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7 Essential Design Tips for a Killer “About Us” Page

Creating an incredible brand experience for an end-user is about more than just designing the right home page or lining up a series of great product pages.

Effective website design conveys crucial information about a company, through everything from font styles, to image choices. Nowhere is this representation of brand identity more important than on the about page.

People frequently confuse the about page with the contact page or fail to leverage it correctly simply because they don’t know what to say. However, creating an about page that speaks to an audience can be immensely powerful.

What is an About Page?

The first step in designing a great about page is understanding the purpose of the space. This isn’t just a page on a website explaining what a company does.

The about page is an introduction to a company’s story, its brand essence, and personality.

Done correctly, this page will demonstrate a crucial sense of affinity between a business and its customers. It will highlight values that resonate with a customer and make it easier for clients to trust businesses.

The Yellow Leaf hammocks company starts its about page with a video.

As you scroll through the interactive site, you discover new elements of the company’s tale, including what prompted the birth of the business to begin with and the brand’s mission.

Yellow Leaf lets its visitors know what the company is all about by using authentic images of real people to external content and bold quotes.

There are even snippets from customer case studies for social proof.

About pages are relevant because they give customers a way to build a real human connection with a business. Harvard professors say that 95% of purchasing decisions are emotional; we don’t buy things just because we need them. Instead, we look for companies that we feel connections with to solve problems.

Using an about page to convey an attitude, personality, or just what makes a business special is how designers can ensure that end-users will care more about the business.

How to Make an About Page Stand Out

So, how do you make an about page stand out?

Since every company is different, there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy for everything. However, there are a few essential steps to consider as you move through the design process.

Here are some pro tips for successfully attracting attention with the about page…

Step 1: Decide What to Include

It’s tempting to assume that a complicated about page will lead to a stronger relationship between a brand and its customers. After all, the longer the story, the more the customer knows about the company – right?

While it’s essential to include plenty of valuable information in an about page, it’s also worth remembering that today’s customers are short on time. They don’t want to spend hours scrolling through one part of a website. Instead, they want access to quick, convenient snippets of information.

The Joseph Payton about page is effective because it cuts the story down into bite-sized chunks. Each piece of information highlights valuable insights for the customer. Plus, hand-drawn images and animations make the experience feel like you’re getting to know Joe on a deeper level.

Before you begin designing, ask yourself:

How much text does the page need? How much space does there need to be for copy? How can you spread the content out in a visually engaging way?
What sections should the page include? For example, does there need to be a link to the contact us page or a contact form somewhere?
How does the page connect to the rest of the website? For example, can you link to things like case studies and reviews with quotes to tie more of the website together?

Step 2: Make the Mission Statement Clear

In a world where emotion influences buyer behavior, clients and customers want to buy from companies they believe in. It’s not enough to have the right product or price point anymore. People want to know that they have a human connection with a business.

On some about pages, it’s difficult to pinpoint the real mission of the company. It seems like you have to scroll through endless paragraphs of text to make your own assumptions about what matters to the company. However, a well-designed about page puts this crucial info front and center.

For instance, on the Apptopia about us page, the subheading tells you everything you need to know about the brand. This heading instantly tells the audience whether it’s worth reading on to find out more.

The best about us pages often include a lot more than just a single sentence of text. But it’s worth pinpointing some of the essential details from these pages and drawing extra attention to them. A larger font or a different font color could be perfect for this purpose.

Alternatively, if it’s difficult to refine the company’s mission down into one message, it might be worth creating a whole segment at the top of the page dedicated to this information. That’s what the Toms shoe company does.

Step 3: Invest in the Right Trust Elements

People aren’t always sure who they can trust these days.

There are millions of websites out there and billions of companies. Not all of them are going to appeal to every customer. Since an about page is all about making a crucial human connection between a business and its client, it’s important to implement as much trust as possible.

The good news is that there are many trust elements you can embed into an about page to make it more reputable. Star ratings taken straight from companies like Trusted Reviews and Google are a great way to show that a company is already impressing its followers.

Quotes plucked from your customers or segments of case studies that you can place throughout the About Page copy is another great way to show your authenticity.

You could even take the same approach as Aja Frost here and embed genuine data and graphs into the about page.

One particularly helpful way to make a website’s about page more trustworthy without eating up too much space is to implement trust stickers. Badges that show all the right groups and regulators approve a company are a great start.

Even showcasing the logos of companies that the business worked for before on a slideshow could be an excellent opportunity to add depth to their authority.

Step 4: Convey Brand Personality

Brand personality is reflected in the tone of voice that a company uses for its content. You can see a company’s personality in the choice of colors it has on its website. It’s in the fonts that convey a message, and the videos, images, and other unique strategies that each business uses.

Although a brand personality needs to shine through in everything the company does, it’s imperative on the about page. This is the environment where a customer is getting to know a business for the first time. As a result, the consumer should instantly recognize what kind of brand archetype they’re working with.

Take a look at the Eight Hour Day about page, for instance. The first thing you see is a picture of two people laughing. That means you instantly get a sense of friendliness.

As you scroll through the page, you’re greeted by friendly, informal copy combined with bright colors and snippets of useful information. Everything feels comfortable and reassuring.

When you reach the bottom of the page, you find a bunch of data that makes the company seem more trustworthy. There are links to its social media pages and a partial client list showcasing brands like JCPenny, Wired, and Purina.

Using the right combination of font, copy, and imagery, this About page tells you exactly what to expect before you begin interacting with the company.

Step 5: Take Visitors on a Journey Through Time

Showing customers where a business is going with things like brand mission statements and values are great. However, it’s also worth giving people an insight into where a brand has already been.

Many of today’s shoppers aren’t comfortable buying from brands that haven’t spent much time in their chosen industry. They want to see that the people they’re working with have experience, heritage, and plenty of background knowledge.

What better way to demonstrate all of these things than with a timeline of accomplishments? Here’s an example of how Marshall showcases its history by mentioning various crucial historical milestones.

A timeline of events doesn’t have to be this complex, however. If you don’t want to overwhelm visitors with a wall of text, an actual timeline that offers quick and easy insights into what the business has done over the years could be a better option.

Another option could be to have a few key statements from the company’s timeline, then link out to a separate “History” page for people who want to find out more.

Step 6: Show the Human Side

People don’t buy from businesses; they buy from other people.

An about page isn’t just a chance to show customers what a company does. It’s also an introduction to the people behind that organization. Showcasing the team members that contributed to the growth and continued development makes that organization more attractive.

Obviously, if there are hundreds or thousands of employees in a team, you might not be able to mention them all on an about page. However, the page should generally include some insights into the c-suite and significant members of staff.

A selection of company photos is a good way to introduce your team. However, you can consider other options too. For instance, to maintain their unique brand, the Tunnel Bear team designed to draw their own bear icons that represented their personalities.

The design is adorable, and it’s a wonderful way to showcase what makes the company so unique. At the same time, using this kind of illustration means you can avoid the hassle of trying to get all of your business photos to look consistent.

Step 7: Show Values with Visuals

Finally, as we’ve mentioned frequently throughout this guide, an about page is an essential place to showcase the values of your business. These are the core principles that guide you in everything that you do. They help tell customers what matters most to you and prevent you from moving in the wrong direction.

However, you’re not restricted to highlighting your values through copy and nothing else. You can also introduce customers to the things that matter most to you through visuals too. Graphics or illustrations that highlight important aspects of your business are a great way to share information without relying too heavily on text.

Videos are another brilliant option, particularly if you have a lot to say but not a lot of time to say it in. That’s what Ben & Jerrys does.

You can also find a stream of “issues” the company cares about on the website too. This means that people can get more information on things like Democracy, Racial Justice, Fair trading, and what Ben & Jerry’s is doing about all of those things.

Visual elements like this are a great way to give an about page more pizazz. Plus, they appeal to people who want to learn about your company but don’t want to spend forever reading through the text.

Create Better About Pages

An about page shouldn’t be an afterthought.

It’s a crucial part of showcasing a company’s unique style and personality. Used correctly, these pages convey crucial information about everything a business stands for.

Use the tips above to give more meaning to your about page design, and remember to pay attention to how much your traffic and conversions evolve with every update you make. A better about page could even help you to drive more conversions.

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The post 7 Essential Design Tips for a Killer “About Us” Page first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

25 août 2021/par Service comm.

Making Your Mark: 6 Tips for Infusing Brand Essence into Your Website

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What makes a company special? There are hundreds of organizations out there selling fast food, but only one McDonalds. You’ve probably stumbled across dozens of technology companies too, but none of them inspire the same kind of loyalty and commitment as Apple. So why do people fall in love with some companies more than others?

Most of the time, it comes down to one thing: brand essence. Your brand essence, or brand identity, represents all of the unique components of your business that separate it from the competition. It’s not just about your logo or the brand colors you choose for your website. Your brand essence entails all of the visual assets you use and those less tangible concepts like brand values and personality.

When your customers decide which companies to buy from, they’re not just looking for another dime-a-dozen venture with the cheapest products. Instead, your audience wants to buy from a business that they feel connected with. That’s where your brand comes in.

Infusing brand essence into your website helps give your digital presence that extra touch that differentiates you from other similar companies.

So, how do you get started?

What is Brand Essence?

Your brand essence is a collection of core characteristics responsible for defining your brand. More than just a single asset, your essence encompasses everything from your unique tone of voice, from your brand image, your message, and even what you stand for.

More than just a single asset, your essence encompasses everything

When you’re trying to boost your chances of sales, a brand essence helps build a kind of affinity with your customers. Your clients see aspects of your character that they can relate to, such as a modern and playful image or a commitment to sustainable practices. It’s that affinity that convinces your customer to choose your company instead of your competition time after time.

Your website is one of the first places that your customer will visit when looking for answers. They might happen across your site when searching for a key phrase on Google or stumble onto it from social media. When they arrive on your product or home page, everything there should help them make an immediate emotional connection.

The only problem?

It’s challenging to portray a unique brand identity through a standard website template. If your site looks the same as a dozen other online stores, how can you convince your customers that you’re better?

Why Your Website Needs Brand Essence

First impressions are a big deal.

In a perfect world, your visitors would land on your website and instantly fall in love with what they find there. So everything from the unique design of your homepage to the pictures on your product pages should delight and impress your audience.

Unfortunately, if just one element is wrong, then you could also make the wrong impression entirely on your customers too. Adding elements of brand essence to your site will:

Build trust with your audience: Your brand should be a consistent component of everything your business does, from selling products to interacting with customers. When your consumers land on your website, everything from your logo to your chosen colors should remind them of who you are and what you stand for. This consistency will lead to better credibility for your business.
Make you stand out: How many other companies just like yours are on the internet today? Your brand essence helps to differentiate you as special by showing what’s truly unique about you. It’s a chance to remind your audience of your values and make them forget all about your competitors.
Create an emotional connection: Brand essence that shows off your unique values, mission, and personality will help create an emotional link with your audience. Remember, people fall in love with the human characteristics behind your brand!

Easy Ways to Add Brand Essence to your Website

Since there are so many elements that add up to a strong brand essence, there are also a variety of ways you can add your brand to your website. Whether it’s using specific colors to elicit an emotional response from your fans or adding your unique tone of voice into content, there’s no shortage of ways to show off what makes you special.

1. Use Your Brand Colors Carefully

Brand colors are an important part of your brand essence. Walk into Target, and the bright shades of red will instantly energize you. Likewise, when you see a McDonalds, that golden arch logo might instantly remind you of joy and nourishment.

Color psychology plays a significant role in every brand asset you create, from the packaging you choose for your products to the shades in your logo. With that in mind, you should be using your colors effectively on your website too. Stick with the same selection of shades in every digital environment online.

For instance, the Knotty Knickers company uses different shades of pink and white to convey feelings of femininity and comfort. Not only is the website packed with this color, but the company also follows through with similar shades on its social media pages too.

Everything from the highlights on the Knotty Kickers Insta to the decorations in their images feature the soft tones of pink that make the company recognizable.

Remember, consistent use of color is psychologically proven to help improve recognition by up to 80%. So let your colors shine through.

2. Know Your Type

Your colors are just one component of your brand essence.

Fonts and typography are other components that your customers use to recognize and understand your business. There are many different styles of font, and new ones appear all the time. However, your company should have a specific selection of fonts that it uses everywhere.

If you have a typeface logo, then you might have one specific kind of font for this, like Original Stitch’s logo here:

On top of that, you may also use one font for the “heading” text on your website and something slightly different for the body text. Your heading and body text need to be extremely clear and easy to read on any device if you want to appeal to your target audience.

However, there’s more to getting your fonts right than choosing something legible. The fonts you pick need to say something about your company and what it stands for. For example, the modern sans-serif font of Original Stitch’s website conveys a sense of forward-thinking cleanliness and style.

The fonts feel trendy and informal, perfect for a luxury fashion company. Alternatively, a serif font like Garamond might look more formal and professional. So what do you want your customers to think and feel when they see your typography?

3. Know Your Images

Stock images look out-of-touch, cliché, and fake. If you cover your website in images like that, then you’re not going to earn the respect of your customers. Instead, it’s up to you to ensure that every graphic on your website conveys the sentiment and personality of your brand.

Bringing your brand essence into your website design means thinking about how you can convey your values in every element of that site. From the photos of your team that show the real humans behind your products and services to the pictures that you use on your product pages, choose your graphics wisely. If you have dedicated brand colors, you can even include these in your photos.

Of course, the most valuable graphic on your website should always be your logo. This is the thing that you need to include on all of your website pages to ensure that your audience knows who they’re shopping with. So ensure that no matter how much visual content you have on your page, your logo still stands out.

Firebox places its logo at the top of the page in the middle of your line of sight, no matter where you go on the website. This ensures that the logo is the thing that instantly grabs attention and reminds consumers of where they are.

Remember to ensure that each of the images you do include in your website is surrounded by plenty of white space so that your customers can see them properly too.

4. Use the Right Tone of Voice

It’s easy to get stuck focusing on things like logos and colors when you’re trying to make your brand essence shine through in your website. However, one of the most common things that your customer will recognize you by is your tone of voice.

Your brand tone of voice is what gives the content you share online personality and depth. It can come through in the kind of words you use, including slang and colloquialisms. In addition, you can add humor to your voice (if it’s appropriate) and even include emojis if that makes sense for your brand.

With formal words, you can make sure that you come across as reliable, dependable, and sophisticated. With informal words, you’re more likely to convince your audience that you’re friendly and relatable. Sticking with the Firebox example, look at how the company writes its product descriptions.

Everything from the length of the sentences to the humor in the tone of voice helps to convey something unique about the brand.

Like all of the elements that bring your brand essence into your website, your tone of voice must remain consistent wherever your customers see it. Make sure that your customer service agents know how to use your voice in chat with customers and that you include that personality on social media too.

5. Focus on Your Message

The tone of voice and personality that you showcase in your website and content is crucial to driving success for your business. However, under all of that, the most important thing to do is ensure you’re sending the right message. In other words, what do you want your customers to think and feel when they land on your website?

If your whole message is that you can make great skincare easy to obtain without asking people to compromise on animal safety, this should be the first thing that comes across when someone arrives on your homepage. That’s why Lush combines clean, simple web pages with credibility-boosting badges that tell customers everything they need to know instantly.

Ensuring that your message can come across correctly means learning how to use all the different brand assets you rely on consistently and effectively. Everything from the colors on your website to how you place trust badges along the bottom of every page makes a difference to how significant and believable your message is.

Notably, when you know what your core message is, it’s important to repeat it. That means that you don’t just talk about what your ideals and values are on your homepage. You also include references to your message on every product page and the “About” page too. Lush has an entire “ethical charter” on its website, where you can learn more about its activities.

Having a similar component included within your web design could be an excellent way to confirm what your most crucial considerations are for your customers.

6. Never Copy the Competition

Exploring other website designs and ideas created by your competitors is one of the easiest ways to get inspiration. Competitive analysis gives you an insight into the trends and design strategies that are more likely to work for your target audience. It’s also an opportunity for you to learn from your competitors’ wrongs and what they’re doing right.

However, it would be best if you never allowed your initial research and exploration to go too far. In other words, when you see something great that your competitor is doing, don’t just copy and paste it onto your own website. This is more likely to remind your customers of the other company and send them to that brand than it is to improve your reputation.

Instead, focus on making your website unique to you. If you’re having trouble with this, then start by looking at your About page. How would you describe your background and your mission as a business to someone who has never heard of you before? What makes your company different from all of the other organizations out there?

Take the unique features that you rave about on your About page and the personality you try to convey through your employees and bring it into the rest of your website design. The whole point of bringing brand essence into your web design strategy is that it helps to differentiate you from the other companies out there.

It’s a good idea to protect any assets that other people might try to steal from you too. Copyrighting your logo, your name, and other essential components of your brand will stop people in your industry from treading on your toes too much.

Make the Most of Your Brand Essence

Your website is one of the most valuable tools that you’ll have as a brand. It’s an opportunity for you to share your products and services with the world, capture the attention of your target audience, and potentially make sales too. However, it’s important not to forget that your website is also a chance for you to demonstrate what your brand is truly all about.

Through your brand essence, you can share the unique values and messages that make your company special. But, more importantly, you can use those components to build a deeper relationship with your audience – the kind of connection that leads to dedicated repeat customers and brand loyalty. People connect with other people – after all, not just faceless corporations.

Once you’ve identified your brand essence, the next step is to make sure that you know how to connect with your customers consistently. Every aspect of your website, application, social media pages, and anything else you make for your business sends the same message.

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The post Making Your Mark: 6 Tips for Infusing Brand Essence into Your Website first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

22 juillet 2021/par Service comm.

Top Blogging Platforms Worth Considering in 2021

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Want to know which of the top blogging platforms you should consider using this year?

Blogging is still one of the best ways to draw attention to your brand, generate thought leadership, and build your credibility. Research suggests that US internet users spend 3x more of their browsing time on blogs than on email. Additionally, people view about 20 billion blog pages on average each month.

So, how do you join the blogging revolution? You’ll need the right platform.

Essentially, a blogging platform is a CMS (Content Management System) which supports blog creation. Many come with additional tools like SEO support and integrations with email marketing too. There are tons of great blogging platforms out there, which means knowing where to start searching can be tough. To help you, we’ve put together this list of the leading blogging platforms.

What to Look for in a Blogging Platform

Before we sort through our list of the leading blogging platforms, let’s start with a quick overview of what the best blogging solutions typically include. Notably, depending on what you’re going to be using your blog for, you may have other features to prioritize besides those listed here. These features will act as a starting point for your comparisons:

Ease of Use

Uploading, publishing, and sharing your blog shouldn’t be a headache.

There are many website builders out there that seem to have blogging tacked on as an “extra” rather than having it built into the foundations of the software. This often leads to a clunky backend experience when you’re building your site.

If you’re a new blogger or don’t want to spend time messing around with HTML and coding, make sure that your blogging environment is easy to use. The simpler it is to distribute your content, the more likely you’ll stick to your blogging strategy.

Cost and Revenue Opportunities

Many of the top blogging platforms come with a fee to think about. Even if you use an open-source platform for blogging, you still need to consider domain names, hosting, and security costs. Finding the right balance between spend and return on investment is crucial.

Remember, just because a blogging platform is cheap doesn’t mean it’s good value. Similarly, expensive software may not be the best for your business. Ideally, you want something that’s going to deliver a good blogging experience, combined with plenty of opportunities to grow your readership for the lowest possible price.

If you want to get the best return on investment, focus on the kind of monetization options you can access with each platform. Medium, for instance, has a partner program that allows you to earn money on the posts that customers read. Platforms like Wix, WordPress, and Squarespace can all offer earning opportunities too. You can use them to place certain content behind a paywall, create subscriptions, and sell products or services.

Marketing and Growth Tools

Most blogging platforms will come with at least some tools to help you build your online presence. Wix and WordPress integrate with Google marketing, so you can purchase PPC campaigns and track your organic content through an SEO dashboard.

The majority of CMS tools equipped with blogging capabilities also come with integrations for your email marketing service. This ensures you can create automated campaigns that inform your audience whenever a new blog post goes live.

One of the best things about WordPress is how many plugins you can access to boost your readership levels. Access to extra tools like SEO solutions, landing form creators, and pop-ups can all boost your chances of converting and capturing leads.

Custom Branding

If you’re keen to save money on your blogging platform, you might be tempted to start with a free version of a popular service. This is fine when you’re just testing the waters. However, you will need to spend extra if you want to remove the ads that other website builders put on your site. For instance, Wix’s free version will place ads on your pages and show the Wix identity in your footer.

To build your own brand identity, you’re going to need to replace that CMS branding with your own. Look for a blogging service where you can buy your own domain name, customize your themes, and add your own colors, images, and logos into the mix.

While tools like Medium won’t run ads on your campaigns, they also don’t allow you to customize your site to showcase your brand personality. It’s much easier to build a memorable identity when you can control what your site looks like.

Upkeep and Maintenance

This ties in a little with the “ease of use” factor above. Before you invest in any blogging platform, think about how much work it’s going to require. A hosted blogging platform is pretty easy to manage because you don’t have to worry about security and uptime yourself.

Products like Wix and Squarespace will give you access to SSL certificates, patch security issues on your behalf, and handle other complicated site maintenance issues. WordPress and other open-source solutions require you to take more of a hands-on approach. You’ll need to manage your own web hosting and check the security of your site regularly.

Flexibility

This feature is often overlooked in some guides to the best blogging platforms, but it’s also growing increasingly more important in today’s digital age. If you want your website to work for years to come, you need to make sure it’s flexible. This could mean that you look for something that allows you to upload different kinds of content, like written blogs and connecting podcasts.

It could also mean investing in a service that has a lot of integrations and add-on options available. Plugins are fantastic for extending the functionality of your blog without having to move your entire site to another location.

The right plugins can even allow you to transform your blog into a store if you decide to start selling your services or products later.

The Best Blogging Platforms for 2021

Now we’ve covered what to look for in a blogging platform, we can begin to explore some of the top platforms on the market today. We’ve chosen these platforms for their ease of use, flexibility, performance, customization options, and value.

WordPress

The best-known and most popular blogging platform in the world, WordPress is the go-to choice for most bloggers and website creators. Currently, there are around 64 million websites actively using WordPress as their chosen CMS. Usage stats also show that around 400 million people visit WordPress websites every month.

WordPress powers most of the internet as one of the most flexible and easy-to-use platforms around. The biggest decision most users need to make is between WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

You can create a blog for free at WordPress.com, and the company will host your site for you. However, you have to use a subdomain (rather than your own domain) with the free version. You’ll also lose control of your ads with the free package until you upgrade to a premium plan.

A personal plan on WordPress.com starts at about $4 per month, and it removes all ads from your site. The more functionality you need, the more you’ll need to upgrade. WordPress.com is very easy to use and requires minimal initial setup, but it’s not very scalable. There are no custom themes, and you don’t technically “own” your blog this way.

WordPress.org is a different story. With WordPress.org, you’re accessing an open-source blogging platform that allows you to build your site from scratch. You do need to purchase your own domain name and hosting with this service, but the software is free to use.

WordPress.org is a lot more appealing to most bloggers because it’s so customizable. Features include:

Free and premium themes that you can customize to suit your brand;
Thousands of plugins to help with security, SEO, subscriptions, and more;
Gutenberg block editors to make creating and publishing blogs easy;
Tons of SEO friendly solutions to help you stand out online;
Access to a huge community of experts;
Infinite control over your design options;
Advanced user permissions and roles.

Pricing: WordPress.org is different from most blogging platforms because the foundation technology is free. You just pay for the a-la-carte options, like plugins, hosting, and domain name subscriptions. This means you can choose how expensive your site is going to be.

Pros:

Extremely easy to use with lots of community support available;
Free platform (though you do need to pay for the domain and hosting);
Lots of customization and plugin options to expand site functionality;
Search engine friendly as-standard, to help you grow;
Plenty of ways to make your brand stand out.

Cons:

It can be difficult to control your own website at first;
You have to manage your own backup and security;
Extra costs can quickly build up.

Squarespace

Squarespace is one of the more popular website design and blogging tools for people with a creative streak. Unlike WordPress.org, Squarespace gives you everything you need to build your own website straight out of the box. This includes hosting, the option to purchase your own domain name, and access to a range of beautiful templates.

Squarespace stands out for its focus on small business owners. You can choose from a range of stunning designs and customize them however you choose with a convenient drag-and-drop builder. There’s also a fantastic customer service experience available from Squarespace, with a team that’s ready to help you with anything you need.

Like many other hosted blogging platforms, you start on Squarespace by choosing the templates you like and customizing from there. There are some limitations in what you can do here, particularly if you have a lot of coding knowledge, making Squarespace less appealing to growing companies or larger brands. On the plus side, you do get features like:

Dedicated blogging templates to get you started;
Categories, tags, and featured post options;
Built-in scheduling for your blog posts;
Contributor roles and permissions;
Analytics to track your readers’ favorite posts;
Email marketing tools;
Social media and SEO solutions built-in;
Mobile app access.

Pricing: Compared to some of the other leading blogging solutions on the market, Squarespace is also quite affordable. The personal package at $12 per month will power a website with a stunning blog. You can also upgrade to the Business version for $18 per month, or if you decide to start selling your own products through your blog, you can transition to “Basic Commerce” at $26 per month.

Pros:

Squarespace is easy to use for beginners;
Fantastic range of stunning templates included;
SEO, email marketing, and social media marketing included;
SSL and HTTPS support;
Access to eCommerce features on some plans;
Useful analytics tools.

Cons:

Not very scalable for bigger brands;
Limited in terms of integrations and customization.

Medium

Medium is a different kind of blogging platform to many of the options mentioned here. This isn’t a tool you can use to build your own websites, like Wix or Squarespace. Instead, it’s a community you join with a monthly membership fee.

Medium comes with a built-in audience, so you can immediately start speaking to customers and generating results from your content. As mentioned above, there’s also a Partner Program, which is free to join. The Partner Program allows you to earn money if people are reading your blogs regularly.

For companies or individuals who just want to generate brand awareness but don’t want to invest in an entire blog-ready website yet, Medium can be a powerful choice. You can easily share posts and view what other people are posting. The biggest downside is that you can’t build an entire community and earn a fortune through your website with Medium.

Medium is more like a social networking site, where you can begin to develop thought leadership than a true space to carve out your piece of the online world. But it does feature things like:

An easy-to-use environment for publishing content;
Analytics and insights into your campaigns;
Some design customization for your blog layout;
Access to a pre-existing audience of readers;
Support for monetization in the Partner program;
Access to picture uploading options;
Mobile-responsive blog posts.

Pricing: You don’t have to be a paid member of Medium to sign up for the partner program and start publishing blogs. This does make it a pretty good way to enhance your existing blogging strategy if you’re trying to generate more attention online.

Pros:

Free to use for Partners and creators;
Excellent for appealing to already-engaged customers;
Easy to use, with no coding required;
No requirement to create a website or pay for hosting;
Communicate with a team of like-minded people.

Cons:

Limited customization options;
No ownership over your audience or readership;
Limitations to how you can make money (no ads).

LinkedIn is among the most popular platforms for professionals in the world. It’s the go-to place for people in search of reliable ways to develop their professional network. Currently, there are around 756 million members on LinkedIn. When they’re not searching for connections with their peers or chatting about work opportunities, they’re checking out the content on the platform.

If you’re keen to develop your position as a thought leader but prefer social media accounts to full websites, LinkedIn is the perfect choice. The more you publish on LinkedIn, the more you’ll attract new people who might want to work with you, invest in your company, or just work as part of your team.

LinkedIn is a great place to generate attention if you’re in the B2B marketplace because most professionals already have their own account. You can also earn social proof by getting people to “endorse” your work. Some of the features of LinkedIn for bloggers include:

Private messaging for interactions with connections;
Notifications to help you keep track of valuable content;
A full profile posting section where you can publish your blogs;
A convenient network of active B2B professionals;
Endorsements for social proof;
A resume and blogging platform in one (you can list your skills);
Job searching and employee searching features.

Pricing: It’s free to access a basic membership with LinkedIn, but you will be limited on some of the features you can unlock. For instance, you can only send messages to people already in your network, and you’ll have limited analytics. LinkedIn Premium gives you slightly more functionality, with Business accounts starting at around $29.95 per month.

Pros:

Tons of people ready to read your blogs;
Great for building your professional network;
Good environment for thought leadership;
Access to extra tools like job listings;
Notifications to keep you on top of relevant posts;
Engagement options like private messaging;
Reports and insights.

Cons:

No access to full website branding;
Limits to how you can monetize your content;
You don’t own the site or your traffic.

Wix

Easily one of the most popular website building solutions for beginners, Wix can help you build both a blog and a fully-featured website. You can even design your own store with Wix and start selling products whenever you choose.

Wix is a straightforward site builder which you can use to build a site in a matter of minutes. There are hundreds of website themes to choose from, and you can also add as many customizations as you choose with the convenient drag-and-drop editor. The blog manager section of the CMS is also simple and intuitive, with SEO and analytics built in already.

Wix aims to make jumping into blogging as quick and painless as possible. Elements like comments, social tools, hashtags, and subscriber forms are already available, and you can add further plugins if you choose. There’s also the option to include sharing buttons for social media accounts like Twitter, Facebook, and more. Features of Wix include:

An extensive range of blog templates;
Drag-and-drop customization (no coding required);
Subscriber forms, comments, likes, and categories;
Social media connections;
Extra features like store access;
Analytics and insights;
Quick and easy blogging interface.

Pricing:

The most basic features of the Wix website builder are free to use. With a free Wix account, you’ll get a subdomain where you can’t choose the name of your own website, unfortunately. However, you can add a custom domain for only $4.50 per month. If you want a full premium plan with Wix, costs start at $8.50 per month and extend to $24.50 per month.

Pros:

Lots of pre-built blogging themes;
Easy customization options with no coding skills required;
Quick and easy to load and publish blogs;
Connections with social media platforms;
Access to various third-party apps and integrations;
Free option for beginners.

Cons:

Some limitations to the free account;
Ecommerce features are limited to paid plans;
Not as scalable for bigger companies.

Ghost

Lesser known than some of the options we’ve discussed so far but still brimming with value, Ghost is a minimalist blogging platform that’s all about content creation. Ghost promises a range of ways for you to turn your blogging into a business, with access to customizable templates, newsletter integrations, premium subscriptions, and more.

The dashboard for Ghost is clean and intuitive, with access to simple sections where you can add tags to your posts, create drafts, track published content, and access valuable insights. You’ll have an easy view of important metrics like email open rates and numbers of paid members at a glance. You can also find integrations to make your Ghost experience even better.

Ghost works alongside things like Buffer, Stripe, Twitter, Slack, MailChimp, and many other tools so you can take your blog to the next level. There’s no need for any coding knowledge, and because everything is written in JavaScript, it’s ultra-fast too. Features include:

Easy-to-use and intuitive interface;
Blogging and writing focused;
Clean and clutter-free design;
Integrations with various powerful tools;
Super-fast JavaScript coding;
Lots of templates and customizations;
Comment, mobile apps, A/B testing, and more;
Analytics and reporting.

Pricing: There’s a 14-day free trial to get you started with Ghost, then subscriptions start at $9 per month when billed annually for up to 1,000 members, 1 staff user, 2k views per month, and an SSL and CDN. The same plan is $15 per month billed monthly. Prices go all the way up to $199 per month billed annually, or $249 per month for 1 million views per month, 35,000 members, 15 staff users, and a 99.99% uptime SLA.

Pros:

Focus on writing and blogging;
Clutter-free and clean backend environment;
Easy to use and speedy performance;
Lots of packages to choose from;
Great integration options.

Cons:

Some limitations in scalability;
Complicated setup when installed;
Not a huge number of themes.

Choosing Your Blogging Platform

Whether you’re blogging because you want to build your personal brand or you’re looking for a way to strengthen sales opportunities for your company, you’re going to need the right blogging platform. The options above are just some of the best blogging solutions available right now.

Remember, do your research and explore the free versions available whenever possible, so you can confidently invest in the software that’s best for you.

Featured image via Unsplash.

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31 mai 2021/par Service comm.

UX Design Doesn’t End With Your Website

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User experience design is something that most of us associate with websites. But why isn’t it something we extend beyond the website?

Here’s why I ask this:

As a consumer, it’s so rare that your only interaction with a brand is through its website. Take an ecommerce site, for example. You buy a product from it, and then what happens?

You get a confirmation email;
You get another email when the package ships;
You might get another email or SMS notification when the package is delivered;
You retrieve the package and open it;
You open up your purchase and use it.

These are all an extension of that initial user experience on the site. If there’s just one hiccup along the way, it could easily erode the trust and happiness you felt after quickly finding and buying what you needed on the site.

So, what I’d like to do today is look at 10 areas where UX design should extend beyond the website to ensure that the frictionless experience started there remains untarnished.

Extending UX Design Beyond the Website

As a web designer, you might be thinking that this part of the user experience doesn’t fall under the umbrella of your responsibilities. And you may be right about that.

For brands to truly be successful and profitable, someone needs to carefully examine the bigger picture and ensure that the user experience is flawless no matter how far away from the site it is. At the very least, you should share the UX research and strategy you do for a client’s site so their team can ensure it carries over to other areas of the business.

Here are some things to think about:

1. Mobile App

It’s not uncommon for websites to have mobile app counterparts these days. The layout doesn’t need to be identical since mobile users tend to behave differently than those on desktop.

That said, an app shouldn’t force users accustomed to the desktop experience to re-learn how to navigate or engage with the brand. So, the branding, UI design, speed, security, and navigation all need to be on par with what’s already been established in terms of usability.

2. Email

Most websites have a direct connection to email. For example, blog newsletters, purchase confirmation emails, and lead generation follow-ups all start on the website.

Consumers are well aware that when they hand over their email address, they will receive an email in return. In many cases, those emails are welcomed when they’re done right. But if something feels off, that bridge could easily burn between brand and consumer.

To preserve the UX, emails should come with the following:

The same branding and visual style as the website;
A personalized subject line, greeting, or offer;
Consistent messaging as the site, especially when it comes to the CTA.

Another thing to remember is that email isn’t the time to inject dark patterns into the experience. So, the “Unsubscribe” option should be in an easy-to-spot area and a sharply contrasting font color.

3. Social Media

Social media is another channel that’s commonly connected to a website. While you can’t control the aesthetics of social media websites themselves, the visuals and messaging in posts need to be on-brand.

That means that things like memes and emojis — which are popular means of communication on social — should only be used if they’re normally part of the brand identity. If not, you’ll need to find other ways to communicate engagingly.

Another part of the user experience to think about is customer support. Social media is a lot like going into a store. If someone has an issue with what they bought or the service they received, there will be many people around to witness the complaint. Social media only amplifies that — so the quality of customer care needs to be consistent with how the brand handles it everywhere else.

4. SMS

Not every brand will need to be connected to customers via text messaging. eCommerce companies, news sites, and personal services providers likely will, though.

However a brand uses SMS, the same UX guidelines apply here as they do across all other channels:

Keep messages concise;
Make sure they’re relevant and valuable;
Use branded messaging and design;
Don’t abuse the privilege and send too many;
Make it easy to opt out.

Basically, if you can’t make it a valuable extension of the brand’s offering, don’t use it.

5. Phone

Any website that publishes its phone number should expect to receive calls from prospects and customers. While there’s nothing to design here visually, the experience of getting on the phone with a company should be consistent with what they experience elsewhere.

One way to do this is to design an easy-to-follow routing system. It should be simple for callers to figure out which number to choose. What’s more, there should be no endless loops. If a caller has exhausted the options, they should be immediately directed to a representative.

Another way to ensure consistency is to adhere to a script — that goes for call centers for enterprises as well as the local lawyer’s office. Every caller should be greeted with the same tone and handled in the same manner (depending on the situation, of course).

6. Ads

There are a lot of places where brands can advertise these days:

Google search;
Social media;
Ad networks;
TV;
Radio;
Podcasts;
Blogs;
Billboards;
Direct mail.

When designing an ad campaign, there should be consistent messaging, aesthetics (when relevant), and CTAs presented. If branding isn’t consistent from ad to ad, there may be a delay in consumers recognizing the brand or its offer. Or, worse, not recognizing it at all.

7. Packaging

For brands that sell products, you have to think about how the packaging will impact the user experience. There are two types of packages to consider, too.

The first is the product’s own packaging. Branding should be clear as day and consistent with the site they bought it from.

It should also be easy to open. There’s nothing more frustrating than finally getting your purchase, only to realize you need tools to get it out of the packaging.

You also have to think about packaging for products that get shipped.

The product should fit well within the packaging. A too-roomy package will feel downright wasteful. So will excessive bubble wrap and paper filler.

Having a shipping label present in the package is also important. If the website makes it easy to make a purchase, the package should offer a convenient way to return the product if they’re not happy.

8. Product

The product itself has to align with the expectations set by the website.

Take the example of a SaaS. You’ve built an awesome landing page and mobile app store page to promote it. It looks great, it loads fast, and it’s easy to get around. But if the SaaS itself is ugly, disorganized, slow, or otherwise just clunky, all of the work you did to market it will end up being just false advertising.

So, make sure the expectations set before and during purchase naturally carry over to the experience with the product.

9. Business Exterior

For brick-and-mortar companies, the business’s exterior matters just as much as what happens inside it.

The most obvious thing to focus on is the aesthetics of the building. Does it look attractive? Is it in a safe area? Is there clear signage around it? Is it easy to find?

But you also have to think about user experiences that take place outside of the building. For example, there’s now a rise in curbside pickup. There are tons of things that can affect how happy the customer is with the experience — like if the pickup area is hard to find, there are never enough spots or the associates who deliver the orders always seem to be in a foul mood.

The business’s exterior should always set a good impression for what takes place inside.

10. Business Interior

Here are some things to think about when it comes to “designing” business interiors for a good UX:

Decor;
Layout;
Signage;
Furnishings;
Product discoverability;
Availability (of products or people);
Quality of customer service;
Checkout process.

It doesn’t matter what the company does — whether it’s a large retailer like Walmart or your own freelance design business. If a business’s establishment doesn’t look good, operate flawlessly, or provide a good person-to-person experience, it’s going to be very hard to get people to return.

So, all those things you do to design a streamlined website journey should be applied to a bricks-and-mortar business’s interior.

Wrapping Up

Depending on the types of companies you build sites for, some of the channels and suggestions above might not be relevant. Hopefully, this has got you thinking about other ways you (and your clients) can extend the UX design and strategy from the website.

If you can maintain the high-quality user experience from channel to channel, your clients’ brands will get more business, grow their profitability, and see a rise in loyalty, too.

Featured image via Pexels.

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17 mai 2021/par Service comm.

20 Best New Websites, April 2021

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This month’s collection contains a combination of big and bold, and clean and minimal. Although basic minimalism is still trendy, with lots of white space and greyscale type, we are seeing it softened with color. This is implemented differently, ranging from hints of off-whites in images to gentle pastels as section backgrounds.

Playing around with type and using typefaces with a few characteristic quirks is another way minimalism is being tempered without negating the overall effect. Plus, we’ve got some strong examples of type rules being deliberately broken to good effect. Enjoy!

Crusta C

The new website for seafood company Crusta C makes clever use of the company’s simple logo mark ‘C’ with a cutout video effect.

How Many Plants

How Many Plants is a guide to house plants and how to look after them. A good combination of illustration and space gives a friendly but efficient feel.

Out of the Valley

Out of the Valley, make bespoke and prefabricated cabins focusing on natural materials and traditional craft. The subtle changes in background color add warmth to the minimal layout.

Saskia Wilson

Portfolio site for photographer Saskia Wilson. This is absolute simplicity, with a clear grid and nice, bold type to bare minimum text.

Made Thought

Design studio Made Thought has some pretty prestigious clients; for a designer, it doesn’t get more prestigious than creating a new brand identity for MoMA. Their bold aesthetic and approach explain their success.

The Great Lake

For-fun sites like The Great Lake are a great way for web creatives to show their skills. This one from designer and front-end developer Anna Sherruble is visually appealing and has some informative content.

Acayaba + Rosenberg

Architects Acayaba + Rosenberg use carefully curated photography and subtle scrolling animation to pull the user in and create a pleasing browsing experience.

Omexco

Soft colors and a well-ordered grid recreate the feel of a mood board that prevents this site for Omexco from appearing cluttered and overly busy while showcasing multiple products.

Johan Belin

For his own site, digital creator Johan Belin has opted to show off his skills by creating this single-page site instead of simply showing work. This can be a risky tactic, but it works here.

La Nouvelle

A combination of contrasting and complementary color combinations creates freshness in this site for digital agency La Nouvelle.

Found

Found Studio’s website uses a very basic grid layout to allow the work to stand out; varying the typeface, weight, and style within sections of text creates individuality.

CKMS

CKMS is a design and build company. Their site is minimal but with a few nice little touches, like the background color change button in the bottom right corner.

Slow

Slow is a collective of people–largely artists, designers, artisans–aiming to implement and live by the slow movement principles. The design of their site reflects these aims, creating a sense of calm and deliberation.

Anne Frank House

Practical information for visiting the Anne Frank House and museum is combined with historical information and educational resources in this thoughtfully structured and visually engaging site.

Runway

Runway is a platform for publishing open-source, pre-trained machine learning models, as well as for training your own models aimed at artists and filmmakers. If this site aims to make the user want to try Runway, it succeeds.

Fat Free

Fat Free video branding agency add warmth to their minimal site with soft color and occasional illustration.

Pinch

The furniture and other interior products produced by Pinch Design aim for a quiet, elegant aesthetic, and their website reflects that with pale grey and generous spacing.

Sentempo

Digital studio Sentempo manages to achieve glossy without being overdone. The star dividers are a nice detail.

One Year

Many companies, including creative agencies, have come up with ‘what we did/achieved in the last year’ microsites. This one from Context Creative succeeds as a good advert for them.

GT Super

This single-page intro to GT Super font has a certain drama in keeping with the font itself and allows you to play around with the size, weight, and style of the font in most sections of the text.

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26 avril 2021/par Service comm.

8 Domain Name Myths Every Web Designer Should Know

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A domain name is an essential element of every project, product, and company. It’s central to a brand and has a disproportionately large impact on user experience. Not only that, but it also impacts SEO and ultimately revenue.

Domain names are also one of the most commonly retailed elements in web technology, with most designers hoarding a small empire’s worth of domain names “just in case” the right side-project comes along.

Because so much of the information and advice on domain names is provided by companies selling domain names and is therefore not impartial, we wanted to bust some of the myths you’ll encounter.

Myth 1: Anyone Can Own a Domain Name

In fact, almost no one can own a domain name. As demonstrated by the (probably) annual renewal notices you receive, you are merely renting a domain name.

You pay a registrar, who registers the domain with ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) — or an entity to whom ICANN has delegated the responsibility for a particular TLD.

Even when renting a domain, you do not have the right to use it; thousands of UK-based businesses have had .eu domains stripped from them as a result of being removed from the EU.

Myth 2: There’s a Perfect Domain For Every Project

Domains do not have inherent value; they acquire value over time.

25 years ago, if you were building a search engine, the ‘perfect’ domain might have been search.com, find.com, or perhaps look.com — the particularly cynical might have opted for webads.com. You almost certainly wouldn’t have registered google.com because it says nothing about search.

Any domain name can acquire value through longevity, SEO, and branding

google.com acquired its value through a simple, relentless branding strategy and a generous dollop of luck.

Any domain name can acquire value through longevity, SEO, and branding.

Myth 3: Your Domain Name Should Contain Keywords

If you’re at the point of registering a domain name, either your business is new, or your digital strategy is. In either case, you have hopefully carried out keyword research, but without a live site, your keyword research hasn’t been validated. In other words, you don’t know what your keywords are.

Even if you’re confident that you know exactly what your keywords should be at this time, your keywords may change. The pandemic has required most businesses to pivot to some degree. eatoutny.com isn’t much use if legal restrictions have forced you to switch to a delivery business — unless you’ve also registered eatinny.com.

Furthermore, in the area of ecommerce, customers tend to view keyword-heavy domain names as budget options because they are like generic-brand goods. It may be that your business will only ever be a budget option, but it’s not a wise business decision to restrict your options.

There is an SEO benefit to keywords in a domain, but it is minimal and will almost certainly vanish in the next few years — even for EMD (Exact Match Domains) — because it is too close to gaming the system.

Myth 4: You Don’t Need a .com

As frustrating as it may be to seek out a .com you’re happy with, nothing says “late to the party” like a .biz domain.

A .co extension is slightly better in some regions because the .co.** format is commonly used; .co.jp for example. However, .co tends to be typed as .com by users accustomed to the more common format.

nothing says “late to the party” like a .biz domain

It’s possible to opt for pun-based names using regionally specific TLDs like buy.it, or join.in. This kind of strategy will play havoc with your local search strategy because computers don’t understand puns; you’ll potentially do quite well in Italy or India, though.

If you’re registering a domain for a non-profit, then .org is perfectly acceptable. However, carefully consider whether a domain is worth the lost traffic if you can’t also register the .com (because people will type .com).

The one exception is industry-specific TLDs that communicate something about the domain’s contents to a target demographic. For example, .design is a great extension for designers, and .io is fine for an app if it targets developers (i.e., people who understand the joke). You should also register the .com if you can, and if you can’t, carefully consider whom you’re likely to be competing with for SERPs.

This is not to say that anything other than a .com is worthless, just worth less than the .com.

Myth 5: A Trademark Entitles You to Register a Domain

Trademark registration and domain registration are two entirely different processes, and one does not entitle you to the other. This has been legally challenged a few times and fails far more often than it succeeds.

Trademarks are rarely blanket registrations, which means the trademark owner needs to declare the industry in which it will operate; there was no enmity between Apple Inc. and Apple Corp Ltd. until the former moved into music publishing and no one could download the White Album onto their iPod.

There is, however, a limited value in registering a domain that has been trademarked elsewhere. Not least because you will be competing against their SEO, and if they’re big enough to trademark a name, they’ve probably grabbed the .com.

Myth 6: Premium Domains Are a Good Investment

Premium domains are domains that have been speculatively registered in the hope of attracting a huge resale fee. The process is commonly referred to as ‘domain squatting.’

Domain squatters bulk-register domains in the hope that one of them will be valuable to someone. As a result, they are forced to charge exorbitant fees to cover their losses; a premium domain will cost anything from 1000–100,000% of the actual registration cost.

Setting aside the cost — which would be better spent on marketing — premium domains often come with legacy issues, such as a troubled search engine history, that you do not want to inherit.

Myth 7: A Matching Handle Must be Available on Social Media

The business value of a social media account varies from company to company and from platform to platform. Even if it is valuable to you, numerous marketing strategies will accommodate a domain name: prepending with ‘use,’ or ‘get,’ or appending with ‘hq,’ for example.

More importantly, it’s unwise to allow a third-party to define your long-term brand identity; sure, Facebook is huge now, but then so was the T-Rex.

Myth 8: You Need a Domain Name

A domain name is an alias, nothing more. You don’t actually need a domain name — what you need is an IP address, which a domain name makes human-friendly.

Think of domain names as an accessibility issue; humans are less able to read IP addresses than computers, and domains bridge the gap. (See how helpful accessibility is?)

While a domain name is beneficial, question whether a sub-domain or even an IP address would do. Registering a domain is an exciting stage of a project that many people never get past, leaving themselves with a huge collection of domains that they pay an annual fee for, and never actually develop.

What Makes a Good Domain Name

Now we’ve dispelled some of the myths surrounding domain names, let’s look at the key characteristics shared by good domain names:

A Good Domain Name is Brandable

A brandable domain is non-generic. It’s the difference between a sticky-plaster and a band-aid. Unique is good, rare is acceptable, generic is a waste of money.

A Good Domain Name is Flexible

Keep it flexible. Don’t tie yourself to one market or one demographic. Your domain name needs to work now and fifty years in the future.

A Good Domain Name is Musical

Six to 12 characters and two to three syllables is the sweet spot. Names in that range have a musical rhythm our brains find it easier to retain and recall.

A Good Domain Name is Phonetic

There are 44 word sounds in the English language. Other languages have similar totals. If you use a domain name that is pronounced phonetically, it will be easy to communicate.

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10 mars 2021/par Service comm.

Exciting New Tools for Designers, November 2020

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In the spirit of fall feasts, this month’s collection of tools and resources is a smorgasbord of sorts. You’ll find everything from web tools to icon libraries to animation tools to great free fonts. Let’s dig in.

Here’s what new for designers this month.

The Good Line-Height

The Good Line-Height is the tool you won’t be able to live without after using it a few times. The tool calculates the ideal line-height for every text size in a typographic scale so that everything always fits the baseline grid. Set the font size, multiplier, and grid row height to get started.

Link-to-QR

Link-to-QR makes creating quick codes a breeze. Paste in your link and the tool creates an immediate QR code that you can download or share. Pick a color and transparency, plus size, and you are done.

Quarkly

Quarkly allows you to create websites and web apps both using a mouse and typing code – you get all the pros of responsive editing, but can also open the code editor at any time and manually edit anything and it all synchronizes. The tool is built for design control and is in beta.

UnSpam.email

Unspam.email is an online spam tester tool for emails. Improve deliverability with the free email tester. The service analyzes the main aspects of an email and returns a spam score and predicts results with a heat map of your email newsletter.

Filmstrip

Filmstrip allows you to create or import keyframe animations, make adjustments, and export them for web playback. It’s a quick and easy tool for modern web animation.

CSS Background Patterns

CSS Background Patterns is packed with groovy designs that you can adjust and turn into just the right background for your web project. Set the colors, opacity, and spacing; then pick a pattern; preview it right on the screen; and then snag the CSS. You can also submit your own patterns.

Neonpad

Neonpad is a simple – but fun – plain text editor in neon colors. Switch hues for a different writing experience. Use it small or expand to full browser size.

Link Hover Animation

Link Hover Animation is a nifty twist on a hover state. The animation draws a circle around the link!

Tint and Shade Generator

Tint and Shade Generator helps you make the most of any hex color. Start with a base color palette and use it to generate complementary colors for gradients, borders, backgrounds, or shadows.

Pure CSS Product Card

Pure CSS Product Card by Adam Kuhn is a lovely example of an e-commerce design that you can learn from. The card is appealing and functional.

Free Favicon Maker

Free Favicon Maker allows you to create a simple SVG or PNG favicon in a few clicks. You can set a style that includes a letter or emoji, font and size, color, and edge type and you are ready to snag the HTML or download the SVG or PNG file.

Ultimate Free iOS Icon Pack

The Ultimate Free iOS Icon Pack is a collection of 100 minimal icons in an Apple style. With black and white version of each icon and original PSD files, you can create sleek icons for your iPhone screen in minutes. And it’s completely free! No email address or registration required.

Phosphor Icon Family

Phosphor is a flexible icon family for all the things you need icons for including diagrams and presentations. There are plenty of arrows, chats, circles, clocks, office elements, lists, business logos, and more. Everything is in a line style, filled, or with duotone color. Everything is free but donations are accepted.

3,000 Hands

3,000 Hands is a kit of hands that includes plenty of gestures and style in six skin tones and with 10 angles of every gesture. They have a 3D-ish shape and are in an easy to use PNG format. This kit has everything you need from a set of hand icons.

Radix Icons

Radix Icons is a set of 15px by 15px icons for tiny spaces. They are in a line style and are available in a variety of formats including Figma, Sketch, iconJar, SVG, npm installation, or GitHub.

Deepnote

Deepnote is a new kind of data science notebook. It is Jupyter-compatible with real-time collaboration and running in the cloud and designed for data science teams.

ZzFXM Tiny JavaScript Music Generator

ZzFXM is a tiny JavaScript function that generates stereo music tracks from patterns of note and instrument data. Instrument samples are created using a modified version of the super-tiny ZzFX sound generator by Frank Force. It is designed for size-limited productions.

Image Tiles Scroll Animation

Image Tiles Scroll Animation is a different type of scrolling pattern using Locomotive Scroll. The grid creates a smooth animation in a fun and modern style.

Bubbles

Bubbles is a Chrome extension that allows you to collaborate by clicking anywhere on your screen and then dropping a comment to start a conversation with anyone. This is a nice option for work from home teams.

Tyrus

Tyrus is a toolkit from the design team at Airbnb to help illustrators make the most out of their design businesses. It is broken into sections to help you with design briefs, originality, deadlines, and feedback.

PatchGirl

PatchGirl is an automated QA tool for developers. You can combine SQL and HTTP queries to build any possible state of your database.

Apparel

Apparel is a beautiful premium typeface family with plenty of versatility in a modern serif style. It is a contemporary, classy, and fresh serif typeface with a laid-back. Its medium-large x-height makes it ideal for headlines and brand identity design.

Christmas Story

Christmas Story is a nice solution if you are already starting to think ahead to holiday projects or cards. The long swashes and tails are elaborate and fun.

Nafta

Nafta is a fun handwriting style font that has a marker-style stroke. It’s a modern take on the popular Sharpie font. It includes all uppercase letters.

Safira

Safira is a wide and modern sans with ligatures and a stylish feel. The rounded ball terminals are especially elegant.

Shine Brighter Sans

Shine Brighter Sans is a super-thin sans-serif with a light attitude. The limited character set combined with its light weight is best for display use.

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Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

16 novembre 2020/par Service comm.

How to Design a Contact Page That Drives Engagement

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How can your customer reach you? If a client arrives on your website after searching on Google, what can they do to take the next step in a relationship with your brand, without buying anything?

One of the primary aims of any website is to drive conversions. However, it usually takes between 5 and 8 touchpoints to generate a viable sales lead. People don’t want to convert straight away.

Since building a relationship with customers is crucial to success, it makes sense that the contact page would be an essential part of driving results. Unfortunately, a lot of website owners pay virtually no attention to that page. They ask their designer to create a page with their address and phone number on – and that’s it.

What many business owners don’t realize, is that the contact page is the door to deeper, more lucrative relationships with potential prospects. The design of this essential website element needs to be fantastic to drive results.

So, where do you start?

Defining a Well-Designed Contact Page

Let’s start with the basics, what makes a great contact page?

The complete answer to that question depends on the target audience. Some customers will want to see fun and friendly contact pages, complete with social media sharing buttons. Others will want to see a map that shows them exactly how to reach an office or business.

There are a few golden rules to keep in mind, of course. Contact pages should be:

Easy to find: Don’t hide the link to the contact page on the website footer. Make it easy for customers to find out how they can get in touch.
Simple: Don’t put too much content on this page or it will overwhelm your audience. Just let them know where they can go to get answers to various questions.
Professional: Even if you have a friendly brand personality, your contact form still needs to be grammatically correct and well-designed to show a professional edge.
Convenient: Make your phone number clickable so customers can use it on Skype. The same can apply for your email address. Provide easy access to social media profiles, and if you have a contact form – keep it short and sweet.
Informative: Include all of your contact information in the same place. This may include your address, a map to your location, social media pages, email addresses, and even forums.
Accurate: Ensure that the information on your contact page matches the information listed elsewhere. Check directories and Google my Business listings to be sure.
Attractive: Yes, a contact page needs to look good too. Plenty of white space will make essential information stand out. A good layout will guide the eye through the page.
Consistent: Make sure the contact form on your website matches the brand personality that appears on all of your other pages.

Take a look at the Tune Contact page:

It’s beautifully laid out, with clear information that’s easy to read. The company shows exactly why customers might want to get in touch and how they can reach out. As you scroll through the page, you’ll find additional office locations, email addresses for different teams (sales and support), and links to social media accounts too.

How to Drive Engagement on a Contact Us Page

A good contact page needs to look fantastic, showcase the company’s personality, and capture audience attention. However, there’s a big difference between a contact page that gets the job done, and one that convinces your audience they have to connect with you.

Here are some excellent ways to make your contact us page stand out.

Step 1: Using Color Correctly

Color and color psychology have a massive impact on user experience.

Studies constantly demonstrate the conversion powers of having the right shades on certain pages throughout your website. For instance, changing a CTA button from red to green can increase click-through rates by 27%.

However, every audience is different. The colors that drive engagement on a contact page for your company will depend on your target customer. A/B testing color palettes that match your brand personality is a good way to get started.

One interesting example of colors that make the right impact on a Contact Us page comes from Hubspot. Here, the brand maintains it’s brand color (orange), but it also introduces some new shades that convey trustworthiness and professionalism.

Blue is the most calming and credible color for any brand, The gradient that Hubspot uses here blends perfectly with its brand identity, allowing for a stunning contact page, with CTA buttons that still stand out.

Experiment with colors that can generate the right emotional response from your audience, but don’t ignore the golden rules of color in web design. You still need to showcase your brand identity, and you still need a way of making crucial information stand out.

Step 2: Humanizing the Customer Service Team

Some of the customers that arrive at a contact page are interested in your product or inspired by the potential of your service. Other customers will be looking for assistance because they’re frustrated with something or stressed out.

If you’ve ever had a problem with a product and wanted to reach out to the brand about it, you’ve probably noticed how annoying it is to find a blank contact page with nothing but an email address. The lack of effort and humanity in the contact page is enough to convince you that you probably won’t get a response.

But what if you add some happy smiling faces to the page?

Research indicates that brains are fine-tuned to recognize and appreciate human faces. Having a picture of your customer service team, or just any human being on your contact page makes you instantly more approachable. Your customers start to feel like they’re reaching out to a person – not an empty website.

Look at how engaging and personalized this contact page from Amber McCue looks:

Although you can show any human face on your contact page and potentially get results, showing your actual agents will be more likely to drive positive results. It’s a great way to showcase the authenticity and humanity of your team.

Step 3: Making it Easy to Find

A surprisingly large amount of the time, companies shove their contact information into the footer of their website, forcing customers to spend forever looking for them. However, your audience might not want to spend an age searching for your details if they’re in a hurry to get answers.

Stowing a contact page in a footer is also a problem for those visiting your website via mobile, as they might not be able to see all your footer details and links as well.

A Contact Us page doesn’t have to be a massive part of your website navigation if you don’t want it to be. However, it should be one of the first things your audience can see. Putting the information on the header of your website, or even sticking it to the top of the page as your users scroll is very helpful.

Zendesk makes it easy for customers to get in touch in multiple ways. First, the Contact section of the website is clear at the top of the page. Secondly, if you start scrolling through the Zendesk website, a “Get Help” button pops up, so you don’t have to scroll back to find assistance:

Remember, aside from making sure that your contact page appears in the right part of your website, it’s also worth ensuring that it’s easy to understand. Don’t use unusual terms like “Chat”, or “Chill with us”. Stick to tried-and-true options like Help, Contact, or Support.

Step 4: Making the Experience Relevant

There’s a reason why it’s practically impossible to find a one-size-fits-all contact page.

It’s because different customers need different things from your brand.

Some customers will be looking for the answer to a question; others will want to discuss something with your sales team. That’s why many companies are using adaptive contact pages that can change to suit the situation.

For instance, you may start by asking customers what they need help with. Zapier takes this approach with its Contact page:

By asking the client what they need straight away, Zapier can make sure that the visitor finds the right information, and the right number or email address for the appropriate agent. You can even scroll down the help page and look for something in the available help centre, using the search bar. Or you can click on View our experts to hire a Zapier pro.

Creating a dynamic and customized experience like this does a few things. First, it ensures that the customer will reach the right person to help them first-time around. This reduces the number of inappropriate calls your employees have to deal with, and the number of transfers.

Secondly, you deliver a better experience overall for your client, because they don’t have to repeat their issue to multiple people or start a massive email thread. They get the support they need immediately.

Dynamic contact pages can even save you some money and time. If clients decide to solve an issue themselves, using your resources, that’s great for your busy agents.

Step 5: Direct People to the Right Place

The central focus of your contact us page needs to be the available contact options. Centralizing the contact options on a page is an excellent way to make sure that they get the right amount of attention. Centralizing also means that your customers can spend less time searching for the contact details that they need, which is great for usability.

The Melonfree.com website uses a contact us form that’s centralized to immediately pull attention to the customer’s options for getting help.

Centralization isn’t the only way of using design principles to guide visitors on a contact page. According to Ray Hyman and Edmund Hick, increasing the number of choices on a page often increases the time it takes for people to make a decision.

When it comes to connecting with a brand, the right option for each customer will depend on the person and the situation they’re trying to overcome. For instance, a customer that needs to reset their password will probably be able to get the solution they need from an FAQ page.

On the other hand, someone who needs help using a new feature might need the guidance of a professional. To help guide customers to the right solution, Basecamp gives customers a variety of steps to follow to get the right solution fast.

The main purpose of the contact page is to help customers get the right answer with an informative form. However, there are unobtrusive alternative options available too. If all you’re looking for is a way to help yourself fix a problem, you can click on the help guides link before you ever scroll down to the form.

Step 6: Support the Contact Team Too

The best contact us pages aren’t just a great way to improve customer experience. Well-designed solutions also help the customer service team to save time and stay productive.

One of the primary metrics that companies consider when evaluating the success of a service team, is the number of replies required before an issue is resolved. However, if the initial question from a customer doesn’t contain enough information, this number often increases.

Using the design of the contact form to access the right information helps with:

Automatically routing people to the right team member: Companies can set up segmentation rules that automatically send certain emails to different employees based on keywords. You might have questions that go to the sales team, and separate queries that you direct straight to the customer service team.
Show appropriate support options and FAQs: Remember to give the audience a chance to help themselves before they reach out for extra support. Links to an FAQ page or self-service options can really reduce the pressure on a team. Some companies even add automated chatbots to the mix to help with self-service.
Prompt for extra context: Although not every customer will take advantage of an opportunity to add extra information to a form, some will. Adding a box to your contact form for “anything we need to know?” is a great way to generate more information. Ban.do includes a simple “question” box where customers can add as much detail as they like. An option to add screen shots or documents might be a nice touch too.

Building Your Own Contact Us Page

Every customer has their own specific set of needs. The right contact page for another business might not be the right one for you. That’s why it’s so important to take some time getting to know your customers and speaking to your support team.

When you’re planning your contact page, it helps to ask yourself some basic questions about what you want to achieve. For instance:

What kind of channels will our customers want to use to connect with us? Look at things like social media messaging, email, or phone calls. If you’ve got a relatively tech-savvy audience, then they might want to use things like instant messaging with chat bots too.
How can we direct clients to the appropriate channels in as little time as possible? Having a system in place to automatically route your customers to the right agent will reduce the time to resolution for your customers. The faster you solve problems, the better your reputation becomes.
What can we do to set customer expectations and build confidence before they speak to us? Designing a professional-looking contact page will increase customer confidence, while an FAQ section shows that you’re ready to answer common questions.
How can we showcase a unique brand personality without making the page complicated? Everything from using distinct brand colors on a contact page, to adding images and illustrations reminds customers that they’re in the right place.
What can we do to reduce the friction points in a customer’s path to contact? Avoid adding too many input options to a contact form and ensure that it’s easy to reach out when your clients have a problem.

Understanding exactly what your audience needs from you, and what they’re looking for when they come to your team for help reduces the effort involved for your client when they reach out for help. Remember, today’s digitally-savvy customers expect their interactions with companies to be as streamlined and simple as possible.

Make the Most of Your Contact Page

Contact pages are frequently an afterthought in the website design process. However, they’re one of the most valuable tools your company has. With a good contact page, you ensure that your customers can always reach you when they have problems. What’s more, you boost your chances of people wanting to reach out to the sales team too!

Good luck creating a contact page that encourages engagement from your target audience. Don’t forget to track your results from each design, and A/B test for optimization.

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Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

11 novembre 2020/par Service comm.

Branding 101: Creating the Visual Identity for Your Business

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There are so many things to think about when first starting a business. What will your business offer? How will this differ from existing solutions? Who will benefit most from your offering? And why are you so passionate about this?

If you haven’t done so yet, work through this exercise to come up with your brand identity and business name.

Once you’ve figured out your brand identity, you have to create a visual identity — also referred to as brand imagery — to go along with it.

While you could easily throw together visual elements that speak to you, your goal should be to choose visuals that resonate with your audience. So, building your visual identity is going to require some work.

In the following post, we’re going to look at how your brand’s visual style can give off certain signals to those who encounter it (and how to use those to your advantage). We’ll also break down what you need, to piece together your visual identity.

The Power of Visual Identity

Each of the design choices you make that website visitors, social media followers, and customers can see will impact how they approach your brand. Are you a fun-loving company that caters to a younger crowd? Do you create high-tech products that solve serious global problems? Are you a successful entrepreneur who’s reshaping the way we talk to one another?

When done right, our brand visuals convey our brand’s personality, values, and mission without having to use any words.

Think about your favorite clothing brand. What do you picture? Let’s use Athleta as an example.

The logo is probably the first visual element that comes to my mind:

The grey radial shape is one I’m very familiar with. It’s on their website, their social media, and it’s usually imprinted somewhere on their clothing.

The second thing I think about when I think of Athleta is its physical imagery:

Rather than include images of the clothing on its own, there’s often someone wearing Athleta clothes while hiking along a trail, walking on a beach, or working out in a studio.

There’s so much that just these two visual elements tell us about this brand:

Athleta targets active female consumers; we see this in its images and CTAs. The fine touches and shape of the logo may suggest this as well.
Athleta creates understated but highly functional clothing; we see this in the product photos as well as in the brand’s use of neutral colors and fonts across its designs.
Athleta’s mission is to help customers have a healthier and more balanced life; we see this in its product photos, but we also get a sense of this from the simple symmetric structure of the logo.

There are overt ways to use visuals in your branding (usually through your choice of photos or illustrations). But there are also ways to subtly convey more about your company, what it does, and for whom you work through your choice of colors, fonts, structure, and more.

How to Create a Visual Identity for Your Brand

Let’s walk through each of the elements you need to pull together to create your visual identity:

The Color Palette

Like with everything else in business, you’re here to give your audience something they need, so they have to be at the forefront of your decisions — including which colors you put into your brand’s palette.

So, where do you start in choosing a color palette for your site and other marketing channels?

Let’s take a systematic approach.

1. Choose a Primary Color

Go to the Canva color meanings and symbolism tool.

Have a look through the colors and find one that feels good to you. Open up the page and read more about what the color means:

You’ll find the following on each page:

A brief history on the color;
How it’s been used by people over the years;
What it’s symbolized over the years and around the world;
How to use the psychology of the color to affect people (i.e. your audience);
Alternate shades and colors if this particular one doesn’t send the right signals;
Colors that pair nicely with this one.

While it’s important to consider how colors evoke different emotions, it shouldn’t be the only driving force. Your primary focus should be to choose colors that positively affect the user experience. In other words, you don’t want them to get in the way or distract prospects from getting to know your brand and eventually converting.

2. Create a Full Color Palette

Once you’ve picked a primary color, you need to come up with a color palette. You’ll want one or two colors to use in your logo and a full color palette for your website and other branded channels.

You can use Canva’s palette suggestions (in the top-right corner of the color page) to create a basic color palette.

For something a little more robust, use Material Design Palette:

Color options are a bit limited, but it does a good job of spelling out where you should use each color. You can then adjust the color palette as you see fit.

Typography

The design and pairing of your fonts can greatly impact the way people respond to your brand and the words you’ve written about it.

So, the goal with typography is to make your words easy to read while also giving hints about your company’s personality and style.

1. Understand Font Styles

Figure out what style of font goes best with your brand identity.

This is the simplest way to categorize fonts:

Sans serif: These are simple fonts without any “feet” (lines at the ends of letters).
Serif: These are more traditional-looking fonts (the kinds you see in literature and newspapers) with feet.
Script: These are cursive and curly fonts that mimic handwriting.
Display: These are fonts designed specifically to appear in logos, hero images, and advertising because of their large, bold styling.
Monospaced: These are fonts with characters that comprise the same amount of horizontal space, often resembling typewritten text.

You can break these down even further and really get to the root of the style. Fonts.com has a great explainer page on each of these classifications:

Here are some sources to help you find fonts for your brand:

2. Settle on Two or Three Fonts

Choose two or three fonts for your brand. Max. Anything more than that will create a distracting and overwhelming interface for your audience.

You’ll need:

A font for your header text. It needs to look good in big sizes, be easy to read, and easy to identify from other text when scanning through a page or document.
A font for your body text. It needs to look good in small sizes (16 pixels and up) and be highly legible.
Optional: A font for your logo and hero images. It wouldn’t stray too far from the style of your headers, but if you need something a bit more decorative or unique, you can use a different font family for this.

If you find that you need more variety in your fonts to create a clearer hierarchy on the page or to call out certain elements, use superfamilies with dozens or even over a hundred different styles. That way, your users’ eyes won’t get fatigued from having to switch between too many font types.

3. Learn Font Pairing Rules

To pair fonts, use styles that contrast yet complement one another. Ultimately, you want the pairing of your fonts to send a cohesive message to your audience.

For example, a sans serif header and serif body are a common way to combine fonts. Like this pairing of Fira Sans and Merriweather from the FontPair website:

This modern-looking duo sends the message that: “Your comfort is priority #1 for us. Take your time reading and enjoy.”

There are tons of ways to make varying styles play off one another while sending the right signals to your audience: A safe serif with a retro cursive header font to come off as a playful, yet professional brand; a futuristic header and a neutral sans serif body font to give your product pages a very techy feel; and so on…

Once you have one or two fonts you like the vibe of, use FontPair to track down a good complement to the one you want to use.

Imagery

We can use this as a blanket category for any visual content you might use in your branding:

Photos
Videos
Illustrations
Icons
Backgrounds
Textures
Animations or GIFs

But just because there’s all this content to use, that doesn’t mean it should all appear on the same site to represent the same brand. You’ll want to narrow it down based on your company’s personality and how the style of imagery fits with it.

1. Photos vs. Illustrations

You can alter your brand’s voice and style based on the kind of imagery you use.

For instance, tech companies like Stripe often use illustration in their brand designs:

Even though SaaS companies sell one type of product, their audiences are usually quite vast, so it would be hard to find photos that represent everyone. And it’s not like users are focused on their relationships with the people behind the scenes. These companies put technology into the hands of their users, so it’s best to let the product shine and not the people. This opens up the door for some fun and creative possibilities with illustrations.

That said, choosing photos over illustrations doesn’t completely bar you from using vector graphics and icons. You can mix-and-match those visuals so long as they blend well with one another. What you don’t want to do is to mix two very different styles that say different things about your brand at once.

To decide what’s best for your brand, approach this from your users’ point-of-view. What kind of visuals will help them connect to your brand and what you sell?

2. Style

It’s not just the type of image you use that impacts your brand identity. It’s the style you apply to those visuals that can transform your visuals, putting visitors in a different time, place, or headspace.

Will you apply a filter to give your photos a similar look and feel?

Will you place each of your product photos against the same backdrop for a uniform look?

Will you use a completely new style of imagery for one of your product lines the way Apple has done for the iPhone 12?

There’s nothing wrong with using out-of-the-box imagery. However, if they don’t give off quite the right tone, don’t be afraid to use your design skills to make adjustments and cater them to your own style.

Logo

Your logo is the last of the visual elements you’ll need to invest some time in. The good news is that you’ve already done most of the legwork:

You’ve defined your brand’s identity.
You’ve given your business a name.
You’ve selected the main visual components that will represent your brand: colors, fonts, and images.

That’s really all you need to create a logo that is relevant, unique, attractive, potent, and memorable.

That and a way to bring it all together. You have a few options.

Option #1: If you’re a graphic designer, you can create your own from-scratch.

Option #2: If you want help getting started, you can use a tool like Wix Logo Maker:

You’ll fill out a short questionnaire and then receive dozens of pre-made logos to start with. You’ll later have the chance to customize the design to your liking.

Option #3: You can hire someone to design a totally custom logo.

Wrapping Up

In the next post in this three-part series, we’re going to look at the next step:

Getting your business online.

We’ll take everything you’ve done so far in coming up with a business name, brand identity, and now visual identity, and put it towards your website and the marketing channels that are best for your business.

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4 novembre 2020/par Service comm.