Monday, August 15, 2011

30 Beautiful Clean and Simple Web Designs for Inspiration

Kettle

Beautiful typography, strategic use of colors and graphics, and obstruction-free aesthetics devoid of visual clutter are a few of the characteristics shared among web designs that are clean and simple. By Jacob Gube

Top 10 Mobile Web Development JavaScript Frameworks

Top 10 Mobile Web Development JavaScript Frameworks

Creating web apps and sites for the Mobile Web has its own sets of challenges and techniques. From UIs optimized for fingers instead of mouse cursors to the bandwidth limitations that most portable personal devices have, developing for mobile devices requires a paradigm shift for those of us who’ve traditionally created products aimed at desktops. By Jacob Gube

How To Build A Better Web Application For Your Business

Are you fed up with hearing about yet another Silicon Valley Web application built with fairy dust and funded by magic pixies? If so, this post is for you. By Paul Boag

Mastering Photoshop Techniques: Layer Styles

Bump-step-07 in Mastering Photoshop Techniques: Layer Styles

Layer Styles are nothing new. They’ve been used and abused again and again. Despite their ubiquity, or perhaps because of it, many designers do not yet realize the full potential of this handy menu. Its beauty lies in our ability to create an effect and then copy, modify, export, hide or trash it, without degrading the content of the layer. By Thomas Giannattasio

Web Governance: Becoming an Agent of Change

Web Governance: Becoming an Agent of Change

What is web governance? That’s a difficult question to answer, because business language is slippery and organizations and modern web management are complex. By A List Apart

Web Strategy: A Definition

In order to be effective, a Web strategy should address not just how an organization will address the wants and needs of its customer or user base, but also how the organization will make that user experience happen operationally. By Welchman Pierpoint

Sunday, August 14, 2011

Web Content Strategy: Sites vs Apps

Website content should be easy to read. Your eyes should easily scan through the text and end the article with little effort or eyestrain. By Contentini

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

Engaging Readers with Compelling Web Content

Enterprise Guide to SEO Content

The inverted pyramid. Who, what, where, when, why and how. These are some of the things my editors harped on back when I was a cub reporter learning the ropes of journalism. By Derek Smith

60 Effective Examples of Call to Action Buttons

Creating an effective website is highly detrimental in the success of a business. In any type of online businesses, the websites act as a tool of communication between the company and the customers. Thus, the action buttons play a major role in making the website successful one. By Designmodo

Monday, August 01, 2011

40+ Websites with Unusual Navigation

Navigation is the most important part of a website without which no website can effectively operate. Achieving unique navigation that effectively fulfills its purpose is nearly akin to climbing Mount Everest. Having a unique navigation with perfect functionality makes the website easy to navigate, thus ensuring a better users experience. By Aquil Akhter

Showcase of Web Design In Argentina

Rtdg in Showcase of Web Design In Argentina Pt.1

Argentina is a melting pot of races and cultures, and its people have developed a complex identity. Tango, political passion and soccer are just some of the features of this South American country’s make-up. By Marilina Maraviglia

The Best Email Newsletters for Designers

Smashing Magazine

The web/graphic design community includes a huge number of active blogs that post articles, tutorials, inspiration, and other types of content. Design blogs are a part of the daily routine for many designers, but there are also several quality email newsletters that cover topics related to design and development. By Vandelay Design

Designers Using Freebies to Grow Their Business

With so much competition out there, freelance designers are always looking for new ways to stand out from the crowd. Some designers have used free resources to build their reputation. By Vandelay Design

Restaurant Websites: Inspiration and Options

Mellow Mushroom

Restaurants that use their websites effectively are able to have a significant impact on their business. Whether it is allowing customers to view menus and specials, find a location, make reservations, sign up for a mailing list, or place an order online, there are a lot of ways that restaurants can benefit from a website. By Vandelay Design

25 Ecommerce Websites for Your Design Inspiration

Burton

Ecommerce websites can be one of the more challenging types of websites for designers. There is a lot that needs to be considered and the design decisions can have a significant impact on the effectiveness of the website at converting visitors to customers. By Vandelay Design

50 Fireworks Tutorials for Designers

Circular Shadows and Highlights

Although Fireworks doesn’t get as much attention as Photoshop, for web designers it can be as good or a better tool for many tasks as compared to Photoshop. By Vandelay Design

Showcase of Patterns in Web Design

Squared Eye

Patterns can be used in web design as a visual focal point, or they can be used subtly to add character to a design. The use of subtle patterns is very popular at the moment. In many cases subtle patterns are used on backgrounds instead of a flat, solid color or a heavy texture that might dominate the design. By Vandelay Design

40 Dribbble Shots for Mobile and UI App Design Inspiration

Mobile designers have become more prominent in today’s extensible web. iOS and Android apps have flooded the markets and earned a lot of money for some small development studios. The smartphone era has taken off with a huge buzz, and now app designers and developers are in high demand. By Jake Rocheleau

Resize Images in a Post with jQuery, and turn it into a plugin

If you own a blog, chances are you post pictures in your posts once in a while. Likewise, you have probably encountered the problem of resizing the pictures so that they fit in the post. By Alexandre Smirnov

30 Interesting 404 Pages


A 404 error page shows up when user tries to browse to a web page that doesn’t exist anymore. The link may be broken, moved, or never existed. In this post are 30 interesting 404 pages for your inspiration. By Brant Wilson

30 Free And High Quality Fonts

Great listing of 'free' fonts. By Brant Wilson

35 Beige Websites


Various site using beige as its background color. By Brant Wilson

4 Money Saving Tips That You Should Follow

Some great money saving tips when running your business. By Rochester Oliveira

Essential E-Commerce Website Features: Tips and Examples

Essential E-Commerce Website Features: Tips and Examples

There are many different approaches you can take when designing an e-store. However, you might notice that effective e-commerce websites have certain site features that are absolutely critical to the shopper’s experience. By Mohammad Moradi

How to Develop Your Website’s Tone of Voice

How to Develop Your Website's Tone of Voice

How to define the distinction between tone of voiceand voice itself. By Ailsa Patridge

Designing For Android

Two-mobiles in Designing For Android

For designers, Android is the elephant in the room when it comes to app design. As much as designers would like to think it’s an iOS world in which all anyones cares about are iPhones, iPads and the App Store, nobody can ignore that Android currently has the majority of smartphone market share and that it is being used on everything from tablets to e-readers. In short, the Google Android platform is quickly becoming ubiquitous, and brands are starting to notice. By Dan McKenzie

Best Practices For Designing Websites For Kids

Marvel-homepage in Best Practices For Designing Websites For Kids

Designing websites and related media for kids presents plenty of opportunities for Web designers. Openings are available at many businesses and schools, as well as through parents and kids themselves, giving designers many ways to find work on electronic and print projects that appeal to kids. By David Morrison

My Favorite Programming Mistakes

Some great insight to programming mistakes by Paul Tero

Inside Google’s User Experience Lab

Marcin Wichary’s fascination with the relationship between humans and machines began at an early age. As a boy in Poland, he was mesmerized by the interaction between arcade patrons and the video games they played. By Dan Redding

Picking A Mobile Support Strategy For Your Website

Fb1 in Picking A Mobile Support Strategy For Your Website

The number of people browsing the Web from a mobile device has more than tripled since 2009, and it is sure to continue growing, with browser platforms such as iOS and Android offering mobile browser support that is almost identical to what we have come to expect from a desktop experience. By Matt Lawson

Behind The Scenes Of Nike Better World

Perhaps one of the most talked about websites in the last 12 months has been Nike Better World. It’s been featured in countless Web design galleries, and it still stands as an example of what a great idea and some clever design and development techniques can produce. By Richard Shepherd

Learning To Use The :before And :after Pseudo-Elements In CSS

If you’ve been keeping tabs on various Web design blogs, you’ve probably noticed that the :before and :after pseudo-elements have been getting quite a bit of attention in the front-end development scene — and for good reason. By Louis Lazaris

Email Newsletters Worth Subscribing To

FontShop in Email Newsletters Worth Subscribing To

Staying on top of the most recent developments in your craft takes time, especially when you have to scan websites daily for articles and news worthy of your attention. By Stephan Poppe

Seven Guidelines For Designing High-Performance Mobile User Experiences

Flickr in Seven Guidelines For Designing High-Performance Mobile User Experiences
A positive first impression is essential to relationships. People look for trust and integrity, and they expect subsequent encounters to reflect and reinforce their first impression. The same principles apply to brands and their products. Design plays an important role in building lasting relationships with end users and, thus, in supporting the brand’s promise. By Ivo Weevers

Create An HTML/CSS Mobile Web App Using Sencha Touch

Image00-500 in Create An HTML/CSS Mobile Web App Using Sencha Touch

The world of mobile app development is quickly becoming a crowded and complicated space, especially for those outside of the development niche. “Which development platform should I use?” “Do I go native or Web-based?” “Which devices should I plan for?” “Can I build my mobile website by hand or should I use a pre-built package?” The questions are endless. By Jen Gordon

Lessons Learned: Productivity Tips For Running A Web Design Business

Evernote in Lessons Learned: Productivity Tips For Running A Web Design Business

It didn’t work out as you expected, did it? The freelance life was supposed to give you more time with the family and free you from that incompetent boss. You even thought you might be better off financially. Instead, you’re working longer hours and under constant stress, worrying about various aspects of your business. By Paul Boaq

Responsive Web Design Techniques, Tools and Design Strategies

Responsive-design-116 in Responsive Web Design Techniques, Tools and Design Strategies

Responsive design continues to get a lot of attention, but considering how different it is from the “traditional” way of designing websites, it can be a bit overwhelming for those designers who have yet to try it. By Smashing Magazine

The Generalists In The Web Design Industry

In recent years there has been a move away from generalist Web designers to specialists such as content strategists, user experience architects and front-end coders. Where once there was a single job, there are now many, with ever-narrower spheres of responsibility. By Paul Boaq

What Web Designers Can Learn From Video Games

Theball Menustructure in What Web Designers Can Learn From Video Games

Games are becoming more Web-like, and the Web is becoming more game-like. If you need proof of this, you have only to look at Yahoo Answers. By Anne Sallee Miles

CSS3 Bling in the Real World

All you disco-dancing designers out there (no more anticipation of alliteration) have been loving the new features CSS3 provides for making websites look cool in an easier, less hackish, and more straightforward fashion. By Chris Mills

The UX of Learning

While many desk-shackled students may wish they were napping rather than enduring yet another monotonous lecture, learning is by no means confined within the classroom. By Tyler Tate