When it comes to mobile website design or search engine optimization for mobile websites, the rules are not entirely different from those of desktop websites but there are definitely some subtle differences that come into play when you select the colors for a mobile website.

A clever idea is to re-use the color scheme of your desktop site for your mobile website. It would maintain a uniformity of color in both the versions of your website. Some colors can be a bit difficult for mobile devices to display, steer clear from any such color.

The color selection for mobile websites can also be done by modifying the color scheme of your website’s desktop version. But you must bear in mind the technical constraints of smartphones, tablet computers and netbooks. Though mobile devices are quickly advancing, technical constraints still hinder the process of quality web design for them.

Depth of the Color – This is one of the principal things to consider when you are designing a mobile website. As stated above, despite the advancing technology, mobile devices are still lagging behind PCs and laptops to a great extent. Even the costliest and highest quality mobile devices in the market have a comparatively low depth of color which means they can display 65000+ shades of colors like blue, red and green. But that will not fulfill your design requirement.

Less colors mean more user-friendliness – Yes. Use only a few colors and it is advisable that you refrain from using any other color than your main colors. Since the screen of mobile devices are small, a website does not have the liberty to use various different colors.

Brightness and Contrast – These two play an important role in creating a website for mobile devices. You have to take into consideration the fact that users do use their mobile devices to surf the net in bright daylight. You cannot compel them to visit your site only in the night. Plus, many users want to conserve the energy of their mobile devices by keeping the contrast and brightness low. To cater to such users, you have to use very high contrasts of colors.

Watch out when you use gradients – as they can become an obstacle in the way of viewing your mobile website. Gradients only go well with desktop websites. Mobile internet users can see gradients even when there aren’t any. It’s not that you cannot use gradients at all. Just use as little of them as possible.

Backgrounds – Background images can be tricky for mobile websites. There has been many instances where the same background has displayed perfectly on a PC or laptop but when used on a mobile site, it has made reading the content impossible.

Colors cannot deliver information – While they can do a lot, colors cannot be informative. So do not depend on them to do that.

Now, let’s get started – After ensuring all of the above are in the right places and in the right shape, it’s time for you to start your mobile web design project. So, hire a web designer and get things going. If you want to do your own homework, try to get your hands on a color scheme generating tool. You may not get ground-breaking ideas from it, but it’ll be worthwhile.

Best of luck!

When it comes to understanding content strategy, you need to realize that not everyone can understand it in the same manner, and that it is a relatively new concept which does not have a clear definition. First of all, you have to keep in mind that content strategy is not just about content writing. A number of other things related  to it concern web designers, such as development, production, design and presentation.

This post intends to study the relationship of content strategy and design in the processes of creation, arrangement and display of web copies. An interesting interplay of content and design is capable of bringing in a breakthrough result.

Content Strategy in a Nutshell:

Content strategy is basically a bridge between effective writing and eye-catching designs. This bridge stands on the pillars of good communication. The right communication can speed up the progress of a project. Here’s what happens when a new project arrives:

• The project manager wants to get the landing page designed quickly so that it can be showed to the client.
• The designer cannot design until he gets the content and
• The content writer cannot write until he sees the design.

The only solution to this is to create the content first. The fact that content throws the cornerstone for designers to build their designs on, should not be forgotten. For example, to create content for a landing page, you should consider things like the target audience, the message being conveyed, the word count and the call-to-action. A clear idea about these aspects will help the content writer produce effective content and the designer create a good web design.

Web development team depends on web design, web design team depends on content team, content team depends on project management team, which depends on all three. To ensure the work-flow is in the right direction:

• Entrust someone with the sole responsibility of content strategy.
• Co-ordinate between the content writing and website designing teams to ensure the professionals in both teams understand their responsibilities clearly.

Using content templates can free the designers’ mind from guesswork to a great extent. It also helps clients get a basic idea of how their website will look and decide the word count and text placement more comfortably.

There are some dedicated software for project management which can be used for streamlining communication. The best thing about such software is that they provide a common platform for professionals to interact and manage tasks. It saves a lot of time for the teams as well as the project manager.

Now, regardless of how many steps have been taken to ensure a smooth work-flow, there will be a conflict between the design and content writing services at some point of time. This is commonplace in any and every project. But did you know that this conflict is essential? Otherwise a project is considered to be in trouble.

In the next post, you will find some ‘content-design’ conflict issues along with ways to deal with them. Happy strategizing until then!

Almost all professionals in the world, at some point of time in their career, have to face the problem of continuing someone else’s work. The field of web design is no exception and needless to say, not everyone feels very comfortable taking up a task that was started earlier by someone else. This is because everyone has their own unique style of working and this unique style can mess things up a great deal in an ongoing project.

To steer clear from such messes and to encourage teamwork, you need to consider some aspects. You’ll find them below

• Before you begin the coding process, re-think your logic:  Create flow-charts and and write some codes on paper before starting the coding. This will eliminate a lot of complexity and save you considerable time.
• Alleviate the structuring of the page – by using main containers that have a representative ID. This makes the structure appear clear and helps anyone who might later want to add or remove anything.
• Get the indentation right – Indentation shows you the points of opening and closing for all the elements that are used in the coding. Do not stick to a particular side of the screen, figure out a better indentation for your web programming.
• Your comments should be demonstrative – Pay attention to the comments you write. Offering brief, relevant and precise comments will help you document the code better and clear any doubts that anybody reading the codes might have.
• Be careful with comments – When you are writing comments, write ONLY what’s relevant. Avoid writing notes in the comment for your future use, do not blame other coders in your comment and refrain from writing anything vague. If you are supposed to write comments, do it ASAP. Do not leave it for future. In your comment – provide author specifications, state the functionality of a methodology in detail and state in brief any change that has been made to the coding.
• Use small functions – While you add functionality to a particular application, break large functions into small ones. This eliminates confusions.
• Describe the use of functions through their names – Name the functions in such a way that what they do can be known from their name. Some web programming services have their own naming standards. A descriptive name can save you from a lot of time and effort in the future.
• When you are implementing changes, be careful – When you are to add, remove or modify something, be sure not to tamper with the way the coding is organized. Respect the standards that are followed in the coding procedure.
• Do not mix coding languages indiscriminately – Otherwise you will create interruptions in the structural flow and also create confusion.
• If you have imported files, summarize them – If you have several style sheets, it is advisable to summarize them into 1 or 2 as it would free your web programming from clutter, save a lot of space and loading time as well. Imported files can affect your application’s performance.

Lastly, keep in mind the fact that convenience isn’t always the best option for your web programming company. Maintaining standards is important and you have to create codes in an easily understandable way for someone who may work on it in the future.

If you are a graphic designer, you must have a great online portfolio to showcase your designs and increase the possibility of getting regular projects. Your online portfolio helps you promote your skills and attracts clients all over the world. However, designing an online portfolio is not an easy job. As a graphic design artist, you have to show your creative style and also make the portfolio site user-friendly.

Here are some helpful online portfolio designing tips for you.

1. Design a Simple Site and Go Straight to the Point- You should design a simple portfolio site to convey your message effectively. Don’t write long descriptive sentences on the homepage of your portfolio. Keep the introduction content brief and tell your clients what you do as a designer.
2. Have a Unique Design- When a client visits your site, he checks your portfolio design to get an idea of your efficiency as a graphic designer. You must design a unique layout to impress your clients. Don’t follow any web design trend. Show your creativity and add a personal touch to your portfolio.
3. Highlight Your Expertise- As a versatile graphic designer, you may design website layouts, logos and brochures, but when you are designing your portfolio, you must highlight your strongest skill. If you are an expert in logo design, then highlight your logo designing skills to prove your expertise.
4. Less, but Quality Designs- You may have designed dozens of brochures and website layouts, but don’t post all your designs in your portfolio. Your employers won’t count the numbers of design samples, they will evaluate your designing skills. Upload only the best designs to impress your potential employers.
5. Don’t Clutter the “Design Gallery” Page- You have to offer your design samples in an organized way to help viewers check them. If you post 30 design samples in one page, it will tire the viewers’ eyes. You should design multiple galleries and categorize them to offer a better experience to your viewers. For instance, you can create 3 separate galleries on logo design, depending upon the design trend you followed in those designs.
6. Place Most Impressive Designs at the Beginning and at the End- In your design gallery, all designs can’t be equally good. Make sure that you place the best design samples at the top. This way, you can hide your not-so-good designs and still impress your viewers.
7. Pay Attention to Usability- When you design your portfolio; give attention to usability as well. Your website maybe beautiful but if your viewers can’t find the menu bar, they will leave your site. Maintain a balance between design elements and navigation to help your audience surf your site comfortably.
8. Decide Your Target Clients- You need to know your target clients to design an effective portfolio. For instance, if you want to target high profile multinational companies, design a professional looking portfolio to grab their attention.
9. Post Your Contact Details- You should design a separate contact page and give all your contact information to help your clients contact you anytime. Write your email address, phone number and social media links, so that you never miss any project due to lack of communication.
10. Regularly Update Your Portfolio- Whenever you design something new, post it on your portfolio and remove the old designs. This way, your potential clients will realize that you are an active and busy designer.
11. Post Client Testimonials- Someone who comes to your site to hire you, will always read the testimonials first to make a decision. You should post some client testimonials on your homepage to convince your future clients.
12. Design an “About Me” Page- You should design an “about me” page in your portfolio site. In this page, write about your educational qualification, your experience as a designer and give your clients strong reasons to hire you. However, don’t make the “about me” page too long and never share any personal information. Your potential employers don’t want to know every detail of your life.

If you are designing your online portfolio for the first time, these tips can be useful to you.

Google Panda updates have reinforced the belief ‘content is king’. However, the importance of content has forced designers to rethink the role of web design. To clear the confusion, in this article, we will discuss the role of web and graphic design in affecting user experience. To know more, read on.

Design Creates the First Impression

Studies have proved the fact that visitors form an opinion about a site within few seconds. This initial opinion is critical because it determines further activities of visitors. In most cases, visitors use design as the yardstick to evaluate the site. If the design is impressive, they stick to the site and vice versa. This means that in creating the initial impression, design plays a more important role than content.

Design Elicits the Desired Reaction from Visitors

Design also affects reaction of visitors towards the website. With interesting call-to-action buttons, you can compel visitors to act and thus, increase conversations. Of course, you can request users to act via content also. However, most people would agree that as compared to a call-to-action statement hidden in the content, call-to-action buttons are more effective.

It Affects Content Consumption

Many people will be surprised to know that design can even affect the way users interpret the content. The typography rules play an important role in affecting the experience that visitors have, while absorbing information. Furthermore, using informative videos and graphics can reinforce their understanding of the content, thus creating a positive impression.

We do not have any doubts about the fact that visitors usually look for good information in the Internet. However, at the same time, presentation of the content is also important. For example, if you set a serious article in comic fonts, it will definitely distract the readers. Even if the content is of high quality, users will feel confused.

Modifying User Reaction

In the Internet, one can come across millions of sites that deliver the same information. To stand out amongst similar sites, one needs to use web designs intelligently. You should modify designs to present content in an attractive manner.

YouTube serves as a good example of how videos can evoke user reaction. Millions of videos get uploaded on YouTube everyday. Content, of course, determines popularity of videos. Along with it, factors, such as how encouraged visitors feel or how smoothly they share the videos contribute to their popularity.

With explosion of information on Internet, the importance of web design has become more critical than ever. Web design allows experts to modify user reaction and offer visitors a unique experience. Additionally, you can encourage them to react towards the web content in a meaningful way. The basic point is to pay equal importance to content and design.

Web design and content writing should complement each other. Web designers should create designs that are relevant to the content. Since website owners have only a few seconds to impress their visitors, the key to make a strong impression lies with creating designs that represent the purpose of the content, and content that is useful for the visitors.

Since a website is not similar to a graphic novel where every page has different pictures accompanied with text to tell the story, designers and content writers must keep in mind that consistency in the design and content matters.

Explained below are some plans of action that will help you boost the consistency of your web content writing and website design.

Back up your content with images to establish a sense of worth

Visitors should know about your products without scrolling over images. Give your visitors a tour of your product catalog where they will enjoy the combination of images and text and also feel an urge to proceed.

The key to creating a seamless image-text combination is improving the quality of the images. If the visual experience is not rich and professional and at par with the claims you make about your company, content alone can’t impress visitors.

Nobody likes boastful language. If your content makes sky-scraping claims about your products/services, no visitor would stay in your website for long. Support your claims with facts. Put your past records up. Let visitors browse through your portfolio and find out your area of expertise. It will justify your claims and convince visitors of your standards of service.

Compress

After eliminating the ‘big talk’ from your content, you will discover that it has become a lot more compact. Brief and compact content coupled with evocative design will help you garner desired results from your online identity. But only these two aren’t enough. If you want to capitalize on your content, you need to embrace a few more steps like prioritization, precise labeling and segmentation.

• Prioritization – It is about how you understand your target market and their activities and decide what you want your website to do. Create your website accordingly and get rid of any content that deviates from its objective. Present a comprehension for visitors to let them know why they are in your website. Don’t stress on how good you are in your field. Let the web design do that for you. Instead, tell your visitors you have what they need. If your web content clarifies that, visitors will automatically go further. Use appropriate headings, page titles and link text.

• Precise Labeling – Create the labeling in accordance with the visitors’ goals. Describe your product/service in a concise text. But let the design explain why you are better than others in the market. Cohering web content and design will allow visitors to have a sense of control.

• Segmentation – This is about dividing content into several sections according to the target market or objective. The content of the home page should briefly describe the different needs of different visitors and provide links to the specific pages. By doing this, you’ll be saving your visitors, time.

Create a Narrative Tone

For an engaging user-experience, narrative tones are very important. Web designers can create a narrative tone that will convince visitors. With intelligent content, you can experiment with different typographies and other elements that can be narrative. But you have to make sure your content and design are in keeping with each other and facilitates rich user experience.

Trust the Visitors

Rely on the visitors to establish a connection between your content and graphics. Remember, the higher sense of control you give your visitors, the closer you will get to them.  Enable the user to read and see what you have to offer at the same time.

These points will help you create and maintain consistency in your website content writing and design. They will also help reap the benefits of your online promotional campaign.

When you work as an independent web or graphic designer, you can get projects on the basis of your resume and portfolio. However, when you run a website design company, you have to show your business skills, besides creative skills, to secure new designing projects. You must create an impressive business proposal to convince your clients and beat your competitors.

Here are 12 secrets to write an effective business proposal.

1. Meet Your Client- Before you write the business proposal, meet your client and ask him all the necessary questions. Make a short questionnaire and give it to your client. Once you know all the details about his business, you can write the proposal comfortably.
2. Showcase Your Work- When you meet your client; show him some of the projects your company has delivered successfully. This way he will understand that you are good enough to meet the demands of his project.
3. Do Some Research- Apart from the information you get from your client, you need to do some research on your client’s background, his competitors, target audience and the current condition of his company. This will help you write an organized business proposal.
4. Know the Target Audience- When your client approaches you with a project, try to know his target audience and write clear details about them in the business proposal. For instance, write gender, age group and financial status of the target audience and state clearly how you can help your client grab their attention.
5. Write a Brief Executive Summary- Executive summary includes all project details in a nutshell. Most clients read this part of a business proposal carefully and you must write a brief yet impressive executive summary to convince your client. Show him that you truly understand his requirements and are ready to help him.
6. Discuss the Project Goals- Every design project has a goal, and you must know what your client expects from your design to deliver him exactly what he wants. If your client’s needs and your ideas do not match, he won’t give you the project.
7. Know the Competitors- There are hundreds of web design companies out there and it’s your duty to make sure that clients hire you for their projects. Take a look at your competitor websites and find out their weaknesses. Once you know their weaknesses, write a design proposal that can outshine your competitors.
8. Write Creative Strategy- Discuss your design strategies with your client and explain your decisions. Tell your client how you are going to meet the project goals and help him attract his potential customers.
9. Explain Project Methodology- You must explain your work methodology in the proposal. Show how you are going to handle the project from beginning to the end. This will help your client understand your work procedure and he won’t argue with you about the project deadline.
10. Explain Project Budget- Write the total project cost and the payment method in the business proposal. Break total cost in different parts such as “website design”, “frontend development”, “and backend development”, etc., to assure your client that you are offering him a fair deal.
11. Mention Project Deadline- When you set the project deadline, make sure that you keep some extra days in your hand. Website design is a creative process and sometimes you may spend a few extra days to design a beautiful layout. Therefore, if you think a project will take 10 days, give a 12 days deadline.
12. Give Your Contact Details- Always give your contact details to your client. Give him your mobile number, office landline number, email address, etc., so that he can contact you anytime regarding the project.

A well written and organized proposal can certainly win you a project. After you show the business proposal, don’t forget to send a follow-up email. Let your client realize that you are eager to work with him. If your client is impressed with your proposal, he will hire you for his design project.

A lot of people believe they can become a good professional website designer by purchasing a designing software and following its menus! Have you ever wondered if that is possible? If website design was so simple, why are there institutes teaching it?

Everyone who has been in the web designing industry has come across at some point of time, a software that claims – ‘no need for technical knowledge or skills’. The reality is, these claims are, to an extent, false promises of wish fulfillment. It’s not that the softwares don’t work. They do, and they are quite useful, but they don’t really satisfy the demands of a creative mind.

Creators of such softwares, market their products as ‘can be used by anyone and everyone. No technical knowledge needed.’ However, truth is, one cannot become a skilled web designer overnight by purchasing a software. Some level of technical knowledge is needed to understand the instructions and create designs accordingly.

The makers of design softwares claim to ‘efficiently substitute’ the need for creative thinking. They market their products ‘creating’ professionals and not merely helping them. This promise of instant accomplishment is what drives people to buy the software, because, in the face of an easy solution, no one would want to learn website designing in some media institute for years when they can create beautiful designs at home, with the help of tutorials.

One must not overlook the fact that such softwares are quite impressive, and to the novice, they promise to create amazing designs too by just a few clicks of the mouse. All you have to do is re-enact the steps shown in the video tutorial and voila, the design is ready!

Well, not really. The truth is that no software can create a web design all by itself. No matter how powerful and ‘efficient’ it is, it needs a human to do the work. It only provides the platform and the tools with which to work.

Remember, tutorials can be recorded through the action panel. They can be played back also. But that doesn’t mean the web designing software creates the designs by itself. The ‘designing with software’ trend was started by designers who preferred to take the help of templates instead of coming up with creative designs themselves. There is nothing wrong in it. Softwares save a lot of time and when designers have to work under strict deadlines, softwares are definitely a good option. But creativity cannot be artificially generated and talent can’t be mechanized. This is the most basic fact of the matter. Every website designer should know and trust this fact.

For creating corporate identity design of a company, paying attention to logo design, visual vocabulary, colors, and fonts is important. Unfortunately, most articles offer information about logo, colors, and visual vocabulary, ignoring fonts. For this reason, we have decided to offer crucial information about fonts in today’s article.

Basic Information about Fonts

Font refers to text characters, available in various sizes and styles. These styles can include bold, italic, regular, and light. Fonts can also be classified into various groups, such as serif, sans serif, display, and script fonts. Read on to know more.

• Serif Fonts- These fonts usually assume an upright, narrow shape, with prominent serifs at bottom of the lines that create the letters. Examples of serif fonts can include Times and Garamond.
• Sans-Serif Fonts- Fonts that do not include serifs are known as sans-serif fonts. Examples can include Verdana, Arial, and Tahoma. As compared to serif fonts, they are neater and modern. They are usually used, while developing website design and content.
• Display Fonts- These fonts possess a decorative element. They are usually used in headers or logos.
• Script Fonts- These refer to cursive fonts. Examples can include Nuptial Script and Brush Script.

Apart from these four fonts, other fonts exist as well. However, these four fonts are extensively used in business branding activities.

We have discussed main types of fonts. Now, we will offer you few guidelines that will help you to utilize fonts correctly.

Guidelines for Utilizing Fonts

• Printed Materials- If you are planning to incorporate long blocks of text in printed materials, opt for serif fonts. It will increase readability of the materials.
• Websites/Blogs- Serif-fonts can be your best option for creating website/blog. They are clean, simple, and easy to read. Additionally, remember that you need to pick out an online font that is automatically installed on PCs of most people. Otherwise, your site will appear in the default font chosen by the browser.

Many people complain that it is difficult to control the size of online fonts. Font tags in HTML do not come with sizing control. This means that you need to use them various times throughout every HTML. This is a time consuming affair.

The best way to deal with this situation is to opt for CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) for modifying the font size.

• Word Documents- For word documents, stick to fonts that are commonly installed in PCs. These can include Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana, and Georgia.

A good way of retaining appearance of information is to convert all the documents into PDF files. They embed fonts into respective documents, and one can view them in their original fonts in any PC.

Technical Information regarding Font File Types

If you are planning to purchase fonts for incorporating in your computer, you may be provided with few options. These can include True Types, Open Type, and Post Script fonts. We discuss each of these options in brief.

• Most professional printers opt for Post Script fonts. One format of Post Script font is available in Windows PC and another available for Macintosh PCs.
• True Types fonts are available in Windows PCs. As compared to Post Script fonts, their print quality is poor.
• Open Type fonts are the latest fonts. Limited fonts are available in this particular format. However, these fonts are cross-platform compatible.

Hope you liked our discussion about fonts!

The main purpose of a call-to-action page is to urge visitors to act. Depending on purposes of the website, intended actions can vary. If you want to increase awareness about your company, for example, you may want readers to subscribe to your newsletter. Alternatively, if you have ecommerce solutions, you may want them to buy products directly from your site.

Designing a good call-to action page is important. Unfortunately, some web designers commit certain mistakes, which discourage people to act. We list some of these mistakes below.

Mistake 1- Using Excessive Images

Using images can be a good way to highlight your services/products. Unfortunately, if you incorporate excessive images in a limited space, it will create visual clutter.

The primary purpose of a call-to-action page is to guide a visitor’s eyes to a particular direction. If you use graphics in a cluttered way in the website design, it will confuse readers. They may not know where exactly to look.

For best results, use images smartly. Ensure that the content and graphics lead the visitor’s eyes towards the intended direction. If you are planning to hire a website designer, ask him/her to utilize the white space smartly and simplify the navigation experience.

Mistake 2- Opting for a Distracting Background

Many companies prefer to use their brand colors in the background of the site. This is a good marketing technique. However, if the background dominates other elements of the page, it can distract readers from observing the call-to-action statement.

For this reason, carefully designing background of the site is important. Ensure that the background supports your site, rather than dominating it.

Mistake 3- Not Using a Call-To-Action Button

Many people prefer to use text, instead of images, for urging people to act. Unfortunately, this is a wrong strategy. This is because of the fact that a simple call-to-action statement will be lost, amongst other information incorporated in the site.

To ensure that users actually act, opt for a call-to -action button. Use a color that is contrasting to the background (of course, the contrast should not hurt the eyes at the same time). Implement these strategies to increase your conversation rate.

Mistake 4- Using Excessive Links

Incorporating excessive links in the call-to-action page is a bad idea, because readers may find so many links overwhelming. This is true for informational sites (where readers need to click at the links for acquiring data) as well.

To make sure that readers navigate the call-to-action page easily, opt for the most crucial links. If you have an informational site, you can use a call-to-action button in the home page, stating ‘Acquire a Quote’. Thereafter, in the second page, you can arrange links neatly, thus offering users a unique experience.

Mistake 5- Ignoring the Button Size

Button size plays a critical role in attracting attention of the visitors. If your site contains larger images, for example, using a small button will not give you the desired result. Of course, this does not mean that you should opt for a huge button blindly. Remember that using a huge button does not always automatically result in higher conversations.

For achieving the desired result, use a button that distinguishes itself amongst other web design elements, without dominating them.

Avoid these mistakes to create a perfect call-to-action page.