Last week we shared our first 10 tips on how to optimize your e-commerce web design in order to make the shopping process as seamless and easy for your customers as possible. This week we look at things such as support, promotion of popular items as well as money back guarantee and the importance of testing.

#1. Keep content fresh

This might seem trivial, however just like any other website you need to keep your content fresh. There is nothing worse than visiting a web store only to realize that the store hasn’t been updated since 2008. You need to keep a regular schedule of updates otherwise customers will think the store is closed and the website just hasn’t been taken down yet.

#2. Sales support

If you were running a physical store the first thing you would do would be to employ sales personnel, running a web store is no different, don’t expect that just because everything is online customers don’t need support. From the very beginning you need to offer some sort of sales support, and you need to make sure they respond in a reasonable time, I am not saying you need to have a 24/7 live chat however if it takes you 3 weeks to get back to people then they will have moved on and bought the product elsewhere.

#3. Detailed information

Your product details need to be as detailed as possible, yes you might be selling T-Shirts however if your only product detail says “Green T-Shirt” then trust me people are going to be confused. You need to offer as much detail about the product as possible, these

#4. Consistent design

Just like with any other website you need to be consistent in your design, if you are using light colors on your front page then stick with these colors throughout the entire store, don’t all of a sudden have one site with a very different color it is very distracting.

#5. Tell customers if you have a physical store near them

Even though more and more people are starting to complete their shopping online some people still prefer brick & mortar stores, if you have an actual showroom near your customers then let them know about it.

#6. Promote popular items

Do you have a few items that are really popular with some customers? Chances are if you see a product being purchased more frequently than others then this product is of interest to many more than just those who recently purchased it. Tell your customers about your most popular products who knows they might just be looking for exactly that product.

#7. Testing the store

Like with any website there is nothing more important than testing the design, a web store is no different, you really need to test and retest your design before going live. If something isn’t working you want to know about it before your customers start complaining, perhaps you can get a few of your friends to test the site, chances are they will see something you haven’t considered after working months on the project.

#8. Money back guarantee

Let’s face it you just can’t make everyone happy, there is always going to be someone who will complain and want his or her money back. If you want to keep customers coming back then you must offer a money back guarantee.

#9. Keep check out clean

You might have noticed that physical stores always seem to cram a whole bunch of products in the checkout area, the reason for this is that you are much more likely to do spontaneous shopping while waiting in the checkout line. DO NOT do this online, there is nothing more annoying than trying to pay for your purchase only to be bombarded with new offers, keep the checkout area clean!

#10. Remember your target market

As with any website you need to remember who your target market is, for instance if your web store sells toys then the colors you will want to use will be different than if you were selling furniture for a retirement home.

The post How to optimize your e-commerce web design – Part 2 appeared first on Design Reviver - Web Design Blog.

The week is coming to an end and that means it is time for us to look back on the week that passed, the best design news, resources and other goodies. This week we look at CSS and HTML tutorials, vintage and retro design, great globe logos and much more.

Practical Tips From Top WordPress Pros

Recently I shared with you some advice from the WordPress community to beginners. But what about if starting out is already a dim and distant memory? What if you’re already so immersed in the world of WordPress that you dream of trac and bore your partner with talk of the latest thing you’ve achieved with custom post types?

Cool Globe Logo designs

Without further a due, we share to you 45 Cool Examples of Globe Logo Design that can help you sail to your vast imagination and maybe arrive at land of great ideas for your next project.

15 websites with vintage and retro design

Vintage and retro themes in web development are becoming extremely popular these days. However, this doesn’t suggest particularly complex elements in design. On the contrary a simple use of old black & white photos or some old fashioned music played in the background may do the trick. It will also make sense to play with a color palette and with its help add a retro feel to your design.

Awesome 3D Photoshop CS6 tutorials

Before the release of adobe Photoshop cs6, many designers have suffered from the 3d conception in the program, something that pushes adobe improve these functionalities in its latest version, they have made a handful of tweaks that will significantly improve your workflow and enhance your tool set. Theses new features include a way to generate bump map textures from flat artwork, smoother previewing of soft shadows and more. Fortunately, there are already a number of online tutorials that will help you to learn more about 3d features. Today, we will take you through some of the exciting Photoshop CS6 tutorials that illustrate how to use these brand new tools to create amazing 3D effects.

20 Free business HTML and CSS Templates

Business templates are commonly used for business/company related websites as they are quite decent, minimalistic and chic. The Free Business HTML/CSS Templates.

15 Great CSS Tutorials

15 of the best hand picked CSS tutorials for you to get your hands dirty.

AngelHack announces worldwide hackathon

AngelHack, the organiser of “largest hackathon startup competition”, has announced the project has “just got bigger”. The next AngelHack kicks off in a month’s time, with events on April 27 and 28, in both Los Angeles and London. Global events will continue until mid-June in destinations including Paris, Moscow, Sydney, Seoul, Guadalajara, Santiago and many other cities.

Getting started with Edge Animate

In this tutorial, we’ll be getting started with Adobe’s new animation tool, Adobe Edge Animate. Edge Animate harnesses the power of HTML5 animation, and allows the user to create dynamic, exciting web-based animations in a quick, easy and fun way, using a user-friendly timeline-based interface as opposed to blocks of daunting code.

5 simple tips to SEO optimize WordPress

WordPress themes are a terrific solution for clients with smaller budgets. They give these clients the ability to make ongoing changes to their site using the #1 CMS in the world. They give you, the developer, the ability to deliver a website that looks great and has a quality user experience at a budget price point. Everybody wins. But what if you could deliver even more value to these clients? You can by doing some simple SEO optimization of the theme you customize and develop for your client. Here are 5 simple steps you can take to optimize any WordPress theme template.

The post Weekly News Roundup – 29 March 2013 appeared first on Design Reviver - Web Design Blog.

This week and next week we will share with you how to optimize your e-commerce web design in order to make the shopping process as seamless and easy for your customers as possible. Today we will present 10 tips on how to create a better e-commerce website, next week we will present the remaining 10 suggestions.

The post How to optimize your e-commerce web design – Part 1 appeared first on Design Reviver - Web Design Blog.

Over the past few years white space has become immensely popular. Many people use white space whether it is in their headers, footers or simply to create space between elements, as a way to give their website a more simplistic and cleaner look. We have compiled a list of 20 great examples of white space in web design.

Apple

Ultra 16

Google

Theme Jug

Jamie Gregory

Session M

Frieze

Dropbox

VolksWagen

Box

Cult Of Mac

Nintendo

Roundhouse

The Old Fashioned

37 Signals

WebKnit

Hey Designer

Checkout

Tiffany & C0.

Smart Car

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The guys at WebHostingBuzz have just released their latest infographic and it focuses on the state of social sharing in 2013. For web designers it is always important to know what social platforms are available as well as their popularity. The infographic states that 90% of companies with 100 or more employees use social media in their marketing mix.

When designing a website you should take the most popular social platforms into consideration, not only are they very important for advertising your website, but they can also be on vital importance for word-of-mouth advertising, it doesn’t take much for a website to instantly go viral on Twitter. As you can see below currently the eight most popular social platforms are:

- Facebook
- Twitter
- Pinterest
- LinkedIn
- Google+
- YouTube
- Tumblr
- Instagram

Click here to view full size image.

The post Infographic: The State of Social Sharing 2013 appeared first on Design Reviver - Web Design Blog.

No business owner wants their logo or marketing materials to appear like an amateur has put them together. When a potential customer goes to compare to like companies, the one that appears more knowledgeable and appealing will often win them over. Attractive marketing materials are essential since they are often the first impression a person has of a company or business.

Unfortunately, hiring a talented graphic designer involves quite a bit of money. Many budgets cannot bend their budgets to accommodate this type of service. So, how does a company ensure they are not only hiring the right designer, but that they are getting them at the best possible price?

Shop Around

Do not feel like you have to sign a contract with the first graphic designer you come across. Look around. Don’t be afraid to do cost comparisons. Bring these findings with you when you meet new designers. Not everyone will be willing to budge on their price but perhaps a designer you just love will agree to bridge the gap here or there. You have to negotiate. Perhaps they are firm on their estimate but are willing to throw something extra in. Or there is  a package deal with services you weren’t going to purchase but the bundle cost is too good to pass up. As in anything else, the best way to save money is to spend the time beforehand doing prep work.

Knowledge

Knowing what you are looking for and what you want beforehand will save you not only time, but also money. The more proofs, edits and redesigns you require to get the desired final product – the more you will pay a designer for their work. Take some time to do some research on design, recent trends in design and to really map out what you are seeking for your logo or marketing material. Coming to a designer with a plan with make proceedings go so much easier, thus saving you money.

Experience

Often those who want the best designers have the money to back up their wish. However, not every company can afford to hire the most skilled, most experienced or most wanted designer on the market. If you are working on a budget, your dreams of having a top notch designer may seem out of reach. However, you can find a great and talented designer without having to take out a second line of credit. Once you get past having to have the right ‘name’ behind your work, you can focus on upcoming designers who have loads of talent. These new designers may not have the experience or notoriety, but they can still produce stellar work that will grab the attention of your client base. It will require research to find the right designer, but it will be worth it in the end.

Protection

As a business owner, you need to protect yourself. Look for a designer or company that has been around for a while. Check their feedback rating at places like the Better Business Bureau. Ask your local Chamber of Commerce if they have heard anything about the company. Do an online search to see if there is anyone online talking about the designer, their work or their design firm. If you cannot find anything doing this research, ask the designer about insurance. A serious graphic designer will carry some type of liability insurance. Having insurance is a strong indication that the designer is serious about what they do.

Combine Services

Many companies offer in-house design services as part of their packages and deals. Instead of first seeking out a graphic design, considering choosing your printing company first and ask them to add on design services. Often this arrangement will save you money since the printing company is seeking first and foremost to acquire your printing needs and is offering design as an added bonus.

There are multiple ways to save costs when it comes to procuring a graphic designer for your needs. Doing the necessary research beforehand will go far when it comes to saving money and sparing your budget. Avoid rushing into making a decision and don’t be scared to negotiate. These techniques will ensure that you trim unnecessary fat from the cost of design and get the marketing pieces you are hoping for.

The post Budget Suggestions for Hiring Logo Design Company appeared first on Design Reviver - Web Design Blog.

The week is coming to an end and that means it is time for us to look back on the week that passed, the best design news, resources and other goodies. This week we look at CSS3 and HTML5 tutorials, what journalists need to know about web design, jQuery mobile for beginners, as well as great examples of typeface combinations in web design.

30 Really Useful HTML5 Tutorials

Almost everybody is talking about latest enhancement in web industry. Yes, it’s HTML5 and CSS3. Really these languages expanded the possibilities of web design. There are lots of web designer s and developers who have started using HTML5 into their designs. Here we’ve rounded up 30 really useful HTML5 tutorials that will definitely help.

Vexing Viewports · An A List Apart Article

“The Web is Agreement.” Jeremy Keith’s eloquent statement neatly summarizes the balance that makes it possible for us to build amazing things. Each week, new devices appear with varying screen sizes, pixel densities, input types, and more. As developers and designers, we agree to use standards to mark up, style, and program what we create.

What journalists need to know about Web design

Fifty milliseconds. That’s how quickly visitors can form strong, long-lasting impressions about your news or information website. But they aren’t sizing up the quality of your content or the sophistication of your code. They’re making nearly instantaneous, mostly subconscious judgments about how your work has been designed.

50 Helpful Typography Tools And Resources

We love beautiful typography, and we appreciate the efforts of designers who come up with great typographic techniques and tools or who just share their knowledge with fellow designers. We are always looking for such resources. We compile them, carefully select the best ones and then prepare them for our round-ups.

25 Web development resources to help you create better websites

As a developer I am always on the hunt for time saving resources, anything that can save me just a few minutes of time is a great help in an already hectic schedule. Compiled here is a list of 25 resources that are bound to make your life a little bit easier

Top 10 Free Online Tools for Creative Minds

In case you missed it, WordPress release 3.4 included a very exciting new development: the Theme Customizer. This allows users to tweak theme settings using a WYSIWYG interface and customize the theme so it includes the colors, fonts, text — and pretty much anything else — they want.

50+ Examples Of Drawings and Illustrations in Web Design

For a quite some time, web designers have used hand drawn illustrations and typography to give websites a non-digital look and feel and a more human touch. Right now, however, there is a strong web design trend coming with focus on keeping interface design minimalistic and flat.

A Complete Guide of jQuery Mobile for Beginners

There’s no doubt about it. Wherever developers look and whoever they talk to, mobile is at the top of the list. Talk to a C-level executive, and the conversation turns to mobile, and the question “How do I get me some of that?” comes up. Talk to other developers, and they tell you they’re targeting mobile devices. Mobile has become a big deal as smartphones have taken hold in the consumer marketplace.

10 Superb CSS3 Tutorials for Awesome Design

Many designers all over the world believe that CSS3 is a technique which has unbelievable potential which will in the future be used to create wonderful designed websites. At present, it is not being used variedly all over the world due to a number of limitations – obsolete browsers being one of them. In this post we’ve collected 10 Superb CSS3 Tutorials for Awesome Design, this can be proficiently functioned using markup, HTML, and some improved properties of CSS3.

40 Best Typeface Combinations in Web Design

When it comes to prints or Web Design, typography is one of the most important part. So selectng the right type of typography for your web design is one of the most crucial part. Keeping the small textured detail in mind while designing a website can sometimes be enough to get amazing results.

Providing responsive images with Drupal

In this tutorial, we’ll be solving this problem four times, thanks to the latest version of the Drupal CMS, 7, and its vast, user contributed module library. We’ll be looking at the adaptive image module, the adaptive image styles module, the client-side adaptive image module and, finally, the responsive images and styles module. These represent great solutions to optimising your Drupal website for bandwidth starved mobile devices; all modules used employ the techniques listed above.

The post Weekly News Roundup – 15 March 2013 appeared first on Design Reviver - Web Design Blog.

Surfing the net from a dedicated gaming console is not something new, in fact the ability to connect your gaming device to the internet was first introduced back in 1997 with the Game.com which allowed user to connect a dial-up modem and then check their email and browse the internet. However still to this day many designers ignore or pay very little attention to game console browsers when designing a new site. However there are some things that you need to remember when you are designing for a gaming console, added here are some of the most important things to remember, feel free to let us know if you think we forgot something.

Perhaps the biggest reason why so little importance has been given to the gaming consoles is that even though many households own either a Wii U, Wii, Xbox or Playstation, there is still a relatively small number that uses these devices to surf the web. The biggest problem is that these devices were not built for internet browsing and therefore they simply feel clunky when used to navigate the web.

According to StatCounter, the Sony PS3 accounts for just 0.1% of all web activity. Wii and Xbox browsers don’t even appear in the chart, although that’s possibly because they’re intermingled with Opera and IE9 statistics.

What consoles should be tested?

So the first thing you should decide when making your website more console friendly is what consoles will you test your site on, of course we know that you will not be able to test your site on every gaming device on the market, however it is recommended that you test on at least two major platforms so you can create as user friendly a website as possible.

1. Consoles that plug into a TV screen, such as the Nintendo Wii, Sony PS3, and Microsoft Xbox 360.
2. Handheld consoles such as Sony’s PSP, PS Vita and Nintendo’s DS and 3DS.

Different Consoles, different Challenges

Each different console brings with it different challenges, the biggest challenge is that even though the resolution is often higher than normal screens gamers sit much further away from their consoles, furthermore since they are not using a mouse to control the browser their clicks might not be as precise, another problem is that many game console browsers don’t support flash or CSS features.

What can designers do about it?

As more and more users will visit your website from a gaming console you can use different progressive enhancements that make it possible for people to access your site’s content even on a device that doesn’t support certain features. Another thing you can do is make sure your website loads as fast as possible. Even though some users will visit your website from a TV capable of showing HD quality you need to remember that not everyone has a Smart TV and therefore you should make sure your site also looks good on older screens.

console.maban.co.uk is really a great resource for information on how browsers function on different gaming systems, UK developer Anna Debenham created the site that provides descriptions, controller details, screen resolutions, user agents, JavaScript support, Flash versions, HTML5 test scores and a wealth of other information.

The post Things to remember when designing websites for gaming consoles appeared first on Design Reviver - Web Design Blog.

Many designers contemplate the thought of whether being self employed as a freelancer, or working for a design firm. Of course there are many benefits and drawbacks to each of them, but your decision is based on whether these benefits and drawbacks are worthy for making your decision.

We explain several benefits and drawbacks to freelancing and working for a design firm that we believe are very important to know about before making your decision.

Freelancing Benefits

Self-Employment

By far, the greatest benefit of freelancing is being your own employer, your own boss, and the one who contracts jobs and the likes. This is often one of the key benefits that outweigh the drawbacks of freelancing for many. If you are one who is always wanting to be in control of your environment and projects, then freelancing will definitely fit you well.

Flexible Times

As a freelancer, you have the flexibilities to choose how many hours you spend working, what times you work throughout the day, and when you take your breaks and how long they can be. With time flexibility, you can easily work at the best times for you when you are most productive and do something else when you are less productive. This allows you to make the most out of your day while staying on top of your daily activities such as running daily errands or picking your favorite cafe to settle in and finish some projects.

Work from Home

Another great benefit of freelancing is the ability to work at home or anywhere else you find suitable. Many find themselves more productive when they are wearing the clothing they find comfortable while sitting at their desk or on the couch sipping some coffee as they work. Others find this benefit as a drawback as they find themselves less productive and rather distracted with things surrounding them. If working from home increases your productivity, then freelancing is definitely your style.

I Don’t like This Project, Therefore, I Don’t Work on It.

By working with a firm, many hate the fact that they are assigned projects they dislike and are not motivated to working on them at all. Therefore, by having the freedom of accepting or declining projects, freelancers tend to empower the industry, rather than a firm empowering them.

Unlimited Salary

As a freelancer, your salary is not fixed but rather variable, meaning you make can more or less profit every month and away from the fixed salary you would get working at a firm. For many, this allows them to excel and achieve higher profit rates while spending the same amount of time they would have at a firm. To others, this may be a downside of freelancing, as their salary is not technically guaranteed.

Freelancing Drawbacks

As much as freelancing sounds awesome, there are many drawbacks to it that turn many people around from heading in its direction. To name a few, we discuss five drawbacks to freelancing.

Long Hours

As much as freelancing sounds awesome and more like a few hours of work with a ton of free time, it is not. Freelancing sometimes consumes your nights and weekends to meet deadlines and to keep bills paid. This has to be one of the major drawbacks that turns away many, including those who have tried the freelancing industry is in many cases it can be stressful. Additionally, many like the fact that they fixed hours and when they get back home, they can leave work, at work.

Work from Home

Wait, didn’t we just say it was a benefit of freelancing? We did indeed, however, working from home is sometimes not an ideal thing to do for many as their productivity level drops significantly, the work would “follow them home”, and they will never get their mind off of it. To many, it is more stressful to work from home rather than being in an office.

Unknown Salary

As with any self-employed job or position, your salary tends to be unknown as freelancing is based on the amount of work you contract, and the amount completed including getting invoices paid on time.For many, this causes them stress as they do not know whether at the end of the month they will be able to pay their bills or not, making them uncomfortable every day and their salary somewhat insecure.

Recruiting Clientele

Not all of us are built for freelancing or self-employment, some us are not great at recruiting clientele to meet our quotas, others do not know where to draw the line in terms of pricing, and likes. This is actually a major factor that brings many freelancers down, as they do not have the ability to meet certain quotas, forcing them to go back to a job at the office.

Time Management

Generally, if you need someone to map out your time management, then you do not fit in the freelancing industry. However, many do not quite know this about themselves, and end up with clashing schedules causing a hurdle in their reputation, which brings down their freelancing career. Therefore, time management is key to freelancing and an indirect drawback for several.

Design Firm Benefits

No Financial Management

A major benefit for working at a firm is that you do not need to manage their finances as a designer to assure whether they will make it each quarter and what not. This eliminates a major responsibility that exists in freelancing.

Fixed Salary

Instead of worrying about how much profit you made at the end of the month, you know exactly what your salary is, and generally, what you will have by the end of the month. This eases stress and helps you focus on the projects you are working on rather than whether each project will get your bills paid or not.

Leave Work at the Office

Leaving at the office and coming home to general relaxation is what working for a firm is all about. You can forget about the projects you were working on until you get back into the office during working hours.

No Clientele Outlook

As a designer working at a design firm, you do not need to do the hunting and marketing to reel in clientele, but rather just work with the clientele the firm assigned you to. It helps you organize your time, and focus on what matters to you most, and not on whether you will win a contract or not.

Social Interaction

Socializing is sometimes an important factor to many of us, and the office environment provides just that. Instead of talking to yourself at home as a freelancer, you can discuss projects and life with your co-workers; a great benefit indeed.

Design Firm Drawbacks

Working Overtime

When working for a firm you are bound to work overtime one day or another.This means that instead of being home from a long day of work, you will be working at the office.

Short Vacations

When you are freelancing, you can take long vacations whenever you need it. However, by working for a firm, your vacation time is limited, and sometimes restricted at certain dates.

Fixed Salary

A fixed salary means that generally, your salary will not increase by much, which means the only way to increase your salary is to be promoted.

Promotion System

The promotion system can take years before it affects you positively, which means that your salary and what you do is fixed for a prolonged period of time. Often a drawback to working for a firm.

Shorter Breaks

As a freelancer, you can take breaks whenever you feel the need for them. However, while working for a firm you are on a strict schedule, meaning a well deserved break may not be available.

The post Benefits and Drawbacks of Freelancing Vs. Working for a Design Firm appeared first on Design Reviver - Web Design Blog.