JavaScript usage can have a surprising impact on SEO. But how? As you probably know, basic web crawlers are pretty dumb. They just read through the text files associated with your domain, following links and trawling through your code. But they can’t really “see” the website: only the code that comprises it. As a result, […]
Best PHP Books, Courses and Tutorials in 2017
While JavaScript has gained popularity for animation and interaction, PHP still rules the server-side scripting world. Developers with strong PHP skills are more competitive in the job market, and can build better sites with improved user experiences. If you want to freshen up your PHP skills or get started with the language from scratch, you […]
Copyright, Creative Commons and Licensing For Web Developers
What is copyright? Very few people outside the creative industry have a strong or accurate understanding of copyright law. Let’s review some copyright basics, from the ground up. What is copyright? Copyright occurs as soon as an idea is “fixed in a tangible medium.” It does not require registration or a fee. The moment you […]
15 Best Design Books for Learning to Make Website Textures, Icons, and More
The craft of web design is often overlooked as easy – as if anyone could pick it up & learn. In some ways this is true: anyone can learn to be a great web designer. But it’s not easy and nobody just picks up web design in a few weeks. To learn the intricate details […]
Best Online Courses for Teaching Yourself New Design Skills
Keeping up with modern skillsets is crucial if you want to succeed as a designer. All skills should be on the table from Adobe software to icon design and even RoR development. Unfortunately it can be difficult to learn all of this stuff from books and it’s not always viable to sign up for classes. […]
How To Use Balanced Symmetry in Web Design
Professional designers incorporate many different ideas related to composition. One of the lesser-discussed but vitally important ideas relates to symmetry. This is the process of adjusting page elements so that they align in exactly equal parts. Creating a layout using balanced symmetry aligns certain elements together into groups. There is also value in using asymmetry […]
Pragmatic Routines for Improving your Digital Design Skillset
Featured image source The proverbial idea that “practice makes perfect” seems quite sensible. If you continue to practice a certain skillset you’ll eventually master the process and improve much quicker. But practice doesn’t just mean doing the same stuff over and over. To improve at design requires a routine or method of practicing which every-so-often […]
Important Tips for Crafting a Fresh Website Redesign
The practice of web design is not just about crafting something out of nothing. Many times you’ll work with clients or personal projects that already have a foundation, but just need an overhaul. Every stage of the design process is similar but requires a different level of detail. In order to structure a new concept […]
Tips for Planning a Lean Versatile User Experience
A typical user experience design focuses on many factors that you might not initially consider. Interacting with a website or mobile app is a two-fold process – the user performs some action like a click or swipe, and the interface responds accordingly. This is the general nature of user experience design. The question is how […]
Simple Ideas to Improve Web Design Mockups
The process of designing a full website layout comes in many stages. First is sometimes procrastination followed by sketching or writing down ideas. Then after getting frustrated and trashing all those ideas the process will repeat until a usable concept is born. At this point most designers will move on to actually designing a full […]