Most people are aware of the fact that content is a crucial aspect of any website design. Good content adds value to the site and retains interest of users. Unfortunately, most ignore the fact that apart from quality of the content, its presentation is also important.

For presenting the content in an attractive manner, paying attention to paragraph is important. Here, we will highlight some typesetting conventions and provide you with tips that will help you to adapt them for screens and devices.

The Typeface

Before discussing typeface issues, we would like to clear a myth. Most people associated with any website design company believe that one should exclusively use sans-serif font for body text. However, this is not true for every situation. In certain situations, you can opt for serif fonts. If modified properly, certain serif fonts can be legible and attractive.

Breadth of the font family should be the most important criterion, for selecting a Web font. Check whether the font includes italic and bold styles. Choosing such a font will ensure that you can place greater importance (by using italics/bold styles) to certain aspects of the paragraph.

The second issue related to typeface is rendering. Experienced web design professionals usually opt for embedded and system fonts (example, Verdana) for headings and body text respectively. The main reason why Verdana is popular is because it renders well at small sizes.

In case, you do not want to use Verdana, checking on-page demonstrations of selected fonts can be a great idea. To save time, avoid  experimentation with fonts containing the words ‘narrow’ or ‘thin’.

Font Size

Most of us are aware of the fact that all web browsers render content at 16 pixels automatically. This highlights the fact that 16 pixels is the general standard.

In our CSS style sheets, we write 16 pixels as 100%. This is a good idea, because it is similar to what the web browser would have selected for us. In case you want the paragraph content to be more than 16 pixels, edit the value. Opt for a percentage value that is equal to ‘whole pixel’.

Leading

Leading refers to the space between two consecutive lines of information. Leading affects readability, because it highlights rows of glyphs that one should cross from left to right. The main problem with leading is that if it is not used correctly.

If you put in excessive space between lines, the whole text will appear fragmented. On the other hand,
if you avoid using space, the paragraphs will appear cluttered.

Final Touches

We have discussed issues related to typeface, font size, and leading of paragraph text. We understand the fact that in certain situations, you may wish to modify certain paragraphs. Taking the help of special  combinators and selectors, you can target particular paragraphs and modify them.

Let us discuss indentation as an example. In web design, indenting the initial line of every paragraphs is the most popular way of dividing paragraphs into sections of information. However, the first paragraph does not require any indentation.

Therefore, you need to exclude this particular paragraph from CSS rule. Opt for the adjacent sibling combinator to target only those paragraphs that have a preceding paragraph.

Add a stylish touch to your content with the help of these tips.

In the website design industry, creative ideas will provide you with an extra edge. However, to stay ahead of others, you cannot solely depend on creativity. You need to follow certain techniques as well. Implementation of these techniques will impress the clients and bring you projects, thus guaranteeing you regular income.

Today, in this article, we will highlight few strategies that will help you get projects.

Adopt a Friendly Approach - Arranging a meeting with the client is the first step to acquire projects. While meeting with the client, opt for a friendly and yet, professional approach. Show a genuine interest in the project. This will convince the client that you are interested in investing your time and effort in the project.

Research About the Company - To impress the client, research about his/her company. Additionally, find out about the target audience  of your client’s company and its competitors.

Invest Time for Writing an Executive Summary - Executive summary refers to a brief description of the project. While meeting the client, carrying  this executive summary can be a great idea.

Keep this summary brief-one page is sufficient. Do not forget to include vital points in the summary. Use the summary to convince the client that you have understood the goals and nature of the project. Additionally, highlight the fact that as a web design professional, you possess the requisite skills to take up the project.

Show Your Work - To convince clients about your talent, show them samples of your work. This will help them to trust you and convince them that you can handle this project effectively.

Ask About Goals of the Project - This step is important. Unless you are aware of the goals of the project, it is impossible to work on it devotedly. Therefore, ask your client about the project goals.

Find Out About Your Competitors - Gathering information about your competitors will help you to understand their strengths and weaknesses. This in turn, will allow you to modify your strategies accordingly and stay ahead of the race.

Inquire About the Current Situation - To make sure that the client does not cancel the project suddenly, try to find out about the company’s current situation. Of course, this strategy will not be effective in every situation. Still, it would help you to stay on the safe side.

Prepare a Creative Strategy - Develop a creative strategy beforehand to impress the clients. For a stronger impression, justify the reasons behind choosing these strategies. If any technical requirements exist, explain them as well.

Highlight the Various Steps of the Project - To create a positive impression on minds of the client, explain the different aspects of the project. This will justify your stated deadline and fees that you are charging.

Discuss About the Budget - Divide the project into logical sections and note down the prices of each section. This will validate your prices.

Justify the Deadline - Discuss deadline of the project with your clients. Ask for a deadline that will allow you to finish the work comfortably. For best results, explain the reasons behind the stated deadline to your clients.

State the Resources - To convince the client about your credibility, state the things that you are planning to use for handling the project. If you require anything from the client, state that as well. This will allow clients to have faith in you.

Give your Contact Information - To simplify the process of getting in touch with you, offer clients your detailed contact information. State your mobile number, physical address, and office address so that it is easier for clients to contact you.

Finally, do not forget to follow-up. This will reflect your interest in the project and create a good impression.

Have you ever considered animal habits as your source of inspiration? It could be a good idea because each animal can teach us different lessons. Adopting certain habits and instincts of animals can help one to improve his/her productivity and work quality.

In this article, we will discuss typical habits of certain animals. Furthermore, we will explain how adopting these qualities can help you to enhance quality of your work.

Lion

Lions love challenges. They are brave, powerful, and willing to hunt down every animal in the jungle. Likewise, a web design professional should be interested in taking up challenging projects. He/she should be brave because it will help him/her to come up with innovative ideas.

Lions are highly competitive and desire to remain ahead in the race. Similar to them, people associated with the website design industry should also try to stay ahead of their competitors.

Tiger

Tigers prefer a solitary lifestyle and look forward to challenging situations. Faster than lions, tigers can smoothly leap 10 meters or even more. While hunting an animal, tigers prefer to implement a strategic plan.

Tigers can inspire you to take up projects that are interesting and challenging. Similar to tigers, you should opt for regular breaks to create innovative designs. Additionally, to complete a project within a deadline, you can follow a strategic plan. This will help you to meet the deadline in a hassle-free manner.

Giraffe

As compared to other animals, giraffes possess several advantages. They are tall and can reach out to trees, thus consuming more nutrients. Another interesting fact is that giraffes can survive by sleeping 4.5-4.6 hours on average per 24 hours.

Similar to giraffes, website designers should grab more projects and enjoy the advantages. They must observe projects from another perspective and deal with them in a new way. To complete crucial projects, designers should learn to survive by sleeping 4-5 hours at night.

Turtle

Turtles possess the special ability to hide from predators. They do so by retreating into their shells and hiding in water. Turtles can adapt themselves with any environment quickly.

Similar to turtles, designers should possess the ability to retreat into themselves for creative thought. Furthermore, they should adjust with any situation within a short time.

Whale

A unique fact about the whale is that it never sleeps consciously. Otherwise, it will drown. For this reason, a part of its brain always keeps working for keeping it afloat.

Similar to whales, a designer’s creative juices should always flow. Web designers should stay alert in any situation and quickly select sources that can inspire them. In brief, as a designer, you should stay conscious in any situation.

Dolphin

Cute and lovable, dolphins are intelligent as well. Possessing a complex brain, they have the ability to hear things from a far distance. Dolphins are highly social and love interacting with people. They also love communicating via various mediums that can include whistles and clicks.

Similar to dolphins, a designer should listen to client requirements carefully. Furthermore, they must interact with clients to form a long-term relationship. This in turn, will help one to acquire repeat clients.

Camel

Camels are known for their strength and resilience. They can survive extreme temperatures and lack of water.

Adopting habits of camels would mean surviving long hours of work. Additionally, it would also mean adapting oneself to tough situations.

Cheetah

As one of the fastest animals in the world, a cheetah can run at a speed of 70-75 miles every hour. However, in-between running, a cheetah needs to rest. Similar to the cheetah, a designer should grab and complete a project fast. Additionally, they should not overwork, because this may lead to burn out.

Owl

Owls have powerful camouflaging abilities. Their hunting strategy usually includes an element of surprise. Similar to owls, designers should incorporate a surprise element in their design. Furthermore, they should try to adjust with any situation.

Opt for these powerful animal habits to improve quality of your designs.

A website can have different audiences. These can include curious visitors, past and prospective customers, and referral partners. Every audience has different requirements and may look for unique things in a site. To create an all-rounded web design, paying attention to needs of various audiences is critical.

You can achieve this by balancing crucial elements of a site. These elements can include content, graphic design, Flash animation, navigation style, coding, and call-to-action statements, etc. Ensuring that these elements complement each other will help you to develop a site that fulfills requirement of various audiences.

1.  Do not opt for an Extreme Strategy

Many website designers believe that implementing excessive elements can spice up a site. In fact, too many elements can make a site complicated. This in turn, can interfere with the desire of a visitor to find an element quickly. For this reason, using selective elements is critical.

We agree that this is a good strategy to simplify the site. However, this does not mean that you should stick to a single element. We discuss more about this topic in the next point.

2.  Avoid Over-emphasizing Requirements of a Particular Audience

If you use a single element and focus on requirements of a particular audience, others may feel deprived. Let us assume that you own a website design company. If you emphasize on including web design samples and avoid incorporating any useful information, it may satisfy your past clients (since they are already aware of your services). However, such a strategy can deprive prospective clients and people who have reached your site via search engines. Since they will not get any information about your company, they will not feel compelled to opt for your services.

In this particular scenario, the ideal strategy would be to include both design samples and relevant information.

3.  Questions you should ask

We discussed the importance of creating a site that considers requirements of various audiences. Now, the question arises, how you can balance these elements?

The best way to maintain a refined balance between different elements is by asking yourself certain questions. Honest answers to these questions will help you to understand how you should balance these elements. We highlight these questions.

• How are people finding your site?

This is the most critical question. Find out how people are coming across your site. Did they find your site via search engines? Did someone refer your site? Did they come to know about you at networking events? Finding out the source through which people came to know about you can offer you information about psychology of the visitors and their different requirements.

• What is their aim?

Every visitor has a different requirement. A past client may want to know whether you can take up a new project. Potential clients may want to acquire information about you. Curious visitors may simply explore your site.

Understanding aims of different audiences is critical. It will help you to create a site that gives equal importance to all audiences.

• What is the goal of your site?

For best results, considering goals of your site is also important. A site may want to attract new clients or acquire the topmost rank in search engines. Alternatively, you may want to connect with people. Understanding aims of your site will help you to fulfill your business goals.

• Is anything contrary in your site?

While designing a website, ensure that you do not put in contradictory elements by mistake. Remember that if contradictory elements exist in your site, it may confuse your visitors. For this reason, make sure that all the elements complement each other.

Considering these 4 questions will allow you to create a site that pays attention to requirement of various audiences.

Incorporating educational video content in your website can be an innovative way of increasing traffic. Posting traditional videos, however, is a time-consuming and expensive affair. In such a situation, website owners can opt for Skype recording software to prepare intriguing video content.

In today’s post, we will offer a brief description of Skype video interview and explain its benefits. Thereafter, we will discuss whom you should interview for creating Skype videos.

What are Skype videos?

Skype is a reliable software application that allows users to make video and voice chat and calls over the Internet. With the help of this application, you can conduct interviews of experts and record them. Thereafter, you can incorporate them in your website to attract attention of target visitors.

Benefits of Skype videos

You may wonder why you should incorporate Skype videos suddenly in your website. To answer your query, we have pointed out the major benefits of using Skype video interviews in your site.

• With Skype video interviews, you can add a unique touch to the traditional presentation of content. Users may find this presentation refreshing.

• This strategy guarantees return visitors. This is because of the fact that people who have checked your previous videos may feel curious to know whether you have posted any fresh video. This in turn, will compel them to visit your website regularly.

• Apart from creating a powerful buzz amongst your target audience, creating Skype videos can help you to connect with eminent personalities of your industry. You may ask them valuable suggestions. Additionally, you can request them to write a guest post for your site.

• Implementing this strategy will help you to create a positive image of yourself. People may consider you as an innovative personality who is willing to implement fresh ideas.

Whom should you interview?

We have mentioned earlier that you can record interviews of eminent personalities, related to your industry. However, apart from famous personalities, you can also interview other persons. These can include-

• Existing customers- You can arrange an interview with an existing customer, where he/she mentions how your product/services benefited him/her. This will encourage potential customers to trust your company.

• Rivals- Many people may not like the idea of interviewing one’s rivals. However, if you market this video properly, it would stimulate curiosity of the people. Chances are high that they will check the video to find out your rival’s opinion about your company.

• Writer- If someone has written a book about the topic that your site highlights (for example, website design), interviewing him/her can be a great idea. Visitors would definitely want to know what a writer has to say about your website design company.

With Skype videos, possibilities are endless. You can record and upload interviews within a short time. This will save you money and time. However, you need to market these videos properly. For example, you can inform visitors about the publishing date of your videos via newsletters, emails or social networking sites.

You can also create a video library, which would be a useful resource for people looking for data about your subject matter.

Web designers opt for background patterns to create interesting websites and draw attention of users. Earlier, patterns were mostly limited to lines, flowers, and swirls. However, these days, designers are experimenting with various types of patterns to create a powerful effect. If you are interested to know how you can utilize background patterns to create a sizzling effect, read on.

• Find out your target audience

In the web designing industry, the golden rule is to develop designs that match preferences of your target audience. If you create website designs ‘just like that’, there are high chances that people won’t even bother to view them. For this reason, before you start designing, always figure out your target audience.

Once you have figured out your target audience, develop designs that will arouse their curiosity. If you have a website that specializes in online delivery of flowers, use flower as your background pattern.

• Ensure that visitors can read the content

People usually visit sites for acquiring good information. Of course, beautiful graphic designs are critical for attracting their attention. However, after a certain point of time, they will start looking for information.

If the background patterns overpower content of the site, chances are high that visitors will leave it after few moments. For this reason, ensuring that content is visible is a great idea. Maintain a refined balance between background patterns and text of the site.

• Do not fill up the whole site with patterns

With the help of right patterns, you can add a classy touch to the site. However, some designers end up using patterns just for the sake of it. This in turn, can create a negative impression.

Remember that if you fill up the whole site with patterns, visitors may find it a bit overwhelming. Therefore, implement patterns only in selected areas.

• Ensure that the pattern matches theme of your site

If the pattern of your site differs from that of its theme, it will confuse the viewers. If you have a site that sells honey, for example, you can use honeycombs as the background pattern of your site. This will help viewers to understand purposes of your site quickly.

• Lighter patterns are perfect for simpler web designs

If your web design is simple, using lighter background patterns can be a great idea. Light lines and colors can make the site appear neat, professional and yet, classy.

• Use patterns intelligently

Apart from increasing overall appeal of the site, patterns can direct the user’s eyes to the content. For fulfilling this goal, you have to use patterns cleverly. You can use it as either a background or a border. This way, it would enable visitors’ eyes to identify the content easily.

Many people think that corporate sites cannot use background patterns. However, this is a wrong concept. Using right patterns can add a professional touch to any site and enhance its overall appeal. Try it now!

Many young people these days are willing to become graphic designers. Benefits of being a graphic designer can include good money, creative satisfaction, and flexible timings (you can work as an employee or a freelance graphic designer).

Since graphic designing is a lucrative career option, many youngsters are willing to know about the skills that are necessary to break into this field. Of course, an exact definition of a perfect graphic designer does not exist. Still, we have pointed out few traits that a good graphic designer should possess.

1.   Latest technological expertise

It may sound harsh to some, but fact remains that mere sketching and pencil-drawing skills will not help you to acquire a good job in the graphic designing industry. Recent technological advances have altered the concept of graphic design. Today, even a small-scale firm opts for computers to create and modify designs.

For these reasons, to become a graphic designer, you must possess a basic knowledge of using computers. More specifically, you should be aware of graphic software, such as Corel Draw, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Freehand.

If you are planning to become a designer but yet to know graphic software, start gathering information about it. Remember that searching for graphic designer jobs, without possessing the essential skills, would result in a futile search.

2.   Print production knowledge

Graphic design has a strong association with printing. In most cases, clients ask designers to print their creations. For this reason, many companies these days hire only those candidates who possess at least fundamental printing knowledge.

To master print design, you need to understand print layout software, such as Quark Express, and Adobe. Additionally, you should have an in-depth knowledge of concepts, such as master pages, grid layout, and color separations.

3.   Creativity

Surveys reveal that while hiring graphic designers, employers look for people with strong creative and aesthetic sense.

A designing industry thrives mainly on creativity. Unless you are creative and possess the ability to come up with unique designs, you will not succeed as a graphic designer. Graphic and logo design industry is a fiercely competitive field, where creativity will help you to gain an additional edge over your rivals.

4.   Educational background

Educational background plays an important role in the designing field. All those who are looking for entry-level graphic design jobs should possess a bachelor’s degree. However, if you want to work as an assistant graphic designer, a diploma certificate would be sufficient.

5.   Good communication skills

Most jobs these days require candidates to possess good communication skills. This is also important in graphic designing field, because here you need to communicate with clients regularly.

Apart from verbal skills, strong writing skills are crucial. The reason is that many times clients ask designers to write a tag line or brief description of their products.

6.   Portfolio presentation

A well-made portfolio is a valuable resource available to a person, who is seeking a job. Surprisingly, many choose to ignore it. They believe that a person who has an experience of more than 10 years in the designing field should create a portfolio. However, this is a wrong concept.

Your portfolio acts as your representative, highlights your personal and professional accomplishments, and points out your values. Remember that a well-made portfolio can create a strong impression on minds of your prospective employers.

Apart from all these skills, knowledge about web designing can act as an extra advantage. Upgrading your skills regularly is equally important.

In large-scale corporations, the process of offering and receiving feedback is formal and systematic. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said of the web design industry. Website designers usually have to seek feedback on their own. Moreover, providing designers with feedback depends on the attitude of users. This further complicates the issue.

Despite the problems associated with offering and receiving feedback in the website design industry, its importance cannot be discounted. We explain why feedback is important and how to make the most of it.

Importance of Feedback

Website designing is a creative activity. However, web designs are usually used to fulfill practical goals. These can include increasing visitors, enhancing conversation rate, and fulfilling business targets of a company. To meet these goals successfully, website designs should be able to connect with the audience and fulfill their requirements. Herein lies the importance of feedback.

Receiving feedback regularly sharpens your skills and helps you to polish your craft. Furthermore, it helps you to understand pulse of the audience and thus, modify your designs accordingly. Feedback is somewhat similar to the trial and error method. It helps you to realize your weak areas, work on them, and finally, improve.

How You Can Use Feedback Constructively ?

Receiving feedback is not enough. You have to understand the point of view of the users who have provided you with feedback, evaluate it, and select the right suggestions. In brief, you should take informed decisions.

Here are few tips that will help you to use feedback constructively and improve your skills.

• Start early

Many web designers ask for feedback, only after they are completely done with website designing. If you opt for this method, changing anything in the website (at a later stage) will be a more tedious process. For this reason, you should request for feedback, soon after you start the work. Consider feedback a critical part of the web development process.

• Be open towards feedback

Web designing is a creative job. Therefore, it is natural that some will love your designs, while others will hate it. Even if you receive a negative comment, do not take it personally. Remember that visitors do not have any personal grudge against you. Understand the fact that negative feedback will help you to realize your weaknesses and grow.

• Do not ask feedback from experts, always

Many people may find the above suggestion surprising. After all, most of us look for experts’ opinions about web designs. Despite the craze for suggestions from experts, fact remains is that common people can offer you a fresh and interesting viewpoint about your designs. Remember that, when it comes to feedback, honest suggestions always score high.

• Approach directly

While asking for feedback, adopt a direct approach. Avoid wasting time of the respondents. State your objective clearly and keep the questions short.

• Understand that it is an ongoing process

To grow as a designer, you need to ask and evaluate the feedback regularly. This will help you learn new things and stay in touch with the latest trends. Consider the fact that receiving and evaluating feedback is a continuous process.

Feedback helps you to understand weak areas of your designs and improve them. While asking for feedback, keep your questions brief. Do not target only the experts as your respondents. Rather, ask for feedback from people who may not possess an in-depth knowledge about website designing.

Most website designers will agree that working with clients involves various difficulties and challenges. All website designers, at some point of their lives, have faced clients who refuse to respect their work and pay money.

However, in this article, we will not focus on these issues. Rather, we will discuss about certain things you should request from your client (asking for money is obvious, so we are leaving that out).

1. Complete Contact Details

Obtaining complete contact information of your client and displaying it on your site is important. The reason is that, it will help you to earn credibility and trust of your future clients.

Many times, people want to contact previous clients of a company or a freelance designer to know about their experiences. This is why, displaying contact information of your past or current clients can help you to avail greater number of projects.

Additionally, acquiring the contact details will help you to stay in touch with your clients. Maintaining a warm relationship with all your clients is important. It can help you to receive more projects and enhance your business revenue, especially when things are moving slowly.

2.  Testimonials

Similar to contact details, testimonials provided by your past clients can enhance your reputation amongst potential ones. Put them in important locations, such as in the home page of your site. If space is an issue, use a ‘read more’ link and encourage your visitors to refer to more testimonials.

Request your client to write a short testimonial, highlighting your positive aspects. Remember that, incorporating a lengthy client testimonial in your website can create the impression that you are trying too hard.

3.  Request for Design Credit

Website designers who are involved with print works can request clients to provide them with web design credits. Remember that if you manage to avail a credit somehow, it will have a positive impact on your business.

However, availing this credit may not be an easy task. Most large-scale clients are not willing to provide web designers with credit. If you are working with start-ups or small businesses, things may be a bit easier. In exchange for the credit, you can offer them a reduced price.

4.  Referrals

Referrals can be a good way of creating awareness about you and your experience in the web designing field. If your client is satisfied with your work, you can request him/her for referrals. To motivate people further, you can offer them a finder’s fee.

Working hard and sharpening your skills is critical for your success. However, to avail projects, you should convince people that you excel in your field. Client testimonials, contact details, and design credit can help you to fulfill your endeavor.

Adobe has been in spotlights in recent times owing to its product launches at much awaited annual Max Conference 2011. Not only it has announced of its upcoming Cloud service, but Adobe has also made designers excited by unveiling a number of tablet based apps. Incidentally, these Touch apps are meant to be used in sync with its Cloud service.

Among six design apps targeted at Honeycomb Android tablet users, Photoshop Touch App has garnered maximum interest and spotlight at Max 2011 Conference. This is natural given Photoshop’s huge user base and unmatched popularity among graphic design professionals.

Like other 5 Touch Apps, Photoshop Touch also costs $10 and this will make it accessible for most tablet users. Initially people using Honeycomb 3.1 tablets will be able to use this app and later Adobe will release a version made for iPad 2. Photoshop Touch app may not serve as a replacement for Photoshop CS 5, which is used by millions of graphic and web design professionals worldwide but it will act as a complementary tool.

Even though Photoshop Touch was shown at this conference on a prototype tablet made by Samsung, chances are there it will run smoothly on other tablets with Honeycomb. It responds to both finger and stylus inputs nicely, which is a boon for designers. It has a nice layout with Layers palette placed at right side and tool palette appearing at left of tablet screen. There are icons on screen’s top with menus to edit and manage images. Image adjustment options offered in this app are nowhere close to a full – fledged PC based image editor but a step ahead of Photoshop Express, available for Apple users.

To aid users, this app comes with a built-in tutorial set. Images can be accessed using this app from various sources. Images stored in a tablet can be opened. Users can also import images from Facebook and Google searches easily into this app. Adobe’s Creative Cloud is also a source for importing images into Photoshop Touch. As expected, pinch and zoom works smoothly for resizing images on tablet screen. Adobe has made all tools in this app intuitive and user friendly, making it ideal for web development as well.

Scribble selection tool in this app resembles Photoshop CS’s Magic wand it works with amazing accuracy. Even selecting complicated edges like human hair is not tough with this tool. Making gradients is easy with finger swipes and users can define gradient directions as well. Some users may find operating familiar Photoshop tools without a mouse a bit daunting but designers using stylus will love these. Stylus can be used with this app for making drawings with varied strokes.

With an app like Photoshop Touch and Cloud service, Adobe wants to turn tablets into content creation devices that aid designers in streamlining workflow and sharing content on the move.

There are some limitations of Photoshop Touch that designers will have to put up with. It converts any text element to vectors and so it cannot be edited as text. Photoshop Touch does not support any third party plug-in, as of now.

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!

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.

Human behavior is the result of how we interpret what we see and how we choose to act thereof. Very often, a user’s initial reaction to a website will have no bearing on the site’s merits, but only its appeal. Any user when idly browsing the web will always be attracted to websites with interesting color schemes, layouts, and images than simple websites with neutered designs.

Any action a user takes on a website will be determined by a series of decisions he makes upon visiting that website. The human mind makes highly logical decisions. Most of what users do will be guided by personal preference and habit. It can also be safely concluded, that a user’s action on a site will frequently be misguided by what he has learnt, seen, and is used to doing.

Of course, no two users will think and act the same way. But generalization on user behavior patterns can be drawn nevertheless. This article by no means enunciates hard facts about human behavioral psychology, but only theories honored by time.

1.  Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory

The “silent visitor” makes up the majority of website users. The silent visitor, or lurker, isn’t socially inclined and will not go beyond browsing a few web pages and reading. For a website design to work, it must fulfill visitor needs, although what web users prefer is up for debate.

Abraham Maslow, who was a humanist psychologist, came up with the famous “hierarchy of needs” theory to show what humans require to reach a point where they decide to participate or interact on a website.

At its core, Maslow’s theory speaks about how the average visitor must be infested with a sense of growth and increasing self-esteem upon visiting a website. In other words, a website must treat its visitors with respect to help him reach his ‘pinnacle’ or the point he starts becoming active on the website.

Maslow defined levels of importance that reflect how and what humans prioritize and what they require for ‘self-actualization’, i.e., appreciation of their surroundings and to achieve personal growth.

Based on Maslow’s theory, we can conclude the hierarchy of needs of website users as the following:

• Accessibility: A website that is easy to find and can be used by all.

• Stability: A consistent and trustworthy website.

• Usability: A website that is user-friendly and flexible.

• Reliability: A website that is consistently available, without downtime.

• Functionality: A website with web features that offers value to its users.

• Flexibility: A website that is intuitive and adapts to what its users want and need.

2.    Attractiveness Bias

Your website’s design is neither the sole reason for its success, nor the sole cause of its failure. But beauty is attractive to people. Although content continues to be the most important catalyst in a website’s success, fact remains that a good-looking website will attract visitors before a similar, and perhaps a more resourceful website, with poor design.

Of course, it is important visitors get over their first impression of beauty to dig deeper and appreciate the finer features of your website, like content, usability, flexibility, etc. Point in line, beauty is a temporary attractant that is remarkably useful in drawing visitors to a website. Personality rules in the end.

To establish a long-term relationship with your user, your website must offer value. What lies underneath the glitz and glamour is good old content whose quality will retain visitors.

Yes, if you are an established name in the market, you can make the website as ugly as you want and still walk away with the lion’s share of visitors. Many web designers opine that the success of a website’s design lies with how effective it is and not how attractive it can be. Basically, if websites work, they work, and beauty is only secondary. But it’s also true; the “wow” factor will be responsible for initial appeal.

The solution: a website’s design should be professional and beautiful without overruling the hierarchy of needs of website users. If this is accomplished, your website will attract even those visitors who judge quality by appearance. The integrity of content will emerge once visual appeal is established.

3.    Serial Positioning Effect

Your website’s information structure will determine how well it is remembered. Tables, lists and charts help break large paragraphs of information into manageable chunks. Blocks of heavy text is tiring to read whereas organized information is easily readable.

Hermann Ebbinghaus’ serial positioning effect proposes that positions of items in a list will have direct bearing on people’s ability to remember something accurately. In website design, this most closely relates to visual hierarchy.

Your website may have pages and pages of information, but most people who visit your website will typically be scanning through your content, committing less than 10% to memory. By breaking up your content into small paragraphs, highlighting important text, adding bullet lists, and sub headings, you can present your content in a manner that is useful to people.

4.    Depth of Processing

This refers to the level to which information has to be processed to commit it to memory.  Engaging your users is not enough. You have to ensure they read important details you want them to read. With simple mechanisms such as “I Accept” button under a license agreement, there is a high possibility users will read through before ‘accepting’ and proceeding to the next step. Of course, by applying the serial positioning effect, you can make sure users read all the important portions of your content.

The trick is to find a balance between helping your users remember information and annoying them with questions or calls to action. It’s your website. Use your best judgment to decide which interactive elements would be useful.

Web design is a dynamic field and it adapts new technologies very quickly. For the past few years, we saw a boom in the smartphone market and lots of new tablets have been introduced in the consumer market as well. These devices are internet enabled and they have changed the way we used to view websites. These portable devices have various screen size and orientation. Some even offer both portrait and landscape view of a webpage.

To accommodate these devices, a new website design trend called ‘Responsive Design’ has evolved. The responsive design allows users to view websites on mobile devices. It also made the web design more user-friendly to suit small screen space and multiple OS.

Clients often ask the designers to make the same website for Windows, BlackBerry, iOS, Android and various other OS compatible. They even want a mobile version of their website – one for the Blackberry, another for the iPhone, the iPad etc. The problem for the designer is how he can accommodate so many different platforms and the solution is responsive design.

Responsive web design, what is the big deal? – Responsive web design suggests that design and development should act in response to the user’s actions and environment based on screen size, platform and orientation of the mobile device.

Responsive web design has a combination of flexible grids and layouts, images and a clever use of CSS media queries. This trend has three main designing goals – the website should be flexible with resolution, image size and scripting abilities.

Here is a list of the things you should pay attention to while implementing responsive design.

• Accommodate the user’s device- A responsive website should accommodate iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, and other portable devices. To make the site flexible, you should use a flexible grid foundation. While designing the site and images that are incorporated into the design should be flexible as well. Use media queries to enable the website for landscape and portrait view.

• Flexible grids- To suit a variety of mobile browsers, you should define your own parameters for columns, spacing and containers in the web design. Give special attention to size and spacing to create flexible grid system. For web page measurement purpose, use ems and percentages instead of pixels.

• Customize images- A major feature of flexible web design is that images move and scale with the flexible grid. For a fast loading time, use small size images. Don’t use the width and height attributes to scale them; it may hamper the usability factor.

Instead of scaling, you can crop the images using the CSS overflow property. It crops images automatically as the containers around them shift to accommodate new display orientation. You can have multiple size of the same image and offer them according to the user’s screen space and orientation. If it’s needed, then you can completely hide the images as well, using the media queries.

• Importance of media queries- Media queries permit designers to create multiple layouts using the same HTML document. It allows the web designer to accommodate different window size of the browser. Media queries also handle the screen orientation, screen resolution and color related issues. It’s extremely important in responsive web design as you can build websites that fit different devices.

In conclusion, responsive web design is a great trend for mobile websites. But while using this style, understand that it’s helpful for those sites that have a number of mobile based users.

Many people visit Facebook and Twitter from their smartphones and tablets but the visitors of a corporate website mainly access the site from their desktop or laptop. However, designing a site for both normal PC and mobile devices is a good idea as you can capture an untapped market of these portable device users.

In this age of globalization where marketing makes the final word, it is important that you know the tricks of not only attracting visitors but also turn them into customers. One of the effective ways to have your business soaring new heights of success is to trigger the sinful human desire of indulgence.

Since the start of the universe, human desires have been exploited by many to achieve beneficial outcomes. In website design industry also, the golden rule of survival is to encourage user engagement so that they are tempted about your service and product. Read below and know for yourself how you can twirl the deadly sins of human desire in your favor and generate momentum with your visitors:

1. Pride

Flaunting a little pride being the ‘in’ thing of the age, why stay back when you can attract more customers by promoting your company accomplishments? Everyone wants to be considered the best among others. They want to be associated with things that are branded and impressive. Show off your brand and achievements with pride to your potential customers so that it prompts them to call for action.

2. Greed

‘Unlimited’ is the word that describes human cravings best. Bank on this fact and provide your visitors with more and more functionalities and lucrative rebate offers so that they are tempted to sign up for your product or services.

3. Sloth

With technological developments, customers expect products that are capable of doing all the hard works for them. Hence, products or services that provide with easy access or zero effort solution make an instant hit among customers. Win over your potential customers with easy functionalities and features that are not time consuming

4. Envy

To feel jealous of one’s possession and to crave for the same or better is another prominent human nature. Bank on this human trait and fuel up the desire of your customers to enjoy a momentum in your business website. Stand tall among your competitors by seducing maximum customers to your products.

5. Lust

Though we all are acquainted with the statement that ‘all that glitters is not gold’, it doesn’t hold true for marketing. Human eyes catch anything that is shiny, attractive and exclusive. Tickle your customer’s desire for your products with help of professional photography so that it catches one’s fancy instantly. You will be happily surprised to discover how showcasing of products in splendor and grandeur can help attract more customers.

6. Emotions

Bank on your customer’s emotions to create buzz about your products or services on the web. Know that nothing works better in your favor than a good customer review.

‘Old Is Gold’… it’s an undoubted truth that vintage things have a charm of its own that never fades off. In website design too, retro style is back with a bang as the industry goes digital. Here we have discussed some of the characteristic elements or trends of retro designing that is gaining momentum:

1. Use of Simple Shapes

Simple shapes, especially circles, were most popularly used in traditional designs to brand a company’s product. Take a look through the designs of yesteryears and you will understand how designers of retro age tapped the neglected power of simplicity to the maximum. While some used only simple shapes, others opted for floral background designs in bright colors to reach out to its targeted audience.

2. Use of Two Toned and Limited Color Schemes

Another trait of vintage design that adds prominence and uniqueness was the limited use of colors. As full color prints used to be a very expensive in past days, designers opted for limited color schemes. Two toned coloring was the most favored choice that ruled the roost of the retro industry. Sometimes, to make a design more catchy and interesting, designers used a focal color that was blended with few selected colors throughout the design.

3. Typographic Elements and Trends

Paving the way to numerous awesome designing possibilities, typography played a vital role in the retro age. Designers used simple yet effective techniques of styling such as one pixel strokes, duplicating and repositioning of fonts and many more, to add flavor to a design’s presence.

4. Texture and Noise

A visual pleasure to watch out for, retro designs display subtle and sober use of texture and noise backgrounds. While some designs exhibit a canvas style texture with worn out look, others represent brilliant poster artwork. From stained textures to blend of brush works, vintage designs are a delight to watch.

Attracting users to your website is the ultimate objective that rules the roost in the virtual world. Informative content, fitting graphics and easy navigation are some of the known aspects of website designing. But if you want to mark your individuality among the crowd, something ‘MORE’ is needed to beat the competitive market of today.

An auto search box with aesthetic approach can be one of the best solutions to help your website achieve its required boost. It not only adds to the visual presence of the website but also makes on-site search easier and more effective for users. Here we bring for you some of the best website designs that have used auto search box to its maximum advantage:

Playlist Now: Designed at its best with an excellent gradation of pink as header background, this website is an instant mood refresher. The search box of this website wraps up a major portion of the header which is sure to catch a user’s attention directly. Moreover, the dynamic auto search form used in this website makes for an added bonus. In this search box, matching results are shown spontaneously when a user types his search query, thus making the search easy and enjoying.

Get Satisfied: The bright and vibrant background coloring with auto suggestion search box makes for a prominent attribute of this website. Making things easier and enticing for users, this website’s auto search option not only provides with matching results but also categorizes the results under different companies or product names. Refined and narrowed for maximum user’s help, this on-site auto search undoubtedly beats all in the race.

Guillermo’s MooTools Textbox List: Simple yet elegantly done, this website displays a classic combination of black and white that steals the show instantly. Adding to the ‘wow’ factor of the site, its auto search box is brilliantly implemented with Textbox List which works well for search of tags in both PHP and desktop applications. Moreover the ‘x’ sign at the right side of each token allows users to delete away any of the listed items anytime.

Nature has always been a great source of inspiration for mankind since ages. Its relaxing and serene beauty blended with the vibrant hues of life makes it an all time favorite among designers and creative people.

In website designing too, different elements of nature and its captivating landscapes have been effectively used to create a bridge of communication between the company and its potential customers. Scroll below and view some interesting website designs that display a perfect harmony of natural elegance and splendor:

Go Glamping: Take a glance of the website, and its blend of green shades at the header takes you for a ride through the beauty and liveliness of nature. With its bold and bright texture that has an aura of radiance in it, this travel website is sure to have you craving for a relaxing break in the lap of nature.

Hellenic Holidays: Nothing can beat the esthetic look of this website where nature is captured in its rugged beauty, added with a mesmerizing presence of serenity and tranquility. The natural play of colors is an added benefit of this website that makes the presence of nature prominently visible.

Native Springs: In this website, nature is shown in its chaste form that elucidates a heavenly essence. The blend of greenery with crystal clear water and snow topped mountains marks a soothing and comforting spirit that works for this website.

Weingut Trumme: This website stands out amidst the crowd with its simple and sober designing. The grapevine leaf at the side of the website adds a clean and fresh natural flavor that becomes the highlight of this site.

Website designing is all about creating a web presence that helps attract potential customers to the site. To achieve its ultimate objective, it is the work of a designer to implement proper blend of creativity and professionalism, so that the site stands out amidst the crowd easily and effectively. Though not used widely nowadays, floral elements if used appropriately can add an extra boost to a website design. Often used to emphasize an arty form, floral elements look extremely good in graphic arts. As a designer, you will love to work with floral designs, as it allows you to let your imaginations flow unbound. Here we bring for you some examples of website design that display a brilliant incorporation of floral elements:

Dsignzmedia.com: The bold combination of black and green in its background makes the site uniquely appealing. The floral design at the banner of the website makes it more creatively refreshing and eye soothing to visitors.

Corvusart.com: The bright yellow header of this website with its artistic floral arrangements makes it an instant eye catcher. The body of the website is toned down with a contrasting light shade of yellow ochre that brings a comforting touch to the website. Definitely a fine show of color-play from the designer.

Safarista.com: This site displays a complete bold look with use of bright color shades such as red, yellow and orange. Acting as a relief amidst the bold colors, the light side floral arrangements adds to the beauty and euphoric essence of the site.

Designingfresh.com: Done in white background, the graphical floral arrangement at the side of this site makes it easily attractive. Plain yet elegant in its design, this site holds a gentle simplicity.

Corporate website design is definitely a different ball of wax. You cannot fill it out with fancy images, wacky fonts, characters etc. Everything should be perfect in order and you need to make sure that it represents the brand, which means you need to keep your creative impulse in check as far as possible. Corporate website can have creative touches but they should not overshadow its corporate and professional appeal. It is basically all about maintaining a fine balance and nothing else. Now, if you are still finding it hard to get your grip on it, here are some tips that can help you make your life a little bit easy:

Have a Plan: – Before you start working on a website design project, you need to make sure that the ethos or the brand image of your company is clearly and precisely reflected in it. It will help you avoid last minute hurry.

Define Your Message: – Message of your website has to be simple, straightforward yet strong. You can hire a seasoned copywriter for this purpose. Message should be brief, accurate and interesting of course.

Style Guide: – Chalk out a proper style guide or else face the music. It is as simple as that. Don’t badger the designer to death as it will have detrimental impacts on the look and feel of your design. Create a style guide for your website before anything else.

Use Relevant Pictures: – Add only those pictures that are related to your service. However, the designer has full liberty to use other pictures as long as he/she can relate it to your company.

Keep It Fresh: – When your website is done, you should not rest on your laurels. You need to update it regularly, as it will help your website stand the test of time.

Check out these amazing examples of corporate website design:

Heinz: – With a light color background, Heinz is adding a new dimension to its online presence. Its navigation is simple and it appeals to all users.

McDonald’s: – McDonald is clearly trying to emphasize and promote its product through its corporate website. It uses the entire screen for promoting its flagship program i.e. Burger. Interestingly, its product does not overshadow the menu and other elements.

Starbucks: – The strength of the website lies in its use of gentle and sober colors. Navigational hierarchy is given maximum attention. Alternative destination links are there to access information.

Adidas: – Addidas’ official website looks cool. It is based on grid and surprisingly enough, the rigidity and inflexibility are conspicuously missing here. Dynamic exploration is an added advantage of this website.

Citroen: – Filling a shape with tiny images is not anything new but still, Citroen has gone a step ahead by adding some novelty to a comparatively old technique. On mouse roll over, the particular image expands. An excellently designed landing page that is powerful enough to keep the visitors engaged for a while.