep something that's stale.

Check to see if its easy to read and pay especial attention to contrast and fonts. Also try to increase the text-size and Google translate it to another language. If it's readable after that you have avoided the worst hurdles.

Also check to see that both images and links have alt-texts (texts that show up when you hover your mouse over them, among other things). Try to keep this text descriptive since it will be read by people with sight-disabilities and when your images stops working.

Last thing to look for is to consider button-sizes and the like. Beginning computer learners tend to use the mouse a lot and buttons and menu's should be of an OK size for them.

Now, return to your friends words on what makes them feel what you want them to feel and try to incorporate that into the page. This is where it gets very, very complicated very quickly, but remember, as long as the site is clear, informative and generally works, then you cannot go to wrong.

Designing a Mobile Website: What To Consider   

5 Web Design Tips for Beginners

Your business website must get great first impressions from your visitors. First impressions can greatly contribute to the number of new clients you might get. So web design is a critical process.

Here are some web design tips in order to make your site more appealing to potential clients and customers.

1. Make use of white space.

Do not congest your page with too many photos, images, colorful fonts, and backgrounds. Remember, less in more. You need to just keep it simple. White space makes your page more spacious but not almost-empty. It also makes your page looking more neat and organized. Make sure you have a good balance of images and texts. Do not make one side of your page too heavy on images or texts. Too many words that are not broken by any box with photo or image, would look so gray, boring, and hard-to read.

2. Make sure there are no broken links.

Before you upload any links to your web server, make sure they are correct and complete. One way to check for broken link is by uploading your site using online tools such as Net Mechanic.

3. Make sure your fonts styles and font colors are readable and look professional.

The worst way to make your page look so unprofessional is by making use of Comic Sans font style in bright green or pink. As much as possible, do not use this type of font and other fancy fonts with fancy curves, waves, and curls. Also, avoid using fonts that are not mostly available on other computers. If the font style you used is not available of the computer of your visitor, your site will automatically make use of the default font of his or her computer which delivers horrifying results. So, do stick with generic and professional fonts. The Verdana and the Arial are two of the most commonly used fonts that can give a more professional look to a website.

4. Makes sure your navigations are clear.

Your aim once a person visits your site is for him to dig in deeper. Having a clear navigation can make this possible. Put all significant links at prominent spots like the top part where website guests usually look at first. Put menu on the left side of your site since generally, people tend to look starting from left to right. Connect as many pages of your website as possible. Make sure all important information can be accessed from every part of your website.

5. Make sure you include a site search.

This is a very important element of a website. This will give users lesser and more convenient time looking for a specific thing or information in your website. Site searches are usually placed at the upper left corner of the page.

Designing a Mobile Website: What To Consider   

A Little Box of Ideas for the Logo Designers

A Logo must not say what a Company does

When it is about designing a brand, it is often harped by the ace logo designers that simplicity is the key. However, it should not be mistaken that a simple logo is generic. The minimalist approach should be adopted in the execution process of a logo design, but the concept needs to be innovative and appealing. A logo should not necessarily state the obvious, in other words, what a business does. Do you get to see the French fries and delicious burgers in the golden arches of McDonald's logo? Neither the Mercedes logo is a swanky car nor the Virgin Atlantic logo is an airplane. So if you are thinking of starting a dental clinic, your business sign need not revolve around a tooth! After getting the design brief from the client, a logo specialist engages in knowing his client's industry, checks out the inspirational logos so that his creative juice gets the required boost up. A logo should act as the trigger having a higher recall value for the targeted mass to connect to a brand, instantaneously.

Reflecting a Company's Culture and Values Aptly

A logo aids in building trust and credibility for a brand. A logo specialist needs to nail down the targeted audience so that shaping up a logo inclusive of a respective company's culture and values, becomes a plausible option. If you are designing a logo for a kids' clothing brand, stress on the fun and playful quotient while drafting a logo. However, if you are making a business sign for a law firm, you need to adopt a more professional approach and let go the fun factor.

When choosing the fonts and colors as a logo designer, you should do some vital market research as it helps in reflecting a company's personality, aptly. For instance, the food industry can opt for brighter red and orange as these vibrant hues represent hunger, excitement, passion, high-energy while the corporate logos exuding loyalty, credibility and professionalism are churned out using blue as the chief color. Sticking to one font or a maximum of two fonts help in retaining the professional quotient in a brand identity. An instantly memorable logo means it should make an ever-lasting impression in the minds of the targeted audience, having a timeless appeal.

Making a Business Sign Adaptable

A well-crafted logo offers visual consistency. In all forms of advertising materials, a logo should never fail to grab the attention of the targeted mass. A business sign should not lose out on the minute details when seen on a business card or a on a billboard. So shunning complexity is the key when crafting a logo design. The intricate designing elements might get muddled up when transforming it in different printing materials, so opt for keeping things simple for easier adaptability.

Standing out from the Not-So-Great Logos

Letting a client's brand to stand out can be successfully done by a zealous designer with his imagination and creative power. How a professional logo specialist go about doing things right are cataloged under:

Pay attention to every word of the client in the design brief Ask a volley of questions till you are certain about what you need to draft exactly Make a thorough market research Dig out the stylizing pattern, the colors, fonts that is used in a specific industry Derive influence from the other logos in the industry, but craft something fresh that will click with the targeted mass During the ongoing process of the signage project, take the needed breaks, plug in your ear phone and let your mind to roam freely. It stirs up your mind, enabling you to come up with new designing ideas. Revising your work time and again enable you to add the missing flavors to a logo. This also ensures a satisfactory output for your client Designing a Mobile Website: What To Consider   

Three Negative Aspects of Ecommerce Websites That Drive Away The Customers

Nowadays, most small, medium and large businesses are taking their business online. The first and foremost step in this direction is to have a well-designed ecommerce website. However, simply designing such websites is not enough. In fact, an eCommerce web designer should also keep in mind all that could go wrong in the website designing process and the specific aspects that he or she need to avoid.

Let us look at some of the aspects of ecommerce websites that can drive away the visitors.

The site is not easy to understand

Visitors are disappointed when they arrive at a site and find that it is not easy to understand. This is can be due to various reasons but usually it is an outcome of presenting too much information/design elements on the web pages, something that leads to confusion in the minds of website visitors. Therefore, you must do away with all design elements that clutter the website and remove any content that is not relevant to your site. Instead, go for a simple and minimalistic design; use a basic interface and put crisp, clear and concise content on your ecommerce site.

The site is not easy to use

Your ecommerce site must have features that are easy on the eyes and easy to use. In the absence of such features, visitors have trouble using the site, in such cases it increases the chances of shopping cart abandonment. It's not that difficult to improve the usability of your site; all you need to do is follow a few tips.

Focus on making the navigation as effortless a possible. And for this, all that you need to do is place all the important design elements in places where the visitors are most likely to see them. These design elements include sidebars, call-to-action buttons, banners etc. Also, you must ensure that the layout and typography on all your web pages is proper, so that the site is easy on the eyes for the visitors.

Bad projection of products and services

If the presentation of your products and services on your site is not up-to-the mark, visitors wouldn't want to buy them, would they? Why would they take a call to action in the first place, when they are not impressed with what you are offering on your site?

You must therefore, display your products and services in such a way that they can instantly leave an impression on the visitors. Make sure that the product description is flawless and informative (keeping the users' point of view in mind) and put up a clear image of the same so that the visitors can understand what they are about to buy.

Additionally, you should also pay attention to other details of the site such as listing the products and services suitably under various categories.

In conclusion

So, if you are aspiring to become an eCommerce web designer, then make sure that you don't commit these major errors the next time you design or redesign your websites.

Designing a Mobile Website: What To Consider