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Differences Between Web Design and Graphic Design

Published on April 23, 2021

Computing

While the responsibilities of a web and a graphic designer may seem similar at first glance, there are significant differences between the two. As a design agency that does both, we find the concepts of graphic design and web design confusing a lot of people. In this blog, we want to clarify a few key differences to make communication with customers and partners more understandable.

Both graphic and web designers work with design principles and graphics. It is when we look at the logistics of how each discipline interacts with the areas mentioned that we begin to see the differences.

Think of a graphic designer as an artist and a web designer as a mechanic. The artist develops the concept and appearance of the project while the mechanic builds it. To create a project, a mechanic must have an understanding of the artist’s vision and concept and combine the components into a complete product. And an artist needs to understand the work of a mechanic and adjust his ideas and ideas accordingly.

Newbies do not always understand which they like best: web design or graphic design. The problem is that many do not even fully understand the difference between these two concepts. Therefore, we will understand this in more detail, so that it is easier for readers to choose a specific direction for study and development. Tip: do not initially spray into several directions at once. Since there are significant differences between graphic design and web design. The training courses of these specializations are different. So it is better to decide in the direction immediately and in the future focus on it.

The Difference Between Graphics and Web Design

The difference between the two specializations is focus. Web design consists of two elements: UI and UX. As their name suggests, they represent user experience and interface design. That is, web design is no longer about the visual perception of the elements of the site. But it’s about information content, clarity, correctness in terms of marketing impact on users.

That is, web design answers the questions: “How to correctly place a feedback form and a button to buy a product”. As well as “What should be the structure of the visual so that users buy a product/service better” and the like. Graphic design is no longer about user experience. It refers specifically to the visual component. It is superimposed on the finished prototype with an already formed structure, arrangement of blocks, action buttons. And so on.

Distinctive features of web design and graphics

There are differences between the two design directions. It is important to understand them, since they require certain skills, talents and capabilities from the performer. For example, in web design there is less creativity, but more analytics, forecasting and even the psychology of thinking of a potential buyer or user in general. And in graphic design, there is more creativity, visuals, creativity. In the second case, special software Adobe Illustrator CC, Affinity Designer or CorelDRAW Graphics Suite is used for work. A web designer uses very different tools in the form of programs and applications. Hence the different requirements for the devices used (a web designer may need a graphics tablet or other convenient gadget to work with drawing and visual creation).

Web designers care about block sizes and page load times

A graphic designer in Fireart could make beautiful animations and motion designs to fill literally every element on a site. But this will not work due to too much weight of the animations and the slowdown in loading the site page and individual blocks. The task of a web designer is to create an optimal structure in which it will be easy for a user to find the information he needs and take an action. The buyer should add the product to the cart as soon as possible, and the potential client should quickly leave a request for the service that the company offers on its website. That is, the web designer is concerned not with the final appearance, but with the correct operation of all elements, the clarity and accessibility of information, as well as the stability of the download.

A web designer works with traffic and audience

Web designers must not only think creatively and be able to analyze, but also work with traffic and audience. It is the result of a web designer’s work that affects how long users spend on the site and whether they can find the information, product or service they need. Web designers analyze clicks on every graphic element and button, collect feedback and improve interaction. They can change the size of the blocks, rearrange them, change the color scheme. All so that users spend more time on the site and have a good impression of it.

Web designers work in tandem with developers

The difference between web design and graphic design is that the former always work in tandem with developers. Since they are included in the work before graphic designers, who only have to complete the visual design of the finished skeleton and the completely finished structure. Even at the stage of website development, programmers discuss the structure and plan with web designers who determine the arrangement of blocks, the format of buttons and other interaction elements. And after that, the work goes to graphic designers. Graphic design or web design is different. But they should not be seen as a disconnected whole. Typically, introductory courses have similar content for both UI / UX design and graphic design. But then you will need to choose in which direction to move. Either draw more and get creative, or work with the site’s visual structure and interaction elements.

Conclusion

Both the graphic artist and the web designer influence the look and feel of a website, but they play very different roles in that. Each profession has its own set of skills and a specific role in the creation process. Understanding these important differences allows business owners to find the right person and service to design their website.

10 Best Drag and Drop WordPress Page Builders

Published on July 31, 2020

Computing

With the tremendous increase in social media users, it isn’t shocking to see that most companies have started moving online. In today’s time, companies that operate online need to have a functioning webpage at all costs that can help attract customers. For this purpose, WordPress is an actual lifesaver. WordPress is the least difficult and most well-known approach to make your personal site or blog. Furthermore, WordPress controls over one-third of the considerable number of sites on the Internet. Indeed – more than one of every three sites that you visit is likely to be controlled by WordPress.

Drop WordPress Page Builders

With approximately 75 million websites using the platform, WordPress remains as popular as ever. One of the attractions of WordPress is the user-friendly setup and content management system. The platform, though, is not as simple as some would like, requiring a level of expertise when it comes to finely tuning themes and coding elements.

Thankfully, there is a large number of drag-and-drop page builders to simplify the process even more. The following products can be used to build attractive pages and sites from scratch, using drag and drop facilities to create custom designs.

Divi

Divi, from Elegant Themes, is a front-end editor that lets you immediately see each change you make. You can shape the page by adjusting factors like fonts, colors, page size, and column styles. The next stage is to add various elements like tabs, galleries, social buttons, and pricing tables.

MotoPress Content Editor

MotoPress offers an editor alongside their other plugin products. The visual builder lets you choose the elements you want to include on a page, while also supporting a number of third party add-ons. You can integrate the builder with any WordPress theme, allowing you to maintain a consistent website design using, according to proactiveseosolutions.com

Oxygen

Oxygen lets you adapt every element on a page, making customization of paramount importance. You can build unlimited page styles, mixing different columns and sections to design your ideal pages. One of the best aspects of Oxygen is the template library, which allows you to quickly adapt attractive pages and sites. If you need to develop landing pages in bulk, Oxygen makes the process simple.

Themify Builder

The Themify Builder plugin can be used as a standalone plugin or within the Themify theme framework. The standalone plugin is free, with the ability to use with any theme of your choosing. You simply drag and drop elements into place and use the front end viewer to look at the results.

Beaver Builder

Beaver Builder is a high-quality plugin that offers front end editing across any WordPress theme. You can develop unlimited theme styles and save them for future use. There are a number of templates included, so you can get an effective landing page online in no time. The plugin is also responsive, providing a quality experience across all devices.

WPBakery Page Builder

WPBakery Page Builder is a hugely popular plugin that has achieved millions of sales. The tool includes both a front end and back end page builder to suit each design style. There are also a huge number of premium add-ons featuring parallax elements, portfolios, feature boxes, and much more.

Elementor

Elementor is another intuitive tool, allowing complete customization of each page. The product also includes helpful features like a popup builder for collecting emails and promoting offers. Elementor provides over 80 elements, with a number of WooCommerce integrations that will benefit e-commerce store owners.

Thrive Architect

Thrive Architect offers a simple drag and drop page builder, with some useful advanced features. You can create custom columns by dragging boxes to the right size, allowing you to build unique page designs. You also get access to over 200 landing page designs, so you can quickly adapt an existing style.

SiteOrigin Page Builder

SiteOrigin Page Builder is not as advanced as some other options, but it can be downloaded for free. To get the most benefit, though, the premium version comes with numerous add-ons like sliders, a contact box, an accordion, and more. The plugin integrates with any theme, so you aren’t restricted by any particular design.

Cornerstone

Cornerstone has been optimized to work with the popular X theme by Themeco, but it will also work with any other theme you choose. Along with a simple front end editor, you can also adjust the back end coding if you are technically proficient. Cornerstone comes with a library full of elements to help create visually stunning pages.

Your website is integral to the success of your business. A website is often the first interaction a consumer has with your business, providing an initial response to your brand. You can also use landing pages to convert leads into subscribers and customers, with a need to quickly create templates for testing. A WordPress drag and drop page builder lets you benefit from a robust platform, harnessing a user-friendly system to craft the designs your business requires.

Added Benefits of WordPress

WordPress is an open-source content administration framework that is authorized on a somewhat progressively specialized level, which means that almost anybody can utilize or alter WordPress programming for no charges whatsoever.

Worldwide Recognition

Due to its previous notable highlights, huge numbers of the top brands use WordPress to control their sites, including Facebook, The New Yorker, Sony, Disney, The New York Times, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. Moreover, WordPress is free programming software. It implies you can download, introduce, utilize, and change it to coordinate with your needs. You can utilize it to make any site. While the WordPress programming itself is free, you need a name for your domain to introduce it to the World Wide Web.

SEO friendly

WordPress is composed of engaging with standard consistent, top-notch code and creates semantic markup. In simpler terms, this makes Google and other web crawlers love WordPress.

This is the reason WordPress locales will, in general, position higher than others in web indexes. Lastly, it should be worth mentioning that WordPress is very friendly in terms of Search

Engine Optimization, as well. You can likewise utilize WordPress SEO modules to improve your site even further.

No need to learn about programming

WordPress’s board framework is a tool that fundamentally makes it simple to oversee significant parts of your site without having to know anything about programming. If you also needs themes you can also check sonicthemes.com.

Conclusively, WordPress makes constructing a site open to anybody – even individuals who are new to programming. While WordPress started as a blogging apparatus, it has developed during past times into a ground-breaking web designing and a powerful substance management organization. The best part about WordPress is that it’s anything but difficult to utilize and adaptable enough to make various sorts of sites. This is the vital reason why WordPress has gained such notable prominence.

Carving Out an Accessible West Palm Beach Web Design

Published on November 29, 2019

Business

Approximately 1 in 4 adults in the U.S. has a disability.
Over 54% of people with disabilities visit websites every day, according to the Pew Internet Project.
It’s estimated that it takes only 0.05 seconds for people to make their own judgments about your website.

It’s never too late to make a great first impression with your website. But have you ever thought about making a universal website—meaning, enhancing capability for individuals with disabilities? According to Digital Resource, with effective web design, providing accessibility is essential for reaching the customers you want to convert. Make it a priority to create thoughtful design while keeping accessibility in mind.

What Is Website Accessibility?

Accessibility is the practice of making your website adaptable and simplified for users who may incur difficulties due to their disability. This includes optimizing the function of the design as well as making it easy for disabled individuals to use. With superior West Palm Beach web design, accessibility keeps everyone in the loop.

Why is Accessibility Beneficial for My Business?

Creating an accessible website opens up a larger pool of customers with or without a disability. Not only will you be targeting your intended audience, but you will also be converting quality customers who have spent ample time navigating your website. Here are just a few reasons why having an accessible design is beneficial to you:

Solidify brand reputation: Increasing website traffic and brand recognition that is accommodating to users with disabilities.
Increasing usability for everyone: Optimizing the overall function of your website that is adaptable yet practical.
Adhering to public sector guidelines: Establishing that your website is ADA compliant.

Updates You Should Be Making:

1. CMS-Supported

The first order of business is to consider a CMS (Content Management System) that supports website accessibility. There are many accessibility-compatible systems such as WordPress and Drupal that follows ADA guidelines when it comes to enabling the appropriate plugins or widgets.

2. Keyboard

Being able to navigate a website can prove difficult if someone is unable to move a mouse. Something to think about is how an individual with disabilities can navigate a website without using a mouse. Instead, we make it accessibility-friendly with just a few clicks on the keyboard. This way, the user will be able to use physical keys to maneuver up, down, and click on a button without having to touch the mouse. Remember, keyboards are king in nearly every accessibility design.

3. Layout

How pieces of a puzzle fit together makes the big picture easier to see. In other words, we optimize your layout by keeping it streamlined and simple. Pay attention to the placement of buttons, the overall size of any features and maintaining a responsive nature.

4. Color

Something to keep in mind is how color affects people with color-blindness. Color should be attractive, but sometimes cannot be distinguished by individuals. Color does play a role in the hierarchy of importance. If someone is color-blind, there are light and dark-colored solutions for preset backgrounds and foreground text.

5. Video/Audio

Another aspect we keep in mind is the overall design of audio and video elements. Special attention must be given to the applications needed to pause, stop and adjust the volume. Closed captioning is definitely a plus, especially for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.

6. Alt-Text

Alt-text, also known as alternative text, is a brief description embedded in the image for SEO purposes. The alt-text includes the keyword followed by the buzzword and separated by dashes. You might be thinking, how can the alt-text be made accessible for West Palm Beach web design? When a disabled user hovers over the image, a computer-enabled screen reader can recite the text aloud.

This helps individuals understand what the image is and comprehend its contents in relation to your website.

7. Forms

Especially if you are looking to increase conversions, form submissions are key. Accessibility forms slightly differs from typical versions you would generate for capability purposes.

For instance, create distinctly labeled fields where users can input their name and contact information. It’s important to note that the form fields should be easily separated from extra noise that can distract users on your website. The rule of thumb here is to make it clear-cut, straightforward, and easy to use.

8. Content Curation

Have you ever heard of in-page navigation? This feature makes all the difference for disabled users to listen to your content. Always include clear-cut headers throughout each page so the screen-reader can describe content section by section. These headers should be separated by H1, H2, H3 and so on.

Keep in mind to stay away from focusing on the appearance of accessibility headers. This is because it can affect the screen reader’s ability to read the content correctly.

9. Linking to the Point

Unlike the blue hyperlink that subliminally signals users to click on it—individuals with vision impairment cannot distinguish between the colors. With the aid of a screen reader, users will be able to navigate links with descriptive content leading to the link itself.

Although the user may not be able to click the link, they will be able to understand the location of the link with the help of written content. For instance, avoid “Learn more about our insurance policy by clicking here.” Instead, make it sound like this, “Learn more about our insurance policy by reading on our Financing page.” This way, they will be able to understand what the link is and how they can access it.

10. Testing

It’s a requirement—not a choice.

Before making your site live, we recommend testing every element for accessibility. This is crucial because not only does this significantly affect usability, it shows that you care deeply about people accessing your website.

Below are just a few tips to test your website for accessibility:

Enable High Contrast Mode

For individuals with vision impairment, high contrast mode eliminates colors. The background color stays dark or black, while any focus text changes to a lighter color.

Switch Images Off

With the images off, you are testing the ability for disabled users to comprehend the page. Open the screen reader application and determine if all webpages can be easily read aloud without any speech errors.

Field Labels

Accurately labeling forms and testing submissions so a disabled person would have no trouble managing.

Caption Check

Pay attention to turn captions on or off during as audio and video plays.

Deactivate CSS

Since you do need a CSS program to aid the accessibility aspect, turning it off proves its capability after-the-fact. Pay attention to how the on-page images and content interact with the overall controls to navigate the website. Content and controls should not be mutually exclusive; instead, controls need to function without the other in order to pass the accessibility test.

Why is web design one of the most important parts of your business?

Published on June 4, 2019

Business/Technology

Why is having a website so important?

Online presence is crucial for every business today. As we depend a lot on technology, it’s reasonable that businesses will use that in their advantage. However, simply creating a website isn’t even close to being enough. You need to see your website as one of your most important assets and treat it that way. The majority of people will turn to search engines in order to find information, service, or a certain product. That’s why you want to be there when they look. That leads us to web design.

The role of web design

It’s kind of obvious that if you need a website, you also need it to be good. A poorly created website will not only discourage people from using it, but they will remember that bad experience and start avoiding your website at all costs. It’s not so rare for me to stumble upon a website so poorly made that it makes me a bit angry.

The relevance of proper marketing and web design is also explained well by Martha’s Vineyard Website Design company. So, here’s how to avoid making the same mistakes many websites are making today, and create something people will enjoy visiting.

The first and most important rule is for your website to be made in such a way that will enable people to quickly and easily reach what they were looking for as stated by templatetester.com. Quickly and easily are the keywords here. In order to see the importance of this, just take a quick look at your own online habits. How much time do you spend on each page? How long does it take you to give up your search? The answer to both of those questions is – not long. That’s why you need to make it instantly clear to your visitors what it is they can find on your website. And then make their search as easy as possible. There are several things to keep in mind when doing that:

Keep the landing page clean and not overwhelming

Too many pictures, colors, or text will distract the user and they won’t be able to navigate through the website. You want to make it clear what it is you’re offering and lead the user through the process of reaching the information they’re searching for. The experts at Amity Website Design LLC suggest that the call to action button needs to be visible and appealing enough, but yet again, not too large to “force” the potential clients.

Don’t have too many pages

Too many options will confuse the user and will not keep their attention. That will lead them to give up and search for the info elsewhere. Navigation needs to be intuitive meaning that both, digital natives and those that aren’t typically using the Internet, need to be able to navigate through the website easily.

Content is really important for every website

If your content is relevant, interesting, and offers useful information, users will keep coming back. Better content leads to more visitors. It’s that simple. On the other hand, search engines such as Google have a good way of differentiating relevant from irrelevant content meaning that websites that have good content and offer good user experience will be higher on the list of search results. Ending up on the first page of search results will drive more traffic to your website and your conversion rate will increase as a result.

7 Web Layout Myths You Should Bust Right Now

Published on April 9, 2019

Technology

If you have seen the web evolve, then you might be familiar with what the web looked like when it was first launched. Take the trip down the memory lane and visualize what web pages looked like three decades ago. If you can not remember it, just Google what different websites looked like 20 years ago and you will be surprised by the results. Back in the day, there was nothing like web layout. Every web page has a single column of text filling the space from one side to another.

Fast forward to today, we now have all the bells and whistles attached to websites. The web has evolved significantly over the last couple of decades. One thing that stayed constant is myths. There are many web layout myths that are still prevalent in web design circles. If you want to know what these myths are then you are at the right place. In this article, we will bust those myths, so you don’t believe in them anymore.

1. Use Rectangles Only

If you break down a web page to its components, you will see that everything on the web page is a box. The tools web designers use to try to keep it that way. Thankfully, this is not true anymore as we now have tools that let you cut those rectangular boxes to any shape you want. Now, you can fit your content into a diamond shape or fit it into a triangle. You can draw a diagonal across a rectangle and cut it into two different triangles. Designers can even float a photo that has been cut into a circle and then make the text flow and fit into that circular shape. CSS Shapes adds a new dimension by letting designers play around with different shapes and content in a more creative way. The possibilities are endless.

2. Everything Should Float

You might have seen web pages with lots and lots of different bars floating beside one another. From the navigation bar, sidebar, hero bar and a bar for the header, the list goes on and on. The problem with such a web layout is that the moment you try to resize the viewport and apply different media queries, all these bars start to rearrange themselves, giving your web page a cluttered look. If you want to create a minimalistic web layout with lots of white spaces, you should ditch this floating philosophy.

Moreover, these floating bars force you to create content of the same aspect ratio and length, which makes life very difficult. CSS Grid tries to resolve this issue by adding rows. By using rows, you can arrange different website elements both horizontally and vertically.

3. Use Simple Navigation

I have come across dozens of articles on web design that tells you to use simple navigation. There is no doubt that simple navigation works well in most cases but not every time. Let me explain it with an example. Let’s say you want to create an e-commerce website that could give some tough competition to the likes of Amazon and eBay. You might be selling millions of products in thousands of different categories. Can you choose simple navigation for such a large project? No, right. Yes, your website might not look great and might even look a bit cluttered but it will function and function well. That is why Miami web Design Company chooses navigation based on project needs.

4. We Have No Control over The Fold

There is a common misconception amongst web designers that they don’t have any control over the bottom edge of the screen where it cuts itself from the layout. That is no longer true any more thanks to the viewport. Now, you can place different website elements in position to the viewport. Designers can also resize according to the need, which was not possible a few decades ago. Using Viewport and Flexbox side by side, you can enjoy more control over the fold and every other part of your web page.

5. Responsive Web Design Minimizes Room For Customization

If you have been working in the web design industry for the past two decades, you might be familiar with the ordeal you have to go through when the responsive web design first burst on to the scene. Every web designer has to learn what responsive web design is and master all the tools to launch their website quickly on the new standard. Despite all the efforts, there are many web designers who still believe that responsive web design limits their options, which is not the case. If that is what you believe, then you should change your tools, which is limiting what you can do with responsive web design instead of blaming responsive web design. By using CSS efficiently along with CSS grid, web designers can create anything they want.

6. Using a Layout Framework is a Must

With so many web design and website layout framework, web designers tend to think that using a framework makes their lives easier. Believe it or not, it is the other way around. The latest grid syntax of CSS makes it much easier to write code than using a framework. It is highly recommended that you write your CSS instead of trying to get your hands on the latest and greatest web framework out there.

7. Minimalism Works Well Every Time

If you have been following the latest web design trends lately, you might have noticed this trend make its way on to every web design trends list. Many sites were quick to jump on this trend and others followed suit and suddenly the web starts to look cleaner and less cluttered. Similar to simple navigation, the minimalistic design might work in most cases, but it is not the ideal choice for every web design project.

For instance, if you are creating a website for a business who wants its users to pay attention to multiple website elements, a minimalistic design might not be a good option in such a scenario. Only take the minimalistic design approach when you are sure that it is the right fit for the project; otherwise, avoid it.

Which web design myth do you still believe in? Feel free to share it with us in the comments section below.