A Beginner’s Guide to Video SEO

As sometimes happens, I was thinking the other day. In this case, I was doing my thinking after finishing a long video game: Far Cry 5. It occurred to me that video game creators are the masters of emotional payoff, when everything goes right. The world of that game is in itself rewarding and fun to run around in. It’s actually enough fun, that I’m more than willing to ignore how the game’s story was an unrewarding, steaming pile of sadness....

Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers.  The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the most popular designer news that we curated from the past week. Note...

There’s an old saying about dresses and speeches which rightly points out that both should be long enough to cover the subject. In the modern era, men in particular would be well advised to drop all reference to female attire and talk about blogs instead. How long should a blog be? The infinite Internet has done away with strict word counts and in theory, every online article can be as long as the author feels necessary to get their point across....

We’re getting another massive redesign, folks, and this time it comes from a true American (and now worldwide) retail institution. Their new design is focused on delivering a modern, stylish aesthetic, more convenient shopping opportunities, and a renewed focus on fashion. Believe it or not, I’m talking about Walmart. I’ll be honest, “fashionable” is not the first word that comes to mind when I think about the old Gold, White,...

For a couple of years now, AI and Machine Learning have been taking over web forums as well as adding to the excitement of eager developers who are keen to give it a go in their projects. I’m by no means a Machine Learning expert, but I have brushed the surface of it in a couple of development projects which required a “smarter” way of doing things. To be clear, what we’re going to explore today is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Machine...

The holy grail of web development is personalized content; meaning that instead of publishing a generic, one-size-fits-all website, you deliver a bespoke experience to each and every user. Personalized content, and the bespoke user experiences it enables, means that instead of peddling marketing, you’re building relationships; your users become long-term customers, and even advocates for your brand. On a web with a new-found obsession...

Are you one of those designers who loves to test new stuff? Then this month’s collection of what’s new will be a treat! New tools and resources are everywhere this time of year, here are a few that you’re sure to enjoy. If we’ve missed something that you think should have been on the list, let us know in the comments. And if you know of a new app or resource that should be featured next month, tweet it to @carriecousins to be considered! FirstSiteGuide...

Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers.  The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the most popular designer news that we curated from the past week. Note...

Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD. The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers. These great cartoons are created by Jerry King, an award-winning cartoonist who’s one of the most published, prolific and versatile cartoonists in the world today. So for a few moments, take a break from your daily routine, have a laugh and enjoy these funny...

Push notifications are an essential part of mobile marketing. They get users’ attention faster than any other means of communication. At the same time, push notifications are one of the most challenging things for implementing. Badly implemented push notifications can easily harm your bottom line. According to an Appiterate Survey, 71% of all app uninstalls are triggered by a push notification. To create good user experience, it’s...

After years of flat, material and completely minimal styles, the gradient has made a comeback. Everywhere you look, designers are using color fades to add visual interest, create user engagement and just design something that’s worth looking at. If you aren’t a fan of gradients, maybe it’s time to rethink your stance on the issue. To help convince you, we’ve got 10 reasons to love and use gradients in your website design projects this...

Before I start, I should clarify that my story isn’t from the perspective of a web designer; it’s from the perspective of someone who managed a web design agency and witnessed some pretty awful things done to the offsite team. Like firing every single one of them…without notice…via email…over Christmas… Jumping into the Unknown Prior to taking the job at said firm, I had been a lifelong production manager. I worked at a number of...

It’s that time again, readers. We’ve got a variety of sites, here: presentational and simple, colorful and nearly monochromatic. We’re also doing something a little new: we’re including the platform each site was built on, according to my best guesstimate. At least the WordPress ones are easy… Enjoy. Note: I’m judging these sites by how good they look to me. If they’re creative and original, or classic but really well-done,...

Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers.  The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the most popular designer news that we curated from the past week. Note...

Much has been said about the skills and capabilities of a full stack developer: On one hand, there are people who believe that a full stack developer is a “jack of all trades, master of none.” The range of skills that a full stack developer is expected to have means that those skills do not reach a level of proficiency required for one to be called an “expert.” On the other hand, there are those who argue that even if full stack developers are...

Most people are familiar with the concept of a persona—a fictional character that embodies the traits of your target audience. Marketers gather details from user research and generate a representation of their ideal client. When developing a website or smartphone app, designing for a persona helps identify how users will interact. Recently Bill Buxton took it one step further when he introduced the concept of a place-ona, a representation...

Reddit, the self-proclaimed ‘front page of the internet’ is getting its first redesign since the heady days of IE7, and George W. Bush’s presidency. First announced over a year ago, the challenge for Reddit’s in-house team of 22, has been how to update the platform to appeal to new users whose expectations are much evolved from the early web, without alienating old Reddit users comfortable with the status quo. Reddit has often been...

As humans, we tend to rely heavily on one piece of information when we make decisions. We often anchor on the first piece of information we are introduced to and judge all subsequently received information in relation to it. The first piece of information offered automatically becomes the anchor, from which subsequent judgements are made. Anchoring is the persuasive practice of creating a reference point around which we as designers want...

Shapes and typography are two elements that can add a lot of impact to a website design project even when they don’t always occupy the greatest amount of space. How to design shapes and typography with a little extra something is definitely on the trends radar this month, with plenty of projects using this concept. Here’s what’s trending in design this month: 1. Bubbles and Blobs Loose shapes without clearly defined forms are showing...

Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers.  The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the most popular designer news that we curated from the past week. Note...

Every week we feature a set of comics created exclusively for WDD. The content revolves around web design, blogging and funny situations that we encounter in our daily lives as designers. These great cartoons are created by Jerry King, an award-winning cartoonist who’s one of the most published, prolific and versatile cartoonists in the world today. So for a few moments, take a break from your daily routine, have a laugh and enjoy these funny...

We can never get enough of the icons drawn by Iconshock, and this awesome free set is no exception. Designed to honor the thousands of animals that are extinct, or endangered, the set depicts some of the creatures we have sadly already lost. Included in the download you’ll find 15 animals that have gone extinct on our watch, including the Chinese Paddlefish, and the Tasmanian Tiger. Each icon comes in three variations: color, filled, and line...