Archivo de la categoría: 1stwebdesigner.com

feb 18 2012

Why Your Business Must Go Social [Infographic]

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com

Your grandma is probably on Facebook by now. So why on earth isn’t your business?

It’s time to get real, and come to terms with the fact that social media networks are not just for teenagers anymore. Even setting up something as simple as a customized Facebook fan page can enhance your brand online. Studies show that socializing is important for maintaining a happy and a healthy lifestyle. So it kinda makes sense that the same holds true for businesses, no?

Read on for some cold hard facts about why social networking is a must for you and your company.

Shared by our friends from Wix!

your wix business must go social
Via: Wix.com

ene 28 2012

How to Properly Redesign a Website

Christian Vasile
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/properly-redesign-website/

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Redesigning a website happens very often on the internet today. It can be thanks to the new technologies that appear one after another (and every one of us wants to stay in fashion) or because the rules change from month to month. Whatever the reason is, it is quite important to do it properly and to ensure the new design will bring you more advantages over your competitor than the old version.

We don’t redesign a website only for the sake of spending money. We do it because we feel that the site needs a visual revamp, we feel that our visitors want to see something new from a visual stand point. Considering the redesign is entirely for the users, it’s them we should focus on when we think about creating a new identity for our blog, publication or whatever kind of webpage it is.

How to Properly Redesign a Website

The bigger and more important your webpage is, the higher the probability to fail when redesigning it is. Why? Because when you have to take hundreds of thousands or millions of users under consideration, it might be difficult to please all of them – quite frankly, it is impossible to do it. I personally experienced leaving a website I liked only because they changed the design – and I am aware of how the web works. If I left that webpage for good, I am wondering how many other users that don’t have anything to do with design did the same.

In order to increase the probability of your redesign being successful, I have created a list with some tips for you.

Make sure you need to redesign Sigue leyendo →

dic 20 2011

The Grim Future of Web Browsers

Written by: Christian Vasile
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/web-browser-grim-future/ 

Nothing new appearing today in the IT world is labelled as a surprise, because everything moves so fast and at some point in time you start to know when the big news hit the market. With the technology advancing so fast, especially all the mobile devices we call smartphones today part of the mainstream and are, maybe, the most important thing in our lives. So by sending a message from your QWERTY Android device or by playing Fruit Ninja on your latest iPhone, have you ever thought that you yourself are changing the IT world?

The Grim Future of Web Browsers

Well if you haven’t, I can tell you for sure that you do. By using portable devices more often and desktop computers less the latest gadgets quickly become out of date. Without realizing we have become unplugged and do not need computers anymore – which also means we do not need browsers anymore. And why would we? At the end of the day we have our smartphones filled with apps that can keep us busy for a long time. Sometimes I don’t even check my Facebook from my computer, even if I am close to it, because it is much easier to do it from the phone. Ever since the IT world made it possible to connect to the internet wirelessly, nobody has looked back. People invest much more money today in phones and portable devices like tablets or eBook Readers than in computers. Sigue leyendo →

dic 10 2011

14 Wiki CMS To Help You Build Your Own Wikipedia

Written by: Sufyan bin Uzayr
http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/14-cms-for-wiki-websites/
 Wikis are a rare breed of websites – we all would agree on that. Designing a portfolio, corporate blog or any such website is an entirely different concept from designing wikis. When it comes to wikis, not only does the website ‘rise’ in terms of its size, but also in terms of complexity. Wikis need to be so designed that the finished website does not look clumsy or unorganized – no matter how much data it has, and at the same time is simple enough for even the most novice user to understand. Following that, and perhaps most importantly, wikis need to be edited not by an individual but an entire community – again, simplicity and ease of use come into play!

 

14 Wiki CMS To Help You Build Your Own Wikipedia

Content Management Systems meant for wiki websites, too, like wiki sites themselves, need to strike the right balance between robustness on one hand and ease of use on the other. In this article, we take a look at some of the most popular wiki CMSs out there!

1. MediaWiki

Who doesn’t know Wikipedia? MediaWiki is used by Wikipedia as well as many other projects of Wikipedia’s parent organization Mediawiki Foundation. If you’re looking for a CMS for your wiki website, MediaWiki should be your safest bet! Not only is the CMS powerful, it is also very versatile and is ideal for any sort of wiki website.

MediaWikiMediaWiki

2. DokuWiki

DokuWiki is meant for developer workgroups, collaborating teams and small enterprises. As a CMS, it restricts itself mainly to documentation websites. The syntax is powerful and creation of structured texts is simple. Further more, DokuWiki does not need any database to run on as it stores all its data in plain files.

dic 9 2011

Yay Or Nay Of QR Code Marketing

Posted in Web Design
Written by: Salman Siddiqui

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/yay-or-nay-of-qr-code-marketing/

You must have seen plenty of QR code showcases already but somehow I feel that people haven’t learned QR code marketing yet. Reason could be that QR codes are kinda of new to internet marketing. I’m not saying that QR codes are new, but they have a lot of room to grow and the possibilities are yet to be explored. The world of SEO might have exhausted its regular tips but QR code is yet to explode. Today, I will dare to understand the world of QR code marketing. Stick with me, it’ll be worth it.

Yay Or Nay Of QR Code Marketing

Why are QR codes here to stay?

As of now QR codes are still facing everyday debates. On one side are the stakeholders who want the general public to fall in love with the new technology while on the other side are the critics who consider QR codes as nothing more than a new marketing fad. I will try to sit in between the two and judge the situation.

I am assuming that QR codes are going to stick around our heads no matter what, as marketing agencies are using them like crazy. The big ugly black squares aren’t leaving us that quick. I know that there are other options (and more will be invented) for linking in the real world but QR codes look to me to be the best suited option currently.

Before listing genuine reasons, let me mention some of the authentic reports that support the rise of QR codes:

  • Mobio Technologies - A study by Mobio Technologies Inc. confirms that the usage of QR code jumped upto 9,840% in the second quarter of the year 2011 when compared to the numbers last year in the same time period.
  • Gartner – The marketing research firm confirms the high-rise in the usage of QR codes in recent times.
  • comScore – The very famous comScore sent shivers down the Internet Marketing industry when they confirmed that around 14 million Americans scanned QR codes from their cell phones in the month June of 2011. That is huge when compared to the time period since when QR codes have been in America.

The data above confirms the ever-increasing usage of QR codes and the interest of end users. Sometimes it is really comfortable to scan a QR code on the back of a book. It takes minutes to reach the landing page of that book and buy another copy for your friend. You just skipped a lot of steps.

Now, let me list a few reasons in favor of QR codes: Sigue leyendo →

ene 28 2011

Why Make Effective Networking Part Of Your Freelance Job

http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/design/networking-freelance/
Posted in: Web Design • Written by: riza_gamutan

Being a freelancer is no regular job to do. It takes a lot of hard work to become successful in this field. And as a freelancer, it is essential to build contacts for your business work. You need sufficient references – people who work out as your clients. You need people to help you deliver expected results. So what drastic steps should you do in establishing contacts for your business? 

This is where effective networking comes in. Networking simply means the act of creating, extending and maintaining personal connections with different types of people in the business. It is a way to seek sources for opportunities like extending business to more clients and how to gain technical expertise.

Why Make Effective Networking Part Of Your Freelance Job

Networking is easily achieved if the person steps out of his normal work environment. This is because most people are so engrossed with what they work and the people that surround them. If they just only start breaking loose from what they are accustomed with, it is the only way towards building an effective network.

Why the need for networking?

networking
Image by Laura Leavell

1) Finding jobs easily through connections

Networking can help you land jobs of your dreams. Take for instance a manager who has sought another employment. With networking, he is able to extend jobs to his former colleagues even if distance has kept them apart. With the right connection, he gets to choose his own team in the current employment. Hence, this could be another step to achieve the company’s objectives.

This also applies to freelancers working through networking. Because people are aware with what you can extend to them, existing contacts like friends and associates recommend you to where they might be right now. This is because they need your service and therefore, a network is built out from staying closely connected with them. It is also in this way that you prolong your career. Sigue leyendo →

nov 2 2010

Simple Yet Effective Brainstorming Tips for Freelancers

By Rean John Uehara | http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspiration/effective-brainstorming-tips/


Great ideas are born in everyone’s mind, it takes careful planning and powerful execution to turn them into reality. Here brainstorming enters, it is the process by which you squeeze out all ideas you can think of and from there you piece them together to come up with a plan.

The human mind is so strong that it can conceive even the seemingly impossible. No software has ever come close to the mind’s processing of creative ideas, its complexity, and fluidity. Besides, all of the wonderful structures we see both in the cyber world and the tangible world are a product human imagination and careful execution. Now let us talk about brainstorming in-depth and build things that will wow the audience. Sigue leyendo →