With the new year just starting, now is a good time to look over the web design trends that were hot in 2014, as well as those that are anticipated to gains some momentum in the year ahead.
While there are tons of platforms out there these days that can help even the most novice internet user build a website, a professional should have a few key skills under his or her belt. Sure, just about anyone can put up a simple site with the myriad of tools out there, but what sets these apart from the dynamic sites is a certain skill set of an experienced developer.
Hiring the right web developer can be a challenging task. This person will after all be the one to create the face of your company online, and allow your customers to interact with it. Therefore, it is very important to select the right candidate the first time around, otherwise you can be hurting your business and pockets, and let's not forget about the valuable time lost and frustration that come with it.
Your website is the first impression viewers have of your business. Hopefully you already have a website when reading this. But, perhaps you are thinking about an upgrade and you don't know what to do or look for. No matter what business you are in, or what products you are trying to sell, and now even with the increasing importance of social media, your website is very important.
Your website homepage is like the window of your storefront. Having a beautiful design, is like having a clean window with a great setup that invites your customers to walk in. If you want to have your visitors browse through your website, you need to have a page that will capture them in about 5 seconds, otherwise they will just click away. The question is what are the basic elements to create the perfect homepage that will draw your visitors to "walk in"?
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned web professional, creating responsive designs can be confusing at first, mostly because of the radical change in thinking that’s required. As time goes on, responsive web design is drifting away from the pool of passing fads and rapidly entering the realm of standard practice.
They want to understand how things work so they know what is possible to create. They really want to understand not just their clients but people in general. What motivates people to take action? How do people use technology? They are keen to learn – important in a field that requires keeping up with constant change.
A freelance Web designer or freelancer can be just about anything you want it to be. Most Web freelancers work on all aspects of Web design and development - from creating the site design, to building the scripts for interactivity, to writing the content and taking the photos.
I am a huge fan of WordPress. For the last several years, I’ve programmed 90% of my sites on the WordPress.org platform. WordPress enhances websites at every step of the process: save money, take control over their own sites (add/edit/remove content), incorporate advanced functionality (e-commerce, mapping, user submitted content, etc.) and get better search results.
If you work as a freelancer you will most likely have quiet periods sometimes. During the holidays or just occasionally you will have periods where the work may just not be there. But, don't worry here is a collection of tips to help you take advantage of the extra time.