Category Archives: responsive web design

Essential Tools For Today’s Web Designers

tools for web designersIn the midst of the internet age, web design remains a hot career prospect for those blessed with artistic ability and a propensity for technology. The world of web design is changing rapidly, with research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics suggesting that nearly one third of today’s designers are self-employed. The freelance approach to graphic design proves quite difficult for many, but also deeply rewarding. As a prospective designer, you can ease the transition to this unique career approach by equipping yourself with such essentials as high-quality design software and a reliable internet connection.

Desktop Computer

Yes, we’re in the age of mobile, but for the dedicated web designer, a high-quality desktop computer remains an essential. Coding capabilities and storage remain vastly superior on desktops, not to mention the large screens lend themselves better to graphic representation. “PC Magazine” views the Apple iMac and MacPro as the ultimate desktop tools for web design, but experts also remain enthusiastic about the Dell Inspiron and the HP EliteOne. Ultimately, this important decision will come down to your web design niche; Apple products remain the best for graphic specialists, while the HP EliteOne offers plenty to keep the IT expert satisfied.

Web Design Software

Despite the expansion of online web design functions, the bread and butter of the work remains entrenched in traditional design software. As you set up your computer, you’ll want to invest in at least one or two highly rated design programs. Adobe Dreamweaver remains a favorite among professional designers, as its inherent flexibility allows users to work with HTML, JavaScript, CSS and much more. As “TechCrunch” points outs, Dreamweaver transitioned easily into the mobile market, with an emphasis on responsive design, proving particularly helpful for web designers working with mobile setups. Adobe Muse proves similarly effective for those launching web design careers, but who are less well-versed in the language of HTML and CSS.

Dependable Internet Service

With a career entirely based on the internet, it should come as no surprise that your chance of success is minimal, at best, if you lack a decent internet connection. Thus, your number one tool for design success is dependable broadband. High-quality broadband services from providers such as T-Mobile will ensure that you easily meet deadlines, even when working on a last-minute project. You may also want to think about establishing a solid wireless connection. With the explosion of the app design market, testing out of completed designs may increasingly take place via mobile devices. You may be best served by combining a wireless system for mobile functions with a more dependable broadband as backup.

Sketchpad And Pencils

Yes, high-quality software and decent internet service are essential in web design, but there are still times when the tech-obsessed designer needs to kick it old school and work with pencil and paper. This proves particularly true if your strengths in web design lie mainly in graphics. “Metropolis Magazine” views graphic design as a contemplative arts, with tech-based designers still sharing the same roots as their classic art counterparts. You don’t need an easel or paint set, but when inspiration strikes, a simple sketchpad and pencil could become come quite handy.

How to Make a Website – Understanding and Writing HTML

Photo Credits: c4learn

Maybe you would like to develop a web page or maybe you would like to make nameplates for a website or perhaps you could just be wanting to learn how to control the comments you get on your website all of these things require some knowledge of HTML.

You can easily make a presence on the web by just simply using the social media then creating a personal landing page. However, if you would like to create your own unique website then you will need to learn both CSS and HTML. In this How to start your own blog tutorial we will give you some steps that will greatly help you with creating your own blog and website.

Here is what you will need to have before getting started:

  • A text editor that is plain so this way you can write HTML

  • A web browser that you like because you will need to test out the HTML

  • You must be willing to have a desire to learn HTML

The good news you won’t need much in order to get started on creating your website.

Photo Credits : Graphics_Html

How To Get A Plain Text Editor

If you would like to write HTML then what you will need to get is a plain text editor. One text editor that is not free but is a good one is Textmate but there are other HTML editors which are free such as Notepad ++ on Windows or either Kod on the Mac. Just do a quick research and you will find many other available text editors for either Mac or Windows or for other operating systems.

Understanding HTML Documents

HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. It’s a lot of texts that you have saved in the document type mode and the browser then identifies that type as HTML. Images on web pages are known as a text that is part of HTML documents.

HTML documents simply just provide instructions which are text based and those instructions can be interpreted on the web browser. The page text in the tags get encapsulated. You can add in line breaks, images and much more when you use HTML documents.

What Do Tags Mean?

A tag is usually used with HTML in order to help with specifying the elements that might be required on the page and then this way the browser knows how to render those things. A set of these type of tags might look something like this:

All of the HTML document that you are currently working on would go inside the tags. The end of the tag usually has / right before HTML. The reason why is because this / helps with the tag being able to close. If you would like to have bold then here is one example of what you would do:
You will find other ways to make the text bold but that is the most common way to make your text bold.

What Is The Basic Structure of HTML Documents?

This is one example of how a basic HTML document structure would look like:
The HTML tags will be located at the head along with the body tags. The reason why is because the head tag helps to encapsulate the information which might not be going on the display page directly. This is just one example of a basic structure of HTML documents on the web but should be enough to help you with understanding it.

Study and Research On How To Make Websites Online

The more you study and research on how to make websites online then the more knowledge you will gain of HTML.

Kennu singh is a real estate agent. He is working in this field for many years.  In his spare time he mostly goes to Philadelphia Real Estate for Sale

 

Why Responsive Web Design is Important

A Look at Why Thinking About Mobile Devices is Crucial

Photo by Mike Licht / Flickr

If you’ve not heard about responsive web design before, you really need to start doing some research. As more people begin to use smartphones and other mobile devices to access the Internet, it’s going to become even more important. We’re going to take a look at this important tool you can use to reach your customers on more devices as well as give you a short look at why you need responsive web design.

What is Responsive Web Design?

Basically, responsive web design refers to designers that use a grid for their design in addition to javascript that determines what type of device a person is using and gives them a different file that is setup to look good with that device – no matter the size of the screen. The best part is that it does all of this automatically. Once it’s setup correctly, there’s no extra work for you to have different designs that look good in different devices.

Benefits of Responsive Website Design

Here’s a look at just a few of the benefits of using responsive web design.

  • Fluid Web Design – The biggest benefit of responsive website design is the fact that it offers a fluid design. This means that no matter what a person’s image resolution is set to on their monitor, they will see all of your content. Not to mention they’ll be able to see your website on their mobile device clearly.

  • Save Time and Money – Instead of having to run two websites – one for the desktop Internet and one for mobile devices, you’re only going to have to worry about one website that will look good no matter what device is used to view it. This can save you time and money.

  • User Friendly – When you use responsive web design, your content is going to be more user friendly. This can do quite a bit to help you grow your audience. When people don’t have to worry about being able to read your content, they’re going to be more likely to check out your website.

What Next?

This is up to you, but it would be a very good idea to investigate more and see what you can do to make sure your website is showing up right on mobile devices – even ones with super small screens. The good news is that there are a lot of tools out there that can help you with this considerably. All you have to do is look around and you’re going to find something – a tool or tutorial – that will show you how to implement responsive web design.

Bio:

Sheila Kurdinger is interested in F&I Services online. She also likes to read about infographics online whenever she has some spare time.

How To Beat the Google Hummingbird Update

The Google Hummingbird update is the biggest change in the search algorithm since 2001 and as with any update it is always a good idea to look at how your site could be affected by it and how you can combat those problems. The good news is that even though this is a major update it will not affect your website quite the way you thought, so in all honesty it should be that bit easier to beat it as will now be explained.

Be mobile.

A major part of this update is that it really does improve what happens with mobile search as Google rightfully realize that more people are using their smartphones on the move. What this means is that if you want to beat it, then you are going to need a mobile website because without it you stand to lose out as your site will just be lost in the vastness of those results pages.

Get a responsive site template.

If your site has been penalized with this update, then one thing you can do is to get in touch with your designer and ask them if you can be set up with a responsive design template. The reason why this is important is because it will mean that your site looks so much better on mobile phones as it means that your website will automatically be resized as soon as they land on it. By seeing you are prepared for these changes it should ultimately mean that your site stands a better chance of ranking higher.

Long tailed keywords.

However, perhaps the best way to beat this Hummingbird update is to spend some time looking at long tailed keywords as the main aim, aside from mobile search, is to improve the results that you get when you ask a question. This means that you should perhaps get in touch with your SEO company and get them to do some work on this area because if some clever work is done with regard to these keywords it should mean that your website will rank higher.

Use white-hat techniques.

Even though it is not directly mentioned in updates, it is still the case that your website should only use white-hat techniques or you stand to be punished. This update may be a major one, but it does still include various aspects of the older updates such as Panda and Penguin and Penguin 2.0 in particular would hit black-hat websites hard and the same applies here.

In short, when it comes to trying to beating this Hummingbird update it does involve you using special templates to enhance the viewing experience for somebody that is using their phone and also it places more importance on keywords than ever before. Generally speaking there may not be that much you have to do to your website in order to survive, but if you are unsure about anything remember to talk to a professional who can guide you through the process and advise you correctly on what your next step should be.

Henry Hernandez is a veteran, father and CEO of an Austin SEO company. You can learn more about Henry by checking out his Google+ Page.

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