30th
July 2010
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When first starting out in the world of web design there is so much to learn in order to improve your craft that you are bound to make mistakes along the way. Even after a few years in the industry you will still make mistakes that you know you could have easily avoided but didn’t for one reason or another. I thought I would share with you some of the mistakes that can be very easily made by the inexperienced (and sometimes experienced!) web designer and why you should avoid them.
Not Designing to a Grid
There seems to be one of two reasons why newbie web designers don’t use a grid based system when designing: 1) They have read somewhere that it limits creativity; or 2) They are unaware of it.
Designing to a grid does not limit creativity; it allows you to be more creative by giving you a clear understanding of dimension and scale from the offset. Just as artists are confined to the size of their canvas, you are limited to the size of the browser. Using a grid allows you to plan the size, positioning and the flow of your elements within the page.
If you fail to use a grid you will more than likely discover (after countless hours work) that your design will have to be redone as your elements are too big, too close together or even worse – you have forced a horizontal scroll into the users browser!
There is an excellent article on Grid Based Web Design over on www.noupe.com.
Not Sketching
Sometimes it can be eagerness, other times it can be ignorance, but many newcomers fail to sketch when designing for the web. It can be too easy to get excited by the prospect of a new design project and to jump straight into Photoshop to begin designing a layout. I sketch everything, from wireframes to logo design – although I never used to. I find that sitting down with a notepad and a pencil helps me release ideas that I never knew I had and my work has got a lot better as a result.
I’m currently in the middle of redesigning my portfolio (www.leehardingonline.co.uk) and although I already have a rough idea of how I want it to look it was a nice sunny day so I decided to sit in the garden, get away from my desk and enjoy the sunshine. Being a bit of a workaholic I began sketching layout ideas and after only 20 minutes or so I had come up with some really great layouts, a few of which I will definitely use in future.
Sketching makes it easier to be creative, if you are sat in front of your computer working with Photoshop, you only have that one design idea in mind and it becomes a lot more difficult to come up with new ones – especially if you have already spent a good few hours on one design and become committed to it, even though deep down you know it could be better.
Following Trends
If I hear one more person utter the words “It’s not very Web 2.0 is it?” I think I’ll break down and cry. I heard this from a client once when showing them a mock-up of a web layout I had done for them, I asked them what they understood by the term “Web 2.0” and they didn’t really have a clue. They based their idea of Web 2.0 on the presence of gradients, gloss effects, reflection effects and big bright colours.
If you type “What is Web 2.0 Design” into Google you will find over 174 million results, each of which will have its own varying definition. Try searching on “What is Web 3.0 Design” and you will find over 69 million results, “Web 1.0” will give you 89 million results. I don’t think the term “Web 1.0” was even a term until somebody came up with the term “Web 2.0”.
My point is that trends come and go and tend to last between 3-5 years. Would you rather design a site that is “Web 2.0” but wrong for the job in hand and will probably need a complete redesign in a few years, or would you rather design a site that a timeless design, is a bit different from everything else and perfect for the job?
Following trends doesn’t really teach you anything, whilst it’s good to be aware of what everyone else is doing, it doesn’t encourage you to be creative. Don’t follow trends, set them.
Becoming a pixel pusher
Why did you become a designer? Was it to unleash your creativity and find solutions to problems, or was it to have someone stood over your shoulder telling you exactly what to do – or even worse was it because you wanted to copy www.someone-else-ssite.com. Firstly copying someone else’s site is just plain wrong, your client gains nothing unique and you learn nothing. If a prospective client wanted me to copy another site I would simply refuse. I’d ask them what aspects of that site they liked and try to incorporate those elements into my own unique design but I’d never copy.
If your client is happy to steal somebody else’s hard work, is that a client you really want to work with anyway?
Pixel pushing is different from taking constructive criticism or being open to suggestions. Accepting criticism and communication is an important part of being a designer, but pixel pushing is different. It starts with a simple, “can you make this a bit bigger, move this to left, change the colour of this, delete that” and before you know it your entire design has changed beyond recognition and 99.9% of the time it looks awful.
Pixel pushing demeans your skills as a designer. You have become no more than a tool to the client and your only usefulness to them is that you know how to use Photoshop. The countless hours you have spent studying typography, colour theory, usability and accessibility have been a waste of time.
We have all been a pixel pusher at one point, usually to keep the client happy and get the project done as quickly and painlessly as possible, fully aware that the project will not be a portfolio piece and you will deny any involvement in its design to friends and colleagues.
Try to stay away from these types of projects, they limit your own creativity, you learn nothing and eventually they will kill your love of the job.
There are many mistakes that we make when we first start out in the design industry. The most important thing is that we learn from them and try not to make the same mistakes again. I have made all of these mistakes before and continue to make different mistakes or errors in judgement now, but from each mistake I make I learn how to improve my skills and ability as a designer. What types of mistakes did you make as a newbie web designer? What types of mistakes do you make now?
This post was written by Lee Harding of Lee Harding Web Design – creating modern beautiful and usable websites. Want to write for the BaseKit Blog – get in touch!
29th
July 2010
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First there was this blog. Then there was Facebook, Twitter and now… Linkedin too!
So if Linkedin is your social media network of choice, visit our group at http://www.linkedin.com/groups?mostPopular=&gid=3261105 and follow our latest updates on there!
29th
July 2010
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As a blog-owner know, you’ll know that writing the blog is the easy part. Spellchecking and grammar-vetting to a level of perfection is harder, whilst getting people to actually read what you’ve written can sometimes be seem near-impossible. Beyond that, asking people to engage with our content – through linking it from their own sites with a recommendation to actually leaving a comment – can sometimes seem like the Blogger’s Holy Grail. Especially in the early days of writing.
But there are steps you can take to try and hook readers into responding – and one response can often open the floodgates. Whilst fifty comments doesn’t seem particularly more impressive than forty, one comment looks far better on the page than none.
So, if you’re looking for a practical guide on how to make people connect with your piece, a few methods are outlined below. Some are common sense, and others you might already be practicing. None are failsafe and none can guarantee you’ll grow a community rooted deep within your posts, but adhering to the checklist with every post you write can help to make your blog look a lot more lively than it might otherwise – and a lively-looking blog always encourages traffic – the only real source of comments.
Make Your Content Current
Whatever topic your blog is written around, you’ve probably already mastered the art of getting to a distinct point in the space of one post. You can make that point all the more powerful by embedding it in an example that is current – ideally topical on the day. If you’re writing a news-based blog then you already have this covered, but if you’re not, then basing your post on current events will see far more traffic flow through your site and readers who have something urgent to say.
Backlink With Cunning
If you’re not already, you should really be reading blogs (even inferior ones) based on your subject, or one that’s similar. Traffic-sharing can be achieved by making comments on competitors postings, so long as you get to create a backlink when submitting your username. It’s win-win for you and your competitors, creating a benign sense of competition between bloggers. No doubt they’ll start doing the same back to pick up some of your juicy traffic. Presto – we have ourselves a bulked up comments section.
Find Yourself Some Link-Partners
After you’ve created this blogging alliance, and when your presence is felt as a regular comment contributer, it’s time to start getting yourself on your competitors’ blogrolls. The blogosphere is like no other working environment, in that links are essentially free, so traffic between sites can only be viewed as a healthy flow. The Internet’s fluid nature means that readers are unlikely to give up reading one free blog for another – instead they’ll just read both. So email those other blog owners and suggest a link exchange. Eventually they’ll be posting entire articles on their blogs recommending some of your stuff.
Ask Questions Of Your Audience
People are moved to speak when they’re enquired upon. So ask questions of your readers. Let them know that your blog isn’t a one-way mouthpiece, but rather a means by which to express themselves and share their views. Eventually, once a strong base of commenters is built, you can begin to devote posts to their responses. A simple question or challenge in the headline followed by a short post is no challenge to write, and readers will jump straight in to see which commenter is winning the race to be the cleverest of the bunch before leaping in themselves. Often they’ll get involved without even looking at preceding comments.
Be Subtle About Being Contentious
Though it’s liberating to have a soapbox, some of the most tedious blogs online are essentially opinion-holes. One person’s opinion is rarely of great importance and can be a real turn-off for readers, even if they share the same point of view. If you’re outraged by something in the press or have a genuine gripe you want to air, then approach it with caution. Again, ask a question in an ‘is it just me?’ fashion rather than mounting a direct challenge against your readership and you’ll more than likely have people sympathising rather than taking offence – moving them to get involved in the discussion.
Involve Your Real-World Friends
The one place that you’re best placed to receive clicks is from real-world friends. They know you best and are more likely than most to be interested in what you post, so it’s essential to let them know what you’re doing with your blog. Thanks to Facebook, this won’t require spamming them daily in their inbox. Rather, use the ‘book to post a link to every article you put up. Chances are they’ll take a look, even if only to see what you’re up to. And if you hook them in, you’ve got yourself a reader and a potential commenter.
Involve Your Virtual Friends
It sounds terrible to say it, but – in this context – your virtual friends are more important than your real-life pals. Utilise Twitter to it’s utmost potential by linking to your articles there, with a short explanation regarding what the post is about. Since Twitter flourished in January ’09, most blogs have seen that their number one source of traffic has become this rapid-fire monster of status updates, so it’s an invaluable tool. Build up your followers (always keeping an eye on the number you follow) and link them with every post you put up. Chances are, if they follow you, they’ll be interested enough to pop in – and ultimately comment.
Don’t Overdo It To The Point of Spam
Spreading links all over the web is essential, but it’s important to know where to draw the line. If one person is seeing numerous links to your post, clearly put up there by you, you’re probably overdoing it. That’s not to say you should link it all over the place under numerous assumed names. That would just be weird. The key is to be aware of the various audiences your link will be seen by, on every site you place it, making sure that there’s no overlap. Multiple audiences converging on your site from different sources – and backgrounds – is a recipe for debate.
Be Sure To Comment Yourself
As the writer of the piece, it’s often tempting to sit back and see what reaction you’ve received in virtual silence. Though it may seem awkward and self-celebratory, it’s good to show that you’re willing to take on feedback and contributions, responding to readers’ points in the comments section. Obviously it’s best not to react to trolls and it’s unwise to become involved in a never-ending, spiralling debate, but a presence in the comments area from the author of the post is one that readers often find reassuring. People like to be listened to.
Aggregate And Spread The Word
Even if it seems alien to you, Digg, Reddit and Stumbleupon are a blogger’s friend. If you’ve seen a past post picked up by Digg that’s then gone on to go viral, you’ll know that the amount of traffic a post can pick up from a presence there can be ridiculous. These social media aggregators are great for getting your posts read and reacted to – so sign up if you’ve not already, and have yourself a nose around.
Even better than user-generated aggregation is getting your stuff noticed as a regular source on a trusted aggregation site – and they don’t come much better than Google News. Getting on their source-list is much easier than you might think, though getting signed up is purely at their discretion. All you can do is give it a go. You may be surprised by the result.
This was a guest post from Liam Tucker of EWM. Want to write for the BaseKit Blog? – Drop us an email.
28th
July 2010
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Are you an active BaseKit user? Do you love spreading the word about how awesome it is? Then we want to reward you!
Now, we know we’re ALL friends here really (it’s a very friendly place!), but if you sign up to become an official Friend of BaseKit we will give you
Sneak previews of our exciting new templates and features
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All we want from you lovely people in return is a friendly open communication channel – both between you and us (keep us informed of what you think about our latest stuff, and about what you’re into) and between you and the rest of the world who you can introduce to BaseKit! If you’re already using and loving BaseKit then you’re probably already doing this anyway, so here’s a chance to get some FAB rewards from us as a token of our appreciation!
So sign up today at www.basekit.com/friends and let the friendship roll!
