11 Incredible Ways to Supercharge Your Design Learning

Learning design is no rocket science, especially if you focus on going with the latest trends. Consistent efforts to learn what's new and integrate it to your own work will help a great deal. Luckily, present age has a lot of things at disposal making learning a lot more fun such as online communities, tutorial sites, people willing to share their knowledge etc.

Listed below are some of the best techniques and methods to help you learn new things every day, and succeed in the field of designing.

1. Daily

Make sure you develop a habit of learning. It helps with establishing a consistent learning routine that allows you to supercharge your learning experience. It also helps with maximizing outcomes of efforts you put in. It is important that you allocate time on a daily basis to learn design. Create your own unique designing goals and work on it daily.

2. Practise Each Day

This will help you become better. Commitment to learning is important. You must set aside some time and show up daily. Try becoming at least 1% each day.  This makes a dramatic impact on your progress in a year. Practicing does not mean repeating the same thing over and over again. Focus on learning new things. This will help you to gain benefit a lot.

3. Smart Learning

You must emphasise on smart learning than learning all. Simply learning about tracking, typeface anatomy, kerning, varied measurement units will not make you a great designer. Focus on things that will benefit you in real sense and maximize the outcomes. The idea is to think about the end goal to be able to be a mobile designer (for instance). Here, you must learn about the mobile industry, principles of design, behavior of people, etc.This is better than learning every single thing about design that actually doesn’t apply to mobile design.

4. Adopt Learning Habits

You require a trigger to be able to develop a habit. Additionally, you must also have a consistent routine and a reward. So start learning the first thing in the morning, which may make for your trigger. Thereafter, study for 30 minutes. After this, have a nice reward that pleases you. This can be anything from a favorite TV show or a piece of cake.

5. Accept the Challenge

It is good to take up a challenge and publicly commit to a specific period of time. It helps you to create and show up daily. The process may be anything from a simple sketching challenge or even a tough one as a 365 photo daily challenge. Think of what you wish to learn. Now select a duration and deliverables. You must allow everyone to know that you are committing.

6. Teach

If you wish to learn something, try teaching it. So start teaching others about your skills and craft. Teaching will help you focus on the essence of the design. You need to understand and explain it in a simplest way possible. The process will help you to improve your analytical thinking.So start a log or even a YouTube channel and kick-start journaling processes for other individuals.

7. Side Projects

Keep aside some time and work on your passion. This means you can maintain and work on a side project that excites you. It should not constrain you excessively. Having side projects will help you experiment with things. It will also allow you to achieve much more progress.

8. Break Things Down

Moving fast will help you to build more things and learn at a faster pace. Unfortunately, most people slow down after a specific progress as they’re more afraid of making mistakes. Breaking things down to the smallest pieces and getting to the essentials will help. Thereafter, you need to recreate it in your own unique style. Joint design community. It shares everything from the what’s, how’s and why’s of present age design. There's also an option of downloading free project files for advanced image editing software such as Sketch, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator many more.

9. Freebie

Freebies are certainly a great way to find the best of designs to play with. The best part is that you don't need to pay for the same. Here's a list of some of the sources that offer the same:

- Freebiesbug
- Dribble Freebies
- Despreneur Freebie

10. Experiment

Are you afraid of experimenting? Well, you must set yourself free. The idea is to get into a mindset that all of your creations are an integral part of an experiment. This very simple shift will let you take criticism easier. You will be inspired to try out new things without being afraid of failure. Being a designer, you need to keep playing around with the technology and tools you like to use.

11. Learn to Steal the Way an Artist Does

As an artist, you should learn to be creative. Things are actually a clever blend of all that you consume. Hence, surrounding yourself with things you actually wish to absorb will help you get more creative. Stealing some great ideas is no sin. So don't get ashamed of the act. All you need to do is know the correct way ('ethic') of stealing. Each individual has a unique set of values that filter your thoughts. With ideas, you produce things of your own. Hence, studying designers and their work will let you come up with something that's great and 'you'. Instead of imitating, focus on transforming their work into something of your own. Adding your 'own' unique touch will make you even greater!

In a Nutshell

Hope this article has served as an inspiration for you to pursue a career in design. The post is also about learning how to excel in it. Investing some time and applying the above stated principles will help you reach the next level in your niche design direction. Happy Designing!

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Things to Know Before Building Your Small Business Website

Regardless of the size of your business, having a website is essential for its success. Unfortunately, a lot of business owners do not realize the actual meaning of having a website. They simply have one. Remember bad sites loaded with can be very damaging for your business.

So before you actually build one, you need to know what it takes to build an effective business website. A lot needs to be taken into consideration. Right from the design, advertising, content and SEO, you must know a lot about building a site. Hiring a professional will save you from web design failures.

Here are some very important tips to know prior to building a small business website:

1. Create Something Amazing

Take pride in creating something new and unique. You can use a variety of website building platforms that facilitates users to get a free site simply by clicking a few times. However, these are just to practise. Most of these platforms such as WordPress, Wix etc. are quite limited in terms of what they would allow you to make or modify. Hence, having ability to construct a website is important. You may also hire a professional who will any issues you might encounter.

2. Purpose of the Website

First and foremost, you must decide on what your website is going to do for you. Know what you expect from it. You may go for a static website or a responsive one that is compatible to all latest devices used by modern age individuals. The idea is to have a purpose and work on it to get results and help your targeted audience get what they want. This helps you know how to develop it going forward.

3. Customize your Website

Each business is different. Hence, it is important that you know what differentiates yours from others in the industry. Your website needs to be customized as per your specific requirements. Make sure your website designer knows about your website needs and expectations.

4. Add Features

Add functions and features to your website to help your targeted audience reach you and navigate around your website. These features should make it easier for your potential clients get what they have been looking for.

5. Ease of Browsing

Your website should be easy to browse. It should not be complicated enough to waste time of your visitors. So create links and structure that are easier for your audience to reach out to.

6. SEO is Crucial

Optimize your website for search engines. This is how your audience will find you. The search engines will rank the website higher.

7. Valuable Content

Add valuable content to your website that offers information your potential clients are looking for. The content should be clear and interesting to read. Do not add fluff or stuff keywords to your website.

Following the above mentioned tips will help you build an effective small business website that ensures you amazing results.

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Reasons Designers and Web Developers Must Work Together

Website development is a serious task. Hence, it demands a lot of hard work and dedication from a team of developers and designers. In most cases, designers and developers work individually to come up with a client's requirements. However, many have realized the importance of encouraging a collaboration between the experts from two different streams.

Designers and developers can create magic when they work together. When important people work together on a project, it gets easier to create something incredible. Although the two have different skill sets and ideas for a project, the goals are same. This kind of collaboration result in harnessing methods of design together. And the end result is amazing! The final product has a better designed experience for the user.

Web Designer vs. Web Developer

Web designers make use of a graphic design software package. One of the most popular one is Adobe Photoshop. They decide on how the website will look. Thereafter, the web developer uses the design to code hypertext markup language, jQuery, Javascript, CSS and alternative programming languages. This ensures that the design works on the internet and gets appreciated by search engines. Designers and developers may work from separate places, capabilities of the opposite can ensure a phenomenal website. Hence, it is crucial that they work along.

The Benefits

Better User Experience

Synergy of two different minds can solve problems. First, it is important to understand that designers and developers contribute to a website project in different ways. Both are critical to success of a project. Working in collaboration will ensure clients a more seamless, highly interactive process that helps get the job done better and in an easier way.

Eliminate Hiccups

Joining forces will help everyone involved in the project can plan more effectively. There's no need to worry about the fact that the initial design the client fell for isn’t going to work. Here, the designers do not pass on the design to develop after creating it. The idea is to collaborate throughout the process and contribute towards making all crucial elements work from the get go. The designer might come up with a very clean design that appears easy. However, coding many be potentially impossible, and vice versa. Collaborating together prevents having to backtrack way after something has already been approved by the client.

Teaming up of two experts will help them go beyond meeting the client’s requirements. They can actually exceed their expectations. Working as a team helps keep a project within budget and timeline by allowing designers and creative team know what is possible and what’s not.

Above Design

It is no secret that designers and developers approach problems from diverse angles. The two live in different worlds. However, they are also critical pieces of an important puzzle. Developers are fully aware of what is achievable from a technical standpoint. So if their client has a tight budget,
they know an alternative, more budget-friendly design needs to be offered. This may not be known to the designer.

While a designer is familiar with the visual styles of a site, the developer understands the place these design patterns are implemented. Designers have a better idea of hot trends and keeping the design fresh and innovative. Communicating with each other will ensure a great website in all aspects.

Pairing Designers and Developers – How to Do it Right?

It is not tough to have developers and designers work together. First, they can start by getting opinions from others. Establishing communication on a regular basis will allow designers understand they can rely on their developers.

A Designer and developer can chat and get feedback, insights, and ideas from each other. The two shouldn't be afraid to reach out. Sometimes a design may look splendid but things may not go right once fully developed. A developer must identify this and supply it to the designer for their expertise.

Web developers need to be included in all crucial internal and client conversations. For instance, a  developer should be a part of all strategy and brainstorming and strategy sessions. This helps the entire team to stay on toes with new unique ideas. Any great suggestions can be polished up and worked into the project instantly instead of towards the end, which usually creates a lot of confusion and problems. Doing this will let everyone share their own experiences and insight about a project.

Benefits of Designer Developer Coordination – At a Glance

- You get a second set of expertise to look everything over and find flaws or mistakes
- More creative brainstorming and design
- Complete experience as designers can understand what the developer can create.
- The end product is more cohesive. All parts of the website are in sync.
- Dual specialization – Look and Functionality of the project.

To Sum Up

With so many benefits of web designers and developers working together, there's no doubt the two should collaborate. And why not, at the end of the day both have a singular goal - To develop a remarkable performance oriented website.

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14 Most Common Interaction Design Errors on the Web

Having an interactive design is a crucial aspect of every website. Introduction of the latest techniques and tools are making it quite challenging day by day. The designers need to understand the need to solve user’s approach and enrich their experience on the internet. A focus on creativity, functionality and usability can ensure a kick ass website.

Listed below are top 14 common mistakes designers make while constructing Interaction Design and how to avoid them:

1. Complex Navigation

Remember that good navigation is the foundation of a good website. Your site visitors should know where they are at a specific moment. They should also be able to travel through website pages without any problem. Tips such as including pagination into the design, one page layout, and filters simplifying search customers can work well here.

2. Poor Readability

Good readability is certainly the basic of a good website. Unfortunately, some designers tend to neglect it. Excess creativity without focussing on readability can be dangerous.

3. Heavy Images, Animations / Flash Based Graphics

These elements tend to make your website heavier and decrease downloading speed. If you are serious about increasing traffic, ensure you have a lightweight website. Avoid flash and heavy images.

4. Clutter!

Make sure you leave ample white space for your content to breathe! In short, you should learn the art of minimalism to impress your audience.

5. Poor Typography

It is one of the most crucial elements of Interaction Design. These days, designers focus on adding fashionable fonts to make design interactive. However, they fail to understand that only a few fonts can be used safely on websites. This allows visitors to see them from any device and browsers. It is better to use Google Fonts.

6. Pop-up Windows

This is very irritating for a customer. It leads to the disorienting experience for a visitor. Hence, make sure only one pop-up window is accessible at a time. You may also make use of light boxes that grays out all distortion to enhance perception. Also make sure the user can close a pop-up clicking anywhere on the screen.

7. All Attention on Homepage

Of course, a home page makes the first and most important impression on the user. However, the subpages are no less. Make sure these include essential info and are equally attractive. Don't make them look like step sons or daughters!

8. No Testing of Website

If you don't test a website on all devices before going live, you lose users. It should be tested properly across all popular devices and show optimized performance.

9. No Clear Call to Actions

You have created a website for a specific purpose. In case, you fail to give clear call-to-action on a page, your chances to reach target audience are second to none.

10. Broken Links

Links leading to nowhere are signs of unprofessionalism. These small details may ruin the overall impression even if you focus on having a brilliant and attractive design.

11. No Search Option

Ignoring search bar can be a problem. Remember that it should be present at every site and that too, in a very prominent place. This helps customers navigate easily and saves their time.

12. Not Adding Responsive Design

This is a sin! If you include user interface elements that fail to work well on mobile, you upset your audience. A huge registration form looks complex and is tough to fill out on a mobile device. Add responsive layout to help it margin. Also, responsive designs make users skip a few steps in filling out the profile smartly. This allows user complete steps on a laptop or a desktop computer. Remember, if your website is unable to adjust to all major screen resolutions, you lose visitors. They won't stay long on a site that has not been optimized for their experience.

13. Registration Before Value

Do you make users register way before showing value? Remember that users have a lot of options for apps to choose from. So any attempt on your part to make them share information prior to communicating the value offered will eventually add the risk of losing them.

14. No New Content!

It is important to display new info on your website. This is crucial for returning visitors as they want to know what’s changed since they last visited. If it is a blog, this is conducted automatically. However, this is done automatically on blogs as posts appear in descending order based on date. For other types of websites, try devoting a whole section for new content. For instance, you can start off with a page that links to the latest content. This may be a section within home page or another page linking to the latest updates. The process helps returning visitors find out what's new and exciting.

Conclusion

Try as hard as you can avoid the above listed interaction design errors in the long term. The present age advances in technology have resulted in increased expectations of users. While highlighting yourself in the web crowd is as crucial as your business, make sure you do it right. Invest quality time to conduct feedback sessions with clients. Also make sure you follow them.

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6 Best Ways To Build Powerful Whitehat Backlinks to Rank Your Niche Site

Attracting high authority backlinks is the best, long term and sustainable way to rank on top of Google search rankings. According to a research by Moz, it is revealed that there’s a direct relationship between high quality backlinks and Google search rankings. The higher the quality of backlinks, higher your search rankings.

However, the most important thing to understand is the way link building has changed after the Penguin era. Yes, now it is not as easy as writing a huge bunch of spun articles with backlinks and post them to various article directories and websites. In earlier days, people used to get irrelevant spun articles in huge number and then add to websites. The best part is that they still got amazing rewards by Google.

Unfortunately, that's not the case today! First, it is important to understand that all links are not equal. Only the right links can get you promoted in search results. On the other hand, the wrong ones will get you penalized. In some severe cases, you will even get blacklisted by Google.

Hence, prior to getting backlinks from a specific domain, ask the following questions to yourself:

- Is the link relevant to the content of your site?
- Does it have a high DA score?
- Does it link to you naturally?

Apart from relevance, the following factors should be considered prior to choosing a domain for backlinking:

- Domain authority (DA)
- Page authority (PA)

In other words, DA and PA are the new PageRank. Presently, PR is an outdated metric for SEO and should not be taken seriously.

1. Calculating DA

It is easier to calculate the DA of a domain. All you need to do is install the MOZ SEO toolbar. DA makes for a crucial component of the Google ranking algorithm. Creating high quality content and indulging in efforts such as spreading the word will help you get quality backlinks.

Listed below are some very powerful ways to build pure whitehat backlinks that rank you higher for your niche:

2. Use Guestographics

One of the most popular forms of content capable of attracting backlinks is infographics. These get shared more frequently on social media. When combined with a comprehensive guest blogging strategy, it will attract a huge number of authority backlinks.

Guestographic approach makes for a wonderful shortcut to landing guest posts on all high authority blogs in your niche. All you need to do is use BuzzSumo for researching the most popular content in your niche. This will provide you with a list of blog posts with the highest social shares. Thereafter, you can identify a topic and collect a good amount of data and numbers about it. Now convert it into an infographic.

For instance, if your niche sector is beauty services, develop a data driven infographic on tips for beauty and associated issues such as those that helps one look younger and beautiful in 10-15 steps. Get a nice infographic designed by a professional designer within your budget. Follow these steps once the infographic is ready:

Step 1 - Publish infographic on your blog.
Step 2 - Focus on making it Embeddable via using the embed code generator.
Step 3 - Reach out to the websites that have published similar content.
Step 4 - Offer these sites the infographic.
Step 5 - Offer a short unique guest post to the blog describing the infographic. Also include your link in this short guest post.

3. Claim Your Links

There are times when people may mention your name or blog in their content. However, they may get the link wrong. Sometimes they don’t link at all. In case, you are successful in reaching out to them, there is greater probability of getting a backlink. This kind of approach will help you unearth some high links.

There are a number of tools you may use to find these mentions. Some of the best ones include Ahrefs, BuzzSumo, or Mention. Try setting up some Google alerts for your brand and name of the blog. Thereafter, you can keep tabs on new mentions from time to time. See if you these mentions are linked to your site properly the moment you get them. In case, you are unable to see the link, simply reach out and ask the blog owner if she/he could add the link. Be courteous, polite, and appreciate that he/she mentioned you on his blog.

4. Link to Relevant Content and Reach Out

According to research and studies, link out to other people’s content frequently will increase your chances to gain backlinks yourself. Many experts recommend linking to 4-5 outside sources (at a minimum) in every 1000 words. However, when it comes to the increasing probability of gaining backlinks back, reach out to bloggers you link to is very important.

There are several ways to do that. Try out Twitter. Mentioning on Twitter directly will allow influencers review your post and provide you with a quick RT. Although it is not a backlink, it exposes your content to several other individuals who will link back to you.

Another best way is to send email to influencers after publishing a blog post where you have mentioned an outside source.

5. Content Submission to Link Parties and Round-ups

Blogs in most niches run weekly or monthly link roundups. These roundups are majorly mainly the “best of the month/week” kind of posts. This is precisely where the author shares links from varied blogs.
Searching for roundups is easier. All you need to do is use some search queries in your niche such as:

- “your niche + best of the month”
- “your niche + weekly roundup”
- “your niche + link party”

Simply land on each website once in order to get link juice. The process is certainly worth investing time and efforts.

6. Submit Website to Web 2.0 and Website Feedback Services

Web 2.0 backlinks make for a powerful way to help rank higher in search results. However, this is possible only if you do it the right manner. Choosing the wrong way means hurt your rank. Remember that Google will catch you easily via manipulating its algorithms. Here is a list of some of the popular Web 2.0 sites that you can use to build high quality backlinks:

- WordPress.com
- Edublogs.org
- Blogger.com
- Sites.google.com
- Joomla.com
- Tumblr.com
- Weebly.com
- Bravesites.com
- Jimdo.com
- Beep.com
- Puzl.com
- Yolasite.com
- Webstarts.com
- US.Webnode.com
- SnackWebsites.com
- Jigsy.com

Another way to find backlinks easily is by submitting your website to varied website review services.

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Make Your Landing Page Land the Best Conversion Rates

Organizations that follow a structured approach towards optimization of conversion are more likely to witness a boost in sales. Unfortunately, most businesses do not focus on conversion optimization as an option.

Businesses that witness higher conversion rates do things differently. Here are some tips on enhancing conversion rates for your landing page:

Clear Unique Value Proposition

It is important for your visitors to see on your homepage or landing page the reason they should do business with you. Make sure it includes the benefits of the same. One of the best examples in this respect is 'MailChimp'. With a huge number of email service providers out there, it is very tough for MailChimp to carve a niche. However, the company made themselves unique via focusing on making email campaigns easy. It is really important to make things easy.

Having a huge fan following on Facebook and followers on Instagram is a plus point for your conversion rate.

Know the following to be able to boost conversion rates for your website:

- The reasons customers should buy from you.
- Are they impressed by a money back guarantee?
- Do they want free shipping.

Test Calls-to-Actions

According to Hubspot, one of the companies featured on their blog witnessed conversions by about 105.9%. This happened by:

1. Having a crystal clear call-to-action leading to a white paper which informs visitors about the company and what they offer.
2. Creating an effective headline.
3. Using highly effective graphics to be able to guide the user.

The above listed three changes doubled up the conversion rate.

Another great example is that of Mozilla which witnessed an increase in downloads of their popular Firefox browser by just having a more dynamic and appealing call-to-action -

“Download Now – Free”

The above mentioned call-to-action performed better than -

“Try Firefox 3”

The company made it very clear that Firefox was 'free' and asked the viewer to download the program.

Proflowers is yet another website known for its high conversion rates. One of the major reasons is that they make the process of buying flowers really easy for customers. They have removed all obstacles customers usually face while making a purchase. If some obstacles to prospects purchasing from you are:

Most people may not feel comfortable purchasing from a small, relatively new company. Listed below are some ideas to help potential customers overcome this fear:

- Include a behind the scenes video of your company. Let your customers know how the operations work.
- Make sure you include a banner right at the top with customer testimonials. Each one should show for a few seconds.
- The unique value proposition should be displayed right at the top. Let your customers know how long you’ve been in business, the number of orders shipped, customer satisfaction rate, etc.

Understand Pain Points

Make sure you ask your customers questions to receive their feedback. Understand pain points of your customers. Knowing what they are looking for can actually help you design a website that converts higher.

Headlines Test

Did you know, the headline can make or break your website? Yes, it is powerful enough to convert or lose a sale forever! First impression is formed instantly and headline certainly makes for a huge part of that impression. It is crucial to assess and see what appeals to your visitors. Remember, there's nothing like a magic or foolproof formula. All you can do is follow some guidelines.

You must have a clear headline comprising of a unique value proposition. It should show instant (true) benefit to your audience. Give them a reason to do what you want them to. Test and see what really works.

The best headline is the one that’s clear and avoids language that lands it in the spam folder. So try being creative with your headlines and inform visitors about the benefits of your products/services or what you do.

Short Forms are Important

Many conversion experts recommend restricting forms to only the essentials. It is very irritating for customers to get encountered with over 25+ fields to fill in. Visitors will prefer to leave that site. Respecting users' time will definitely win your laurels and respect. Once you are successful convincing users to sign up, prevent letting them drop off just because your form is too long. The key is to ask only what is needed. Avoid the following:

- Username
- Security questions
- Birth date
- Verification code
- Re-enter password field

Simplifying forms and making them clearer must be aimed at while starting iterating.

Other Techniques

• A “Chat Now” button will increase free sign up form fills.
• Including a security seal work.
• Discount information in the title will boost added to cart conversions significantly.
• Boost landing page's value with benefits, social proof and credibility indicators.
• Include people on your homepage for enhancing conversions.
• Integrate pain point in a headline.
• Change of call-to-action button from green to red works.
• Buy Now button to double conversion rate.
• Change button from “See Plans and Pricing” to “Get Started Today” for boosting conversions.
• Turn CAPTCHA off to minimize conversions lost and spam mail.
• Display of testimonials will promote validation.
• Boost conversions by about 25-40% by using natural language on forms.
• Have a mobile site to double conversions.
• Segment users to boost conversion rates and give relevant content to the user.
• Put call-to-action button to boost conversions.

Some Important Points:

- A headline and landing page should compel and consumers within '0-8' seconds. After 8 seconds, most of the visitors simply leave.
- Remember that about 96 percent of visitors that visit your website are not ready to make a purchase.
- More landing pages, number of leads you are likely to get.
- It is revealed through a study that product videos boost sales of a product by around 144%.
- One second delay in your website speed may lead to 7 per cent reduction in conversions.

Most importantly, one must keep testing and experimenting. Know what works for you and stick to it?

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