Website Design Practices Archives • Page 9 of 12 • TotalWeb Partners

September 12, 2018

5 Best Online Front-End Web Development Playgrounds

Website Content, Website Design Practices Web Development Playgrounds

As much as I love offline web development editors and IDEs, I hate the inconveniences which come with having to edit code, then open a browser to test changes. Even when a browser tab with the test file is open, you constantly have to jump from editor to browser and refresh the tab before any changes will show in the output. I have the preference of working on sites where the output is shown in real-time.

As soon as the code is written, the test-ready output is delivered within seconds. Conveniently, editable code and testable output are shown side-by-side. Another joy of these online playgrounds is the huge community of web designers and developers publishing code snippets for the world to take a look at.

1. Codepen

CodePen is one of the largest communities for web designers and developers where users can test and showcase user-created HTML, CSS and JavaScript code snippets. It functions as an online code editor and open-source learning environment, where developers can create code snippets, named “pens”, and test them. Codepen’s editors come with some common functionality like normal ones, with respect to code indentation and colorful syntax highlighting. It also supports a huge array of preprocessors for HTML, CSS, and JS, including but not limited to, Pug, Slim, SCSS, TypeScript. The collaboration mode is also very helpful. You never have to lose your work, because it is automatically saved, and you can resume whenever you please. With similarities close to Github, feel free to fork and edit other user’s code as you wish.

2. JSfiddle

JSFiddle is a vibrant online community for testing and showcasing user-created and collaboration HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code snippets, most appropriately known as ‘fiddles’. It allows for simulated AJAX calls. Just like with Codepen, the clean interface puts the code and the result side by side, and results are applied immediately after clicking the run button. It features support for SCSS, as well as JavaScript libraries such as TypeScript, CoffeeScript, Vue and React. It keeps on improving, and recently rolled out a code hinting feature which will suggest some common CSS property and value names, same for JavaScript. Collaboration with other developers supported too.

September 10, 2018

by TWP Publisher

Enjoy web development success with the best UI/UX design

Website Content, Website Design Practices Web Development

Without an excellent UI or user interface, a website fails to deliver a better user experience that is crucial for the impending success of any business. However, keeping up with the latest and best UI and UX design trends as well as implementing them in web development, custom website development services face various challenges. They have to adapt according to changing realities and demands of the users. Now they have to visualize the importance and scope of UI and UX design in business websites. To obtain better results, web designers have to make significant efforts to create an entirely new and appealing website.

They have to look for best UI/UX design trends as well as layouts in mind to meet the needs of the customers. Here we present the best tops for web development with best UI/UX design.

1. Mobile friendliness

Well, you have certainly heard about responsiveness concept. It is the most significant part of offering a better user experience. As a UI and UX designer, you need to follow certain UI design principles and also consider the preferences and choices of the users. However, it isn’t necessary that all of the users can only access your site from their own desktops. They might access them on their mobile devices like tablets and smartphones. In this mobile age, the users like to access almost anything on their smartphones. Hence, when you are deciding to design a business website, you need to create mobile-friendly features. With this important addition to your own website, you can certainly see significant changes in the business results.

2. Using appealing images to attract user’s attention

We are quite aware that attractive layout, as well as content, significantly improve the user interactivity with the website. Images are another aspect which plays a vital role in achieving the user’s attention at first look. Hence, having unique images is among the best ways to get users attracted to your website. It also enhances the visual hierarchy as well as increases the users. You can easily manage it by inserting relevant text on the images that clearly mention the actual purpose and meaning of your business service.

Enjoy web development success with the best UI/UX design

August 22, 2018

by TWP Publisher

Top 5 Easy Web Design Tricks for Marketers To Boost Conversion Rates

Website Design Practices Web Design

Maximizing website conversion rates remains one of the single biggest challenges for marketers today. Effective SEO and PPC can significantly increase website traffic. But raking high on search engines and driving website traffic is just the first step. Your site needs to keep visitors’ attention, convey the value of your offer and compel them to take a desired action — complete a form, download a document, or call your business.

If your website conversion rates are lacking, your landing page design may require an overhaul. The question you have to ask yourself is: how many leads or sales are you losing due to sub-par landing page design?

The good news is website conversion rates are something you can directly impact and improve. Even small landing page design changes can dramatically impact visitor engagement and conversion rates.

In the second version, a simple change produced big positive results.

By choosing a photo of a baby “looking” at the ad’s headline, users’ eyes were drawn to the text. Our eyes are naturally drawn to look where others are looking. Even if it’s a picture of a baby in an ad.

What subtle improvements could you make to your company’s landing pages to increase conversion rates? Here are our top five examples:

1. Choose an image that supports the call-to-action.

It’s easy to simply slap a header image from a stock photo site on your landing page and call it a day. But it can pay off to use an image that works in tandem with your headline and call to action. The right image isn’t just eye candy. It’s there to convey an important message to the user, and to provide important context.

Here’s an exercise to try: look at your header image without the headline, or the text to explain it. Does it still “say” anything about your product or service? If not, consider looking for something that compliments the text. Netflix does a great job of this on their signup page:

July 12, 2018

by TWP Publisher

4 Reasons Why Effective Writing Must Figure in Your Web Design Strategy

Website Design Practices Web Design, Web Design Strategy

Digitization has caught up with us and is taking root in all parts of our lives. From businesses to individuals, all strive to carve their niche in our digital world. Both newbie web designers and some of the experienced hands who have been in the industry for decades still believe that a successful website is all about the visuals. To some degree that is true; designing aesthetics and visuals are of great importance, but another aspect that should be recognized is compelling writing.

The textual content that you write is just as significant as the images that you will use and below are the reasons why.

Writing Grabs Attention

Forget the website for a minute, what do you do when you want to grab someone’s attention? You will probably shout or even scream to achieve this.

The same concept applies in the online space. So how exactly can you grab attention online through your website? Images can work magic, but they are not enough as attention-grabbing tools by themselves. It’s the content that helps your visuals attract and hold the attention of web visitors.

By using engaging content, you will be able to make a point in a precise manner effectively. You can create an element of surprise with your content, use it to shock your audience or use it to engage and pique the interest of your audience. But even as you are about to put down your words into writing, you should know that the content that you come up with must be written impeccably to grab attention.

2. Writing Helps You Demonstrate Credibility

Different kinds of sites have different expectations, but they all have a common requirement. They all have to look credible. It’s a logical requirement if you are using your website as a tool to help you sell something, promote a cause or indulge people in doing specific activities. The bottom line is, you need them to trust you and to achieve that, your website must look reliable.

The good news is it’s not rocket science to create a robust website that looks serious. Just like mentioned above, having the right visual elements and arranging them nicely is not enough to cut it. Your site still won’t appear complete and will require a cherry on top which is the added text. With good writing, not only will your website engage audiences, but it will also make your site weblink appear credible.

You can also subtly achieve this. It is unnecessary to write about the high quality of your products or brag about your high level of honesty. On the contrary, such statements could potentially have the opposite effect on your audience. When it comes to reputations of companies, it’s best when it speaks for itself.

July 9, 2018

by TWP Publisher

8 RULING WEB DESIGN TRENDS FOR 2018

Website Design Practices Web Design

Web design trends have undergone an apparent change as one of the most dynamic industries in web technologies. It is 2018, the eighteenth year of the millennia, a year for exploration of the web technologies in a dynamic perspective. Web technology is unbeatable and with the ever-rising technical challenges as more products get into the market, the only choice of web designers is be innovative and put up with the changing trends. They have to ensure that their designs fit any internet device be it a desktop or a smartphone. Here is a list of 8 ruling web design trends that will shape the web industry in 2018.

Prioritizing mobile web designs

Smartphones have surpassed desktop and notebook computers in browsing. According to Statista, a renowned scientific research organization, projections hold that by 2020 over 40 percent of the population of the world will own a smartphone. Interesting facts by the same organization project an annual smartphone shipping capacity of 1.7 billion by 2021. The implication is that most people will surf the net using smartphones. 2018 resolution is to give priority to mobile web designs. This year, 2018, is a year of transformative web design as designers embrace the reality of battling with technical challenges to give their users a satisfying experience in their web products with a top priority on mobile designs. Have a look on 7 essential principles of mobile web design to get designed a good mobile site.

November 20, 2017

by TotalWeb Partners

Creating User Experiences for Short Attention Spans

Website Design Practices

Today, website users are bombarded with all sorts of content and information, from cat videos to the latest news scandal. With all of this competition, it can be difficult to cut through the clutter and get your marketing messages across to your target audience. Indeed, generating and holding user attention online is one of the biggest challenges marketers face. Learning how to focus user attention on the right information is therefore critical to the success of your marketing initiatives. In this article, I’ll share six of the most effective tactics for capturing and holding your users’ attention.

Show Users Valuable Information

Users have limited attention, and they won’t use it on just anything. You need to show them information they’ll find valuable. This will increase their willingness to spend time and attention on your content. Use these tactics to highlight important points:

Use human faces to draw attention. This is especially effective when that face is looking at them.
Add bright colors and vivid photos will naturally attract the user’s focus. To determine whether important elements will stand out, squint your eyes while looking at a page and see what you notice.
Whenever possible, call out the user by name in relevant content.
Include animations, especially in the user’s peripheral vision, to draw attention to high-value content.

Your users will naturally scan any page they visit to search for the information they’re interested in. Highlighting the most important points will make your user experience more enjoyable since users will be able to find what they need quickly.

The Impact of WebDesign on Marketing, Branding and conversions

tgdaily2017-11083e0501-7196-41ef-bbdb-33f346f1845eWebDesign on Marketing

Website Design Practices

Most business owners agree that high-quality web design is essential for their business. But when asked exactly why it’s important, only a few could provide an adequate answer. Web design isn’t all about aesthetics. There’s no use to adding all the bells and whistles to your site if it fails to work toward your goal of attracting customers and increasing sales. The main problem is that many decide to compartmentalize the process, hiring an agency for web design and another one for marketing.

Taking a Comprehensive Approach

The traditional approach of hiring different agencies for various aspects of the website is no longer effective. Instead, it’s better to take a more comprehensive approach. Web design must now be deeply incorporated into your inbound marketing and branding strategy. If you employ three agencies for web design, SEO, and branding, it’s nearly impossible to have them work in cohesion and help you inch closer toward your business goals.

Your Design Matters, and so Does Your Content

As a business owner, you’ll do yourself a favor by building a website that resonates with your target audience. Several studies suggest that online users cite web design elements as among the top factors they consider when deciding whether to trust a website or not. Most users share the same red flags to watch out for including busy layouts, pop-up ads, boring web design, slow page load times, and small print.

7 Upcoming E-commerce Web Design Trends to Adopt in 2018

Website Design Practices

With the advancement in the technology, most of the individuals have just forgotten the time when they used to buy the things manually. Now the businesses are coming online with the e-commerce website. In this era of modernity, most of the individuals do not have much time to go to the shop and buy the things they need. Due to this, there is a rise in online shopping day by day from the e-commerce website. As there is the vying number of websites on the internet, thus the people go to the websites which are highly captivating and easy to be navigated. This means that the websites need to be highly adaptable and responsive to all the mobile screens as the people use their mobile phones for shopping online.

Nowadays the big players in the online shopping site are Amazon and Flipkart which are leading the impact by presenting new innovations. To get ahead in the competition of the e-commerce business, the businesses nowadays need to discover what is new in the market and they can impeccably make the impression on the users. To remain in the industry the E-commerce website development company needs to be updated with the current trends.

Some upcoming web design trends to be adopted in 2018:

Mobile E-commerce taking place:

According to the latest research e-commerce is the second name of mobile shopping. The shopping through the mobile has broken all the records of shopping as compared to the previous shopping being done through the previous way. The mobile shopping has increased up to the sales of all the e-commerce businesses to a great extent. As per the research stats, the shopping through the mobile is rising rapidly. The customers love to search the things with the use of mobile rather than the laptops or mobiles. They love to explore different kinds of things in the e-commerce stores. Thus, all the web owners need to adopt this rising and the latest trend in e-commerce by hiring best e-commerce website development company.

October 19, 2017

by TWP Publisher

When Should Web Development Teams Invest In Speed?

Website Design Practices Web Development

When should dev teams start investing in speed? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.

Answer by Angela Zhang, Software Engineer, on Quora:

As much as I’d love to say “you should invest in speed starting from day one!”, speed is just not the highest ROI thing to do when you are still looking for a product-market fit. The answer to this question really depends on the product you are building and the user base that you are building for. Some signs that you should probably start thinking about speed are:

Your users started complaining about speed. If you get bug reports that your site isn’t loading, that’s a pretty straightforward sign.
You are expanding your user base outside of urban centers in developed countries. Most internet users in the world do not have ultra fast internet connections and, as developers working in Silicon Valley, it’s difficult to build empathy for how users with slow internet connections experience your app.
You have a lot of users on mobile phones. in his talk at Google I/O 2016, Ilya Grigorik makes a very compelling point that speed and resilience matter a lot on mobile even if you think your users are all on 4G LTE connections. Even in urban centers, people are rarely on 4G internet all the time, and frequently lose cellular reception all together when they go into subways and elevators. On the other hand, in rural areas, people might only have 2G internet but tend to go offline less often. Build for speed if you want those users to have good experiences. For his full talk, see Building Fast & Resilient Web Applications.
You are paying a lot in server costs. Often times this is an indication that you are fetching too much data, or doing too much work that is either unnecessary or can be optimized.
If you have decided to invest in speed and are looking for a good place to start your performance work, take a look at this answer (shameless plug): Angela Zhang (張安琪)’s answer to What are simple ways to monitor and improve web performance?

October 17, 2017

by TWP Publisher

Chris Coyier on the Future of Web Development

Website Design Practices Web Development

Three months ago, Chris Coyier and Media Temple flew all the way to Whitefish Montana to visit the winners of the CSS-Tricks contest, the ZaneRay Group. Our days with the ZaneRay Group were action packed, as we visited the pristine Bowman Lake, biked up the Going-to-the-Sun Road, and, most importantly, spent several hours talking about building and maintaining bleeding-edge websites and web apps. Hours were spent digging into the dirty details of developing massive e-commerce sites and the behind-the-scenes activities that power them. We truly thank ZaneRay not just for their hospitality but their camaraderie, making this a trip to remember.

Fortunately, we have some visual souvenirs from the trip to share.

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