If we take the world’s most profitable businesses as an example, it is obvious how much effort they’ve placed into good design. They know that when something looks good, people will notice. If a brand has a visually attractive, and easy-to-use website (or a product), that helps its targeted audience better understand the website (product), which, in turn, increases the ROI.

The bad design, on other hand, is something that is even more noticeable as it is something that catches your eye. Jared Spool, an American writer and researcher once said: “Good design, when it’s done well becomes invisible. It’s only when it’s done poorly that we notice it.”

Bearing that in mind the goal of the design has to be effective and attractive to the customers, so they’ll stay during the whole journey until they purchase the product or service that you provide.

Strive for Perfection

Now that you know the effect of both visually appealing and the neglected design on your ROI, you probably want to know what it is that makes the difference between them.

In a word, there is no good or bad design. What makes them either good or bad is whether the design accomplishes the task of funneling your users to the “Thank you page”.

When you are completely confident in the value of your product or service, you might as well want to display it in the best possible way. Bear in mind that it is not about your personal design preferences but rather those of your target audience.

Once again, the goal of your website’s design is ultimately to sell your product or service.

Nowadays, every online business has the opportunity of keeping track of the customer’s journey and measure results in order to improve its content and design. You can find out what the users of your website are searching for and spending the most time looking at. This data will guide your design efforts in the right direction. You can simply do more of what people like and less of what they don’t, which, with time, will lead you to the perfect design.

Just like your personal identity makes you unique, your brand identity is the special sauce that sets your business apart from every other. Although brand identity is a vast topic, we can easily simplify it with one word – design. As the latter has a very significant role in determining your overarching brand identity.

Keeping customers’ attention is not an easy task because nowadays the consumer marketplace is filled with information almost beyond recognition. The thing that you need to remember is the importance of being receptive to your customer’s needs and giving them the most accurate information in order to help them.

This is a key part of the so-called conversion rate optimization (CRO) process. As the latter is, in a word, the practice of bettering your website, as a whole, in order to increase the number of sales. CRO can involve numerous tools and strategies focused on that one goal.

What is conversion rate optimization (CRO) and how companies can benefit from it

As we mentioned, conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of increasing the percentage of website visitors that accomplish a specific action that you want them to do.

For instance, if you have a 25 percent conversion rate, that means 25 percent of the people that visit your website actually convert. It’s like running a retail store. Lots of people might enter and browse, but some leave without actually spending money.

CRO is the process of enhancing your website and content to boost conversions. A high conversion rate means your website is well–designed, formatted effectively, and appealing to your target audience. The process of optimizing for conversions allows you to boost your number of highly-qualified leads, increase revenue, lower acquisition costs, and obtain greater value from your current leads and customers.

Here is a list of a few pages that will probably give the highest effort to the results rate when optimizing them. Of course, the latter highly depends on your website structure and the products/services that you offer, but the pages in the list are such that most online businesses have them. Thus, they made it on the list. We will also share with you a few ideas on how to optimize those pages.

The Homepage is there to make the first impression on visitors and is an opportunity to retain those visitors and guide them further into your website. We have covered that in a previous article on optimizing the home page of a website.

•  Showcase your product
•  Create an appealing headline
•  Add a video to the homepage
• Create or improve your main offer
• Get feedback from your audience
• A/B test your call to action(s)
• Keep it simple

The pricing page can be the make-or-break point for many website visitors. There are a lot of places you can lose someone in the funnel, but the pricing page is one of the places where it hurts the most.

People who arrive here are the most primed to purchase, and while re-targeting campaigns can help mitigate the damage, ultimately, we want to maximize the rate at which
these warm prospects become customers.

• Highlight a “Recommended” Option
• For international audiences, provide automatic currency conversion
• Use fewer words and more white space
• Display transaction security badges
• If needed re-order your pricing plans

Your Blog is a massive conversion opportunity for a website. In addition to publishing thoughtful content about your industry, a blog might be helpful if you want to turn your readers into customers. It is important to bear in mind some of the most common mistakes when you create a blog.

• Actively promote your service, using pop-ups  and CTA’s
• Add Search bar
• Use creative titles for your articles
• Optimize your content for the search engines
• Actively promote your content on social media

Related: What Types of Blogs Will be Trending in 2020?

The Landing page is a specific web page designed to grab the visitor’s attention, present them with a specific product or service, and then encourage them to take the desired action. Find out What Is A Landing Page And How To Make It Successful?

• Find out what brings people to your landing page
• Identify barriers that are keeping people from converting
• Create a survey to figure out what ‘hooks’ them or persuades them to take action

Get: Free Landing Page Hosting

Sign-up pages are known as “registration pages,” and they all share the same goal: to generate sign-ups for a service.

• Make your call to action obvious
• Simplify your sign-up form
• Offer an Incentive (coupon or discount)

Product pages are describing a particular product or service. The product page plays a role in convincing your customer to make a purchase. Therefore, you’ll want to fill your page with motivating, convincing text, and you should top it off with a strong call to action. Creating your product page in the right way to win customers.

• Use impressive product photos
• Provide a detailed product description
• Optimize the page for mobile devices
• The product page must feature a clear call-to-action buttons
• Give your product page an engaging title
• Optimize page speed

Your About page is one of the most important web pages on your site. About us is a page that is mostly used to give customers more in-depth information about you and your business.

Read: 3 Signs That Your About Page is Outdated

Here is how to make this page a great converting point in your website visitor’s journey:

• Tell а Story
• Tell about your story in an easy and approachable way for the customer
• Talk with your customers, not at them
• Don’t just say it, show it

Unleash Your Full Potential

Bearing this in mind, being successful is not easy to achieve but if you put enough effort to optimize your work and listen to your regular clients this can help you unleash your full potential.

Companies should invest in good design, to set themselves apart from competitors, stand out, and deliver to their customers the best online experience. If you want to take your business to the next level, you need to find out what your customers respond to, and what drives results for your business. If you take care of your website’s design, you can assume that your business will thrive.

The post How Bad Design is Stealing Your Profits appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

“48 percent of people cited that a website’s design is the No. 1 factor in determining the credibility of a business.”

This incredible statistic should be enough for everyone to understand the importance of investing time, effort, and capital in designers. And if you are a web designer yourself, make sure to read every word of this article to understand truly what should and shouldn’t be done when it comes to website designing and user experience.

“38 percent of visitors will stop engaging with a website if the content or layout is unattractive.”

Another impressive number shows how crucial it is that your website looks good. Wondering what the other 62 percent stand for? Here it is.

1. Overdoing It

Web design for beginners is not starting from scratch, common sense is enough for you to know that you really shouldn’t overdo things on your website or the site you are designing. If you have been designing something else before you turn into website development, you probably already know that in design clarity and accuracy are important.

Read also: The Essential 6 eCommerce Web Design Tips for Perfect Online Business!

What does ‘overdoing it’ mean? Using many and different fonts, coloring everything in various colors, adding big and annoying pop-ups, ads that don’t have anything to do with means and design with the rest of the page, etc. The list goes on with the possibilities for you to put too much salt on your meal. When you are doubting if something is going well, just take a step back. Look and ask yourself “If I land on this website, would I stay? Would I like it?”. Then you’ll know.

2. Not Doing Enough

The opposite probability is being afraid to try things, to not do them wrong, or else, and end up not giving enough from your designer’s thoughts. Things you can miss on when you design a website are headlines – with clean font and looks, attractive images that influence people, and colors that look good with each other and have a nice impact on users’ eyes.

Furthermore, interesting parallax effects, fade-on, transitions, or else. But the last is probably not what web design for beginners is. When the time comes and you feel confident enough to explore fully the opportunities that website builders or content management systems provide, you’ll start by yourself.

3. Not Clear Enough or Confusing

Web design for beginners is to be fully thought out and done with precision. Usually, clarity is considered to be the responsibility of copywriters. This is mainly true but sometimes designers can do it wrong too. It’s not always just about the text itself that says something that leaves a point.

Often, it’s about web design that leaves enough space, doesn’t put two completely irrelevant things next to each other as well as not thinking enough for navigation. Where call-to-action buttons are positioned, how big they should be, are they being in the shadow of a photo, or else.

Furthermore, combining elements on the web page that are to be placed differently. What goes in the beginning, what goes on the left side, what should be justified, or else. This all should be considered because users get confused. Not because something is necessarily wrong, but because they are used to everything being done extremely easily on the web. And you should just stick to it too.

4. Fonts

Speaking of confusing and not clear enough elements, the fonts for the text on a page are the next decisive matters that beginners often mistook.

“Given 15 minutes of time, 59 percent of people will read or browse through something beautifully designed rather than something plain and boring. “

Of course, the text on your website headline or not should be attractive. But this certainly doesn’t mean it should be so cursive that is not possible to read it. Read before you start merging more than two fonts, to make sure you are combining ones that look good together if you can’t yet figure it out by yourself.

5. Whitespace Missing

When it comes to web design for beginners the whitespace is another important element that is still misguided. If you are not yet familiar with the term, whitespace in web design is called the space between the separate elements on a page. If everything is closely put and tightened it would be hard to read and look at.

This is not done wrongly only when it comes to positioning images with text, CTAs, banners, and others. It could be done with only the text too. If you are not letting it breathe and spacing paragraphs, most probably users will not even look at it.

Read also: The 4 Mistakes in Web Design You Should Always Avoid

6. Elements Positioning

I’ve mentioned it in different matters so far but it’s important I give it its own passage. Every element on a website and on a particular page should be thoughtfully placed where it should be. There are studies that show the left side of the page is more read so the text should go there, for example. The same point leads us to the fact the important message and headlines should be in the beginning. So far, so good.

But what you might not think of, is the positioning of the ads, let’s say. There are websites that put banners for ads inside text paragraphs. The right place for them is on the right sidebar, or on the top one. Sometimes, at the end of the page. But never mix your content with a paid one. Except if it’s for your links or own banners, but still be careful how you place them and think of the user experience.

7. Missing Responsiveness

“40 percent of people will switch to a different search result if the first one is not mobile-friendly.”

“48 percent of users say that if a business’ website is not mobile-friendly, they’ll take it as an indication that the business simply doesn’t care.”

I could go on with other similar statistics and they would show the same, and the same. Mobile responsiveness is crucial to website performance. To make sure it’s done correctly you can use responsive themes and elements that also are adapted for different devices.

8. Images

Since you are a designer first and then a web designer – beginner or not, you already know how important the size and look of an image is. When choosing images for a website article, page, or homepage, what is important is finding the most compelling one that tells a lot itself, compressing it, and positioning it.

Statistics show that using images with people on their works better for user interaction. If you are going with stock images, consider finding smiling photos that leave a feeling in people. Don’t forget to then resize it and compress it so it’s not too big and doesn’t slow down the speed of the website. And finally, think of a position on the page where it would look best.

9. Not Checking Devices and Browsers

When pages are created some of the themes allow you to look at how it would look on a phone or tablet. But it doesn’t mean that on different resolutions it won’t look different, as well as on different browsers.

“Almost 60 percent of all internet access is done through the phone.”

If there is a chance a website won’t look good even on one phone or one browser, it’s still worth improving it. The chances of users bouncing from the page are too high to risk.

10. Missing the Point

I will finish this article with a generic message you need to remember. It could be a website you are designing, a landing single page, a banner, an e-book, a post for social media, or anything really. But whatever it is, you are sending a meaning to everyone that is going to look at it. Make sure it’s a good one.

When you are creating anything for the web, think about how people scroll and where users stop to look, think of how easy everything should be, how attractive to get them to also stay for longer, and how to get them to buy what you are selling. If you do that, you will see business success much sooner.

The post Web Design for Beginners – 10 Common Mistakes appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

Creating a website is never an easy thing to do, but once you are ready with choosing a free website hosting provider, and website builder or WordPress (or other CMS), once you are ready to sit down and build it, it’s going to be up to the theme you chose to help you save time and efforts.

Soledad

Soledad is a simple theme that offers 250 homepage demos. The support that the team provides is six months and is a great way to start a website from scratch. The WordPress theme also has 250 live customizer options and over 100 sliders and blog combinations available and possible.

You can expect a high conversion rate as it gives you the chance to create something interesting, and attractive, and not have any troubles designing it on your own. Soledad can be described as shape-shifting as it is convenient for any website regardless of the topic. Creating a blog, a business website, or an online shop is possible with just a few clicks.

Studio 8

Studio 8 is commonly used for portfolio websites and one-page websites as it has beautiful templates for the purpose. It’s perfectly suitable for photographers, architects, filmmakers, agencies or other creative professionals that want to impress future clients.

The WordPress theme is 100% responsive and is working great on different devices and browsers. Some of its features include having blog templates, an online store, advanced theme options, it’s multilingual ready, and has a child theme. Everything combined results in one great opportunity for you to create the best website with one simple WordPress theme!

Morning Theme

One of the simple WordPress themes I would also recommend is the Morning Theme. It’s a child theme for the Apex and it’s mostly used for different kinds of blogs, online magazines for fashion, travel, or other, newspapers, informative websites, or small business web spaces. Morning is easy to use and convenient for most purposes, providing different style options, design opportunities, and customizable variations.

It’s also working great with Gutenberg, although we know most people are not happy with the editor. Of course, it’s possible to be changed to the classic editor. Furthermore, the theme is great for SEO optimization and creating responsive website pages.

Simple & Elegant

Simple & Elegant is from the WordPress themes that turn everything into beautiful, simply converted, organized, and perfectly finished. The best about this theme actually contains in the name of it Simple because this WordPress theme truly is easy for understanding and work with.

It also has a one-click concept switcher which allows you to switch your website’s look with a single click. It has one of my personal favorite parallax effects that only helps your appearance and makes it look more professional, and elegant. The theme has a lot of layouts, price tables, portfolio templates, various fonts, and 40 social icons that you can use.

PILE

This is one of the simple WordPress themes that are flexible and convenient for different preferences. It’s incredible for anyone that wants to showcase their creative work because it is a portfolio theme and works best for it. You can be an illustrator, photographer, art director, painter, agency, or whatever you are expressing. In the digital world PILE is one of the most significant themes to use if success is what you are after.

The WordPress theme has a smart layout builder that helps you easily organize the look of your portfolio and even make it look impressively beautiful and attractive. Furthermore, it is fully customizable and with no coding skills. The layouts, fonts, colors, and others can be changed to your preferences and own choices.

Baskerville

Baskerville is a WordPress responsive and appealing theme. It works well for all kinds of website interpretations due to its flexibility and custom widgets. With the theme, you can set up text, images, videos, quotes, special sections, upload logos, background changes, sidebars, etc.

If you are interested in using post formats for easier adaptation to blog posts or pages, then this is the perfect WordPress theme for you. Using Baskerville will help you modify and organize your website quickly, and you can have your site in no time.

Stella

Personally, this is my favorite WordPress theme. Not only because of its name, but because it’s modern, responsive, and simple to use. It’s mostly used for blogs, newspapers, magazines or review websites. The last one looks great, and it’s easily achievable with the advanced review system that the WordPress theme offers.

Not only that but also small e-commerce websites look great with Stella organized with category menu and column links. The theme is ready for all devices and browsers, as well as prepared for multilingual website transformation. The drag-and-drop page composer makes it look like a game creating the desired website.

Roxima

Roxima is the most flexible one-page WordPress theme that fast and easily helps create amazing websites for business or other purposes. As with most simple WordPress themes, you can use drag and drop, layout options, custom widgets, and SEO tools.

But also, you can use endless combinations of design interpretations because you can customize every background, image, icon, animation, use parallax modules, and much more opportunities that build the best possible website online.

To Sum Up

There is a lot of fish in the sea as people say. And there are a lot of themes for WordPress, I can add. But it doesn’t mean that you just have to pick one. Make sure you read a little bit about each that you find interesting and find the one that will be most suitable for you and your website plan.

The post Simple WordPress Themes That You Can Start Building Your Website With appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

This is to show how similar all of us approach this new beginning. This typically, however, while seemingly harmless,  may hide a potential challenge for anyone who underestimates his competition.

All of the endeavors in creating your own startup inevitably involve thorough research on the contemporary companies that succeed and keep growing.

While this article does not cover tips on how to create your own website for free, our free web hosting will help you get started when still unsure whether your idea is worth a financial investment.

So, what are the websites of the leading startups in 2019, and can we learn something from them? We’ve prepared a quick list of the 5 best startup websites to inspire your own desire to start something new.

1. Bulb

Providing 100% renewable electricity and 10% green gas, Bulb is a technology-led energy supplier. The business now supplies energy to more than 300,000 homes in Britain turning the company into one of the most successful startups in the past years.

When it comes to its website, the startup has chosen to introduce its initiative and philosophy on the home page welcoming new visitors with useful pieces of information. This approach allows innovative companies to build websites that grab people’s attention right away and thus, increase sales. Showcasing both, the presentation of the company itself and the benefits for its users, this is definitely among the best startup websites for 2019.

Bright colors create a feeling of a contemporary brand ready to take up risks and adventures. Focusing on the individual impact a user can have only through switching to Bulb, the website showcases the incentives of using the service clearly. Thereby, it is easy to understand why so many people have put their trust in the company.

2. Trint

Understanding how dreadful transcribing can be in the publishing and broadcasting industry, Trint is the first automated transcription service to combine a text editor and an audio/video player into one tool. The startup’s service can transcribe recorded content in 13 languages making them one of the leaders in automated transcription.

Their home page introduces the service and presents videos on how they work. The user can also navigate on their website to find out about pricing and news. And the recognizable brand color makes the identity of Trint memorable for its visitors.

3. Craft Clubs

As the first gin subscription service, the Craft Gin Club sends the finest small-batch gins to its members every month along with tonics and mixers. The gin selection itself often includes extremely rare or hard-to-find editions making the service especially exquisite for the gin-lovers.

Their website features their users’ testimonials through a tweet slider allowing the new visitors into the world of their subscription boxes. Once landed there, one can get acquainted with the world of gin through some tips on how to recognize a true craft gin.

4. Heptio

Heptio is a startup founded by the two co-founders of Kubernetes. The company provides services for enterprises that are adopting or already using Kubernetes by providing training, support and building open-source projects for managing specific aspects of Kubernetes.

Their web design while minimalistic incorporates various visual and linguistic codes to ensure the overall consistency of their image. A visitor can easily download the resources provided by the startup in the form of eBooks, papers, tutorials, and presentations.

5. Shippo

Many e-commerce websites have troubles with their shipping logistics often turning their work into an endless hesitation. Shippo helps e-commerce websites deal with how to ship the purchase to the customer with the service already available on eBay and Etsy. The startup already raised $20 million in funding allowing the company to invest in increasing its staff and improving its services.

When it comes to their website, Shippo has chosen a combination of cool and warm tones in an overall modern-looking design. As a startup, dedicating a page to its partners allows the company to express gratitude and recognition for collaborators and investors. User testimonials and case studies provide a glimpse into the world of Shippo where one is welcomed with refreshing stories of contemporary e-commerce businesses. Here again, a visitor can find robust resources to guide them through their web journey available on the blog and the ‘learning center’.

6. Gigster

Gigster is startup helping programmers, designers, and product managers find their next gig. Offering high-paying freelance opportunities, the company raised a $20 million round of funding in 2017. This put the startup on the map of freelancing platforms allowing them to attract users of different backgrounds to come to look for their next gig.

While their website design is rather clean and minimal, one can find all the necessary information about the talent network offered, their solutions, and the company philosophy. The must-have page for any startup looking to sky-rocket their business is the blog where they can share and discuss the topics that interest prospective users. Present on Gigster’s website,  the blog page offers a unique insight into the world of freelance gigs and artificial intelligence.

More digital marketing tips:

• Digital Marketing: The Trends That May Change The Game in 2019

• How to Write SEO Content Articles in 2019

• WordPress SEO: What You Need to Know

The post The 6 Best Startup Websites in 2019 appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

This is why the special of today’s menu is the preparation of a creative WordPress portfolio!

The digital world has us preparing everything online now. It doesn’t matter if you’re starting a job as a freelancer if you’re looking for employers, or clients, or if you simply want to have an online portfolio for when someone wants to check your work.

When it comes to graphic designers, photographers, painters, filmmakers, or all other art-oriented people, the web is a perfect place to collect creativity.

Before we start cooking, we need to have the oven ready. There’s no point in giving you tips for creating the best WordPress Portfolio if you don’t have the space for it yet.

So, get familiar with this article first and you’ll be ready, to know how to make an online portfolio.

1. Set Goal and Determine Purpose

Here’s step one. Determine your purpose. What do you want to tell the world? And the taste you want it to have? What flavor? Volume? Set every goal you have and turn it into a plan.

Having a plan is always my advice because it really helps the process. At first, it really is boring to create it, but when you do, it gets so much easier to follow. Step by step, you turn your purpose into realization.

Think of all the reasons you’re starting in the first place. Are you applying for a job or are you looking for clients? Think of the essence of the area you’re going to evolve in. Does it presuppose that you are creative or calmer? What feeling is it supposed to leave in people?

Make sure you take time for your audience segmentation too. When you have a clear idea about what your audience will look like, you’ll know what they want. Try to look with their eyes. Imagine for a minute you’re just a user. What do you want to see on this website?

I know I’m asking a lot of questions, but they’re just orienting you to what your purpose and goals have to be. I can’t know them for you. You’ll have to figure it out! Hurry up, the oven is getting warmer.

2. Brand Your Work

You probably think that you’re just one person and you don’t need this, but you’re wrong. It doesn’t matter the quantity; what matters is you need to think of yourself as a company. Don’t fear about creating a brand.

Assuming you already have a domain name, considering you created your WordPress site, now the next step is to create your logo. This way you’ll bring a unique touch to your work.

It’s the cherry on the top of your cake. Although, we aren’t really cooking a cake, are we? Let’s just say it will be the sign you need to light your work.

After that, think about the design of your website. What colors are you going to include, and how are going to combine them. figure out the themes you’re going to use.

To be honest, that’s one of the most important parts. The theme you choose will make your online WordPress portfolio look the way you want. So be careful with your choice.

To help you with that, here are a couple of useful articles:

5 Essential Web Design Trends in 2018

The 4 Mistakes in Web Design You Should Always Avoid

3. Keep Your Focus on Work

If you are creating an online WordPress Portfolio, I can only assume your work is your passion. This is a plus for you, but it should not distract you from the purpose you set in the beginning. You don’t want to burn your food, right?

It’s very important that your site is easy to navigate and simple to use. You don’t want to take the concentration from the visitors of your website away. Keep their focus on your work too!

Furthermore, don’t share unnecessary content. If it’s not connected to your art, there is no place for it on your WordPress portfolio. This doesn’t mean you have to create something boring. Of course, you can use your creativity but don’t step out of your way. Know your priorities.

4. Insist on Quality

There’s a difference between WordPress portfolios and profiles on social media or personal blogs. While on one it’s important to post often and share interesting content with followers, on your portfolio the quality is more important than the quantity.

You have to gather yourself with some extra patience. Just like waiting for your meal to be ready, your portfolio will take time too. You’re probably not going to attract a lot of people at the beginning, but after a while, the substance will speak for itself.

Don’t forget to share good quality photos, well-written headings, and the best samples of your work. You’re trying to impress people, so keep this in mind.

5. Be Regular and Consistent

The specialty of the online WordPress portfolio is that it’s not a static site. You can and you have to, share new work and update from time to time.

The plus is, that if you want to make it interesting and add an extra flavor to it, you can create a blog. This will keep your portfolio alive and people will continue checking it.

Starting a blog helps with SEO improvements. It will get you in higher positions in the search engines, it will make your personal brand more popular, especially compared to the competition.

If you need inspiration, you can think of different ways to be useful for your readers. Maybe share how-to-s explaining ways you’re doing what you’re doing, show some behind-the-scenes photos, or even a step-by-step guide.

In Conclusion

Creating a WordPress portfolio should be an interesting and exciting thing to do for you. It is after all hopefully – your passion, and the process has to be fun. So, make sure you enjoy your time creating a beautiful and meaningful portfolio that will touch your future customers or employers.

The post 5 Ingredients for Cooking a Creative WordPress Portfolio appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

In the digital world, slideshows often provide more options than simply showing pictures. It is possible to add transitions, pan and zoom effects, video clips, background music, narration, captions, etc.

But when it comes to the website world, we’ll start with the simple photo slideshow, and when you learn how to create a slideshow like that, the rest will come to you naturally. Most probably, you’ve already created a slideshow on PowerPoint and know how it’s done, but on your website, you’ll need something more than a program.

How to Create a Slideshow for Your Website

Just a quick offset before I tell you how to create a slideshow in WordPress. You might wonder why you need it in the first place. Creating interesting content for your audience is one of the most important things to consider when owning a website.

Choosing the right topics for blogs, the right theme, and, of course, pictures are important and helpful to reach your goal. But if you want to do one more step and get closer, a slideshow is the way to do it.

Not only you will save your website visitors time and trouble by scrolling and looking at the pictures, but it will appear in a more beautiful way and you’ll have that perfect content.

Now, back to how to create a slideshow.

In the world of WordPress, everything is easier when compared to other CMSs. However, a lot of extras you want to do, are usually possible by installing plug-ins.

Simply, go to www.wordpress.com and download the one you choose. And for your choice, I’ll try to help now.

Envira Gallery

First, install and activate the Envira Gallery plugin. Now, I’m starting with this plugin which is paid and really good, but the rest I’ll share are free for download, so if you don’t want to purchase this one, you can simply skip it.

When you finish the installation of the plugin, activate the Addon. You can follow these steps – Slideshow Addon if you need help with it. When you’re finished, go to the Envira Gallery WordPress menu and click on Edit. This way you’ll start your slideshow.

If you want to change some of the slideshow options, you can do it when you go to the Slideshow tab. Everything is explained and easy to change. Now you know how to create a slideshow and you’re ready for the fun part! Pick your photos, time, and other preferences. Create beautiful slideshows and content.

Jetpack

In my opinion, one of the easiest ways to create a slideshow is actually using Jetpack. It works directly through the Gallery feature of WordPress, making it simple to create without any unnecessary steps.

Here is how to create a slideshow with Jetpack. Start by editing a post and click Add Media. Upload the wanted pictures. On the top left of the screen, you’ll see – Create Gallery. You’ll be able to select a few images, and then create them.

You can edit the order of the images and their links. On the Type drop-down list select the Slideshow option. But it will only work if the Jetpack is installed.

Meta Slider

The difference between Jetpack and Meta Slider is that Meta allows you to do a lot more changes to the slideshow and has more functionality in the appearance.

How to create a slideshow with Meta Slider? Start by going to the black menu bar on the left of your screen, and click Meta Slider. You’ll go to the slideshow creator. Click “Add Slide” and choose the images you want. After that, you can customize the slide. You’ll see the options on the right – width, height, type of show.

Using this plugin, you can create one unique and very beautiful slideshow to impress your audience!

Fluid Responsive Slideshow

With this plugin, we’re going even higher on the stairway of slideshows. Fluid Responsive Slideshow is not that popular but has even more customizations than the rest. It can be very helpful for website owners that want to add additional information as text on their images or slideshows.

The difference between Envira, Jetpack, and Meta is that you’re not just adding images and editing the whole layout, but also designing each slide separately. Close to how you do it with Microsoft PowerPoint or Mac Keynote assuming you know how to create a slideshow with them.

It’s easy to use and just like the rest, when you start creating the slideshow and adding images, you’ll see the buttons for adding text boxes, editing them, and changing whatever you want!

Conclusion

The truth is there are far more plugins to help you create your desired slideshow. The ones I picked are just some of them. I intentionally chose one paid, one simple, one medium, and one that has a lot of opportunities. You can easily decide which one is appropriate for you.

If you’re just starting and want to use something easy and simple, you can install Jetpack. And if you’re ready to blow everyone’s minds – Fluid Responsive Slideshow!

Whichever you choose, make sure you have fun while creating your slideshows. It’s easy and it can be very interesting for your customers/visitors/users. Now that you know how to create a slideshow, go and do it!

The post A Step Up: How to Create a Slideshow in WordPress appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

This is especially true when one realizes the pace with which online content and design are rendered irrelevant. Every year, websites go through visual and functional changes in order to cater to the ever-evolving needs of today’s people. Not only are these needs the dictator of the web design trends today but they are also the indicator of how well a website is performing.

This is why once your SEO efforts bear fruits and yield the desired results, preserving your ranking becomes a priority. When revamping a website, however, this might turn out to be a challenge. So, how to redesign a website without losing SEO?

We’ve collected the five steps to keep in mind when redesigning your website.

1. URL Structure and Temporary URL

If you want to protect your website’s credibility, ranking and overall consistency, a roadmap of its URL structure is essential. Because redesigning inevitably leads to numerous changes, the URLs of the website are fairly vulnerable in the process. Therefore, backups of the structure go a long way whenever changes are due.

To get such a roadmap, you should use a tool for collecting your website’s metadata and structure. This can be done by using plugins such as Yoast SEO. Thereafter, you can proceed to identify the changes in the URLs that you plan and thus, make adjustments corresponding to them. Don’t forget that the less you tweak the URLs, the less impact the redesign will have on your overall ranking.

Another point here to consider is related to the aftermath of the preparation, namely the beginning of the redesigning process. As doing the redesign on your existing website can cause unimaginable damage to your SEO, you will need to set up a new temporary website for your redesign. To do so, simply copy your existing website and start making changes to it on a new URL. Depending on your web hosting features, you should be able to host more than one website, thus enabling a more secure process of revamping.

2. Proper 301 Redirects

The main reason why people revamp websites is to get rid of non-productive pages. This is why, while redirects are important, redirecting every single web page is far from necessary. The main objective should be preserving the most productive ones:

• High-authority pages. Any page that brings backlinks and references to your website, in general, is a high-authority page.
• High-ranking pages. Pages that rank among the first results on search engines guarantee your website is visible to both people and search engines.

To redirect pages to others, 301 redirects are the most search-engine friendly method. Because they indicate that a page is moved permanently, they will ensure that your visitor traffic is fairly redirected to your new URLs.

3. SEO Audit

In order to learn and grow, a fuller understanding of your previous SEO efforts is essential. This is what SEO audits are about. Even though you might feel like this is an extra step that does nothing to contribute to your goals, it will actually provide the insight you need in order to successfully learn how to redesign a website without losing your SEO results.

MOZ Pro and Woorank are just two of the numerous tools that will help you in this endeavor. They will provide insight into the relationship between pages and search engines. Most importantly, they will generate a complete review of your website’s current status. Tracking progress in real-time leads to avoiding previous mistakes and predicting prospective ones.

4. Content-Oriented Pages

With all of this newly acquired knowledge in mind, one thing should be clear. However good your previous rankings were, they can always be better. And focusing on content might be the key.

To create content-oriented pages means incorporating more knowledge bases, blog posts, articles, tutorials, frequently asked questions, and everything else that could classify as an informative piece of web content.

And I’m not going to lie, this is a process that will probably take time. You might even find yourself happy with the amount of content generated only when it’s time for a new revamp. Nevertheless, experts across the world guarantee the success of the content strategy.

Also, don’t forget that visuals also count as content and can indirectly impact your SEO by affecting your visitors’ behavior on the page. Videos, infographics, and images are the type of content that is shareable and can thus, accumulate quality traffic to your website.

5. In Conclusion

While the process of redesigning a website might seem like a troublesome experience you prefer to postpone, the advantages far surpass the effort behind it. This is why thousands of websites go through daily improvements in order to remain relevant and productive. While website performance is a complex topic, it’s almost certain that fresh air always benefits it greatly.

In a world, where every innovation is replaced by the next one in a matter of seconds, remaining relevant and up-to-date is essential. Nevertheless, a redesign of a website could harm the achieved search engine rankings if done poorly. Following the 4 keys to a successful revamp will guarantee you that not only has your website secured its previous ranking but is also ready to beat them. And that’s the spirit of the new age.

More design tips:

• 5 Essential Web Design Trends in 2018
• What is Parallax Scrolling and Why Do You Need It
• The 4 Mistakes in Web Design You Should Always Avoid

The post How to Redesign a Website Without Losing SEO appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

We asked web designers to share their views on the top 5 web design trends for the year and suggest predictions for the upcoming one.

While following these trends does contribute to a more contemporary look, leading experts maintain that a personal twist on these is essential.

We’re sharing the ESSENTIAL web design trends for 2018 and our suggestions on how to incorporate them in your own unique voice.

Do you plan to start a website with a stunning web design? You can do that for $0.00 with our FREE Website Hosting plan!

1. Isometric Illustrations

Basecamp Landing Page by Saepul Rohman

With isometric projection being a leading trend in the design industry, we could not help but start with it. The style seems to have taken over the whole internet: from bloggers to digital businesses. Everyone appears to embrace the atmosphere of the futuristic graphic portrayed in isometric illustrations.

The isometric design generally includes any pictorial representation of an object in which all three dimensions are drawn at full scale. In other words, all the lines in isometric drawing parallel to the three major axes are measurable.

Make it Your Own

To turn this trend into your own means to inspire your own voice into the design style. You can achieve it by working closely with a graphic designer who can create illustrations specific to your own brand. This includes both shape and color and the overall feeling of identity you present in the rest of your public communication.

2. Animated Backgrounds

MING Labs

Just like with the web design trends in 2017, animation is a major aspect of most of the trends this year as well. Almost anything in this list can be rendered and interpreted through animation as motion conveys the spirit of the new web.

When it comes to backgrounds, the limit is your imagination. Animation can be found in web design elements of any kind including:

• video backgrounds
• animated graphics
• Javascript particles

The last one in this list is a great twist on traditional animation. Its main benefit, besides looking incredibly cool, is its speed and size which facilitate the smooth loading of your page.

Make it Your Own

As we said, animation comes in all shapes and forms. This versatility allows for the personality of the creator to shine through the web design trends and overcome the templated user experience through originality. To approach animation in an inventive way means to include your own story as a background through a video presentation of your work or through a graphic metaphor of your values.

3. Asymmetry is the New Black

Rémi Jousselme

Symmetry has played a grande role in the development of aesthetics being a major criterion for the experience of what we call beautiful. With digital technology taking over the human creative processes, symmetry has turned out to be much more easily achievable than asymmetry.

This human defect of not being able to perfectly duplicate something symmetrically, today turned out to provide what the web user needs. And that is a livelier and more refreshingly dynamic online experience. By breaking the grid, the creator communicates the human agency of this digital representation, and thus, shortens the distance with the viewer.

Make it Your Own

An asymmetry is already a personal approach to web design trends and the followers usually have a unique understanding of it anyway. Representing your own interpretation through your website involves a variety of image cropping techniques, large overlapping pictures and typography, and animated objects making use of the space.

4. Saturated Colors and Gradients

Spotify

Gradients have been huge for the past couple of years, and it’s not surprising. The previously popular flat and minimal design has been replaced with the more dynamic expressiveness of gradients. And pastel colors have stepped aside to make room for the saturated tones.

The greatest benefit of this trend is how comprehensive and largely applicable it is. Almost any website can make use of the gradient of saturated colors without looking as if they try too hard to fit in. And this is the whole point of following any trend, to be honest!

Make it Your Own

As mentioned, the gradient is such a simple and generic graphics approach that it usually never conveys a lack of personality or annoying conformity to web design trends. On the contrary, applying it can be as discreet as including it in a specific graphic element or as over-the-top as coloring your whole background in a saturated gradient.

5. Bold Animated Typography

Ben Mingo

This might just seem like a repetition of the animated background trend but, in fact, we were so impressed by it that we decided to dedicate a separate point to it.

Animated typography is a rising star in the web design galaxy because it allows the incorporation of numerous current trends in an effortless and clean manner. Big and bold fonts have remained a leader in typography for the past few years. Now, however, the approach to it has changed by implementing a motion and fluidity to it.

Make it Your Own

This last trend is the one that can actually be a slippery enterprise if incorporated thoughtlessly. Try finding a font and typography style which suits your business voice and learn how to express its identity of it by a unique motion of the letters.

Final Thoughts

Web design is an ever-evolving process of creation and learning. Experts around the globe contribute to the collective dialogue through their work. This is why trends seem to come and go with the time, leaving us questioning their authenticity and perceivable quality.

But this is the nature of web design trends. While they are supposed to convey the spirit of the time they appear, they shall not be expected to remain unchanged throughout the years. This is what makes the web the incredible place it is – its constantly developing appearance catering to the users’ needs and expectations. And as a web creator, you play the leading role in that.

More web design tips:

• What is Parallax Scrolling and Why Do You Need It
• The 4 Mistakes in Web Design You Should Always Avoid
• How to Choose Fonts: The Unexpected Science Behind Font Reading

The post 5 Essential Web Design Trends in 2018 appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

While previously, scrolling was considered a rather mundane activity, and the interactive process with it was limited to the (cringe-worthy) cursor modification, today we are proud to witness the new age of fluid and dynamic web design.

Parallax scrolling has been dominating the trends in UX design for one simple reason – it allows the user to interact with the page. Moreover, the feeling of partaking in a three-dimensional reality while investing as little effort as simply scrolling down reflects the desire of web users to be both active and to avoid exertion on their digital journey.

Even though the overall “feeling” of the parallax effect is familiar to most of us, when asked to explicitly define it, most of the users find it hard to put it into words. So, what is parallax scrolling after all?

What is Parallax Scrolling and How Does it Work?

Considering that the trick originated from video game graphics, it is worth mentioning its application in that context. Wikipedia defines parallax scrolling as:

a technique in computer graphics where background images move past the camera more slowly than foreground images, creating an illusion of depth in a 2D scene and adding to the sense of immersion in the virtual experience.

This illusion of depth simulated the effect of three-dimensional graphics.

Entering the field of web design, parallax kept its main features but the ways to produce and perceive it changed. One of the most popular uses of parallax became scrolling.

Parallax scrolling is a method to achieve a parallax animation where the foreground moves faster than the background. Through this perception of difference in speed, the landscape receives more depth and fluidity.

However, not every action or animation triggered by scrolling can be called parallax. What is required for it to fit into the definition is the perception of two objects differing in depth and speed. This created illusion has the capacity to grab the attention of the forever-scrollers and enhance UX.

Why Do You Need Parallax Scrolling?

Trends are usually either followed blindly or rendered trivial by critics and avoided altogether. There is, however, a reason for a collective interest in certain things at a particular point in time.

History unfolds before our eyes to show that humanity develops in mutually- determinant stages which couldn’t help but result in particular trends and events. That is why the cause for the occurrence of these trends is rooted in the expectation for the upcoming. That is also why incorporating trends in one’s life allows him not only to merely fulfill certain contemporary requirements for adequacy but also to partake in the overall turn of events.

So, what can parallax scrolling contribute to your website’s design and how are other people doing it? How to combine a beautiful design with performance optimization?

Attention-Grabber

To achieve a positive user experience design, one must abandon the mythological imperative about the book and its cover. The belief of content making the whole difference, while true, fails to recognize the cognitive effect web design can have on the viewers.

Attention grabbers are visual elements such as graphics, typography, and images that can attract the wandering eye of the users. By incorporating a somewhat unexpected scrolling feature, you can enhance the attention dedicated to your web page while still maintaining the focus on the content.

Appealing not only to the users’ informational needs but also to their aesthetic ones allows web designers to Appealing not only to the users’ informational needs but also to their aesthetic ones, allowing web designers to enhance the overall experience of the visitors and assist the effectiveness of the page.

Space Utilization

A great designer once told me that blank spaces matter as much in web design as silence does in communication. The lack of sensory input has just as much capacity to convey messages as the actual input.

That is why space utilization plays a grandiose role in web design and parallax incorporation is proof of that.

Android’s 8.0 Oreo page utilizes both horizontal and vertical space.

Space utilization means that not only the design is appealing and coherent but also it manages to distribute its elements in a way that utilizes the website’s space optimally.

A parallax effect has a lot to offer to space utilization as it can incorporate larger visual messages in smaller spaces. Through scrolling, however, the images can be revealed which will allow the design to remain as fluid as possible.

Modern Feeling

As we have mentioned, trends are not only contagious but also inevitable at times. They have the capacity to refresh the design when revamping a website and improve the relevance perceived by the users.

Feedmusic’s website incorporates a large variety of scrolling effects

Design tends to get sharper and bolder with time and following some simple guidelines for having a contemporary-looking website could be a game-changer for your user experience.

Most importantly, innovations increase your relevance and credibility as a responsible and reliable brand that takes care of its design and its visitors’ journey. Parallax might seem like a detail too small to deserve your full attention but it is, after all, a small investment of time and effort which will eventually repay in the future.

The post What is Parallax Scrolling and Why Do You Need It appeared first on AwardSpace.com.

Creative industries have always had an invisible engine that motivates people to go above and beyond in their attempt to attract the forever-longed attention of the audience. In this day and age, this is only possible through an outstanding digital presence and a unique approach to self-presentation online.

We’ve collected the best graphic design online portfolio examples out there that will inspire you to go out and create something out of this world.

Creating your very own portfolio website can be a turning point in your career. Learn about our free web hosting plans and start creating right away!

Sed.pe

Sed Estudio is a Peruvian design agency specializing in branding, art directing, and graphic design. They share that studying the relationships between humans and humans accounts for their largest inspiration and insight into the world of design.

With a sharp modern look, the website incorporates some of the top design trends of the decade including exaggerated imagery size, a full-screen menu, and simple mobile navigation. The portfolio is divided into four main categories: branding, editorial, naming, and packaging.

SociedadAnonima.mx

Sociedad Anonima is a Mexico City-based graphic design studio. Their main areas of expertise including branding, corporate identity, editorial and creative communication services. Their small but incredibly prolific team has managed to grab global attention thanks to their fresh and creative approach to design.

Here, once again we see the brand betting on unexpectedly large fonts and a grid design. While a drop-down menu reveals a list of their projects, the rest of the design is clean and monotonous. Images are presented in square boxes which is among the widest-spread trends in portfolios thanks to its Instagram-esque look.

KonradSybilski.com

Konrad Sybilski is a Polish graphic designer specializing in designing for startups, new brands, and refreshing existing ones. Google, UNICEF, and Finlandia are just a few of the brands of which his impressive portfolio consists.

His creative website takes advantage of the motion revolution in web development and includes stunning animated imagery. Besides this visionary touch, the website also incorporates modern color schemes and clear messages.

Pop-Pac.com

Pop & Pac is an Australian graphic design studio that is just as fun as the name suggests. Their specialties are identity creation, print communications, branding, web design, and art direction.

The website’s non-standard decision of placing the menu around the content in a box opens the space for a more breathing design. Even though no specific categorization of the work is available, the structural approach allows the audience to have a clear understanding of their work and expertise.

MartaVeludo.com

Marta Veludo is a graphic designer based in Amsterdam whose work is mainly inspired by pop culture and folk art. The main areas of her work are art direction, graphic design, brand communication, and illustration.

Her website’s reminiscence of Tumblr isn’t a coincidence, but rather a deliberate effect. The infinite scroll and the masonry gallery allow users to dive into the contemporary design waters with a pinch of millennial pink and a grid overlay.

Your online portfolio!

You don’t need any extraordinary technical skills to make an online portfolio. All that is required is a dose of courage to start creating a little bit of inspiration.

To create your own beautiful website for your portfolio, we have prepared outstanding web hosting plans suiting your needs. Cost-efficient and high-performing, your hosting can turn your web journey into a walk in the park on a warm Sunday afternoon.

The post 5 Brilliant Graphic Design Online Portfolio Examples to Inspire You appeared first on AwardSpace.com.