Google

SEO has always been a tricky business, not only do experts have to spend time on researching keywords and following the best practices, they have to be prepared for the changes which search engines inevitably put into place.

Last year saw search giant Google make two major algorithm updates — Panda and Penguin — that saw many a site plummet down the rankings, as they were penalized by the new rules.

This was because the changes were implemented in order to rank poor quality sites, such as content mills and link farms, down and give more weight to sites that produce quality content.

This is carried out by making changes to how Google’s spiders recognize a site, giving better rankings to sites with quality, well written content and social media engagement. For web professionals, this created something of a panic, as static sites that were not particularly well written and stuffed with keywords began to fail.

Kerry Butters says: This is something I address in an upcoming article CJ but for the time being, do a site audit using open site explorer [OSE],...
Add Ons

The most popular CMS out there, WordPress has a ton of great features; probably the best of which is its extensibility.

Taking advantage of that Lizatom Shortcodes provides literally thousands of shortcodes and countless shortcode combinations, to give you a simple, easy to implement solution for improving your site’s design.

Consequently, we’re delighted to say that our sister site, MightyDeals.com, has managed to bring back the hugely popular LizaTom Shortcodes Plugin deal.

FartAtTheMoon says: I'm confused at the costs advertised here because the Developer license normally only costs $69. It is not $579 or whatever you...
Advertising

Art, Copy & Code: advertising in the modern era

By Stacey Kole  |  May. 9, 2013  |  no comments

It’s been said that the only thing constant is change; and in the world of advertising, this saying is especially true. For years, successful “Mad Men” merged art with copy, effectively defining the creative team and reaping great rewards. Fast forward to today, where digital advertising is increasingly omnipresent, and one thing becomes clear: the dynamic duo of art and copy must make room for a third member, code.

With this in mind, Google has recently introduced Art, Copy & Code — a series of experiments designed to redefine advertising in a connected world. These projects illustrate how creativity and technology can merge to give consumers an interactive experience. Plans include partnering with companies like Burberry and Adidas, along with joining forces with filmmakers and other creatives to help brands inventively use technology to connect with consumers.

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@samvjones tweeted: Art, Copy & Code: advertising in the modern era http://t.co/wXtO6fHZYJ
Usability

Common usability errors to avoid at all costs

By Marc Schenker  |  May. 9, 2013  |  8 comments

One of the most important tasks on your plate as a web designer is usability. Usability is defined as a gauge of the quality of the user’s experience when interacting with your website. Any website you design should always be seamless from the standpoint of the user. They should find your site easy to navigate without having to first undergo special training. Usability is normally based on several different factors.

A person looking through your site wants their ease of learning to be top-notch. They’ll want to quickly learn the user interface so that they can jump right in and accomplish fundamental, navigational tasks. Efficiency of use is another factor: after they’ve learned to navigate your site, they’ll want to accomplish tasks speedily. Even if the user has used the site before, they’ll need to easily remember enough of the process to be able to use the site effectively the next time. This is called memorability. When they’re using your site, they may experience some errors, but are these errors frequent or severe? Finally, after they’re done with your site, is the user’s subjective satisfaction high or low? They should have liked using your site.

Of course, you can’t please all site visitors all the time, but some standards are common to ensure good usability. What mediocre web designers take for granted, you should not. Here is a rundown of the top three usability errors that web designers should avoid at all costs.

DJ says: Glad you brought up the "abuse of pagination". It's the one thing that drives me mad when encountering articles divided into...
HTML 5

How to use the flexbox layout method (part 1)

By Sam Piggott  |  May. 8, 2013  |  18 comments

With every new revision of CSS, a plethora of new, exciting attributes come to light;  one of which being the understated display: flex approach.

The flexbox layout model has been floating around the web for a little while now, each time with its own variation on the approach (some outdated, such as the display: box or display: flexbox method).

In today’s guide, we’ll be discovering the advantages of utilising the flexbox technique in our own layouts.

Zell Liew says: When I was still using IE a while back and not touching any designs, I didn't know it sucks at CSS too. The only major thing I...
CSS

How to optimize for legibility using text-rendering

By Paddi MacDonnell  |  May. 7, 2013  |  9 comments

The most frustrating aspect of web design for designers trained for print, is the persistent lack of typographic control.

Careful typographic choices are the hallmark of quality work and the lack of that quality online never ceases to be jarring for those of us that know what we’re looking for.

Fortunately, the level of control that we have is increasing all the time and support for more advanced typographic rendering is also increasing. Whilst it’s certainly not possible to deliver the kind of treatment that applications like Illustrator deliver — where every letter can be tweaked if required — there are tools available to increase quality. One of the least known is the text-rendering property.

Andrew Hersh says: Love this article. I had no clue about this property, but I can immediately think of a dozen situations in which I need to be...
Career

Research yourself first

By Ezequiel Bruni  |  May. 7, 2013  |  8 comments

Every time we begin a web design project, we do research. We research our clients, their customers, the website’s target audience, and the competition.

Throughout our careers, we research new trends, techniques, tools, and other designers. We’re always on the lookout for that one new thing which will make us better at what we do, or will make our jobs easier. We love our craft, so we read articles, analyze raw data, consult with experts, and more. What is life without improvement and progress?

But so often we neglect to research the one tool, the one common factor, present in every project you will ever touch: you. Oh, you figure things out about yourself eventually. You set up your desk just the way you like it. You figure out that you’re better at some aspects of the design process than others. You may even read a self-improvement article or two.

Sarah Bauer says: Gotta post this one up in our office - what a vital pause it is, to consider ourselves as human beings influencing the design...
Illustrator

I’ve always had trouble getting large groups of shapes from Illustrator over to Photoshop without rasterizing them all in the process. Up until recently the only way I knew how was to copy and paste each shape one by one – a process which soon becomes tedious.

However, recently I discovered a method which takes less than a minute, regardless of how many shapes there are in your file. The only catch is that it involves using Adobe Fireworks.

Here’s a simple three step guide on how it’s done.

Tristan Duncan says: If you want anything on a single layer - like a logo, graphic etc - the easiest way is to simply copy it in illustrator, then...