Over the last few years, blogging has taken the world by storm. Unfortunately, recent statistics reveal that many people abandon their blogs soon after they create them. Reasons include lack of genuine interest and communication with the readers.  Failure to post interesting content also acts as an additional reason sometimes.

Adam Sarner, who is associated with Gartner Inc., (a research and advisory firm) echoes this fact when he says that many people blog because they feel that it is a new way of communicating with a global audience. Unfortunately, within few months, they realize that they cannot blog regularly and abandon them.
If you have a design blog and want to know the secrets of successful blogs, read on.

Secret 1 – Figure out your target audience

Your blog revolves around the theme of web design and you write topics related to your theme. Have you ever wondered that writing about general web design topics can create disinterest amongst your readers?

The reason is that millions of design blogs are available in the Internet, with many publishing similar posts. In such a competitive situation, there is hardly any guarantee that people will read your blog.

To prevent failure of your blog, figure out your target audience. Opt for a blog customization. Write topics that cater to their special needs. If your target audiences are freelancers, you can choose topics such as ‘Motivating Tips for Freelancer’ or ‘Which is better – A Freelancing Career or a Full – Time Job’ ? Consider the fact that focusing on a particular niche will grant you a loyal audience.

Secret 2 – Give something back to the readers

Most people visit design blogs to gather valuable information about website design. While designing a website, they face certain issues and may refer to your blog for finding some solution. To maintain interest of the people, you have to offer something new to your readers. These can include how-to and problem-solving posts. Keep your articles short, crisp, and rich in content.

People usually look for good information and to fulfill their cravings, you can provide them with tutorials. Additionally, you can offer them a free e-book or share any useful link with them.

Secret 3 – Show genuine interest in connecting your audience

Many bloggers believe that only publishing information-rich articles will make a blog successful. However, this is not a completely right concept. It is true that people visit blogs to gather good information. However, at the same time, they want to stay connected with the person who is writing the blogs. If readers leave comments or questions and do not receive any reply, they may not feel interested in visiting the blog again.

Therefore, to engage your audience and retain their interest, you should connect with them regularly. Answer their queries or leave a reply to their comments. Convincing your readers that you are genuinely interested in solving their problems is critical for making your blog successful.

Developing a successful design blog will take time. Even if you do not receive a great response initially, do not feel disappointed. Work hard, and stay in touch with your audience. Most importantly, convince them that you are passionate about web design and solving their problems.

Regarded mostly as the second best, after Adobe, in graphic design industry, Corel offers a plethora of design tools at competitive rates for web and graphic design. Its new version, PaintShop Pro, sports a streamlined interface, new image editing tools and visible speed improvements. It comes in a regular Pro version which costs $79.99. Users with deep pockets can churn out $99.99 for PaintShop Pro X4 Ultimate Edition which comes with added goodies. As of now, it is available only for Windows OS.

PaintShop Pro X4 does not suffer from interface clutter, which was a drawback of its predecessor. This software offers three modes to users – Edit, Adjust and Manage. Layout keeps changing as a user alters between different modes.

In this version everything feels snappier, be it editing a large image or applying effects to it. Corel has done a nice job of graphics hardware acceleration in this app and it shows. For orations that take up some time, this app offers a progress bar, which is helpful for users. This app even starts up faster than Adobe Photoshop Elements and does not crash under strenuous operations. This is a marked improvement as previous Corel apps were prone to crash under similar settings, making it suitable for any web design company.

When it comes to ease of use and features in image importing, PaintShop Pro X4 cannot really beat Photoshop Elements. It can import images from phones but struggles with SD media cards at times. This app, however, offers impressive photo organizing features. It offers decent image editing features and also offers advanced adjustments like tone curve manipulation and chromatic aberration correction. Version X4 comes with two new features – Clarity and Light Fill. This is ideal for website design professionals who prefer using high quality images in their work.

As far as improving image quality goes, PaintShop Pro X4 does not disappoint users. It lets you add objects like clip art and texts in images. There are various brush effects available in its panel but nothing that you cannot find in similar applications.

Photoshop Elements offers more extensive control as far as Brush sets are concerned. However, it offers some interesting new effects like Photo Blend, vignette effect and Selective Focus. Photomerge Group Shot tool in Photoshop Elements yields effects similar to Photo Blend and offers more tweaking options. Same can be said of its HDR tool.

Corel has woken up to popularity and scope of social media integration in its design apps. PaintShop Pro X4 offers photo publishing to popular social media sites including Facebook directly from its interface. This app also lets you email photos in a straightforward process. Corel, however, lacks any online backup service. There are various image export options in PaintShop Pro X4 and they will fit bills for majority of users.

People may face various problems in your website due to poor internet connection, technical fault in the server or because of your own design mistakes. As a designer, your duty is to avoid these problems and retain site visitors. To help your audience, you should create a defensive website design. Here are a few things you can do:

404 Error Pages- You should design a useful error page to retain a visitor and encourage him to try again:

• Not many users understand the meaning of “404 error” and you should not use this as a headline for your error page. To make things easily understandable for your users, write something like “page not found” or “oops…you made a mistake!” in the error page title.
• Explain the reason for the error and guide the user to find the right page. For instance, you can ask him to verify the spelling of the URL or check the domain extension.
• You can use a search box in the error page and help your user find what he is looking for. For instance, a user may have clicked on a “web development” link in an article in your blog and not found it. The search box will help him find articles on the same topic on insertion of the same or related keyword (like web programming).
• You should also give an option to your viewers to report the problem. Give your contact information so that viewers can inform you about the problems they have faced.

In Line Help- When people are buying from your website, you need to assure them that they will not be cheated. When users hand over their personal data, credit card details to you, they are often skeptical and you can earn their trust with the help of “in line text”. For instance, if a user wants to know the security of your shopping cart, don’t direct him to another page. Instead, use in-line text. The in-line text is connected with an underlined text; when a user places his mouse on the underline text, the in-line text appears with a brief description of the underlined topic.

You can also offer contextual help to your users to make your site user friendly. Offer guidelines to users to help them fulfill their purpose on your site. WordPress offers this type of help in the admin area.

Make the Site Accessible to Slow Internet Connection User- Flash and jQuery can make your site amazingly attractive, but it will also increase the page load time. To maintain a defensive approach, you should design the most important parts of your website in CSS and HTML. This way, you will make sure that those with slow connection will also be able to access your site. A completely Flash-based website won’t appear in many smartphones and tablets, including iPhone and iPad. You won’t like to lose a huge customer base for the sake of video and animation.

Implement Search Option- Especially in ecommerce websites, the search bar helps users locate an article or product from a very large website. This makes sure that nobody leaves your site disappointed.

Help the User to Fill Forms- Almost every website has some kind of form, such as sign up, subscribe, etc. Wherever you use a form in your site, make it user-friendly with intelligent design. If a user misses a mandatory field, highlight that box with red color and show a text beside the box indicating what he missed. Don’t scare the user with just an error sign. Explain to him what he did wrong and guide him to do the correct thing. For instance, if his capslock is on, show a message “turn off the capslock”. Nobody likes to fill up a form twice for a small mistake they made in the last part of the form. You should store datas filled up earlier and ask users to fill only the part where they made a mistake.

Detect the Problems- Before you make the website live, check it for any mistakes or bugs. Sometimes, a broken link or missing page can destroy the site’s reputation, and to be absolutely sure about your website’s functionality, you should check it thoroughly.

These defensive designing tips will help you retain your viewers even when there is a problem with your site. Make sure whenever a user visits your site, he is satisfied with the small, yet important usability features.

You might have a great website with engaging, compelling content, but your web content needs exposure to get more and more people to notice your site. Twitter, which effectively shares your content links, is a great platform for popularizing your web content.

Your website design and content writing efforts will bear you greater results when your content is shared on social media platforms like Twitter. You can enhance the value of your site’s content by writing catchy Twitter headlines!

• Shorter Headlines

Twitter requires your headlines to be shorter, i.e. not more than 140 characters. This rule has been imposed for a purpose. You want your headline to spread; to do that, you have to give people additional space to retweet.

How do you keep headlines short but effective? Keep your headlines within eight words, lesser the better. Think of crisp, smart words that describes your website’s content precisely. Keep your headlines short, because shorter headlines communicate ideas more quickly and effectively.

• Create Headlines that Promise

Your Twitter headline must promise something to your online users. Give readers some benefit in return for the attention and time they are giving to you. The reward can be in the form of an entertaining activity or an answer to a vital issue. The best way to create quality headlines is by following the 4U approach:

1. Make your headlines Useful.
2. Communicate that the benefit you are offering is Unique.
3. Offer a sense of Urgency.
4. Implement the above in an Ultra-Specific manner.

• Say ‘No’ to Puns

Headlines with puns often help spice up a dull story, but using puns in Twitter headlines should be avoided. Don’t be vague and avoid using innuendos in the headline because a user may not be able to deduct the actual idea behind your content and consequently, never click on the headline.

• Use Keywords

Write Twitter headlines that has important keywords from your article. This is important for search engine optimization. Your keywords should include words or phrases that web users will use to look for a story.

Web design professionals need to know how to use texture with apt design elements in a web page to make it stand out. Textures often help key elements in a web page to stand out and draw visitor’s attention to content headings and subheadings. Texture should not be overused in website design as doing so will give a grungy and cluttered look to a website.

Textures should not be confused with patterns as the latter denotes small, tileable graphic design elements. Textures constitute of larger images without repeated designs. Before using texture in website design, a web designer should keep in mind that it should not be used without a purpose. Design needs to be used for a purpose or else it cannot succeed with target viewers.

When used simply, textures segregate website content from other elements. It directs user’s attention to important content in a web page. Texture can also be used to split content into sections. This is not to say other elements of content segregation should not be used. Texture can be used to enhance its effectiveness. Sometimes, textures can be used to great effect to add impact to an otherwise bland looking page background.

Web designers should never compromise on content legibility for texture. If a user finds reading some information he needs in a website cumbersome owing to a texture used in background, it defeats the purpose of publishing content. It is also important to use contrasting colours when it comes to using text on textured web page backgrounds.

A web designer also needs to dabble with graphics at times. Instead of searching online for suitable textures for use in client websites, a designer can store custom brush sets in design apps like Photoshop. He can use these in projects later for making various types of textures. There are a number of online tutorials available for creating texture with Photoshop Brushes.

While implementing texture in web design, a web designer needs to ensure that it does not take a toll on page loading and rendering time. Using a nice looking texture that adds to file size and subsequently lengthens page load time does not make sense. Designers need to strike a balance between image optimization and visual quality while using texture in websites.

A web designer also needs to choose logically when it comes to texture application in websites. For instance, selecting a metallic texture for a website that sells wooden furniture does not really look well. However, this same texture would gel well with a site that sells gadgets. Textures should be used to build brand identity for sites and online stores, not to baffle visitors. Usability is as important as good looks, in this context.

Often, as part of their marketing campaign, webmasters will use “coming soon” or product anticipatory pages before launching their websites. To create a successful “coming soon” page, follow these guidelines:-

• Establish Your Identity- Design a powerful “coming soon” page that will establish your corporate identity. Use your corporate colors, logo and fonts in the teaser-page design. Your website design, which is likely to be more extensive and detailed, is bound to look different from your teaser-page; however, using your corporate colors and symbols will help viewers identify your website instantly once it’s launched.

• Tempt Visitors- Include a “sign up” or “subscribe” option in the “coming soon” page to collect customer data. You can promise your subscribers exclusive first-come-first-serve offers post site launch to tempt them to sign up, or offer your subscribers few free and downloadable items on the spot, post subscription. Nothing works like ‘FREE’! Exploit it to collect customer information.

• Convey an Interesting Message- A “coming soon” page is not meant to include your company’s history, instead, is to create anticipation with the help of a short and interesting message. For instance, favmovie.net “coming soon” page says, “This winter only in your browser.” It’s short, but interesting enough to compel users to visit their site once it’s launched.

• Go Viral- Post a video of your company/products/services in the “coming soon” page and include a “share on social media” option. Visitors may share the video if they like what you are offering and this will help your website become popular.

• Design Something Special- Use more graphics than text in your “coming soon” page to make it attractive; use Flash where applicable to make your page interactive. Your “coming soon” page should be interesting, fun and informal. For instance, squidchef.com’s “coming soon” page uses an image of a purple squid with a chef’s hat against a background that looks like an ocean. The imagery goes well with the company name, though the site actually offers WordPress themes.

By using a “coming soon” page intelligently, you can create anticipation for your products/services before they are launched. Hype can go a long way to enhance the popularity of your website. Of course, quality will sustain in the end, so make sure what you offer, gives your customers their money’s worth!

Many people underestimate the importance of domain names. However, the truth is that, domain names can play a critical role in your website’s success. Domain name is the first thing that a visitor will notice about your site and thus, it is important to come up with a memorable domain name. Domain names can also provide you with a unique identity.

If you are wondering about the techniques that will help you to identify good domain names, read on.

• They are Simple and Short

It is a known fact that people tend to remember things that are simple and short. The general rule is that a good domain name should contain less than 10 characters. Avoid exceeding 20 characters at any cost.

As far as word numbers are concerned, try to use one-word domains. Two-word and three-word domains like webguru-india.com and logo-design-india.com can be considered good and average, respectively. A great example of a short domain name can be quotes.com.

• They are Memorable

Most users do not have the time to bookmark sites. Rather, they prefer to memorize domain names of their favorite sites and type them when they are surfing the Internet. Using a complicated domain name can interfere with the user’s desire to memorize the name.

• They have Easy Spellings

Your domain name should not contain words that are difficult to spell. Using words that have complicated spellings can result in the user landing in some other site. To simplify the user experience, do not use unknown foreign words or those that have complicated pronunciation.

Additionally, avoid words that have unusual combination of alphabets.

• They come with .COM Extension

Did you know .com domain extension enjoys the maximum popularity in the world? Additionally, most people have the tendency to remember this domain extension. Except in special cases, using .com domain extension can be a great idea.

A simple and memorable domain name can enhance your site traffic greatly. Therefore, before deciding about a domain name, pay attention to all these factors.

Microsoft, which still rules mainstream PC industry with its popular Windows OS series, is hogging attention these days after unveiling a preview of its upcoming OS, Windows 8. Its CEO, Steve Ballmer, is leaving no stone unturned in wooing users and if early indications are anything to go by, a majority of web developers have already warmed up to Windows 8 from its preview.

Windows 8 is, in fact, more than just an OS for Microsoft; it aims to capture a large share of the fast evolving tablet segment with its 8th version. Windows 8 will rely strongly on web based apps and this may be ideal for web developers who make apps using Microsoft technology. In fact, for a website design company that relies on Microsoft technologies like.Net platforms, Windows 8 will open new possibilities. Much has been said about Metro UI in this upcoming OS which is targeted at touch-screen device users. Therefore, web design professionals making websites and apps for such devices will benefit in the long run from Windows 8.

It is probably still too early to predict the extent to which Windows 8 will appeal developers, but a section of industry veterans think it will be a worthy contender to Apple’s iOS, as well as Google’s Android, both of which dominates the tablet market these days. Earlier, Windows 7 also offered some touch-based features for touch screen device users, but it has not made much dent as a touch-screen OS.

Windows 8 preview has garnered mostly positive responses from the industry. Technology majors that have been Microsoft’s partners in the hardware arena, including HP, have hailed Microsoft’s new move. Developers have also given a thumbs-up to the wide device support capability of Microsoft’s upcoming OS, which will run on ARM CPU powered tablets and also on mainstream laptops and desktops. Windows 8’s final version, which will be released (possibly) by end of 2012, will be fortified with more features.

Analysts are lauding the fact that with Windows 8, Microsoft is poised to take a bold step towards convergence. If everything goes according to plan, Windows 8 may succeed in bringing developers from various segments under one umbrella. This OS is not going to suffer from platform fragmentation, which has been an issue with Android OS.

A section of web developers, however, are not too jubilant about the prospective uses of Windows 8, yet. They prefer to wait and watch until its stable version is released the next year. They agree that in theory, everything looks promising but until the software and devices start rolling out, nothing can be said with finality. Some of them feel that Microsoft still needs to polish its much touted touch UI to make it really lucrative and useful for developers and users. How this Metro UI accommodates existing apps, need to be seen as well.

Weak vision, partially blind and colorblind people constitute a good portion of web users visiting your website everyday. You should take care to create a website design for the visually impaired so they can read content and navigate your site easily.

To create a successful web presence, you need to make your website accessible to all people. When you design a website, consider all types of users visiting your website, including those with visual problems.

Color – Almost 8% of men and 1% of women users suffer from color blindness and can’t identify red from green in a website. Use of these two colors in your website’s design means creating problems for this section of the web users. This, however, does not mean you must design a black and white website, but overuse of red and green should be avoided. Use a color analyzer to maintain color contrast in your site.

Web designers often use colors to identify tabs, menus, sidebars, etc. Instead of colors, use icons or underlined text for better navigation.

Text – What use is a good design without content? Frankly…not much! If your text is not visible to low vision users, your site is of little use to them.

To make text readable, include the most important points of your discussed matter in the first 1-2 paragraphs of the article. Break the webpage’s content into different sections by including headings, bullet points, tags, etc, to help better reading. You must avoid animated, scrolling and flashing text in your website. It’s not only difficult to read for people with weak vision, but also people with normal vision.

Choose some of the most commonly used fonts for your text. Ariel, Verdana, Tahoma, Helvetica are fonts commonly used with which our eyes are familiar, and thus, helps better reading.

Image – People with low vision will typically magnify a site to view its images and text. Avoid using low resolution images in your site. Although low resolution images load faster, they blur when zoomed, causing a user’s eyes to strain.

Use as few graphics in your site as possible. Pages without graphics load much faster than image-heavy websites and that helps both partially blind and normal users.

An ideal website is one that is easily accessible to all internet users. When you design a website keeping in mind the visually impaired, it helps your website acquire a wider audience.

SEO is like an intricate art whose success depends on certain elements that website design firms need to implement in their websites properly. In recent months, Google, the undisputed Internet search giant, struck down a huge number of websites that were boosting their search engine rankings with SEO tricks. These shortcut techniques, which can enhance the search engine ranking of a website, are commonly referred to as Black Hat SEO.

From Google’s recent moves, it is quite evident that no SEO services company will be able to escape its scrutiny by manipulating SEO techniques in an unethical way, which had become an industry malpractice in the recent past.

It is very important for a SEO Company to be aware of the popular unethical SEO techniques and steer clear of them in its projects. To get better ranking from Google, SEO experts need to implement those techniques in a website that adheres to Google’s new algorithm for ranking websites.

• Nothing can be more detrimental than manipulating content and using shallow content in a website. The majority of websites enjoying high traffic by content replication and spinning them in a clever way, have been ‘slapped’ by Google’s much touted Panda update. Its new algorithm found hidden content, or texts placed behind an image, and also hunted down various articles with near identical content.

Websites with replicated or near identical content are now treated by Google with low priority, while fresh and unique content are favored.

• Keyword usage is one of the pillars of success in SEO, but has often been exploited by Black Hat SEO firms. Relevant keywords have been used in a way so as to trick search engines into thinking that content had more relevant data than it actually did. Keyword density in content was used to attract search engine bots. The content itself, gave users little to benefit from.

This is no longer going to be effective as Google’s Panda update has indicated. A website having content with an unusual number of keywords, inserted sporadically, will be punished by Google.

• Without quality and relevant links, no website can witness traffic growth and boost its search engine ranking. However, a section of Black Hat SEO experts resorted to using links from various sources in a site to boost its ranking very fast. Ethical link building is time consuming and it cannot be done overnight. Besides, the search engine ranking of a site cannot improve any longer on links alone.

Using automated content will not serve to increase ranks anymore. Relying on perfect meta keywords, as well as description, will not be fruitful either. The same thing can be said about PageRank as Google itself is shifting its focus from Toolbar PR.