10 free online marketing tools that every “hands-on” marketer should use

The best tools for understanding your online marketplace?

I find that on training courses, the tools I recommend to help marketers are always popular, especially the free tools... At a course I was asked for a list of “essential tools” for digital marketing, so here they are…

2017 update: I originally created this list in 2012 and thought it was due an update since the feed reader tools and keyword tools have changed.

We aim to review and compare tools for managing different digital activities on Smart Insights, so we have many of these tools covered in other posts, so I’ll link to these where relevant.

There's a diverse mix of free tools available, one of the enjoyable aspects of working in digital marketing today. I’ll start with the most widely used. Please let us know about the “essential free tools” you use in the comments. For many more tools suggestions - check out our free guide.

Download free resource – Essential Digital Marketing Tools 2017

To help highlight the range of great online marketing services available, this guide and the infographic accompanying it recommend the categories of tools you should consider and highlights the 150 most popular, most capable tools. It helps Web design services for small business companies.

Access the Essential Digital Marketing Tools 2017

• 1. Reviewing the latest developments in your industry

There still isn’t a better alternative than Google Alerts for reviewing mentions of your brand name, competitor or sector names by entering keywords, so it’s widely used.

Although RSS isn’t “in vogue” as it was 5+ years ago, I still find there’s no substitute for using this as a listening post for developments in your industry. When I wrote the previous post I used Google Reader to categorise sites to keep up-to-date with the latest developments in digital. When Google withdrew this since there was no revenue in it (Boo!) I used Reeder as an offline client on my Macbook Air and iOS for a while. But now I recommend Feedly since it's the most popular so you can see by the 'voice of the crowd' which posts are most popular.  Similar to the feature in PostRank that Google also killed off. Although feed readers aren't in fashion they are the most efficient way to scan the latest news in different categories. So if you don't use them try Feedly out - our analytics shows it's one of the most common referrers to Smart Insights - do bookmark us!

• 2. Managing social media updates

I’ve used Hootsuite for posting updates to social networks and reviewing what others are saying for nearly five years now after using Tweetdeck back in the day - Twitter killed that one off for general use. Hootsuite seems to be comfortably the most popular free tool for posting and reviewing social media updates, but many still don’t know it, it can be used as a personal social media management tool too. It enables you to quickly post to all the main social networks including Google+ company pages and review conversations and messages. I’ve trialled many paid tools, but none come close. The paid version is worthwhile IMO for adding campaign tracking and extra reports.

• 3. Finding influencers

There is no single free tool that works well for this - please suggest alternatives. You can use reputation tools like Klout, Kred or Peerindex, but I find that the use of Twitter autofollow means that this often skews the results.

LinkedIn sector skills used to be the best source for finding business influencers because of grouping by narrower topics - but LinkedIn killed this - monetisation again. LinkedIn advanced search is probably the best replacement.

I'm interested to know alternatives readers use here - please share in the comments or on social!

• 4. Understanding customer search behavior

With search still driving the majority of visits, leads and sales for most businesses online, I believe that even marketers who outsource their SEO need to understand different types of customer behavior when searching to help develop strategies for getting visibility AND creating content and messages to help meet consumer needs. Custom website Design Company can be a potential keyword.

When I first wrote this post I recommended the Google Keyword Tool, but now it's been renamed to the Google Keyword Planner, but is still an indispensable tool alongside the Google Webmaster Tools integration now that The Growth of Not Provided keywords means we can't use analytics reliably to find referring keywords.  The Google Keyword Planner (tutorial) is still indispensable for this - I don’t think I have ever done a client training or consulting project where I haven’t used it! It's harder to get to now it's integrated into Google AdWords, but it's still free if you don't invest in AdWords.

Google Insights for search has now been folded into Google Trends essential for understanding seasonal search behavior trends in different countries.

Ubersuggest is also useful for summarizing the Suggest/Auto complete behavior in different countries to check you’re covering the main behaviors.

As I was researching this post for 2015 I noticed a new 'Tool on the Block' for keyword analysis - check out KeywordTool.io. It's like UberSuggest, but with better formatting - I often use this to show how local consumer behavior differs, for example I was giving a training workshop to a Shredders manufacturer - quite a different term en France par example: Cheap website design service for small business

• 5. Competitor site benchmarking

It used to be that Google AdPlanner was unbeatable for comparing audience size and dimension. That's been folded into AdWords as the Campaign Planner and now limited to media sites, but still useful for finding size and quality of audience for partner and media sites and don't forget about the related Google Placement Targeting Tool useful for remarketing and research.

Today, my 'go to' tool for benchmarking is Similar Web, a freemium tool launched in 2013 and offering free stats on all sites including referrers. Here's how Smart Insights looks:

Chris Soames has a post here on the main sites for competitor benchmarking. You will probably have to fall back on Alexa or Compete today which don’t tend to give realistic estimates outside of the US. I have also have an in-depth post recommending many other online competitor benchmarking tools.

• 6. Off-page backlink analysis for SEO

Lots of tools in this category, see our comparison of 6 best backlink analysis tools.

Of these, Majestic and Moz Open Site Explorer have to be the “must use” tools. I think for non-SEOs, the Backlink History is great for basic benchmarking of competitor success in gaining backlinks although link quality isn’t shown. It should use the tools for your Ecommerce website Design Company.

• 7. On-page markup analysis for SEO

Hubspots Site, now Marketing Grader for reviewing on-page for SEO is often mentioned as a useful tool by people on courses.

For reviewing on-page markup like headings and also mobile screen resizing I find Chris Pederick's Web Developer Toolbar for Chrome and Firefox essential. The Moz Toolbar is better from an SEO POV. Here's an example of the overlay to show our 'semantic markup':

• 8. Understanding overall online marketing effectiveness

I believe that Google Analytics or an equivalent is essential for all who work in marketing to master at some level.

To help here, we have many articles of advice you can access from our Google Analytics hub. The most popular is on using Google Analytics for social media marketing.

If you know all these tools, try the Google Agency Toolkit where they group all their tools together.

Looking for a more comprehensive range of tools? See this excellent directory from Razor Social collated by Ian Cleary for a bigger selection of online marketing tools and services where you can select by category.

I hope this compilation is useful, what do you find most useful of the digital marketing tools we have covered here and other tools we don't?

Shared from: www.smartinsights.com

Written by : Dave Chaffey

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The Top 7 Online Marketing Trends That Will Dominate 2017

The Top 7 Online Marketing Trends That Will Dominate 2017

The Internet has drastically altered the way in which information is shared, and has had a profound impact on marketing. Over the past few years, there has been more of a shift toward inbound techniques, while many outbound tactics have become antiquated. More businesses are finding success publishing original content rather than embedding advertisements within external content, because of the additional benefits these tactics offer, such as branding and audience growth.

With these trends in mind, let’s discuss my predictions for the top online marketing trends of 2017.

1.      Content Marketing Will be Bigger than Ever

One of the main ways that companies are establishing authority and gaining trust with consumers is by consistently creating valuable content through a variety of channels. This typically involves relevant industry information that provides insight or entertainment to an audience. Doing so allows a company to steadily build rapport with its demographic and develop a loyal following. According to the Content Marketing Institute, the top B2B content marketing strategies are social media, articles on a business’s website, eNewsletters, case studies, videos and articles on other websites.

By using one or more of these channels, small businesses are able to build a positive reputation within their industry. This trend suggests that marketing to the masses through techniques like television ads and radio ads are becoming less effective. Instead, it’s better to concentrate on inbound marketing, by producing valuable, engaging content designed for a specific audience. For help designing your content marketing strategy, see my articles “11 Places to Find Awesome Content Marketing Ideas,” and “How to Build a Kickass Content Strategy.”

2.      Social Media Marketing Will Require More Diversity

Just a few years ago, businesses were limited with regard to the social media networks they could implement into their marketing campaigns, with the biggies including Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Now, it seems like new social media sites are appearing all the time. While some never really get off the ground, others like Pinterest, Google+, Tumblr and Instagram have surged in popularity and have provided businesses with a plethora of new options that allow them to produce engaging content in a variety of media forms and build their audiences across more channels than ever before.

Consequently, it has become common for businesses to branch out and experiment with multiple networks with the aim of reaching the maximum amount of consumers. This diversification seems to prove fruitful for many companies because it often builds brand equity by making it easier for consumers to recognize a particular brand. For help figuring out which social media networks are right for your business, see my article “How to Determine Which Social Media Network Fits Your Business.”

3.      Image-Centric Content Will Rule

As consumers are hit with an increasing number of advertisements, it’s becoming more important to make content easily and quickly digestible. If you look at the social media sites I mentioned previously that are on the rise, three of the four have a common characteristic…they place an emphasis on images. The rapid rise to success of Buzzfeed and Pinterest are testaments to the power and viral potential of image-based content.

Successful blog posts that receive the most social shares also usually have a common characteristic: they pepper in some well-placed pictures to break content up and emphasize certain points. Another example is infographics, which combine images with a minimal amount of text to explain a topic and provide statistical information or data from research studies.

While I doubt that traditional text-based content will ever completely go out of style, it’s pretty clear that incorporating images is beneficial to a marketing campaign.

For more information about using Image-based social media networks in your online marketing initiative, I recommend the following articles:

• How to Use Pinterest in Your Online Marketing Initiative
• Visual Micro-Sharing Platforms: The Next Big Time in Social Media Marketing?
• The Power of Images in Social Media Marketing

4.      Less will be more

One notable trend is the apparent shift in consumer preference regarding simplistic marketing messages instead of in-depth messages. When you think about some of the top brands in the world like Apple and Google, they clearly value simplicity. A large part of Pinterest’s appeal is its clean, uncluttered, and minimalist aesthetic. 

With many consumers feeling burned out by a constant barrage of information and advertisements that scream “look at me”, some of the most innovative marketers are going the opposite direction. The’re now making efforts to tone-down their campaign messages and not overwhelm consumers with hype.

Perhaps an article by Forbes said it best: “there is a sense that from the hyper-connectivity of our highly-digitized lives to the bright, flashy, complicated sensory input we’re fed every day, there is no way to continue at this pace. As a result, 2016 is likely to be a year where the most successful small business custom website marketing strategies will be ones that are not only simple in nature, but promote goods and services that serve to simplify the consumer’s life, or even just their customer experience.”

5.      Mobile-Friendly Content Will Be Necessary

Due to the widespread (and quickly growing) use of smartphones and tablets, it’s necessary for companies to create content that’s accessible to mobile users. According to Forbes, “87% of connected devices sales by 2017 will be tablets and smartphones.” Whether it’s creating an alternate mobile version of a website or utilizing responsive web design, it’s important to provide a positive experience to users that are browsing via a mobile device. Responsive mobile website design is important for business or organization today.

Otherwise, it’s easy to lose customers to competitors who have adapted to this trend. As the shift from traditional PCs and laptops to mobile devices continues, businesses that aren’t onboard are likely to suffer.

6.      Ad Retargeting Will Grow in Effectiveness

This is a marketing strategy that has really caught on recently. In a nutshell, it works by utilizing browser cookies to track the websites that users visit. Once they leave a certain site, the products or services they viewed will be shown to them again in advertisements across different websites.

It’s fairly obvious as to why this technique can be so effective. With only two percent of web traffic converting on the first visit, ad retargeting works to increase the overall conversion rate by reminding consumers of the product or service they viewed. This keeps the brand and the product at the top of the consumer’s mind. There are even psychological studies that have shown that simple exposure to brand names and logos creates familiarity, which builds trust and makes consumers more likely to make a purchase.

Recommended by Forbes

Even if there’s no immediate purchase, this can really pay off in the long run. Due to the success that many marketers have had with ad retargeting, there’s a good chance that it will become more mainstream in 2017.

7.      SEO and Social Signals Will Become Even More Intertwined

Although social signals still don’t typically carry the same weight as traditional inbound links, it’s pretty undeniable that they play a role in organic search rankings these days. After all, they’re one of the three pillars of SEO. Since the goal of Google and other search engines is to provide users with the most relevant and highest quality content possible, it makes sense why they would factor in the number of social shares that a blog post, article or product page receives.

The more people that are sharing a piece of content, the higher quality it’s likely to be, and therefore its position should increase within the search engine results pages. It’s no coincidence that the top-ranking search results tends to have lots of social shares, while those ranked lower have fewer.

Besides this, social shares can serve as a stamp of approval (ie, a trust signal) for visitors landing on a page. If they see that it has hundreds or thousands of shares, it’s likely that there’s something of value. That’s a big reason why so many businesses are installing social share plugins and encouraging consumers to share as much as possible.

While it’s difficult to predict algorithms will evolve in the future, there’s a reasonable chance that social shares will match or even outweigh traditional inbound links by the end of 2017. For more information on how SEO and social media are becoming intertwined, see my article “How to Integrate Social MediaWith Your SEO Campaign.”

Conclusion

There you have it, my predictions for the top seven online marketing trends of 2017. Did I miss anything? What do you think about my predictions? Leave a comment and let me know!

Written by: Jayson DeMers

Source: www.forbes.com

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The Best Web Design Company in the World

The Best Web Design Company in the World

What is the best web design company? How does a company become known as the "Best Web Design Company in the World"? What criteria are used to determine what makes a website design company “the best”?

Naturally, WebpageFX strives to be listed at the top of the best website design company’s category. We've even won awards for websites we've designed in the past. But before we figure out how we (or anyone else) can be considered as the best web design company, or even just one of the best web design companies out there, we had to first figure out how the "best web design company" was actually defined. Read on to learn more!

Qualities of the Best Web Design Companies

Defining the best website design company couldn't be based on design alone. Not only is design subjective, it is also impossible to rate all the top web design companies based on this criteria alone. Basically, you can't say a company is the top web design firm by only looking at their work.

So if it's not the quality of web design that qualifies a firm as a “best web design company,” then what is it, exactly?

In our opinion, to qualify as one of the best web design companies, some specific criteria have to be met. Here are the qualities that we feel the best web design company in the world should have.

Award-winning Design

This is the most obvious on our list of criteria for the best web design company. An agency's work has to have been recognized for its quality and effectiveness to even be in the running for the best web design company in the world.

Some of the national awards available for stellar website design include the Horizon Interactive Awards, the Webby Awards, and The Interactive Media Awards. There are also many awards available in specific regions or states that can be awarded for the best local web site design.

Innovative Approach

Because web design is a constantly-changing industry, the best web design companies are those who keep their clients’ sites up to date with the latest technology. Even the coolest designs are bound to feel outdated within a few years, and with modern consumers who are used to constant updates and innovation, it’s important for the best website design company to stay on the cutting edge.

Some companies may think that simply updating visual elements is enough to make clients happy, but true innovation means embracing change in all forms. To be a top design company, you need to do more than follow the trends—you need to be a trailblazer.

For example, the recent shift towards browsing the web on devices other than desktop computers led the best web design companies to develop an entirely new approach to design that is compatible with smart phones, tablets, and other devices. This approach, called responsive design, is now essential for success in search engines.

Although most companies will eventually jump on the bandwagon eventually if a new strategy or trend becomes popular enough, the best web design companies are those who stay at the forefront. True dedication to clients means always wanting them to have the best, and sometimes the only way to give them that is by creating it.

Expansive Portfolio

The best web design companies should have a wide range of past work. To be in the running for the “the best web design company” title, a firm needs to show that they've worked in a variety of industries. It’s not enough to build and design websites for just one industry or area of focus.

The best website design firms can display work with dozens of clients across multiple industries, showing strong elements of versatility and adaptation that is indicative of any good web design company. The best web design company could tailor their user experience and results to accommodate the needs of any business, from construction to textiles and more.

Extensive Services Offered

It would be easy to rank as the best web Design Company if the focus was solely on web design. To us, that's not good enough. To qualify as one of the best web design firms, more than just web design has to be on their menu. The best website design companies offer a full-range of services to meet all the needs of clients, from Internet Marketing to Development.

This means that the best website design firm should offer services like SEO, PPC management, interactive coding, and more. In addition, this also means that the largest web design companies are not necessarily the best. They may have size on their side, but they need to offer more to their clients than visual elements.

Track Record of Success

 Just like offering only web design, not having proven records of successful work can knock an agency right off the best web design company list. To be considered in the running for the best web design company, a company needs to provide its clients with high quality work that is effective. Otherwise, what's the point? If it isn't effective, it's not working, and that means the business lacks the quality needed to be considered the best website design company.

To make our list of web design companies, a firm needs a history of satisfied clients that report success. Testimonials offered to web design companies are an excellent indication of happy customers, as are long-standing accounts and a high client retention rate. Combined with other important elements behind each company, these factors can all help indicate the best web company.

Company Growth

Like any successful business, the best design company in the world should be growing and increasing its revenue. These are both signs of continued development, and they're good indicators that a company is worthy of being considered one of the best in its industry.

This doesn't necessarily mean that the largest web design company is the best, though. Continued growth is integral to any business model particularly, particularly those looking to tank among the top 10 web development companies; much less claim the #1 spot for them. The top web designing company will show growth with its customer base, employees, revenue, and other elements that clearly show them at the top of their grade.

Where Does WebpageFX Fall on the Top Web Design Companies List?

Knowing where WebpageFX ranks on the best website design companies list requires finding out who else is on the list.

Since we are a United States-based firm, the majority of the companies we researched were websites written in English, so our study might be better titled "The Best Web Design Company in the US and Europe."

In conducting our research on the best web design companies, we also limited our review to firms that had over 30 customers and had been in business at least three years. This is because we feel that a proven track record of success is necessary for being considered the world's top web design company. We didn't look at just the biggest web design companies, though, because we know bigger doesn't always mean better.

After our research, we came up with our own list of web development companies we believe to be the top of their game.

Some of the Best Web Design Companies in the World

Here is our list of the top design companies:

1. Name:

2Advanced Studios

URL:

http://www.2advanced.com

Country:

USA

Reason:

Take one look at the 2Advanced Studios' website and you'll see why we have them on the best web design company list. Their artwork is completely original and the flash animation is insanely good. Their current website is v5 and all their previous websites were extremely good too. Their clients include Ford, AOL, ESPN, Bacardi, and Motorola. These artists are by far the best flash designers in the world.

2. Name:

AgencyNet Interactive

URL:

http://www.agencynet.com

Country:

USA

Reason:

Their company website is probably the coolest website we have ever visited. That's why we put them in the running for best web design company on the planet. Clients include HBO, Bombay Sapphire, ESPN, Bacardi, and Motorola to name some notables.

3. Name:

North Kingdom

URL:

http://www.northkingdom.com

Country:

Sweden

Reason:

North Kingdom found a place on our best web design company list mainly due to their work on Vodafone's website and the “Got Milk” promotional website. In terms of their overall quality, we believe they have some of the top web designers in the world. North Kingdom clients have a more international flair, including Coke, Toyota, and Victoria's Secret.

Is WebpageFX the Best Web Design Company in the World?

Saying WebpageFX is the best web design company in the world may be too far-reaching. It would also sound conceited, wouldn’t it? We can't be the best judge whether or not we’re among the top web design companies since we aren't completely objective.

But what we can comfortably say is that WebpageFX is one of the best web design firms out there. We have all of the qualities that we defined as crucial—and then some! Read on to learn more about what makes us great.

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10 Design Principles That Each Net Developer Needs To Know

10 Design Principles That Each Net Developer Needs To Know

Over the last few years I’ve been teaching a workshop on visual layout fundamentals aimed toward developers. As with most things at the net, I have observed a diverse degree of design expertise and hobby from each the students who have taken my workshop, as well as from the developers I’ve labored with.

This listing is supposed to be a shortlist of the concepts that I’d like the developers I paintings with to apprehend approximately layout. It is supposed to steer builders within the right course as an introduction to questioning and communicating approximately design.

Design isn't just visual

Design isn't just the façade; it's the personality beneath. For a few purpose, layout has a stigma as totally the visible a part of the website. This could not be more fake or misunderstood. Design is the whole enjoy from the instant customers enter your site too properly when they've left.

Layout is the 'how' and 'why' people want to use the web site; the velocity at which the website masses; the interplay between hover, click on and touch; and the tempo at that you supply new features and content. All of these standards comprise layout.

Because design is extra than visible aspects and influences the complete enjoy, absolutely everyone on a undertaking is a designer. Any team member who units out to discover how the user interacts with the web page is a clothier. The frontend, backend and challenge management must all be considering layout.

Be user-centric

Customers are paramount and need to always be at the vanguard of every decision approximately your web site or app. Designs must allow your customers to attain their desires with pace, effectiveness and, most significantly, satisfaction.

In my workshop, i get students to create a preliminary design quick once they've chosen a challenge to work on. Though I give them simple guidelines to comply with, for the maximum part, they may be focused at the user: who are they, what are they doing to your site and what is the sensation you want them to have once they visit as well as after they go away?

Even though this works well for the workshop's small tasks, with regards to larger projects, you ought to be thinking about this foundation on a larger scale. Designers use personas, storytelling and extra to suggest who the web page customers are and what they want to be doing on the website. Delve into these tips in something shape they take for your challenge and use them to influence all of your design decisions.

The fashion designer should not must shoulder all of the person experience; designers need to just lead it. The experience ought to instead be shared by way of the complete group (if one exists). There are many instances in which I’ve relied on developers to help me discern out the great manner to create the best user experience. No longer most effective do they recognize their limits higher; additionally they have a clearer concept of all opportunities.

Design is in detail

info are capable of creating a 'appropriate' design 'amazing'. Attention to element in a consumer enjoy can be the difference between a satisfied user and an aggravated one. Having the right coloration of blue or wrapping the hyperlink round precise textual content truly topics. The trouble with info is that it is clean to get caught up in them. Focusing on the info too early is not sensible and can gradual down the procedure. it is crucial to recognize whilst to cognizance on specific info or while it is beneficial to visualize the complete, larger image.

When designing, sketch often

The benefits of sketching user reviews are well documented. Sketching enables you consider content, hierarchy and waft among different components. Sketches are reasonably-priced, smooth to do and very speedy. You should be able to create one new concept every thirty seconds. Sketching is likewise one of the high-quality ways to communicate thoughts approximately layout, person enjoy and person float for a site.

Sketches can help you iterate on thoughts quick and save lots of time experimenting in mockups or code

My first college professor ingrained this in me when I used to be a scholar. She would not let us use the laptop until she noticed pages upon pages of sketches. Young designers tend to skimp on the sketches or omit them altogether. I still see many designers transition too early from sketches to a higher fidelity layout without first exploring all viable answers.

The excellent a part of sketching is that everybody can do it. Absolutely everyone knows a way to draw boxes, squiggled strains and arrows. These are the foundational tools you need to start designing - it honestly is that easy. We’re no longer looking for priceless pieces of art work, and also you absolutely do not need an elaborate art degree. You just need for you to truly speak your sketches and the concept technique behind them.

Use white space

It seems to be the hardest idea for developers to grasp: the most important advantage to having the right amount of white space is giving the user a ruin. Breaks are important for processing records, specifically while there is a truthful amount to method. it is why we've paragraphs and sentences instead of just a unmarried, lengthy block of walking textual content.

The secret's to make certain that white area has a dating with different objects at the page, which include the other space. When you have an unmarried column of white space, make certain there may be another unmarried column of white space round to stability it.

For vertical area, just use fractions of the body font size. I tend to preserve things easy and use a scale of .25; however there are several other scales that you can use. For example, if the body font size is 16px (1em): four, eight, 12, sixteen, 20, 24, 28, 32, 40, 48. This allows for deciding on font sizes by in reality transferring up and down the size as I want larger or smaller type.

Grids aren't just CSS frameworks

Loopy, proper? Grids first determined prominence in design in what is now called global Typographic style.

A grid must be used to:

    Create relationships among gadgets

    Provide a base device for visible alignment

    Assist create a horizontal and vertical rhythm

    Help create optical stability

All of those concepts work collectively to pleasant allow you create a better visual machine for your customers. The grid you pick impacts the team spirit of the layout; selecting a grid primarily based on which is simplest to put in force may not always be the fine layout preference in your content and customers. In the end, it's nevertheless only a device and will handiest be as precise as the character wielding it.

When everything has emphasis, nothing does

It’s like having a verbal exchange with a set of folks that are all yelling at you simultaneously to do different things. Most effective one element has to have emphasis on the web page: the most vital one. Giving emphasis to an unmarried detail and having a clear hierarchy presents flow for readers and must factor them inside the desired course.

Keep an inspiration folder

Maintain a gallery of all of the matters that inspire you visually. These can be pictures, movies, posters, T-shirts and websites; whatever which could spark ideas for a technique to the specific layout problem you are going through.

No longer only does this act as a reference point, it also forces you to constantly be looking and comparing layout. The simple procedure of choosing portions of layout and saving them to a folder forces you to utilize those layout evaluation muscle groups.

Design is all about problem solving

You ought to method design as a hard and fast of troubles that require answers. Everything on the page must have a motive for being there and be solving a specific hassle for the user or layout. I’ve the tendency to eliminate functions from the function set till the hassle i am solving turns into very obvious.

On occasion it is difficult for us to kingdom the issues instead of jumping to a solution. Operating backwards really enables with this. When finding out whether something must be pink, as an example, stop and think about the reasons you desired it purple within the first area. Ask yourself: what am I trying to gain by way of making it purple? What became my concept method? You can become back where you began, however you'll have a better knowledge of why and what you're doing.

Know how to talk about and critique design

A sure manner to annoy a dressmaker is to tell them that a red block must be blue, that a piece of textual content should be moved over, or to make the brand bigger. I think you get the concept.

The pleasant manner to give optimistic remarks is to call attention to the troubles with the design. Have proof primarily based at the customers, web page float, design desires and visible principles to support the issues which you see with the design. This then helps your opinion of what must alternate and presents a strong basis for what achievement is for the consumer in addition to the design.

Then, with a bit of luck, the clothier wills paintings with you to shape a technique to the hassle. This is your opportunity to suggest a resolution; simply do not ask to make the brand larger.

Resources and workshop

If you've found this interesting, feel free to check out my design for developers resources and design learning trails. I'd also love to see you in either the online version or at the face-to-face version of the workshop.
Words: Kyle Fiedler
Kyle Fiedler is a designer at thoughtbot, helping to build Rails and iOS applications. He has been designing and developing, in some form, since the dot-com boom (and bust) and hasn't stopped since.
This article originally appeared in net magazine issue 244.

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8 Reasons Why Your Business NEEDS A Professional Website!

8 Reasons Why Your Business NEEDS A Professional Website!

Like many small business owners, you may believe your business cannot benefit from having a website or that a website is not within your budget. Or maybe you think because you don’t use a computer, neither do your potential customers. These are misconceptions. These 8 reasons show why your company NEEDS a professional website, no matter what size your business.

1. YOUR SMALL BUSINESS WILL GAIN CREDIBILITY

Today, more and more consumers use the internet to search for the products or services they need. Your small business will gain credibility by having a website. Without one, potential customers will go to your competitors that do. If you already have a website but it is "home-made", having it professionally redesigned will provide your business with a professional image which will inspire even greater confidence. For home-based businesses, this is particularly beneficial since you do not have a store front to promote your products or services.

2. A WEBSITE SAVES YOU MONEY

As a small business owner you probably think you can't afford a professional website, but you can't afford NOT to. Although the cost of designing a website varies, once it's up and running, a website for a small business generally costs under $100 a month and, in some cases, as little as $20. Compared with the cost of a newspaper ad, when you consider the potential market you can reach with a website, it is a very cost effective way to promote your business.

3. IT WILL ENABLE YOU TO KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS INFORMED

Think of your website as being your online brochure or catalogue. It is much easier and quicker to update information about your products and services on your website than in print material, making it an effective way of letting your customers know about the arrival of new products, upcoming events, special promotions, or any new services you now offer. Unlike print ads which quickly become outdated, your website can provide current information and news.

4. IT IS ALWAYS ACCESSIBLE

A website is available to both your regular and potential customers 24/7/365 providing them with the convenience of reviewing your products and services when your store or office is closed. With today’s busy lifestyles, this is a great selling point when making a purchase decision.

5. A WEBSITE MAKES IT POSSIBLE TO TARGET A WIDER MARKET

Whether you provide products or services, your website will provide an alternative location to sell them. As a retailer, a website (eCommerce) is a great place to sell your products to a wider market; even services can be made available globally. Don't think you'll be able to sell your products or services online? Don't forget, even cars and houses sell online!

6. IT PROVIDES A MEDIUM ON WHICH TO SHOWCASE YOUR WORK

No matter what type of business you’re in, a website is a great place to showcase your work. By including a portfolio or image gallery, as well as testimonials about your work, you can demonstrate what makes your business unique.

7. A WEBSITE SAVES YOU TIME

Providing information to your customers takes time, whether it’s on the phone, face-to-face, in a brochure, or in emails. With an online catalogue you can provide lots of information about your products and services. Once your website is up and running, it is available to your customers indefinitely, saving you time. And what is time? Time is money!

8. IT IMPROVES CUSTOMER SERVICE

Maybe you sell environmentally friendly products and would like to share tips on how to recycle, or perhaps you’re an accountant and want to give your clients advice on how to simplify their bookkeeping practices. By including a FAQ page, adding articles or uploading newsletters to answer all your customers' questions you can keep them up-to-date. What better way to provide them with value added service than by sharing information on your website?

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