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Website, App, or Bad Idea? Determining the Success Factor of Web Apps and Interactive Web Design
5/3/2012 11:00 PM By ArtisanMobile app design isn’t the answer to every company’s dreams of reaching a position of prominence and becoming an overnight Fortune 500 contender. In many cases, creating mobile apps may just be a waste of time, energy, and that all-valuable business capital – all three of which could be put to better use pursuing other web-related endeavors that could have a much more significant impact in customer engagement. So how do you know if hiring a mobile app design expert is a great idea, a mediocre idea, or a bad idea? It depends entirely on the kind of goods and services that your company provides, and in determining the best possible way of engaging your customer base in a way that will result in the most desirable outcome: increased business. Here are a couple of key considerations when deciding if mobile app design is the best option to pursue.
Will it Be Popular?
Understand what’s popular among app users and what’s not. According to recent studies, the most popular category of mobile applications are games. While this paints an undesirable image of a nation of professionals wasting valuable productivity time playing entertaining time-wasters like Angry Birds, it also tells us something very valuable. It tells us that not everyone is looking for efficiency apps. The other most popular app categories, which include weather apps, social networking apps, music apps and navigation apps, is also indicative of the fact that few people are looking for apps that are trying to sell them on something. Keep this in mind when you think about your own mobile app design and what you want your application to accomplish.
Why Does it Have to Be an App?
Developing a smartphone app may not be the ideal platform for every company. Before pouring money into the development of an application that you’re not even sure will bring substantial ROI, ask yourself a few pointed questions. What are the benefits of creating the application that can’t be offered through your company website? Would your company’s goals be better served by putting time and money into developing a responsive website that’s optimized for all mobile devices on the market? Simply because you offer an application doesn’t mean that someone is going to see the inherent value of it and use it repeatedly, especially if they can get the same user experience simply by visiting your company website directly.
None of this is to say that if you have a great app idea, it shouldn’t be pursued. As long as you’re not taking an attitude that assumes “If I build it, they will download” then your decision will likely be grounded in logic instead of false assumptions. With the high number of applications available on the market today, users are starting to become choosier about what they spend valuable memory on. Unless you can make a clear-cut case as to why a user should download your application, and why its functions are best served as a stand-alone app and not as part of a more highly functional website, perhaps you should think twice.
If you’re still unsure, you can always consult with a freelance professional who specializes in user interface design. Not sure how to contact someone in that line of work? Just pay a visit to Artisan Talent, a website built specifically with the intent of pairing companies with freelance web professionals who can help guide your various projects through to completion. At Artisan’s website, you can review the profiles and portfolios of freelancers seeking user interface design jobs to help narrow your selection lead you to finding the right professional.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
Top 5 Tips for Creating Effective and Indispensable Mobile Apps
5/2/2012 11:00 PM By ArtisanSuccessful mobile app design is rarely all about technical ability. Many times, mobile app developers have to know how to talk to their clients to determine their precise needs, as well as to steer them in the right direction with regard to the creation of applications that will deliver high usability among their target base. Here are 5 tips to help you achieve that aim.
1. Help your client define their target audience. Mobile app design relies heavily on an understanding of who will be using it, and why. Get involved with your client when creating app ideas by asking the question: who is your intended audience and what do you hope to get out of creating an application? This will help you define the parameters of your job.
2. Keep the application simple and resist the urge to pack on the frilly features. Mobile app developers are a proud lot, and they should be – they provide a service that’s highly prized, and those who are best at what they do can monitor the evidence of their labors on a daily basis as app store downloads continue to pile up. Sometimes, it’s hard for mobile app design experts to hold fast to simplicity. But the bottom line is, creating an app that has too many features can confuse the user, which is the last thing you want. Most applications you’ll be asked to design will be simple in nature. Stick to the parameters of the job and steer clear of superfluity. This will result in the creation of an app that’s not only useful, but also highly popular with consumers.
3. Meet client and user expectations by having an honest dialogue about precisely who the app is being developed for: the end user. Often, mobile app developers will find themselves working for clients that are far more interested in impressing themselves or their competition with the flashiest app on the market. In the end, the app’s appeal will not be judged by the same measuring stick and its success will rest solely on its usability in the eyes of consumers. This has to be communicated clearly to your client.
4. Don’t let imperfection prevent you from releasing the application. Waiting until an application has achieved an acceptable level of perfection could leave your client waiting too long and could result in a missed deadline. If an app isn’t perfect – and they rarely are – there’s always the opportunity to improve it through updates and by reviewing user feedback to guide those needed improvements.
5. Make the application representative of your client’s brand image. This may sound like a difficult task, but there’s nothing more to it than aligning the app’s look and functionality with your client’s existing modus operandi. Pay attention to the way the company presents itself to the public. Most companies go out of their way to develop a uniform “voice” that they use to communicate with their customers. Incorporate this voice in the creation of any app you develop for a client. If the tone the company uses on their website is informal and jocular, mirror this by incorporating the same voice in any text that goes with the app. If you’re dealing with a client who’s “all business” then take a formal approach. Frequently, you’ll find that companies have a hard time communicating this specific need to you and are ultimately not fully pleased with the result. Anticipate this, and you’ll improve your chances of delivering a completely satisfactory app.
To seek out mobile app design job opportunities, register with Artisan Talent. By doing so, you can make yourself highly visible to companies seeking to hire creative professionals like yourself on a freelance basis. Visit www.artisantalent.com to learn more about the opportunities that Artisan can bring to your career.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
More than Meets the Eye: Designing the Single-Page Website
5/1/2012 11:00 PM By ArtisanIn a comeback that’s worthy of a few head scratches – or maybe a rousing round of applause – single-page websites are fast becoming the latest creative web design trend. Is this a sign that the average interactive interface designer has lost his or her mojo and is resorting to old school tactics for the development of websites? Hardly. The single-page websites of today are actually smart design decisions made by web developers who have a keen handle on what consumers really want: simplicity and high functionality.
The single-page website is also popular among corporations eager to bring mass exposure to their brands through the use of straightforward marketing campaigns. A single-page website is seen as one of the most direct routes to promoting goods and services – but it’s not just something that companies see great benefit in. Single-page websites also bring benefits to the interactive interface designer who develops them.
Easy Navigation Planning
One of the great benefits of the single-page website is that it not only looks great, but it’s also incredibly simple with respect to navigation planning. With a typical website, the developer has to be concerned with the possibility that a visitor could happen upon the site via any page. Planning for these multiple points of possible entry can be laborious, but when implementing the creative web design behind a single-page website, this becomes a non-issue. Developers can produce websites for clients that unfold in a logical manner and that end with a singular call to action. In a day and age where far too many web designs have trouble getting across that all-important call to action, the single-page website can help drive that home.
Simplicity in Coding
Traditional websites are designed to grow as additional content is added, which can translate to complex coding for the developer. But when you’ve got a visual design that sticks to one page and everything is contained within that page, out goes the need to create a repeatable page template. This “lessening of the load” with respect to coding can also be extremely beneficial to inspiring the kind of creativity that fosters the development of unique single-page designs.
Tips for Creative Web Design in Single-Page Sites
If you’re an interactive interface designer who is new to the concept of the single-page website but you’re interested in pursuing it further, here are a few tips and suggestions for making your own design fly.
· Explore dynamically loading content that allows a visitor to access certain information or launch certain functions that don’t require page refreshes.
· Incorporate sliding elements that are triggered when a user scrolls through the page. This has the effect of ratcheting up the website’s level of interactivity.
· Employ the use of a fixed navigation bar at the top of the webpage so that the further down a visitor scrolls, there’s no chance they’ll become lost or not have instantaneous access to a particular area.
Creative web design is an art form that’s seldom mastered. For this reason, corporations frequently look outside of their permanent ranks to hire designers in the freelance market for help in achieving their marketing goals. If you are an interactive interface designer seeking to partner up with various companies on a freelance basis, register with Artisan Talent to immediately gain access to hundreds of job listings from across the country.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
Acing the Information Architect Interview: Tips and Suggestions
4/30/2012 11:00 PM By ArtisanSpecialists in web information architecture spend years developing the necessary skills to hone their craft to a science. But often, an information architecture specialist can run into trouble in an area that’s just as critical to landing lucrative employment: the job interview. Being an expert and knowing all there is to know about a subject as intensive as web information architecture will not guarantee that you will pass a job interview with flying colors. But by taking the advice below and incorporating it into the way that you present yourself during a job interview, you can greatly improve your chances at success in finding gainful employment.
· Don’t let your work speak for itself. Even the most eye-catching portfolios on the planet can sail past a hiring manager if there’s not enough context to really display how an information architecture specialist arrives at their final creation. This can be accomplished by adding annotations to a portfolio that explain the thought process and challenges faced on the road to every project’s completion.
· Bone up on your CV and portfolio. It’s not enough to simply hand a prospective employer your CV and portfolio and expect them to do all of the work. If your portfolio is extensive, you should be able to answer questions that an interviewer may have about any of the jobs therein without asking for help to refresh your memory.
· Go into detail about your conflict managements skills. Without fail, one of the standard questions that’s always asked of a potential employee is to provide an example of how they handle workplace or project conflicts. A simple “not applicable” answer won’t suffice in an area as critical as this, and therefore it’s incumbent upon you as a web information architecture expert to provide real-life examples of past challenges that you managed to overcome. Be honest. Many employers can see through fictional scenarios that are designed to make you look good in their eyes.
Acing the information architect interview is all about showing a prospective employer how you work. It’s about giving them valuable insight into how you will fit into their company, even if the work that you’re applying for will only be done on a job by job, contracted basis. Following the suggestions above will take you a long way toward getting on an employer’s short list.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
Keeping Up with the Trailblazers: Web Design Trends for 2012
4/27/2012 11:00 PM By Artisan2012 is already shaping up to be a wildly transformative year for web design, pressing the fulltime interactive designer to have to move fast to keep up with evolving trends if they have any ambition to stay on top of the game. Here’s a list of 5 current design trends for 2012 that all developers should take a closer look at. If you’re not proficient in all of the areas below, there’s a likelihood you could get passed over for freelance job opportunities by those who are.
1. Single-page websites – More of a smart marketing ploy than an attempt to get old school or retro, companies seeking to create more immediate and hard-hitting campaigns are opting for single-page websites that are alive with vivid imagery, interactive features, and that ultimately point their site visitors to a single, unambiguous call to action.
2. Oversized headers and images – Content is what drives website traffic, and you know the old saying “a picture says a thousand words”? Well, oversized headers with massive images seem to be echoing that very sentiment and validating its veracity. One of the most prominent of the current design trends today is the creation of disproportionately large headers that catch the eye and make clicking away from a page all the more difficult.
3. Bold, daring typography – In traditional marketing, the mixing of fonts on a single advertisement has usually been a big-time no-no. But when it comes to trying to compete for the attention of web surfers who will more than likely pass over a site if it doesn’t jump out and bite them, traditional rules have gone out the window. Current design trends are seeing the increased use of bold fonts and the daring mashup of styles that make a website that much more difficult to turn away from.
4. Unique perspectives – The tried and true website, which makes no bones about being a website and embraces its natural “look,” is on the way out. At least if 2012 trends are telling us anything, anyway. Cutting edge web designers are beginning to merge real life perspectives with those of the standard computer monitor and coming up with some real doozies, like creating website landing pages that look like restaurant menus, or directional controls that look like those found on a TV remote or mp3 player. This interesting blend of perspectives is one to watch and explore as 2012 unfolds.
5. Hand-drawn images – What better way to really differentiate one website from another and to put a stamp of uniqueness on it than to design backdrops that look remotely nothing like clipart images? By taking pen – or mouse – in hand, and creating your very own, that’s how. 2012 is seeing the emergence of the fulltime interactive designer as a fledgling (and sometimes quite capable) artist.
If there’s anything to be gleaned from current design trends, it’s that developers are moving toward merging website functionality with design-conscious architecture. If you’re seeking work as a fulltime interactive designer, you’ll do well to integrate some of these elements into your own web design so that you can remain viable in an increasingly competitive field. To gain greater exposure to companies hiring freelance designers, register your portfolio with Artisan Talent today.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
What You Can Learn From the Most Popular Mobile Apps Around
4/26/2012 11:00 PM By ArtisanIf you’re a company interested in developing mobile applications that will serve your existing customer base while reaching out to new ones, your best bet is to study the top mobile apps on the market today. By doing so, you can get a great idea of just what it is that people are hungry for. Taking this information and working with a highly skilled freelance app developer, you just might create something that’ll catch on with the public, or at very least serve your customers well.
· Location based applications – The skyrocketing popularity of applications like Foursquare, which allow users to tag themselves at specific locations using GPS and then post that information to social networking sites, gives clear indication that consumers are extremely interested in downloading apps that are socially linked in. If you’re just getting your feet wet in the mobile arena, consider creating a profile with Foursquare and linking it with your business Facebook page so that customers can “check in” to your location and share it with others.
· Money transfer applications – You don’t have to be a bank or a financial lending institution to see the increasing popularity of money transfer apps as a positive sign. Essentially, what the growth in these types of applications is telling us is that people are becoming increasingly comfortable performing financial transactions through their smartphones. The more this confidence continues to grow, the more important it is for companies selling goods and services online to create mobile storefronts. Ignoring this would be a great mistake by those looking to increase business, since remote purchases are rapidly becoming the “impulse” buys of the mobile world.
· Productivity based applications – Some of the top mobile apps on the market these days aren’t time wasting games, but productivity based applications that make getting things done easier and faster. The first thing this should tell you about developing mobile applications is the fact people are continuously seeking new and improved methods of cutting corners – whether shaving fifteen minutes off their day by logging into Google Docs while on the train to work, or punching up the location of the cheapest gas station around, if you can conceive of an application that will make your customers’ lives easier, you may just earn a lifelong customer. Focus on brainstorming app ideas that would address some of the chief complaints that your customers have. Problem solving apps are always welcome.
· Game applications – Not every company in the world is going to find success in developing a video game application, and even fewer will find the kind of international success that a game like Angry Birds has seen. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. What the popularity of video game apps should be telling you is that people enjoy having fun, even when they really ought to be doing something better with their time. If you can create a unique game that you can associate with your company brand and that’s true to your company mission, you just might succeed at bringing some well-deserved mass attention to your company.
While it’s entirely possible to create an application using a free software program, the end result of these are typically substandard and extremely limited in their capability. Developing mobile applications that are impactful and that can have a transformative effect on a company require the guiding hand of a skilled and experienced professional. To connect with freelance app developers of the highest caliber, visit Artisan Talent today.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
Finding SEO Jobs: Tips, Tricks and Foolproof Methods
4/25/2012 11:00 PM By ArtisanSEO specialists living in the Crossroads of America can find a good number of job leads by registering with Indianapolis freelancer services. But as everyone knows, not every lead blossoms into a lucrative employment opportunity. These days, the burning question on the lips and minds of SEO experts has become: what can I do to improve my chances of getting hired as an SEO specialist? The answer, as those in the know may have already guessed, is in making yourself more attractive and visible to potential clients. Here are a few ideas that experts in the field have suggested as ways to accomplish that.
· Build a stunning portfolio by taking on free work. This concept may seem to fly in the face of reason. After all, you’re in the business to make a living and if you’re looking for work the last thing you want to do is give your talents away. But the fact is, if you’re short on experience, you’ve got to take on projects that can pad your portfolio and give you much needed experience. Offering to do SEO work for a company for free in exchange for the right to use that work in your portfolio is a smart way of building both up rapidly.
· Network like crazy. This means attending industry workshops, conferences, job fairs, social mixers, and even befriending fellow SEO professionals through social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. If you start rubbing elbows with people who are in your line of work, you’ll be that much closer to being in the know about employment opportunities. The workshops and conferences also won’t hurt you – they’ll help you stay on top of your game.
· Join forces with other professionals. Moving one step beyond networking and actually coming together with others in your field can be a smart move that will not only give you access to leads you may not have discovered on your own, but will also make you more attractive as a “package deal” professional. Partner with an established web design agency, or work with a web designer that you know to build your own company.
· Embrace freelancing opportunities. Even if what you are ideally looking for is a permanent position within a corporation, never turn away from freelance work. Indianapolis freelancer services like Artisan Talent are the best way to go to tap into the freelance market. Sometimes, making contacts with a company by taking on freelance assignments can lead to permanent employment.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
Usability in Web Design and How to Get it Right
4/24/2012 11:00 PM By ArtisanA GUI designer has the job of ensuring that his or her client’s website ranks high on the usability scale. But what does this really mean? It means developing websites that feature strong user centered design that’s aimed at achieving conversions. Unfortunately, there are tens of thousands of websites out there that suffer from poor or entirely missing user centered design. The following 4 tips describe some of the most common mistakes made by GUI designers that should be avoided at all costs.
· Infinitesimally small clickable areas. Let’s face it, not everyone is as skilled at handling a computer mouse as most of us would like to assume. There are some for whom using a mouse is the equivalent of writing with their non-dominant hand. One of the biggest mistakes that a GUI designer can make is to forget about the existence of these people and create tiny clickable areas that require pro dexterity to launch. The solution to avoiding this problem – and addressing the issue of page abandons borne of pure user frustration – is to ensure link areas are larger and easier to read. Aim for max comfort and you’ll render this a non-issue.
· The conspicuously missing “search” function. Not every user in the world will know that if they want to find something on a page, Control-F will enable them to do that. But even if everyone did suddenly wake up with the inherent ability to Control-F their way through a page rich with content, that still wouldn’t solve the problem of locating something on a website that’s not already visible by scrolling. Website content that resides on other pages must be rapidly discoverable through the use of a search box where a visitor can easily hunt down what they came to find. Failing to incorporate a search box is one of the cardinal sins of user centered design that could result in sending visitors elsewhere to find what they’re looking for. And as every GUI designer knows, chasing visitors away is the number-one no-no.
· Impossible to scan content. Harkening back to something we just discussed about the need to make websites more easily searchable, it’s important to note that requiring a user to Control-F or make use of a search box to find something they should be able to locate with their very own eyes on the very same page of the website is like putting a band aid on a broken bone. In other words, you’ve got to get to the root of the problem: site content that is so jumbled up or difficult to read, it makes the experience an exercise in patience. Smart user centered design ensures that text is broken up into easily digestible blocks that a visitor can quickly scan. Anything else is akin to holding the door open for your site visitor to leave just as soon as they possibly can.
· The one-way communication policy. One of the most vital elements of user centered design that many GUI designers fail to incorporate into their website designs is the creation of a clearly visible path of communication. Omitting or burying company email addresses, phone numbers, or physical addresses where a customer can get ahold of someone to ask a question is an enormous mistake that’s sometimes made at the behest of companies not entirely interested in inviting redundant conversation – especially if there’s already a highly prominent FAQ they’d rather have the user refer to. But if you’re a GUI designer interested in creating a website that not only looks great but that also functions well and accomplishes the not-inconsiderable task of keeping visitors coming back, it’s crucial that you discuss with your client the importance of encouraging user engagement.
If you’re a GUI designer seeking work, you can find a wealth of employment opportunities by paying a visit to Artisan Talent, a creative staffing agency that specializes in matching up web, print, and marketing professionals to companies looking for highly skilled experts. Visit www.artisantalent.com to get started by submitting your profile and resume for consideration.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
What the Future Holds for Mobile Tablet Design
4/23/2012 11:00 PM By ArtisanBusinesses that haven’t yet optimized their websites or created applications for mobile tablet devices should take heed: now’s the time to start. The recent release of Apple’s new iPhone (unofficially known as the iPhone 3) has once again revolutionized the tablet industry and has significantly raised the bar on mobile device performance. At the same time, it’s raised the bar with respect to what consumers expect when they visit websites and when they use applications. Business owners, web designers, and mobile application developers alike can get a head start on this developing technology by taking a closer look at what’s coming down the pipe
Voice and Gesture Activated Controls
The future of computers and mobile tablet devices will be heavily invested in voice and gesture activated controls. There’s already plenty of evidence that not only shows this kind of technology is entirely feasible, but that also shows how excited consumers are to get their hands on it. If you have a doubt, simply take a look at some of the gesture activated game systems on the market today, like the Xbox Kinect or Nintendo Wii, both of which sold unprecedented numbers to a populous hungry for experimental technology. Mobile application developers can partner with companies to develop applications that take advantage of these technologies, but the first step should be brainstorm methods of putting them to use with task-oriented applications that won’t wear off their novelty after the first few uses.
HD Friendly Websites and Applications
The new iPad’s retina display is turning lots of heads, and for good reason. Taking high definition to the next level, Apple has upped the ante and has doubled the resolution on its new device to 2048×1536 pixels. What this means is that the visual quality is unprecedented. Whether or not a company decides to hire mobile application developers skilled in creating iPad-friendly apps or not is beside the point. The fact is, the market will eventually – if not sooner than later – be flooded with non-Apple tablets trying to compete with the iPad’s unparalleled super-HD quality display. For this reason, now’s the time for website and application owners to start focusing on becoming more HD friendly by incorporating higher quality images and design to their applications and their sites. Failing to act on this can lead to the wholly undesirable result of having a drab, low resolution interface that could ultimately turn off users and send them elsewhere.
Responsive Web Design
These days, a website or application owner has to consider that their creation will be accessed by consumers using a vast array of devices, each with their own screen resolutions. Unfortunately, a website optimized for iPad users will not work in the same way as one that’s optimized for tablet PC users, and vice versa. Responsive web design is an approach that takes into consideration this probability and uses a single, unified design which will render accurately no matter what device a website is being accessed with. Using responsive web design can also cost a company far less than it would to design a handful of different websites for different devices, because there’s only one set of code to be created. Web developers skilled in responsive web design are frequently in high demand, and that demand is only expected to go up as more businesses decide to optimize their web presences for the diversity of computers and mobile devices on the market.
Companies interested in finding skilled web designers and mobile application developers can do so by registering with Artisan Talent, a creative staffing agency that specializes in matching up highly skilled professionals with employers seeking to hire for temporary or long-term freelance assignments. Web professionals can also find work through Artisan by registering and creating public portfolios that showcase their skills. Visit www.artisantalent.com to learn more.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
The Top 10 Most Commonly Made Web Design Mistakes
4/20/2012 11:00 PM By ArtisanJust because there’s a crazy amount of trial and error involved in designing the ultimate website doesn’t mean you have to take the long road to achieving success in ecommerce web design. Most user interface designers will gladly share their tales of woe and despair on the road to near perfection – but fortunately for you, you don’t have to waste time conducting polls and gathering data from developers who have made hideous mistakes and learned things the hard way. Here’s a list of the top 10 most lethal made web design mistakes, and tips on how to avoid stepping into that particular snake pit.
1. The Invisible Call to Action – This is a boo-boo of epic proportions that you can easily circumvent. Smart ecommerce web design is all about the call to action. Without it, what’s the point? But it’s not enough to simply bury a link in a sea of rambling text. Take all the work out of it for the website visitors by having large, clearly visible call to action buttons that leave no ambiguity about what you want the visitor to do.
2. A Cluttered Website – Nobody likes a mess, least of all somebody else’s. Break up textual information into easy to digest chunks, and leave plenty of white space. User interface designers know the inherent value of “nothingness” as a means of balancing out a website’s overall look and attractiveness. Don’t shy away from this.
3. Forgetting the Value of Content – This is a cardinal sin in ecommerce web design. While it’s not necessarily the job of user interface designers to develop content for their clients’ pages, it’s certainly an issue of prominence that should be broached when developing a website. Whether you embed a WordPress blog or create frames where relevant content will exist doesn’t matter. What’s critical is that as a web developer, you provide your clients a visible space to key in frequently updated, SEO-driven content.
4. Forcing the Font – Not everyone can read tiny text, and just because you’ve got 6-Million-Dollar-Man-vision doesn’t mean everyone else can read that miniscule text that’s laid out before them. Ensure that when you develop a website, the text is of a size that’s conducive to easy reading, and give visitors the ability to blow up or shrink text.
5. Ignoring Color Contrast – In the crowded world of ecommerce web design, it’s critical to develop websites that stand out. Using vibrant, contrasting colors is key – but making the stupid mistake of delivering an end product that’s impossible to read, like grey text on a white background, is a serious no-no that could leave vision impaired or colorblind visitors in the dark.
6. Not Knowing the Difference Between There, Their and They’re – Horrendous spelling and unforgivable grammatical errors are not the parlance of people with low IQs. Everyone’s misspelled a word at the wrong place and time and made themselves feel foolish in the process. But freelance user interface designers cannot risk making themselves come off poorly in the eyes of their clients. Before you publish any text, quadruple check it for accuracy.
7. Lousy Navigation – Website visitors have to be able to navigate a site without thought. All placement of information should be logical and intuitive. If a site is designed without giving adequate thought to the creation of logical categories of information, it becomes a nightmare for the visitor.
8. Pretty, Pretty Animations – You might think that including animation is a wonderful idea, but it’s the well-designed static website that wins the day each time in the eyes of appreciative web surfers. In some less powered computers, animation can cause browser crashes, which will leave a visitor with a negative impression of the merchant hosting it.
9. Keep it Silent, Stupid – One of the most annoying browsing experiences is the website with launching video or music. If a visitor hasn’t clicked specifically on a link telling you they want to view a video or hear an audio file, they probably don’t want to hear it. Omit all automatically launching media.
10. Neglecting Globalization – Imagine the overseas website visitor who wants to do business with your client, but when they go to make a payment they discover that the site is only optimized for United States visitors. This can be a serious turnoff that can squash a website’s international growth. All ecommerce web design should take into consideration visitors from all parts of the globe, and cater to them accordingly.
Vince F is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
