As web design techniques and technology become ever more advanced, users’ demands and expectations are growing at the same pace, and one area in particular is perhaps growing faster than most.

It’s no secret that the likes of Facebook and Twitter have had a massive impact on corporate marketing strategies and brand building; a trend that for the present at least shows no signs of slowing down.

More and more companies are joining Facebook and Twitter because they’re beginning to appreciate the phenomenal amounts of time people are spending on social networking sites and the increased reach they provide. 

As efficient and detail-filled as Google and others are though, there’s little that beats word-of-mouth when it comes to selling products and services, and I recently got to wondering whether users searching for companies, services or recommendations or whatever are now looking more towards trusted friends on Twitter and Facebook for answers rather than search engines themselves.  

Nothing stays the same and it’s only a personal thought of course, but the speed with which internet user behaviour changes as new trends emerge means it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that at some future point social network sites could pose serious competition to search engines.  

Whilst researching my theory, I came across this review by Jim Magary who was talking about the new Rock Melt browser which integrates social media and content feeds, and what stood out for me was his comment that as a self-confessed social media addict, it totally changed the way he uses the web.

Social media sites may or may not end up reducing the power or popularity of search engines of course because internet users are a fickle breed and what’s favoured today could easily be old hat tomorrow, but it’s a thought and only time will tell.

Until next time.

Although employed by some websites already, making more effective use of web page footers looks set to become a common practice. Far from being just the end of a page where copyright details, disclaimers and site maps are normally found a footer is now the ideal place to repeat menu options, contact details and even contact forms as in this example from the in.house.media website. 

If you think about it, placing a contact form in a footer is actually quite a clever idea because it allows interested visitors to enter the required information without having to go to another web page which is something they’re almost certain to appreciate.

It’s Not the End

In addition to their more practical advantages, footers provide a web page with a more visually attractive finish as opposed to a plain and abrupt stop, and in the case of longer web pages that require a visitor to scroll all the way back to the top to reach the menu, placing a second menu in the footer is also bound to please them no end.

Repeat Yourself

Building brand awareness is as much about the subconscious mind as the conscious and repetition plays a key role in that process so placing your company logo and colours in footers as well as headers will be instrumental in establishing your brand in the minds of visitors whether they realise it or not. 

From a branding point of view, making better use of footers would appear to be a sensible move with no obvious downsides. A second menu could end up as being a standard item but only time will really show how useful and creative footers will become.

Until next time.

There’s no doubt that the use of bold, striking colours on a website can go a long way in engaging visitors as soon as they arrive on the landing page especially when displayed with creative and artistic flair. However, the end of one year and the start of another has inevitably resulted in numerous articles and blogs focusing on web design trends, and one in particular has interested me.

Minimal

Personally, I’m a fan of extremely colourful websites as long as they are tasteful and pleasing to the eye. However, I’ve started taking notice of sites like this one here for example. With lots of white space and more subtle tones, I have to admit that done correctly they can be every bit as effective as their more colourful counterparts.

Simple

As good as colour-filled sites can be, it’s a nice change to occasionally come across a site without the eye candy that does exactly what it says on the tin. No superfluous copy or graphics, simple menu options and easy navigation can make for a good browsing experience, but that’s not to say they would work for everyone.

A Matter of Taste

The look and feel of a website is a matter of personal taste and opinion and there are probably some who think that more white space and less striking colours is visually a step backwards, but that’s the thing about trends – they come, they go and they return, so it will be interesting to see whether this particular one is still with us this time next year.

Until next time.

There are those who like Flash, those who don’t and some who don’t care either way, but love it or loathe it, Flash has made a significant difference to web design and website users alike.

For many website visitors though, their main gripe with Flash is its use in intros and to be fair, I think they have a point. I’ve said before that using Flash animation for website intros tends to be a bit off-putting for visitors who I think are inclined to skip them more often than not.

Reducing Vital Seconds!  

The problem is best summed up by that oft-used phrase ‘you only have seconds to capture a visitor’s interest’ which is still true and perhaps the only thing to remain constant about internet marketing since its inception so the use of Flash in intros seems to contradict this generally accepted rule.

Slowdown

Flash takes that little bit longer to load and longer still on older, less powerful computers, but even for those with newer machines, a Flash intro is sometimes enough to make visitors leave the site altogether. As a user, there’s little doubt in my mind that Flash has its place, and done correctly plays an important role in engaging visitors and persuading them to a desired course of action.

Quicker and Quicker

Website visitors are notoriously impatient and usually want to browse at an extremely fast pace when looking for information or products and services and as such unlikely to bother with or even appreciate a Flash intro regardless of how creative or visually stunning it might be.

Opinion?

I’ve asked friends and colleagues about their opinions on Flash intros and most of them told me that although they quite liked or didn’t mind the use of Flash  itself, they’d never actually watched an intro because they usually skip them to get to the site’s other pages.

I’m sure the debate about Flash will continue and probably more so with the emergence of HTML5. Personally, I quite like Flash and especially the creative things web designers manage do with it, but along with others, I don’t think it helps websites when used for intros.

Until next time.

As a website visitor, there’s almost nothing more frustrating than seeing ‘Error 404 page Not Found’ on your screen, and for whatever the reason for its appearance, and for most visitors, what usually follows is a swear word or two and a quick exit from the error page in search of an alternative website.

Unless the reason for an Error 404 page is a mistyped URL, there’s not a lot you can do about it as further information on these pages is often sketchy or non-existent: it’s a real pain but just one of those things.

Customise

However, as a business it might be worth asking your web designer to customise your error page to make it less anger-inducing and more attractive and useful to visitors.

The addition of colour and graphics would go a long way in keeping visitors reading the page because unlike the plain standard ones currently in use, it wouldn’t be instantly recognised as an error page and so visitors are likely to stay on it for a few more vital seconds which should hopefully give the page time to do its job.

Engage

Offering alternative links to the page visitors were initially looking for or helpful information may persuade them to carry on until they get to the page they want. Even a little injection of humour into the copy could dispel their initial frustration and keep them interested enough to continue.

Friendly

I think this particular example from Arco Media just about sums up what a friendly Error 404 page is all about, and it seems to me that making the effort to create something that doesn’t immediately alienate visitors and manages to keep them reading can only be a good thing.

Until next time.

We all know what a PDF file is, what it does and how useful they can be in particular instances. They are also a constant source of debate as to whether they are a good or a bad thing for websites which of course depends on an individual’s experience. Many have reason to use PDFs on their websites, but when you do happen across one, are they a help or a hindrance to a good browsing experience? This post briefly looks at some of the downsides of PDFs on websites.

Time

Having to wait for a PDF to download is a particular hate. The website itself may be a marvel in terms of easy navigation and quick-loading pages, but get to a slow-loading PDF and users tend to forget how good the site is and all that good work immediately goes out of the window.

Movement and Menus

Scrolling can also be a bit of a hit and miss affair with movements either being jerky or scrolling being too fast whether using the sidebar or the mouse wheel, although to be fair it has improved with newer versions.

Menus and command bars are different to standard browser layout which isn’t really a major problem in itself but nonetheless sometimes causes confusion amongst newer users.  

Print or Screen?

There are some that believe PDF content is for printing only due to the fact that it’s hard to read on screen, but I’m not sure I agree. Obviously there are times when large amounts of information will be too much for a web page and so better off being contained to a downloadable file, however, there are users who have no problem reading PDFs on screen.

As I said, earlier, this post mentions just some of the negative issues, but PDFs do have a good side as well; something I’ll be looking at in another post.

Until next time.

The internet has no shortage of stunning websites that manage to captivate visitors with things like colour, layout, interactive features, and ease of use or simply just superb design, but unfortunately many are let down by their choice of fonts. 

Easy to Read

Because of how well they display on a computer screen, some of the most commonly used fonts include Times New Roman, Verdana, Arial, and Helvetica, and I have to admit that my own favourites are Verdana and Arial although I’m happy with any font that’s easy to read.

Disliked by Many

No doubt there will be those who like a website containing some of the more unusual or less-favoured fonts and that’s to be expected as taste is a personal thing, but from a personal point of view and from what I can tell, a view shared by many, the least-liked is Comic Sans and if you’ve ever seen it on a website you’ll know why.

Fonts in Design

Regardless of how good a site looks, the choice of font can make or break it, so choosing a suitable font is perhaps as much a part of web design as creating the website itself because it’s the copy that imparts information and as such should be very easy on the eye.

Having said that, it’s likely that occasionally, a client may demand a font that perhaps doesn’t display too well but is in keeping with their company brand and in these instances font choice is understandably beyond the control of the web designer - well; you can’t blame them for everything, can you? 

Last week I was idly browsing the web looking at 3D websites and was not only amazed by the talent and creativity of some of the designers, but also how 3D can totally transform a website and give it some extra pulling power.

Taste

Having said that, just because a site is in 3D it doesn’t mean it’s automatically going to be better than a standard site, because as with anything involving a creative element there are good and bad examples of both so preferences will be purely subjective.

Realistic

To illustrate how effective 3D art can be, I found this site via another blogger and like him was mightily impressed by these examples by designer Jeff Strong which show an incredible attention to detail that gives the subjects a photorealistic quality worthy of any website.

3D

The 3D effect seems to be more visually pleasing and effective when combined with Flash as this example from an engineering website shows.

This eco-website is another one I thought particularly interesting just for the visual aspect alone. There is a couple of seconds loading time but bear with it and see what you think.

Anyone looking for something to turn their website from just being a website into more of a user experience should consider talking to their web designer to find out more.

I’m not saying that 3D websites would suit every business because they won’t, but for anyone looking to give their site something a bit special and a little different, 3D could be well worth consideration.

Until next time.