I never liked being on-call (slight understatement) or asking others to shoulder some of the load. Sometimes it feels like it’s a penalty for being more involved and knowledgeable about our code and infrastructure. And it definitely is a big distraction from core development and innovation.
But there really is no way to avoid it once you have a live product or website with paying customers. Somebody needs to be available just in case something goes wrong.
About 15-20 years ago, web application developers had the knowledge and the technical skills necessary to create an application: HTML, CSS, JS, PHP/Python/ASP, Web Server Management, MySQL/Postgres (both data and service management), etc.
With time the web applications became more complex with bigger requirements. New technologies, frameworks, and paradigms bounce into the development and pushed developers to specialize in some areas arising new roles from this specialization.
As we move into 2023, there are an increasing number of ways companies can engage with their customers. And as the number of apps, browser extensions, social media feeds, newsletters, vlogs, and podcasts grows, you can be forgiven for thinking that websites are a little less essential than they were in say, 2021.
However, the truth is that websites remain an irreplaceable part of the digital landscape and they will continue to be into 2023 and beyond.
Websites, as the keystone of a centralized, privately run digital experience couldn’t be more relevant. Unlike competing technologies, websites allow almost total control of their source code, and that provides an opportunity for skilled designers and developers to compete against the biggest names in their clients’ industries in a way that simply isn’t possible in tightly governed systems like social media.
Not only does quality web design help businesses increase their traffic, but it can increase the quality of that traffic; an attractive and user-friendly web page will encourage web users to stay on the page longer, and explore more of the content it links to.
For many brands, the option they turn to for connecting with customers is social media. Particularly platforms like Facebook and Instagram. While billions of us are happy to while away our free time on social media, it’s not a great platform for informed decision-making or task fulfillment. For any form of productivity, websites are superior:
When it comes to owning a piece of the internet, a connected app feels like ownership. However, websites have a number of benefits over an app, from a superior user experience to lower development costs. And ultimately, apps are also controlled by 3rd parties.
There’s no question that podcasts and vlogs are engaging types of content. However, they are very limited when it comes to different kinds of experience. These tend to be passive, linear experiences. Even if your podcast opens itself up to listener interaction, your customers are still passive consumers.
In 2023 websites will still be a critical part of a successful business strategy and web designers will continue to be essential members of any team.
Websites continue to offer numerous benefits over other technologies including increased flexibility, cost-effectiveness, and superior search engine opportunities.
Unlike social media platforms that allow you to customize a few assets like avatars and colors, websites can be completely customized to fit the tone and style of a brand. Additionally, websites have a far lower barrier to entry than podcasts, vlogs, or apps. While apps may offer a richer set of features than a website, that is offset by the restrictions on platform and device capabilities that apps impose.
Websites will continue to evolve as the tech landscape changes. New ideas for consuming digital media will appear over time, offering unique new experiences — for example, mass adoption of AR (Augmented Reality) is just around the corner. However, the website is perfectly evolved for the types of simple customer interaction that businesses rely on, and will continue to matter in 2023 and beyond.
Featured image by fullvector on Freepik
The post Why Web Design Still Matters in 2023 first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.
Software testing is the process of evaluating a software product to detect errors and failures and ensure its suitability for use. It can be performed manually (where testers use their skill, experience, intuition, and knowledge) or automatically (where the tester’s actions are guided by a test script).
The fundamental objective of the test process is to ensure that all specified requirements of a software system have been met by the development process and that no undetected errors remain in the system. However, the overall aim of testing is to provide customer or end-user value by detecting defects as early as possible.
Finding a good web design agency is challenging, especially if you’re doing it for the first time. With so many options, it’s challenging to determine which best meets your needs.
The obvious place to start looking for a web design agency is by asking friends, family, and colleagues for personal recommendations, but bear in mind that they may not be qualified to judge your options objectively, and you’ll need to carry out due diligence on any web design agency recommended to you.
The process of researching and evaluating different design agencies can be time-consuming and complex. To make it easier, you must start with a clear understanding of your goals and expectations.
Begin by making a long list of web design agencies and freelance designers that might fit the bill. Then whittle it down to a shortlist by discounting anyone whose portfolio you don’t like — while design is about more than just subjective opinions, it’s also vital that you end up with a website you like and are proud to show off as part of your brand identity.
Now you have your shortlist, there are several key questions to pose to each potential candidate to ensure that they are the right fit for you. Here are the ten questions you should be asking to put you on track to finding your perfect website design partnership.
The first thing to realize is that there are many different kinds of websites, and as such, there are also many different kinds of website design services.
The types of website design services offered by web design agencies range from basic site creation to complex ecommerce solutions.
Basic web design services usually include developing and implementing a CMS (Content Management System) such as WordPress, Joomla, or Craft. Agencies may also provide more advanced services such as custom website design, SEO optimization, and web hosting.
Different agencies and freelancers specialize in various types of sites, so you must compare their solutions with your requirements.
Experience matters when choosing a web design agency. Ask potential candidates about the years they have been in business and the types of projects they’ve worked on. New doesn’t necessarily mean low quality — plenty of great agencies are founded by experienced designers whose portfolios are owned by their previous employers.
However, it is easier to ensure a web design agency is a good fit for your project if you can review case studies of previous jobs. Case studies will provide valuable insights into their approach and techniques and how successful their clients have been.
When it comes to web design agencies, there are pros and cons to hiring a local or remote team. On the one hand, working with a local agency can provide many advantages, such as in-person interaction and access to their resources. On the other hand, working with a remote team may offer greater flexibility, cost savings, and access to a global talent pool.
It’s essential to ask about an agency’s location to understand their services’ advantages and disadvantages.
Effective team communication is essential for any project, so you should check the working hours of any agency you select — you don’t want to wait overnight for answers to urgent queries.
Web design agencies may specialize in various industries and platforms, depending on the specific needs of their clients. For example, some might specialize in ecommerce solutions such as Shopify or WooCommerce, while others might focus on frameworks such as Vue or React.
Additionally, web design agencies may specialize in creating custom websites for specific industries, such as healthcare or finance.
Suppose you can locate a web design agency with previous experience developing websites for clients similar to you. In that case, they will be better placed to anticipate challenges specific to your project.
Before hiring a web design agency, it’s essential to understand their approach to website design. For example, some agencies may take a more traditional “design and build” approach where they create the entire site from start to finish, while others may prefer to work with an existing template and make customizations.
Some design agencies use a traditional waterfall approach, while others adopt an agile methodology. Waterfall is a sequential process in which each step happens in isolation, whereas agile is an interactive approach with frequent testing and feedback.
Knowing how an agency prefers to work will help you establish realistic expectations about how they will integrate into your company culture.
Website design agencies may offer a range of additional services, depending on the needs of their clients. Beyond website design and development, many agencies also provide SEO (search engine optimization) and web hosting services.
All reputable web design agencies will ensure that your website meets the minimum standard for technical SEO. But some agencies will also adapt your content to incorporate keywords and phrases related to your industry to help you increase website traffic once the site is launched.
When it comes to web hosting, your web design agency will help you choose the best type of hosting for your needs, but some agencies also provide hosting and will set up and manage a server for you.
When it comes to website design projects, timeline management is critical to ensure that your new website is delivered on time and within budget. Managing a website project requires careful planning and execution to keep everything on track.
You should also ask how the project will be managed throughout its lifecycle so that you can schedule your in-house timetables.
Launching your new website begins a long-term relationship with your web design agency. It’s essential to ask about their post-launch support process to ensure you have all the help and guidance you need. The agency should be able to provide comprehensive maintenance services such as bug fixing, content updates, and security checks.
Additionally, you should understand the process for making changes and requests after the website launch. Find out how quickly they can respond to your inquiries and the cost of any needed updates. This will help you plan your budget accordingly and avoid any unexpected fees.
Speaking of costs, it’s vitally important to establish ballpark figures before you shortlist an agency. Like any industry, there is a wide range of different price points, dependent not just on the project but the marketability of the web design agency.
Make sure you ask for a comprehensive quote that outlines all the costs involved. Ask for a payment schedule so you know how much you’re expected to pay upfront. Check on any additional fees, such as maintenance or hosting.
Never adjust your project to secure a web design agency outside your budget. If you can’t afford a particular provider, strike them off your shortlist and move on to the next candidate.
As a client, there are several steps you need to take to ensure that your website design project runs smoothly. You will need to supply a detailed brief if nothing else.
You should be prepared to schedule regular feedback sessions so your agency can stay on track. You’ll probably need to supply brand materials such as logos, style guides, and any text, images, and videos you want to be included. The agency may want you to sign a contract, agree on a payment schedule, and pay an initial deposit.
Hiring a web design agency is challenging, especially if you don’t have the technical knowledge to assess an agency’s past work objectively.
By asking the questions above, you’ll get a solid sense of what the company is like to work for, how well they fit your corporate culture, and whether their proposed solution is within your budget.
The more questions you ask, the better informed you’ll be, and the more likely your website design project will succeed. Good luck!
Featured image via Pexels.
The post 10 Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring a Web Design Agency first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.
Since its conception in the late 1980s, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) has persisted as a critical element in displaying web pages online. This ubiquitous programming language continues to offer a detailed framework for structuring the content we see and interact with on the web, allowing us to format text and multimedia components in plain-text code, which is simple enough to change when the need arises.
As is the case with nearly all programming languages, HTML has transformed to incorporate dozens of new features over the decades since its introduction, accommodating typical contemporary pressures such as community feedback/critique and the rapid growth of adjacent web development technologies. The results of this transformation are easily visible to us in the output of modern HTML code; for example, the most recent HTML iteration–HTML5, introduced in 2014–offers new, simple elements for embedding video and audio files, as well as much-needed improvements in mobile display and overall mobile functionality.
Microservices today are often deployed on a platform such as Kubernetes, which orchestrates the deployment and management of containerized applications. Microservices, however, don’t exist in a vacuum. They typically communicate with other services, such as databases, message brokers, or other microservices. Therefore, an application usually consists of multiple services that form a complete solution.
But, as a developer, how do you develop and test an individual microservice that is part of a larger system? This article examines some common inner-loop development cycle challenges and shows how Quarkus and other technologies help solve some of these challenges.
The MERN stack is becoming increasingly popular and could be a powerful stack to figure in. Therefore having the ability to build and deploy good MERN applications, greatly helps career prospects as a developer.
The MERN stack is a JavaScript stack that is designed to make the development process smoother. MERN includes four open-source components: MongoDB, Express, React, and Node.js. These components offer an associate end-to-end framework for developers to work in.
“Business agility, scalability, and flexibility are critical to succeeding in the contemporary digital environment. With cloud-native application development, companies can attain all these success parameters.”
Cloud-based solutions ensured connectivity, accessibility, availability, and business continuity when the COVID-19 crisis forced companies to build remote working models. Gradually, as companies started to realize the benefits of technological advancements, including Microservices, APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), Kubernetes containerization, and server-less architecture, the demand for cloud-native application development mounted simultaneously.
Dart is a client-optimized language for developing fast apps on any platform. Its goal is to offer the most productive programming language for multi-platform development, paired with a flexible execution runtime platform for app frameworks.
MQTT is a lightweight IoT messaging protocol based on publish/subscribe model, which can provide real-time and reliable messaging services for connected devices with minimal code and bandwidth. It is widely used in industries, such as IoT, mobile Internet, smart hardware, Internet of vehicles, and power and energy.
