A great design is crucial for a site to accomplish either goal. Experienced designers understand how to use elements like a web site pricing table in order to maximize conversions. But an awesome design isn’t the only thing a business site needs to succeed. It also requires a steady stream of visitors that can be converted into leads or customers.

While it’s not the only source for visitors, organic search engine traffic is desired by businesses from just about every industry imaginable. The main reason businesses of all sizes want organic search engine traffic from Bing and Google is because it’s highly targeted. When a visitor arrives via a targeted keyword search, they’re much more likely to be converted than if they had just stumbled on the site through a random referral.

One commonly overlooked fact is not only will a site’s design impact conversions, but it can also affect search engine rankings. Let’s look at some examples of exactly how quality web design can aid SEO efforts:

Proper On-Page Structure

While the technology Google uses to crawl web pages is extremely sophisticated, at the end of the day it’s still just an automated bot. Because bots can make mistakes, it’s important to make content as easy to parse as possible. Quality designs that utilize structural elements like H1 tags ensure that Google doesn’t have any trouble crawling a site’s pages and understanding exactly what they’re about.

Consistent and Accessible Navigation

Search engine crawlers often use the links on a website to decide where to go next. By ensuring that a design has an optimized navigation structure, it not only makes visitors happy, but also allows crawlers to find all of a site’s pages.

Fast Loading Speed

Google has acknowledged that a page’s loading time can play a role in its ranking. Since elements like non-optimized images can significantly slow down a page, smart designers can identify and fix page components that may have this effect.

No Questionable Elements

For years, Google has made it clear that sites shouldn’t contain elements like hidden links. While some sites employ deceptive design elements may skate by and never got caught, any site that takes this approach is always at risk of being penalized. It’s simply not a risk that businesses should take, so hire an experienced designer to ensure that your finished work is in full compliance with all standards set by Google and Bing.

Related posts:

1. Must have WordPress plugins for bloggers
2. SEO Tool that all Webmasters should have
3. How To Improve Your Site’s User Experience

1. Be Consistent In Your Navigation

It can be difficult to achieve a consistency when it comes to your navigation system and the functions of your site. Your home page might have more clickable options than some inside pages, but it’s important that each page shares the same style of interactive elements. For instance, buttons should look similar to prevent confusion, and you should focus on navigation details like linking your logo to the home page, making the search bar accessible on every page and providing breadcrumbs for a map of the site. All these factors add up to smooth navigation that enables visitors to easily use your site without even thinking about it.

This site has a clean navigation system that is tidily organized and easy to travel through.

2. Improve Your Speed

A site that loads quickly automatically begins to satisfy users, because many want access to information as quickly as possible. And with so many mobile users on the web, fast loading times are as important as ever. Even a 1-second delay causes a 16% decrease in customer satisfaction. That means if your page takes 3 seconds to materialize, you’re already on the wrong track with many of your visitors. Needless to say, site speed is an important part of user experience. You can begin to improve your site speed by measuring its current performance with a site speed test. From there, reduce the size of your site by taking out large images (or reducing their size) and slimming back JavaScript files and plug-ins. You can also use a content delivery network to disperse your site information to users from servers near their physical location.

3. Make Content Readable

Your content is the purpose of your site, so it’s critical that it be easily readable. Users don’t read every word of web content, but instead scan a page to get the gist of its message. Make this easier by breaking copy up with white space, using bold headlines, variations in font weights and styles and not writing long paragraphs. This allows your information to be split up and therefore more easily perceived by users who are scanning the page.

This site uses typography to guide the eye through the page. The variations in size and weight all work together to emphasize different information.

In order to provide your users with a great experience, your site needs to not only be attractive, but it also needs to be intuitive, usable, fast, and contain high quality content. If you keep these features in mind, your site will be sure to please users.

Related posts:

1. Speed up your site with Google Page Speed
2. Improve the performance of your website with YSlow
3. The Importance of Functional Design

While there is a lot of freedom in being self-employed, a disorganized contractor can easily become overwhelmed and over-worked. The way you manage your workload could be the difference between a lucrative freelance career and a ticket back to cubicle-land.

Email Organization

Email can be a freelancer’s best friend and biggest foe. Corresponding this way provides you with a paper trail of crucial information like due dates and project requirements. By assigning a unique folder to each client and another unique folder for individual assignments, you’re less likely to lose important messages, which can result in producing a half-fulfilled assignment or missing a deadline for an early draft.

However, email was never designed to be a collaborative workspace. While it’s great for making appointments and confirming the terms of a project, when it’s actually time to submit drafts and get feedback, corresponding via email can be awkward and unwieldy.

Top Tools

When your work involves back and forth with clients and colleagues, emails and conference calls alone won’t be sufficient. That’s when it’s time to utilize apps and programs that help simplify your assignments.

• Basecamp is a web-based project management tool that allows you to keep track of and share information. You can store and search discussions and feedback, set up to-do lists and upload files.
• Dropbox is a cloud storage, file hosting and syncing service. It’s uncomplicated and more convenient for when you need clients to have easy access to documents for review. It’s also useful for when you need access to your files on the go since it syncs whenever an internet connection is present, making your work available even when you’re not in a Wi-Fi hotspot.

Workload Management

One of the most challenging problems you may face as a freelancer is managing your workload. Without proper scheduling skills, you may find yourself feeling overworked and unable to keep track of daily tasks. This guide to managing your workload series suggests using an app like Remember the Milk, which allows you to create a prioritized task list. You can also integrate this program with your email and Twitter accounts to initiate reminders.

Acknowledge When You’re Overworked

It might be tempting to accept every new assignment you’re offered. The truth is, your work will suffer if you inundate yourself with assignments you don’t have time to complete. Turning away a new client may put you at risk for losing some future work offers, but on the other hand, taking an assignment that you don’t have time for can result in turning in sub-par work and losing that client permanently. By owning up to your tight schedule, there’s a chance the client will be willing to postpone the deadline. But if not, it shows that your services are in demand.

Related posts:

1. Freelancer Statistics from Around the World
2. Validate HTML Emails Across Different Email Clients
3. Open source grammar and spell checker – After The Deadline

Put simply, ‘the cloud’ is where your data lives. It’s accessible to whomever you choose, from any device, whenever. Still confused? Check out this cloud computing guide to clear up any questions you might have. For those ready to dive headfirst into the cloud, here are five of the best cloud computing apps that every designer should be using.

1. Dropbox

Dropbox is a fantastic way of sharing mock-ups with clients and co-workers, even if they don’t have an account themselves. It syncs files automatically so you don’t have to worry about logging on and uploading your work every time you want to collaborate remotely. Accessible from most devices, Dropbox means you can access your (and others’) work wherever you happen to be.

2. GridFox

GridFox is a Firefox extension that lets you overlay a grid onto any website. It’s really useful for checking designs that are supposed to follow a grid based layout and making sure that the final coded version of a site conforms to the grid of the original mock-up. It’s easy to customize and can really help create and maintain pixel-perfect grid based layouts.

3. Adobe Kuler

Kuler is essentially an active online community where you can browse, save, create and publish color themes. It’s fantastic for inspiration, and lets you search themes using varying metrics (newest, most popular, highest rated etc.) and download them to your device. You can also create themes based on colors or images using color theory to help you work.

4. Draftboard

Draftboard simplifies the design mock-up and annotation process by streamlining collaboration. In web design the mock-up stage is crucial, and Draftboard allows mock-ups to be viewed and annotated as they progress, so that you’re easily able to track changes and improvements. It also has a feature that allows you to add links to inspirational articles and websites to your mock-up, so that collaborators can truly understand your aesthetic vision.

6. Codeanywhere

Codeanywhere lets you start developing websites and apps wherever, whenever. You can begin a job at home, continue on the subway and then pick up where you left off as soon as you get in to work. You don’t need to install anything, just log on to Codeanywhere and all of your work will be there waiting for you exactly as you left it.

Using cloud computing can be invaluable, but using cloud computing services can eat up your bandwidth. Make sure you’ve got the appropriate connection for your internet usage with this networking guide, and you’ll be reaping the benefits of the cloud in no time at all.

Related posts:

1. Are you a designer, a coder or a bit of both?
2. What do people really think about brands?
3. Web Design Survival Guide – Back to basics web design

Maybe you’re a designer for a company or you’re freelancing. Your success depends on your visibility, or more specifically the visibility of your work. Maybe you make sculptures from construction machinery or design business cards from recycled materials. No matter what kind of designer you are, there’s (literally) a world of possibilities out there.

Get to Know Your Audience

Your potential fan base is phenomenally larger than it currently is. Maybe you’ve had some success on Facebook, but people don’t go to Facebook to discover fantastic designs. That’s what Pinterest is for. When you’re pinning photos of your designs, you’re letting the entire Pinterest community re-pin and spread your name for you.

Pinterest has about 20 million subscribers and 25 million unique visitors a year. That’s an incredible amount of exposure you’re missing out on. If just half a percent of those people see your pins, that’s 11,000 people. If half a percent of those people reach out to you, that’s some serious business.

Reaching Above and Beyond

No matter what your current audience is made up from, you can do better. You can be more diverse and reach people who don’t use Facebook regularly, have a Twitter account or browse Google for non-business related things. Some people prefer Pinterest over anything else, and you need to meet their needs. The only way to do so is to pin, and pin regularly.

It’s important that you use SEO to improve the rankings of your website. However, you don’t have much say if you don’t even have your own website. There’s also only so much room on the first two pages of Google, so you might not get there (no matter how much you try with SEO). If you’re not easily found on Google, you nearly don’t exist.

Finding Your Stride

Pinterest gives you a niche crevice of the internet to shine. It doesn’t matter how solid your SEO skills are. All that matters is that you post interesting photos that others find pin-worthy. This is how you can make a name for yourself as a designer, and you’re being judged solely on the worth of your talent.

You will also reach Pinterest users who happen upon your pin by chance. They might be perusing flower photos and be in need of a freelance designer. Your photo might catch their eye by chance, and you just got a new client. Start pinning, and see what sharing here can do for you (and your business).

Related posts:

1. Measure Your Overall Online Influence with Klout
2. Facebook vs Twitter Infographic
3. Obsessed with Facebook Infographic

So it’s essential to have a good grasp of how all these details interact with each other and the user, and how to harness them to create a site that lives at the intersection of visual and functional appeal. One area where this is incredibly essential is in ecommerce design.

Let the Design Guide the User, and the User Guide the Design

As a rule, website designs should be as clean and simple as possible; this helps to minimize confusion and information overload for your viewers. But that doesn’t mean the site can’t be lively and interesting, it just gives your viewers a better chance to identify predominant information.

Fruit of the Loom provides a great example of how white space and simplicity are a perfect platform for featuring important links and content. Although it’s simple, the navigation is intuitive and allows the user to find the exact information needed. Utilizing the Amazon Ecommerce platform, the site does an excellent job of taming its design elements so that the product images draw the viewer in. In the case of ecommerce design, consumer conversion is the end goal and Fruit of the Loom shines in its ability to showcase its products.

In another sense, the user also directs the design, catering to your audience’s needs and interests is nearly as important a consideration as an understandable interface. For example, Peter Nappi’s design is clearly directed towards young, stylish people who appreciate a sense of craftsmanship. The modern type, warm color scheme, and saturated, sharp photography all contribute to this impression. This becomes even more apparent when viewing the product pages. The photos are far from typical and locate the product in a timeless, weathered genre instead of the usual bleak white background of most storefronts.

Remove Irritations and Barriers

A few small usability blunders can add up to an exasperating experience that your users might not want to repeat. Be sure to eliminate common problems such as:

• Clickable areas that are too small
• A search bar that’s hard to find
• Categorization that doesn’t make sense
• Contact information that is difficult to find or unsatisfying to use (such as a very restrictive contact form, rather than an email address)
• Dense blocks of content that can’t be easily scanned
• Articles or products that must be viewed across multiple pages

For example, when you enter this web store’s sale section, it starts out by displaying only 15 items per page. You can load up to 90 items at once, but it’s an annoyance to have to reset the page. And there is no option to simply view everything at once.

Although sometimes it seems like usability concerns can get in the way of design priorities, (or vice versa) in a good website, the two work hand in hand. It’s the interplay between these two objectives that make for a really satisfying user experience, and lead to greater success for your site.

Related posts:

1. Create a Custom Business Facebook Page for Free!
2. Sell Your Products on Facebook for FREE!
3. Speed up your site with Google Page Speed

Photography as the Background

One of the best ways to grab attention is to feature a gorgeous shot as the entire background of your page. Type layered over a good photo often interacts with the image in an interesting way, like on The Paper Mill‘s site.

There are also a lot of sites that overlap shapes or textures or both, for example, on Archikon‘s site.

Sometimes a background photo works better when blurred out and de-saturated. This is an especially useful technique when the type over it isn’t particularly bold, because it makes it much more readable. Givers Band‘s website took emphasis off the background photo and allowed the delicate title type to take center stage. This can be an especially effective technique for giving a unique spin to stock photography, or well-known images.

Photography in the Navigation

Another interesting way to use photos is integrating them into the navigation of your website. Many portfolio sites use photos of each project to navigate to each from the home page. This portfolio switches from black and white to color on rollover, which is a good idea to consider if the photos need to look more unified or simple.

Other sites have integrated a photo into the main navigational element itself; this one makes it look like a vintage amplifier.

Photography With Dimensionality

A tricky treatment that can nevertheless yield great results is making a photo look especially dimensional. Often this means the background is viewed as though it were a solid surface, and the photos on top of it are made to look more convincing with drop shadows. The bike parts in this design look like they’ve actually been laid on top of the grey background.

Another way to go about it is to employ a sense of perspective; that’s what gives this website its distinctive look.

Transitions Between Images

Transitions between photos are another thing to be considered. This photography portfolio slides the photos vertically into place.

This site, on the other hand, chooses to fade them in and out. In the first, the user can choose to go through the images manually, but in the second, the photos cannot be manipulated. The difference in these transitions make sense, because the primary focus of the portfolio site is to show off its photos, whereas the other site uses them as an evocative background to enhance the real information.

There are endless ways that these techniques can be combined and altered to create fresh new effects. Look to photography for an effortless upgrade in your web design, and discover what a difference it can make.

Related posts:

1. Stock Photo Cliches – Are stock photos destroying the net?
2. IE6 PNG fix – Transparent PNG image support for IE6
3. Premium WordPress Themes

Monitor Backlinks is a new SEO Tool (launched in 2012) that helps you monitor your backlinks. You get automatically notified by email if one of your backlinks becomes inactive.

This tool is extremely easy to use and can help you save time and money by doing the link verification for you. All you have to do is add your backlinks, then you get notified if they are changed, removed or if they are going to expire.

Adding new links

Adding new links is extremely easy, you can manually add them or import them from a file. What’s more, you can group your links by adding tags and notes.

Dashboard features

As I said before, the dashboard gives you relevant information about your backlinks, like Google PageRank, Alexa Rank, Anchor Text, IP, Nofollow checker, Expiration Data and much more.

Automated e-mail notification

If one of your backlinks gets changed, removed or if it’s going to expire, you get automatically notified by email the next day.

Backlink Checker

Using the free Backlink Checker you can find new backlinks for your site and you can add them to be automatically monitored by Monitor Backlinks.

HTTP Status Code Check

Using HTTP Status Check Tool you can find out if you have broken links on your website or bad redirects, which will cause you to lose SEO juice.

If you register now (takes less than 30 seconds) you get the chance to test the Monitor Backlinks tool for 30 days and monitor up to 500 links. Also, every user can monitor 10 links for an unlimited time for free. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Related posts:

1. SEO Tool that all Webmasters should have
2. Convert an Image to CSS Automatically
3. Free services to monitor the uptime of multiple websites

The meerkat (or suricate) is a small mamal living in the southwestern African deserts. There, it is also known as the sun angel because, according to popular beliefs, it protects the villages from werewolves (or moon devils). This is why our meerkat is portrayed as a superhero. Let’s learn together how to draw it in Illustrator with this awesome speed drawing video tutorial.

Download the source files

If you’ve enjoyed this post and the design resources that came with it, please don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments section below.

Related posts:

1. A Simple Way to Draw Vector Graphics on the Web – Raphael JS!
2. Open source grammar and spell checker – After The Deadline
3. Create Your Own Digg Clone

Facebook is the most widely used form of social media in higher education especially to create a community for the educational institution and Twitter is used to send updates to students. Looking at the infographic below, it’s clear that although there are several problems facing the use of social media in education, it’s definitely on the rise. It will be interesting to see how schools evolve to utilize the social media and other technological advances in the future.

Related posts:

1. Social Media Helps Students Get Better Grades!
2. A Career as a Social Media Strategist
3. Facebook vs Twitter Infographic