The Killer WordPress Checklist

So, You are working on a WordPress Project? Awesome! It’s a big struggle in remembering the steps involved in setting up a WordPress website. And we soon realized that, there were hardly any checklists that covered all the aspects of WordPress together! That’s when we decided to create “Killer WordPress Checklist” that would cover everything from the pre-launch directions and development process, to SEO, maintenance and security. Honestly, this checklist has worked wonders for ...

The Complete Social Media Image Size Cheat Sheet: [Infographic]

It’s a lot of pressure to stay active across every social media platform, and it can be hard to keep up with the latest trends and techniques. But like it or not, social media is here to stay. And entrepreneurs, business people, marketers, and others with a message to get out are taking notice. Why? Social media can be an enormously useful tool in the business world. You can boost brand recognition and loyalty, connect with potential or current customers, advertise products and ...

(Q) How often Should I Post on Social Media?

Social currency is an important metric when it comes to promoting your brand. Your likes, followers, pins, and posts all say a lot about your success, and the more engagement on your social platforms, the more likely you are to pull in clients. But how do you maximize engagement and get the most people to see your content? While there is no perfect answer, there are a few things you can do to optimize your social media strategy. Timing Is Everything Understanding when to utilize each of ...

Innovative and Creative Web Layouts

The layout is the foundation of your website. It guides the user through the sections and tells them what is most important. It also sets the aesthetic of the website. Therefore, you need to carefully think through how you lay out content. An original, creative layout goes a long way to improving the user experience of a website, although not letting your creativity get in the way of usability is important. As usual, we have to put ourselves in the users’ shoes: What do we want them to ...

On Creative Leadership

I have spent nearly a decade experimenting with a single goal in mind: to create scalable, predictably insightful, inspirational environments. I have led creative teams in these environments, and I’m currently doing it as the Director of Web Interface and Development at Astonish (a digital marketing company in Rhode Island, US). It hasn’t been easy, because forcing inspiration is impossible. You have to use finesse and let it come to you. What follows is what I’ve found to help my team ...

Analyzing Network Characteristics Using JavaScript And The DOM, Part 2

In Part 1 of this series, we had a look at how the underlying protocols of the Web work, and how we can use JavaScript to estimate their performance characteristics. In this second part, we’ll look at DNS, IPv6 and the new W3C specification for the NavigationTiming API. DNS Explained Every device attached to the Internet is identified by a numeric address known as an IP address. The two forms of IP addresses seen on the open Internet are IPv4, which is a 32-bit number often represented as a ...

Part 1: Mojo Motors Responsive Redesign With Fireworks: UX And Interaction Design

Thanks to strong mobile Web adoption worldwide, we have seen the launch of even more responsive designs in 2012 and 2013. Most of these have been in the publishing category, but lately we are starting to see complex transactional websites, such as Currys UK, take a brave step into this new world. For very well thought out reasons, Mojo Motors (a startup created in 2010 to provide shoppers with a better way to buy used cars) also just launched the first responsive website in the automotive ...

Designing For Digital Products

In digital culture, we are beginning to think of our output as products and of our clients as users. “Products” might be websites, apps or communities, and they might be created by startups, agencies or a couple of people at a hackathon. This shift mainly means that we have gotten serious about asking how to better serve users, which reflects a significant change in the designer’s skill set. Designers will use the same tools they have always used, but they are now responsible for more ...

WebKit Has Implemented srcset, And It’s A Good Thing

WebKit has made some serious news by finally implementing the srcset attribute. As Chair of the W3C’s Responsive Images Community Group, I’ve been alternately hoping for and dreading this moment for some time now. It turns out to be good news for all involved parties—the users browsing the Web, most of all. As with all matters pertaining to “responsive images”: it’s complicated, and it can be hard keeping up with the signal in all the noise. Here’s what you need to know. What ...

Semantic CSS With Intelligent Selectors

“Form ever follows function. This is the law.” So said the architect and “father of skyscrapers” Louis Sullivan. For architects not wishing to crush hundreds of innocent people under the weight of a colossal building, this rule of thumb is pretty good. In design, you should always lead with function, and allow form to emerge as a result. If you were to lead with form, making your skyscraper look pretty would be easier, but at the cost of producing something pretty dangerous. So much ...