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A web designer’s guide for adhering to ideal web design process

Michael Evans — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:39:47 +0000

Irrespective of what kind of website you design and apps you use, it is imperative to adhere to a web design process for creating and modifying client websites. Without a well planned web design and development procedure, you cannot expect to give your sites that much required edge over rivals.

So, what exactly is a web design process? It denotes a well crafted method consisting of logical planning, design, development aided by a detailed documentation of the proceeding for making websites. By adhering to a meticulously devised web design process, a web design professional can churn out professional and feature rich websites in scheduled time. This enhances his or her professional image and contributes a lot to career growth. Even if you are a freelancer web development professional, it is absolutely essential to resort to a well crafted web design and development routine. To attain the objective, you can divide the entire process in some well defined steps.

First step: meticulous planning

You cannot proceed successfully in professional website design unless you do the planning carefully. Before delving into actual work, you need to perform a requirement analysis for developing a particular website. This may require a few interaction and brainstorming sessions with clients. An initial site map also needs to be set up during this part of work. As a web designer, you need to explain the expenses to the client apart from clarifying the design basics. This will help in avoiding conflicts and possibilities of misunderstanding later. Depending on type of site and target audience, a web design professional also needs to pick necessary software, frameworks and other resources.

Second step: implementing design part

In this phase, a web designer needs to start building the web pages and equip them with all necessary elements. Linking the pages and developing site structure also takes place during this time. You may need to use design apps like Photoshop to make mock ups at this phase. If the basics are approved by the client, it is time to complete necessary HTML and XML coding. As a matter of fact, this can be quite time consuming and cycles of editing and modification can take place, to ensure the end product is what the client desires.

Next: site development

Once the basic site design and HTML coding is done, it is time to move on to server side scripting and development. This is when web programming veterans have to do their bit. Like decorating a baked cake with frosting, developers equip the website with interactive elements and test them extensively before publishing can take place. If there are elements like forms in a website, validation needs to be tested thoroughly at this stage. Developers should not forget to monitor content loading in the website and ensure everything from alignment to rendering is in shape. At the end, the website needs to be reviewed to see each and every feature is working as desired. Apart from manual testing, evaluating the site with specific code validation apps and bug checking apps becomes necessary to iron out any hiccups.

Testing and publishing

Once site design and development reaches completion in a web design process, the website should be prepared for publishing. Needless to say, prior to publishing the site, re-checking of code, interactivity and linking becomes mandatory. If the website is linked to a database, that needs to be tested as well. Before the website gets published and it is moved to live server, developers need to perform a cross browser check. It is important to remember a lot of web users are still using outdated browsers in their computers.

After publishing

As a web design professional, be aware that after extensively checking and publishing a website, the web design process does not necessarily reach an end. When the client is happy with the completed and published website, you need to hand him over required source files and documentation. This can be necessary if the client has not opted for an AMC with you or your web design firm. The documentation will help the client if he needs to make modification to the site at a later stage and appoints some other web developer.

Process documentation: small details matter.

It is important that you document the entire web design process from start to end for your benefit and aiding future projects that will come your way. You can use simple word processing apps for this documentation. However, it is prudent that you use apps made specifically for this purpose, such as MS Visio. These apps let you use elements like diagrams and icons more extensively. Once you have completed web design process documentation in your possession, it will make developing subsequent websites much easier for you.

How to Prevent and Deal with Content and Design Theft

Daniela Baker — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 12:41:17 +0000

Content and design theft is a huge problem for webmasters and designers. In fact, there’s probably not a serious web designer on the planet who hasn’t been a victim of theft at some point. Thieves will steal designs and content for their own “splogs” or spam blogs, making all your hard work worthless if they manage to steal your traffic with designs and content you put together on your own.

Intellectual property theft is serious, and it’s taken seriously in the United States. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to actually figure out who is stealing your content and design, and not everything you have on your site or blog may be protected by strict copyright laws. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report, intellectual property theft has been on the rise since the advent of the internet, and it’s likely that the problem will just get worse.

So, what can you do to prevent and deal with content and design theft? There are a few options
available to you. Here are some of them:

1. Copyscape

This simple tool can make it easy to see if other people have ripped content from your blog or website. It takes time to check for duplicate content, but it can be worth doing once in a while, for sure.

2. Google Alerts

Set up Google Alerts for keywords that you use on your website or blog so you can check if your content is being copied. You can also just copy and paste some of your own articles into your Google search bar to see if your exact content is posted anywhere else online.

When you’re looking at Google search results for content, you can usually find the date that the content was posted. Look this over to see who stole your content first. If it’s stolen, it might be copied more than one time!
Make a habit of checking Google for your best or most well-read articles – the ones that could be the most problematic if stolen. Check once a week or so with quick searches to make sure your content isn’t stolen.
If the content is stolen, you can actually fill out a spam report with Google Search Results to get the page taken down from the results. It doesn’t fix the problem at its core, but it can disable most traffic to the copied content.

3. Disable Copy, Paste, and Right Click

You can disable all these things on your blog so that sploggers can’t just copy and paste your content or images. It won’t stop more sophisticated theft, but it’s a good, simple place to start.

4. Use PHP Code

You can use PHP code to protect your content from being copied. Figure out how this could work well for your blog or website, and use it to keep people from copying your content and design..

You can write PHP code to block User Agents or IP addresses from accessing your site, and you can do the same thing to those you know are stealing your content. You need to know who is
stealing the content or design first, but then you can write code for your website that blocks
them from accessing your site again.

5. Embedanything

Embedanything is an application that will force anyone who copies more than ten words from your blog to link back to it. It discourages copying, and it also allows you to use trackbacks to figure out who has been copying your work.

6. Show Your Copyright Policy

Just having a copyright policy displayed on your page can discourage some sploggers from copying your content and designs. Plus, it gives you more leverage if you catch them in the act and are talking with them, since you can point out the policy displayed right there on your page.

If copyright infringement is a huge problem for you, you may want to display your copyright policy at the top of the page instead of at the bottom, where it’s less visible. This signals to possible thieves that you absolutely won’t tolerate theft on your site.
You can also get a “Protected by Copyscape” badge for your site that can deter thieves from
stealing your site’s content.

What to Do If You Become a Victim

Really, it should be “what to do when you become a victim,” since almost all serious bloggers and web designers will eventually have some of their content or designs stolen at some point. The first step is to figure out who is stealing your content using link trackbacks and Google to do your research. Contact the thief directly and attempt to start a conversation about the problem, asking them to remove your content and designs from their website.

If this doesn’t work, which, most of the time, it won’t, you can contact the web host of the person who is stealing your content and designs. Chances are likely that they’re in violation of their agreement with the web host, and the host will have the clout to do something about the problem.

Whatever you do, don’t tolerate copying. Sure, it’s a form of flattery, but it’s also very bad for business. Use these six tools to prevent copying to the best of your ability, and deal with theft as soon as it becomes apparent.

Don’t work Hard, work efficiently

Snigdha — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:07:25 +0000

Doing right thing at the right time helps you ace in life. More people fail in life not because they are unable to reach their goals, but they are inefficient to manage their time and plan their work accordingly. Work can only meet its objective when it is carried out in a productive way, more to say if there is no value addition to what you perform then work done goes in vain.

Don

Photo credit: nkzs

Thus to get the best out of work done in a smart way there are few basic guidelines that we need to adapt in our daily schedule and sooner you will be working efficiently without pain.

Match yourself with the work load

Match yourself with the work load

Photo credit: shine_dorydevlin

Every individual is different in the way they act they work and perform. I might be active during the first hour of the work whereas someone can be during the late hours. So understand your nature place the job accordingly like save the bulge for the time and hour you can work maximum.

Schedule and plan

Schedule and plan

Photo credit: tome213

Schedule and plan your work such that you can estimate your time to meet deadline. Don’t wait for the work to create a stress on you instead schedule and plan it so well that you can easily manage it through the deadline.

Don’t get overwhelmed prioritize whatever you do. Don’t jumble up the work, if the work is overloaded juggle it up by breaking the big picture into steps learning what you are able to complete in a specific time frame, prioritizing and working on the most important and urgent tasks, and creating and sticking to a plan no matter what other might say.

Maintain a routine create a checklist workload and stress are directly proportional to each other, when you are planning on doing job in a manageable way, you should also attempt to manage stress. Stress comes with uncontrolled emotions, work schedule, work environment, and the way you deal with problems. These all are related with the way you carry out your work. So the best way to avoid stress is creating a clear ambience by placing things in your cabinet and desk neatly. So that when you need it you can get hold of it. So make a routine and prepare a checklist so that in the busy schedule you don’t stress yourself and miss out on stuff.

Every individual can work hard but if you want to stand out of the crowd you have to be one who can work smart efficiently. If you follow the above stated tips in your schedule you can improve and be efficient and gain the right attitude which will lead your career your way.

So if you follow on the simple things in life you will be in able to do your work in short time without hustling. So to make it easier I have summarized it in points. Hope this shall turn you into an efficient worker.

1. Avoid wasting time shuffling through piles of paper, keep your desk organized.
2. Prioritize a list of the tasks, prepare a checklist of work that you have to carry out through the day.
3. Trying working in a team, allot tasks to co-workers and assistants if possible.
4. Don’t jump up, finish one task before you go on to the next.
5. Have effective communication and plan cautiously to make sure a job is done properly the first time around.
6. Before leaving for the day, tidy up your desk and make a short list of projects you will need to do the next day.
7. Determine when you have most energy in a day and tackle the most important or most difficult tasks at that time.
8. If the works get up to your ears, hire a subordinate and give away the pressure.

20 ways to improve website’s readability

Snigdha — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 09:29:44 +0000

When you read something and can soothingly go on and on with no stress then the message that you want your reader to get is conveyed properly. This style of delivering your write up in such a way that your readers feel the ease of reading is Readability. If you are into the field of writing READABILITY is an important aspect that you can’t avoid. As people visit you to get information and if the information can’t be accessed with ease you wont be able to drag your readers .So to ease your pressure an emphasize on the techniques of readability, here I have collected so awesome easy way to make your reading effective.

1. If you can convey in a sentence don’t drag it to a paragraph

Short and sweet sentence are always effective and makes a mark. So if a thing can be stated in a sentence or two don’t make it paragraph long .As great things come in small packages.

2. Keep sentence short, but increase in the number of paragraph

Be precise with what you have to say, in two or three sentence. Instead of making the paragraph long break it into paragraph, as it looks trendy and easy is easy to express as well.

3. Keep it virtually clean

Don’t hesitate to keep space between your paragraph. A ideal way is to divide your line-height by your font-size. That is you will keep it in a space of 1.5.

4. Managed write up will make your write up look decent

To manage and make it look decent make use of heading, subheading, bullets, such that your write up is managed and the readers get all the important information.

Structured hierarchy like Title, Introduction, Heading, Text, Subheading – Text, gives your page a more logical flow

5. Headings and subheadings must stand out

One of the major benefits of using headings is that readers can scan down and see exactly what is in the article. This only works if the headings stand out, so feel free to use larger fonts, underlines, colors or whatever else is necessary.

6. Text width can spoilt the management so watch out

Make note of it shorter the width easier it is to read. So try to limit in the width, just don’t run over the width of the page. This will certainly help as if you see a newspaper you can see this being applied in the column of the paper, so it works.

7. Be color conscious

Colors are another importance aspect that adds lots to readability so try and use contrast colors so that the visibility of text is prominent .But try and avoid colors that are aloud and it disturbs the visitor.

8. Think twice when you are dealing with background

Background plays the lead role as it matters where you are writing you text .A soothing background speaks for the letters written .so choose background with great care .Avoid loud background keep it decent and professional.

9. “Text size” give the chain of command to the readers

Some user like it small some big, so let your reader have the control over the size of the text.

10. Creativity with simplicity in case of text

In the hedge of standing out don’t make your text over attractive. Avoid using italics and other design which is hard to read and understand .keeping it simple will make it effective.

11. Text case to be considered

Mixed case is easier to read than uppercase. Uppercase is taken as a dictator in terms of webpage that screams, we don’t want to portray as a dictator so to be in amicable relation with the reader and to ease the reader use mixed case.

12. Don’t push your reader through the text

The visitor might get bored with chunks of text so be innovative and keeping the synchronization lighten your write-up.

13. Unavoidable and not crucial, faint color will help you

There are things in a post that are unavoidable that are the post date ,authors name,but it is not crucial so to write these stuffs use faint color so you wont draw.

14. Diagram and chart speaks a lot so don’t avoid it

Photo credit: miamiamia

If an image plays a vital part in your post, use it but with technicality that is place the image such that it looks like it is a part of the article, not just a decoration. So center it, and skip a line before and after the image.

15. Say no to hurdles in between the post

Adverts in the middle of the post is a hurdle to the reader as it disturbs the reader pace so try avoiding it.

16. Clearly separate your post from the rest of your design

Design is what addresses the post so the post needs to stand out .you need to design in such a manner that it should be obvious where the post starts and stops. Your sidebar, comments, etc. should be visually distinct from the main content.

17. Links don’t forget to underline them

Photo credit: adamci

Links are always underlined, and the visitors have the habit of finding the links underlined so make sure you cater to what they want.

18. Avoid using snapshots in link

The feature of whilst seems fascinating but it is a means of trouble. Trouble in the sense it hides your valuable text every time you by chance hover over a link.

19. Don’t let your audience concentration go towards sidebar

Your visitor come to your site for your post, so don’t let a long side bar take all the attention keep it short.

20. Make your navigation easier to use

If you are planning on referring your article from one page to other than make the mechanism simple to use. It is important that simplicity is considered as you don’t want your reader to get diverted because of pagination.

Use this simple step and your user will have the ease in reading your write-up making your site readers friendly.

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34 cheat sheets for web designers and developers

WAD — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:46:31 +0000

A cheat sheet is a printable guide of a particular programming language, software or framework. A web designer spends most of his design time to move around different softwares environment and it becomes really hard to memorize the shortcuts and hot keys for each environment. Hence, cheat sheets provide great help for them. In this article, we present 34 essential cheat sheets for the most popular web based technologies.