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Credits: Tech.co

Due to technology like Photoshop, jQuery and other related proficiencies, web designers’ skills have become a major concern nowadays. Becoming a leader in web designing arena is not a piece of cake for everybody: The process demands a hands-on grip on every step of the web design. The website designer is familiar with all the newest market trends and strives to bring innovation while developing more productive solution.

Helping people is our primary aim. Thus, this post holds all the useful tips that can help you become a successful web designer, if you manage to master all of them. Let’s proceed with the handy website designer tips:

Photoshop

As the most demanded option for the designers, Photoshop has been utilized for many years now. Many expert front-end developers being acquainted with this software program know thoroughly that how to play with it to extract the utmost graphics from the number of PSD files. The execution of different tasks with Photoshop has become simpler and the credit goes to all 3rd party plugins who made it possible.

Start Designing With HTML/CSS Code

The designers acquainted with HTML & CSS code try to initiate designing process in the browser and this is all they do bypassing their Photoshop process. HTML design is needed for the coding. Before you tackle all that, you should know HTML & CSS basics.

CSS Frameworks

Some prominent frameworks like Foundation, Bootstrap, and other related frameworks can help you to attain expected results exact to the imaginations. These credible sources come up with numerous friendly features and advanced programs required to form the applications. Their presence in the web designing realm has proved to be the useful choice for the web designers especially when it comes to constructing applications.

Right Color Utilization

Never go with the copied color scheme which other designers have already used. A lot of research over the web is necessary to build the appreciable color schemes, so take some time and choose the best option to fulfill your project needs.

Go With Responsive

The responsive design or layout is also referred to as media queries, flexible images, and fluid grid. Hence, you must be aware of all these terms and what they actually represent to ensure the decision you have taken is actually right or not. Ultimately, responsive design offers a remarkable compatibility with almost all smart devices, their supported browsers, and platforms without losing the real existence of images or text. This is a needed approach these days to get more and more traffic, so avoiding it may take you closer to the risk.

Promoting Yourself Is Also Imperative

Now, the question is how to promote your business and which mediums will help you easily execute these tasks. We are here to help you know the right ways via this post, wherein we are going to explain a few indispensable yet effective things beneficial to promote yourself globally:

Add Portfolio

Adding this section to the website is exemplary in order to display the successfully accomplished work done in the past or recently. It’s good to show your proficiency across the world. If you haven’t dealt any great work in the past, then also you should continue thinking about it to insure that you are ready for all project handling needs, simple or complex.

Get Ready for Social Media

Social networking sites have a broad network these days. Hence, these are the perfect ways for the seekers to find relevant jobs exact to the expected demands. Regardless of social media platform, it’s better to confirm that the created profile over there is summarized, clean, and attention-grabbing so that viewer can easily impress and contact you soon.

Include Your Potential Clients

Almost all interested clients ask your previously achievements and work that you have successfully delivered. So, prepare a list of your reliable clients and add them to your site so that the new users can understand what kind of work you have completed in your past journey.

Conclusion
In the cutthroat digital world, technology is ever-evolving. Hence, any web designer should be familiar with all the latest changes and strive to learn new ones in order to remain ahead of the pack.

Credit: Livemint

What will the endgame look like? This question is probably keeping Flipkart, Snapdeal, and Amazon awake.

We have seen globally that e-commerce is a winner-takes-all market. Since there is little differentiation or customer loyalty, only one thing matters—discounts. For the most part at least. Which in turn boils down to “who has more money to give away”. That simple. The one who lasts longest wins. Everybody else loses, and likely does a fire sale.

In the past, Flipkart and Snapdeal were able to raise huge sums of money, presumably promising investors that Nirvana (aka breakeven) was just around the corner. However, despite the huge capital raises, we all knew that access to funds was not unlimited. Investors, howsoever optimistic, would’ve to be convinced that they will get an attractive return. There was no “I will back you till you win” scenario, and we were waiting to see who lasts longest.

All that changed with Amazon’s entry. It is not just that Amazon has access to large amounts of capital, which it certainly does. What changed is that the parent (Amazon.com Inc.) is willing to back its Indian entity till it wins. And that is the key point—“till it wins”. Not if it makes sense, but till it wins.

That changed the game totally. First, the new investors in Amazon’s competitors will find it much harder to convince themselves that they will be able to outlast Amazon. In other words, if you know you are going to lose, why even try?

That explains why Amazon.com Inc. keeps announcing that they are backing the Indian arm with billions of dollars. And that they will continue to do so. There is no other reason why Amazon would publicly announce its investment decisions. After all, US companies are known to be tight-lipped about their investment plans. So when Amazon said that it was investing $5 billion (in two recent announcements) in the Indian arm, it was not an innocuous thing. It was a message to investors in Amazon India rivals: stay away from investing or be doomed.

So is the goose for Flipkart and Snapdeal cooked? Well, things are rarely that simple in business. So here is an alternative end game: what if they manage to get an equally deep-pocketed investor who will invest till they win?

That is what makes the deal news of a potential investment by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Flipkart so interesting. It is not just about the investment. It is about the signal you are sending: Flipkart will also fight till it wins.

Right now, this is speculation since we don’t know the status of a Walmart-Flipkart deal, and what the contours are. Is Flipkart going to be Walmart’s horse in the race against Amazon? We don’t know the answers, but we are pretty sure these are the thoughts in the minds of Flipkart founders Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal.

This is what game theory is about: how you make moves in competitive situations where the outcome depends critically on your competitor’s moves. Here, signalling is just as critical as the actual action.

Walmart is quite familiar with these ideas. Here is an interesting example of how it uses these ideas. Walmart positions itself as a ‘low- cost’ player and would not like another player to sell cheaper. But it also wants to make profit. So, how can Walmart prevent competitors from pushing the prices down too far?

Any attempt to do that would appear unsavoury and be possibly illegal. It does that with its benign-looking “Price Matching Policy”, which states that Walmart.com will match the price of any online retailer. That removes any incentive for a competitor to try to be cheaper than Walmart. Ironically, this “low- cost promise” effectively prevents prices from sliding too much.

Will a savvy player like Walmart give unconditional backing to Flipkart? It’s hard to say. What happens in a scenario where it matches Amazon’s assertion that it is here to win? There is no clear endgame, as many scenarios are possible. At some point, if Amazon believes that the price of a scorched earth battle is too high, it might sue for peace and move to merge with Flipkart. If that happens, both parties will win.

But not everyone will be happy. What if the acquisition price causes losses to the more recent investors? How much say will they have? Will they prefer it to be a long-drawn battle.

It will be interesting to see how the e-commerce battle shapes up. In the interim, as consumers, you would be well-advised to make the best of the big sales being run by online retailers. The sale will last only till the money lasts. Or, as retailers like to say, “only till stocks last”.

Searching for a top-notch web designer to build your next website, but clueless about the difference between CSS and CSI? You may be uneducated as well about other criteria for good web design.

That’s the point of the following guidelines. By covering some common design and front-end development considerations, these five topics may help you you grasp the important things to keep in mind as you begin your search for the right freelance designer.

Communication

This one doesn’t need much explaining. Having a good line of communication is important in every area of your business, especially when it comes to nailing down a UX design that meets your business goals effectively. Some people, however, let this fall by the wayside when choosing a web designer, which can lead to trouble later on.

So, if you are finding a freelance web designer on your own, pick up the phone and call before making any decisions.

Sure, it sounds old school, and tools like email and gChat are great, but you want to make sure this is a person you can have a conversation with, will listen to your concerns along the way and will follow up with questions of his or her own regarding the project’s specifics.

If the designer spends the whole conversation speaking over your head, using confusing tech jargon, this scenario probably won’t change and will cause problems for you down the line. A great designer will be deeply interested in you, the client, and your business and its needs, and will explore early on how those concerns can be worked into the eventual solution.

If you are using a freelancing site to find your designer, choose one that screens for communication skills in addition to technical design ability. Because these sites source from developers all over the world, sometimes something as important as language comprehension can get in the way of your project.

Your best bet here is to use a service like the recently announced Toptal Designers, which screens all applicants for language and personality from the beginning (before getting to more intense design tests later on). This way, you know the designer you get matched with will have the communication skills you need.

Languages

Speaking of languages, let’s talk about coding languages. A lot of the time, it can seem like web designers are speaking an entirely different language than you — and this is actually true for many designers who also have a little front-end coding experience.

Designers often broadcast their web design abilities by advertising their experience with popular front-end coding languages. Different languages are used for different products, and knowing the basics here will help you find the right freelancer for your project. For designers, the key languages to know are HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

Web design

The best place to start looking for what you want in your website is — surprise — the internet. As you are browsing, take note of other sites you like, so that you can show them to your designer. Don’t simply find a site you like and instruct your designer to build you a replica; instead, share a list of the specific features of the site that you’re drawn to.

Also, make sure to explore the websites of other businesses in your industry. What works and doesn’t on these sites? Finally, remember that while you do want a website that is aesthetically pleasing, having a nice design is not the sole purpose of your site.

You want to be able to sell your product or service. In other words, you don’t want visitors to view your site, see how nice it is and leave; you want your site to help users realize that they need whatever it is you are selling.

Function

Always consider user experience when you’re working with your designer to build your site. Is it easy to navigate between all the pages on the site? Is the site’s setup intuitive? Is it easy to find your contact information? Can users browse without having to scroll too much? Side note: You never want them to have to scroll horizontally. And, digging deeper, is the site built on a functionally reliable CMS, such as WordPress? These are key things to find out before you go searching for a designer.

When you do select one, the functionality of past sites he or she has worked on is just as important as its look. Always ask for a portfolio and look through it online if you can. See if this person’s past work is still being used by past clients, and if not, try to contact the owner and ask why he or she switched. Can the designer communicate the story of the design?

What problems did it solve? How was the solution unique? You do not want a designer who habitually creates sites that are hard to use or employs technology that is behind the times.

Pricing

Unfortunately, there is no standard price for how much contracting out your website will cost you. Plenty of software price estimation approaches exist, but a wide range of things affect price, including the skill set of the designer, his or her location, the amount of time your project will take and the specific features you require. You may also have to pay to bring in any additional freelancers or subcontractors needed to bring in to complete the project.

Plenty of articles will tell you to avoid paying too much or too little (you already know that!), but how do you determine what that means?

As you determine the budget for your site, remember to see it as an investment. A great website is a crucial marketing tool that will be available to answer users’ questions 24/7 without your having to pay overtime. Therefore, try not to view the money you spend as mere cost.

That said, it will be rare that you need to invest six figures into your site.

Determine how much you have to set aside for the development of your site, and be realistic about your goals. Get in touch with a variety of different designers to explain your project and get an average quote. If you find that designers are too expensive for your price range, turn to freelancing sites. You can find lots of articles online that list the best freelancing sites, so explore these options and find the best one that fits your budget.

Conclusion

Finding a great freelance web designer can feel like a big undertaking, especially if you are unfamiliar with the expectations and terminology of the tech or design industries, but this should not be cause for worry. People with all levels of technological experience hire freelance web designers all the time, and there are lots of tools out there to help you navigate the process.

The most important thing is to do your research, and that starts with understanding what a thorough research process should entail.

By Jonha Revesencio

Image credit: Shutterstock

Credit: Thinkstock

Many ecommerce and website platforms claim to be so easy to use that even nontechnical folks can create an attractive website. However, if you are like most people, you are still probably going to need some design help if you don’t want your site to look like everyone else’s.

So how do you find a good Web designer – and by “good” we mean an individual or agency who has designed in your preferred Web platform, has a great portfolio, understands your business and goals, but won’t charge you tens of thousands of dollars? Following are eight suggestions, along with pricing guidelines and advice on where to find talented Web designers.

1. Know what you want – and what you don’t want. Before you go looking for someone to design your website, make “a list of websites you like and admire and why you like them,” says Bill Adkins, campus director, CodeCraft, a Web-development school and coding boot camp. “Pick a few you like for their aesthetic (perhaps it’s what you’re trying to look like), others for their workflow, maybe others for their function. This will help designers know your taste and goals.”

Also, ask yourself: “Do you want a highly visual, modern, trendy site? Do you prefer a more traditional, conservative site? Do you expect to make a lot of edits to the content regularly, or will the site only need to be updated by a developer once a year or so?” says Rosie Brown, creative project manager, Sterling Communications. “Once you know what it is you want to create and how you expect to maintain the site, you can screen designer/developer candidates based on the scope and long-term vision of your project.”

2. Check out the designer’s Web design portfolio/work. “Reviewing a designer’s portfolio and [current Web design] work is a quick way to determine if what they do suits your taste and matches what you are looking for in a website,” says Tomer Lerner, UX director, Webydo, a code-free website design platform for professional designers.

3. Ask for and check out references. “Referrals from business associates whose websites you admire are your best source,” says Lynn Amos, principal, Fyne Lyne Ventures, a Web design firm. So “when searching for a website [designer], ask for references from past [and existing] customers, and look at the sites they have designed,” says Lisa Chiu, owner, Black N Bianco, a children’s formalwear clothing company.

“Solicit recommendations from [people you know],” says Carrie Middlemiss, U.S. director of marketing, Metia, a digital marketing agency. “Find out if [they] would be willing to refer a Web designer/developer they’ve worked with in the past.” Ask “how well [the designer] communicated throughout the course of the project,” if the designer met deadlines and “whether or not they would work with them again.”

“If your business platform has a partner network, start by researching its recommended partners,” says Russell Griffin, senior director of design and solutions partner program, Bigcommerce. “A good partner marketplace will have a variety of agencies to review, complete with examples of previous work, expected budget ranges and the industries they specialize in.” And you know that they can design for that platform and are trusted by the vendor.

Once you’ve narrowed down your list, be sure to speak with at least two former or current clients.

“Timeframes for websites often extend dramatically, so it is essential that you speak to previous clients in order to understand if this was an issue for them,” says Simon Ensor, managing director, Yellowball, a Web design firm. “References can steer you away from agencies [or individuals] that are very good at selling but deliver projects poorly, or conversely, give you peace of mind [that you are hiring the right] agency.”

4. Make sure you hire a designer who has designed for your platform or CMS – or can help you pick a platform or CMS. “Look for a firm that has expertise in building sites on the [platform] or CMS that you’ve selected (e.g., WordPress, Drupal, HubSpot, Squarespace),” says Patrick Biddiscombe, CEO, New Breed Marketing. “Many of these companies also have partner ecosystems, so using a list of their partners as a jumping off point is a great way to generate a short list of [designers] that you know are properly accredited. If you haven’t chosen a CMS yet, find a firm that can support you in the decision making process on what CMS makes the most sense for your business and your goals.”

Regarding choosing the right platform for your online business or website, be aware that “some platforms are proprietary and template based (Squarepace, Website Tonight, Wix, etc.) while others (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal) are open source,” says Amos.

By Jennifer Lonoff Schif.

This article is shared by www.itechscripts.com | A leading resource of inspired clone scripts. It offers hundreds of popular scripts that are used by thousands of small and medium enterprises.

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Itechscripts.com is a high-end software provider based in India that makes your communication and transaction on the Internet more effective and useful. We at Itechscripts.com aim at infusion of the latest technologies. As a software development company we know how a website can take off with proper design, programming and SEO. We develop unique web solutions which ensure increased efficiency and competitive advantage for your business and thus to your end users. We specialize in web design & development, search engine optimization and web marketing, eCommerce, multimedia solutions, content writing, and customer relationship managing services. We build web solutions, which evolve with the changing needs of your business.