New Relic is a web application performance service designed to figure in real-time together with your live web app. New Relic Infrastructure provides flexible, dynamic server monitoring. You can see the important performance data of your app in New Relic, like browser reaction time by geography and browser type, web transactions in real-time, etc.
When creating a website, it’s vital to remember that not only does it need to work and look great on the device you are creating it on, but on all the other devices, it might be used on too.
Mobile and tablet optimization is important not only for the user journey but from an SEO point of view too, and badly created mobile sites just don’t cut it anymore.
With more and more devices entering the market, you need to check any website you create is compatible across the board. One bad experience and users are likely to leave and not come back again, which can be catastrophic for a business, particularly if it is just starting out.
It’s vital to check how a site looks and behaves when browsed differently from how you would use it. A common mistake is to assume users only browse websites on mobile devices in portrait mode; they don’t; landscape browsing is common, especially if the user is used to watching video.
Here are some of our top tools for testing websites on devices without the need for an entire device library:
WhatIsMyScreenResolution offers a great little tool to test how your site will look on different devices easily, and it costs absolutely nothing. You put the URL and choose between desktop, mobile, tablet, and television and then the orientation. Each device can also be broken down into different sizes and resolutions (or you can enter your own), making it easier than ever to test what a site will look like on different devices.
Responsinator is another great tool to test how a site looks on other devices without dipping into your wallet. Put your URL in the top bar, and it will instantly show you what it looks like on generic devices. This is a great, easy to use tool, and you can click through any links on your site to check the usability of multiple pages. This site is free, but if you want to “create your own” template, you need to sign up.
Google Dev Tools is one of the most commonly used free tools. Add it to Chrome, and you can see how your site looks in a multitude of different screen sizes and resolutions. You can simulate touch inputs, device orientation, and geolocation to test how they work. It’s great to easily spot problems using their remote debugging tool to view, change, debug and profile a page’s code directly from your laptop or computer while viewing it on your mobile device.
Browser Stack allows you to test your site on over 2,000 real devices and browsers, enabling you to see in real-time how your site looks. It is no hassle to set up, and it can be seamlessly integrated into your setup. As it tests on real browsers on real machines, you know the results are more reliable and accurate. It also enables you to debug in real-time using their pre-installed developer tools for ease of editing. The tests are all run securely on tamper-proof physical devices and are wiped clean of all data after each session, so you don’t need to worry about security being compromised.
TestComplete Mobile allows you to create and run UI tests across real mobile devices, virtual machines, and emulators. You can test both mobile device layouts and apps with script-free record and replay actions. This can help you to edit and fix any potential issues that may arise during the tests. Due to them being conducted on real devices, you know it is less likely to have errors in the system than a simulated device. This is free for 30 days then can get pricier, so make sure you take advantage of the trial and try the service before committing to it.
Sizzy is a great tool for checking sites, and it has a host of features to assist you. You can rotate the screen between portrait and landscape, filter by OS and device type, switch themes, and take screenshots. These little things mean it’s a super easy to use and convenient tool. It claims to simulate each device’s viewport and user agent, meaning the results are the same as what you would actually see on that phone/ tablet, etc. It can’t simulate different browser rendering engines however, so there’s a chance there might be some minor differences compared to the actual thing. Sizzy offers a free trial or has different price packages starting at $5 per month.
Featured image via Unsplash
The post 6 Tools for Rapid Cross-Device Website Testing first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.
Enjoying Baccarat is something that folks have always wanted to accomplish after viewing a few of the popular stars do exactly the same in films and on TV. As the style and glitz may not nearly be as you would have dreamed it to be, it will at least come close to it. Of all the different activities which are there nowadays, online baccarat loves being amongst the most truly effective performed games. You can be certain that you will thoroughly appreciate the overall game without actually having to go somewhere to be able to have fun.
Here are the most important reasons as to why you’d want to play baccarat on the internet.
There are dozens of factors that influence the UX of your site, app, or game. Most of them are beyond your control; user connection speed, end-system resources, even browser technology is all out of your hands. So when you do have the opportunity to influence your project’s infrastructure, you should seize it.
The world’s fastest muscle car can’t perform at its best when traffic is gridlocked bumper to bumper; likewise, the most finely tuned website can’t meet its potential running on shared hosting.
If you want your website, application, or service to run quickly and securely, maximizing both UX and SEO, then you need to look at the bare metal servers from OVHcloud.
Bare metal (or dedicated) servers aren’t uncommon. Still, most hosts only offer a single type of server, expecting small startups to pay for resources at the same rate as global giants, which can make dedicated hosting prohibitively expensive.
OVHcloud is different; it offers a range of bare metal server products optimized for a wide variety of challenges. That means small startups can invest in fast, easily scalable solutions that meet the most demanding security requirements without breaking the bank.
Whatever your aims, there’s a different OVHcloud solution configured for you:
Rise is the perfect option for a website, or web app hosting. With its low entry-cost, Intel-powered performance, bundled DDoS protection, and simplified administration, Rise is the natural choice for your first step into bare metal servers.
To meet SMEs’ need for reliable infrastructure to run mission-critical applications, OVHcloud configured Advance. From in-house CRMs to web-facing SaaS products, Advance is a solid foundation upon which to build your business.
Storage is ideal for storing large amounts of data securely. Hosting data on standard servers is a colossal waste of resources; with OVHcloud’s Storage product you can host up to 504TB and seamlessly access it via a performance-tuned server.
For large companies with thousands of employees, global non-profits, colleges, and even local governments, OVHcloud Infrastructure offers scalability and flexibility beyond the average dedicated server.
For web apps that are leveraging cutting edge technology like machine learning and big data, OVHcloud’s High-End product is a no-compromise custom solution, the humdinger of bare metal servers, with every conceivable option available.
If you’re developing video games, then lightning-quick, reliable streaming servers are essential. OVHcloud’s Game product delivers the type of speed your customers demand, with massive performance gains over comparable bare metal servers.
It’s easy to get bogged down in detail, especially if this is your first foray into bare metal servers.
But here’s the good news: every OVHcloud bare metal server is a massive boost in performance over shared web hosting. That’s because, with a dedicated server, all of the server’s resources are…dedicated; that is, you don’t have to share with anyone. Shared hosting is pot-luck: You might wind up on a server with thoughtful users who don’t eat up all the resources, and you might end up on a server with one selfish user who hogs the processes and compromises the security. With a bare metal server, that’s not an issue.
Choosing a bare metal server is a two-step process. The first step is to think about what you intend to use it for:
Are you going to store a lot of data? If so, think about OVHcloud’s Storage product. But a lot of data doesn’t mean a WordPress blog. Let’s say you’re a polling company, collating millions of records that you hope to analyze to predict political movement; that requires a lot of storage. On the other hand, all servers have some storage. OVHcloud’s Rise product comes with 500Gb and can be configured with more. So if you’re planning to host something the size of a blog, then OVHcloud’s Storage might be using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.
The second step is to ask how complex the operations you’re going to ask the server to perform will be:
Hitting up a database to retrieve some data is not a complex operation. Even something like a complex search isn’t too taxing. If that’s the kind of process you expect to perform, OVHcloud’s Rise is more than adequate. But if you’re manipulating large amounts of data, like resizing hundreds of raster images dynamically; or using facial recognition to search through millions of biometric data records; or even managing your advertising application serving millions of ads to sites across the web; in those cases, you need the sort of performance OVHcloud’s Infrastructure product delivers.
OVHcloud’s products are all scaleable. Its High-End bare metal server product is entirely customizable. Whatever you choose, and however your needs change over time, you can be confident you’re running the optimum server for your project.
There are a mind-boggling array of processors, and OS, and a seemingly infinite — and increasingly expensive — amount of hardware on offer on the web. OVHcloud radically simplifies running a bare metal server by delivering a range of popular packages, tailored for everyday uses, that are both customizable and scaleable.
What OVHcloud delivers is a clear choice, letting you choose the right server for your product.
Whether you need lighting fast response times to maximize your SEO or the space to store a digital archive of the world’s most important art, for reliability and choice, opt for OVHcloud bare metal servers.
[— This is a sponsored post on behalf of OVHcloud —]
The post How to Choose a Bare Metal Server From OVHcloud first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.
La maintenance palliative cède progressivement la place à de la maintenance préventive, voire prédictive, grâce aux apports des capteurs et de l’Intelligence Artificielle. De nombreux industriels ont validé cette approche. Reste à passer à l’action.
La maintenance peut représenter de 10 % à 15 % des coûts de production. Le prédictif est en mesure d’aider à optimiser ces coûts. Toutefois, si 76 % des clients SAP interrogés pensent qu’il est important de pouvoir prédire la défaillance d’équipements, seuls 21 % sont satisfaits de leur politique de maintenance actuelle.
Mettre en place une maintenance prédictive demande :
« Les capteurs amènent un flot de données qui va remonter dans un jumeau numérique, lequel fonctionne en parallèle de l’équipement physique. Ce jumeau permet de prédire les besoins de maintenance, » explique Rodolphe Roy, directeur général d’ATS.
Réplique parfaite d’un objet ou d’un processus, le jumeau numérique est alimenté par les données venant du jumeau physique, ce qui permet d’en reproduire fidèlement l’état et de s’en servir comme base pour de la simulation.
« Il y a une vingtaine d’années, la simulation permettait de déterminer pourquoi les choses ne marchaient pas. Aujourd’hui, elle permet de prédire le fonctionnement physique d’objets très complexes, » témoigne Eric Bantegnie, vice-président et general manager Systems & Platform chez Ansys.
Le jumeau numérique ne répond pas seulement aux enjeux de maintenance, mais aussi aux enjeux de performance. « Nous pouvons dorénavant simuler le fonctionnement d’un processus de fabrication. Cela permet de confronter le résultat de la simulation aux performances du processus réel, afin de vérifier si son exécution est optimale. »
Enfin, l’utilisation des données d’exploitation est utile lors de la conception de nouvelles offres, qui ne repartiront alors pas d’une feuille blanche.
L’humain est essentiel dans la transformation des processus de maintenance. Les échecs dans les projets de transformation numérique sont en effet souvent liés à des soucis d’adoption des solutions et processus mis en place.
« C’est primordial, confirme Rodolphe Roy. Il faut accompagner cette transformation et aider à rapprocher les mondes de l’IT et de l’OT. L’IT doit proposer des outils parfaitement adaptés aux besoins des utilisateurs finaux, afin que cette courroie entre OT/IT ne se grippe pas. Il faut générer de la confiance : l’apport technologique ne doit pas inquiéter, mais au contraire rassurer. Il est crucial de repenser l’expérience homme-machine lors du passage à l’Industrie 4.0. »
La transformation numérique n’est pas seulement un défi, mais aussi une opportunité pour rendre l’industrie plus attractive et attirer de nouveaux talents. « Elle augmente la valeur des métiers et permet d’en créer de nouveaux, par exemple autour de la mise en œuvre et de la manipulation des jumeaux numériques, illustre Eric Bantegnie. L’opérateur de maintenance, spécialiste de la compréhension physique des équipements, gagne ainsi une compétence numérique. »
La maintenance prédictive permet d’imaginer de nouvelles façons de commercialiser une offre, par exemple avec le Product as a Service, où c’est l’usage du produit qui est facturé et non le produit lui-même. Mais avant d’en arriver là, un défi attend les entreprises : le passage à l’échelle.
« Aujourd’hui, l plupart des industriels ont testé ces technologies, qui sont arrivées à maturité, explique Rodolphe Roy. Les grandes questions sont maintenant : comment passer à l’action ? Combien cela va-t-il me coûter ? Quel ROI attendre ? »
« Quelques centaines de milliers de jumeaux numériques seulement ont été déployés dans le monde, ajoute Eric Bantegnie. Mais nous sommes sur une trajectoire qui pourrait nous mener au milliard d’ici 3 à 5 ans. Il faudra toutefois savoir éviter une nouvelle guerre des standards, en assurant l’interopérabilité des solutions. »
En savoir plus sur les solutions SAP pour l’industrie 4.0
The post Le prédictif, l’allié d’une maintenance optimisée appeared first on SAP France News.
In order to hit the right chord with your potential customers, it is critically important to dig deep into the latest innovations and keep your Magento 2 store ready by adopting the latest Magento development trends.
Here are the top 5 Magento development trends that you should consider adopting into your Magento 2 eCommerce store in 2021.
Over the years, experts have repeatedly discussed the possible impact of mixed realities on web design. Concepts like AR and VR are expected to have the potential to change the way that we interact with websites on a fundamental level.
Now that we’re in the year 2021, however, discussions about AR aren’t just observational anymore. The age of mixed-reality interfaces is here, in everything from Pokémon Go, to Snapchat filters.
The question is, how do web designers create incredible user experiences in a world where there are now multiple digital realities to consider?
Before we look at some of the steps that web designers can take to enhance their projects with AR, it’s worth examining the benefits of interacting with augmented reality in the first place.
While virtual reality replaces the typical world around us completely with digital components, AR augments it. This means that developers and designers need to learn how to thrive in an environment where the real world and the digital one work together.
The most common AR application for website owners is to provide a solution for real-time and remote product visualization. Imagine being able to try on a pair of shoes before you buy them online. That’s a service that the Vyking brand can deliver by creating technology that “reinvents” the digital shopping experience.
This test functionality plays a massive role in purchasing decisions. In a world where people can’t see a shade of make-up in person when they’re shopping online, or check how an item of furniture looks in their home, AR has a crucial role to play.
In simple terms, AR helps shoppers to make more informed purchases.
Here’s how you can use augmented reality to deliver incredible UX.
Augmented reality is all about connecting the real world to the virtual world.
Doing this provides users a unique experience – one that’s filled with real-time feedback that can deliver crucial and insightful information. For instance, an augmented reality system in a GPS app can calculate the average time before reaching a destination based on previous trips.
Another option is for an augmented reality to use solutions like face-mapping to help customers determine how a certain makeup product will look before they buy it. For instance, that’s the case for the Mary Kay Mirror Me app, which simplifies the process of shopping for make-up.
When designing for AR, experts need to consider how they can provide customers with real-time information that they can use to make better purchasing decisions.
Although you’ve probably performed similar exercises when designing for traditional websites and applications in the past, defining inputs and outputs of UX in AR environments can be tough.
Defining inputs and outputs allows you to determine which elements of an interface your user can actually interact with, in your interface. This gives you a better idea of what to “augment.” For instance, you might decide that physical gestures like a swipe of the hand will be essential for AR inputs. However, you’ll also need to consider how each mobile device offers different input possibilities.
Outputs are a little simpler. For instance, you could offer a three-dimensional model of a product that your customers are interested in. Once you have that output, you can think about how the customer will interact with it by changing colors or position.
Another feature at the heart of AR applications is interactivity.
Good designs in the augmented reality world need to be simple to access and use, otherwise customers will end up avoiding them. For instance, 60% of customers say they want to use AR when they’re shopping for furniture. However, they’re only going to use your app if it actually works.
The Décor Matters website and app mix gamification with home decorating features that help customers get a better view of the home goods they’re planning on buying. The website even has inspiration pages available to help users find and try new design options with their AR technology.
When designing for AR, think about how you can make your applications or technology as simple to use as possible, so customers actually want to interact with it.
In augmented and virtual reality applications, it’s important to remember that interfaces aren’t bound by physical screens. The viewport will move with the user, shifting perspectives in response. Most AR designers will use four different signifiers to describe AR environments:
The environment that you’re designing for will be crucial for your project outcomes. Remember, spatial considerations need to be carefully considered when accounting for how users will interact with objects in a frame.
Another thing to keep in mind when designing for AR technology is that user fatigue is likely to be a much more significant consideration. After all, people interact with websites and applications in a much more intimate and in-depth way when AR is involved.
AR applications can often use the entire body of a customer as a controller. Because of this, designers need to be careful about exhausting interactions. High-effort and repetitive interactions could tire the user out mentally and physically, causing them to give up on the interaction.
When designing, you’ll need to consider how you might over-stimulate the user with too many interaction-focused elements at once. Keep it simple.
Remember, just because you’re tapping into a relatively new technology doesn’t mean that you should abandon all the basic tenets of user experience design that you’ve come to understand over the years. Although UX is constantly evolving and changing, it’s always going to keep a few fundamental principles in mind.
For instance, you’ll always strive to give users the best digital experience in exchange for the lowest amount of effort on their part. Additionally, you’ll need to think about how you can make end-users as comfortable as possible when they’re interacting with new types of technology on websites and apps.
For instance, since AR is most commonly associated with gaming in the current environment, it might be a good idea to implement gamification concepts into your AR design. What can you do to make sure your customers are having fun?
For instance, Inkhunter is an app that allows users to try on tattoos just like using a filter on Snapchat. The experience feels familiar, comfortable, and exciting.
Augmented Reality technology has come a long way over the years. Today, developers and designers can access simple plug-in tools like WordPress VR, allowing designers to upload 360-degree videos into WordPress sites and other unique web extensions.
Augmented reality is becoming much more readily available on sites and apps of all shapes and sizes. Additionally, customers are accessing more ways to unlock AR’s power through everything from headsets to mobile interfaces.
However, just like any new technology in the web design world, designers need to think carefully about how they will overcome the challenges in user experience that AR can present. For instance, though AR can offer more information for a customer and help them make purchasing decisions faster, there are also risks. For instance, add too many interactive features to a single website or application, and you could scare users off with too much information.
In the short-term, web designers need to explore the new tools that are available to them and think about the customers they’re designing for. Only this way will we be able to make any considerable advances in the possibilities of AR.
Designing for augmented reality applications and websites can be an intimidating concept – even for seasoned designers. However, this is just another technology that creatives can use to drive better experiences for end-users.
Learn how the latest technology works and get an insight into your customers’ needs, and you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish in the AR world.
Naturally, there are bad clients out there, but 90% of the time, it’s not really the client who is at fault. Poor communication, a lack of setting expectations, and a failure to qualify clients beforehand is usually the problem.
If you’re dealing with a problematic client, there’s usually not a lot you can do to ‘fix’ things — you should focus on finishing the project as well as you can. However, what you can do is ensure this situation never arises again.
We’ve been taught that the customer is always right. But to be honest, that’s not always the case. It’s your job as a designer and brand consultant to help your client grow their business. Because of that, you may think you have to make every idea a client has — but if these ideas do not serve their business and their brand, you have to speak up! Remember that you were hired for a reason, and that reason is that you can help them build their brand, not because you can design anything they think of.
So, to avoid the ‘difficult’ client scenario, here are a few things you can do.
Figure out who your ideal client is and determine that you will only work with them. Ideal clients are usually people who understand you and respect you and your expertise. A client who hires you because they know what you have to offer (i.e., working towards their business goals) will be more receptive to what you present to them — they will also be more receptive when you push back ideas.
you have to be willing to decline projects
Your ideal client is not someone who wants to dictate the whole process to you (clients who already have an idea in their head and want you to make it into reality for them).
This means you have to be willing to decline projects. This can be super difficult — saying no to a paying client always is — but the mental toll of working for a non-ideal client is never worth the money!
Be selective with your clients and ensure you are on the same page before accepting any projects. To work only with your ideal client, you can have a method of qualifying them ahead of time. Some people use questionnaires; others sit down and have a chat with potential clients. If they meet your requirements, that’s great. If not, then let them know it might not be the best fit for both of you. You can also refer them to another freelance designer, who you know would be glad to have their work.
People usually become freelancers because they have a set of skills that doesn’t tie them down to one employer — you may have even developed this skill set deliberately to avoid being stuck in one office, working for one company!
So don’t forget that you are not an employee. Your clients don’t get to send you to non-productive meetings, have you in the office at certain times, or dictate any other part of your working life to you. As a freelancer, you work for yourself — don’t get caught up in the idea you are ‘employed’ by your clients.
If your client starts acting like an employer, you need to gently remind them that you are a freelancer. They chose to work with you because of your skills and talents, and as long as you deliver it on time and budget, they can’t complain about how you do it!
One of the most frustrating parts of freelancing is over-demanding clients: it happens to us all, but it happens because we let it happen!
When you start a project, define exactly what you will and won’t do as part of a contract. Then, if the client wants more than you said you would give, you can refer them to the scope document and offer the additional work at an extra fee.
Documentation saves you a lot of hassle!
Having a fixed scope for all your work will free you from the ‘demanding client’ problem. Before you start working for them, sit down with them and ask them exactly what they want from your design. That way, you know exactly what you should do and what you should not do. You can then document the services you will provide and get a written confirmation from them. Clients will sometimes forget what they told you before — which is why having written documents to show them is useful.
If they ask for additional services, you can update the document stating these changes and send them a copy. Documentation saves you a lot of hassle! It’s your responsibility to be organized and professional at the end of the day, even with over-demanding clients. Always treat them kindly — never be rude, as this will cause them to give you a bad review and hurt you in the end. Act like a professional from the start, and your clients will treat you as such.
You may find yourself with a client who is forever changing their mind or forgetting the details — so make sure all your agreements with them are documented, and both of you have copies. Just like the scope of work documents, you can refer to these agreements in the future, and it will resolve any issues you have.
You need to set clear expectations both before and after someone becomes your client — tell them what they can expect in the project and what is included and what’s not included. Remember that your time is valuable: you cannot work indefinitely, so it is okay to set limitations in a project. One way to do this is to offer two rounds of revisions on a project. This is more than enough to come out with a design a client is happy with. Most clients will understand these limitations as long as you communicate them from the get-go.
Rather than taking your design brief from the client and going off on your own to design everything, set some project milestones or benchmarks. Don’t be that designer who goes radio-silent until the final design is presented (we know, creatives like the idea of the ‘big reveal,’ but remember this is business, and communication is key!).
Benchmarks are important for a few reasons. Firstly, presenting the final design may sometimes work out, but other times, the client doesn’t like it or the direction they had in mind. Secondly, it saves you time – you don’t need to design a whole project only to have to go back and revise it all!
creatives like the idea of the ‘big reveal,’ but remember this is business, and communication is key!
Plan regular check-ins with your client, include them in the process, and ensure you are on the right track.
Take a branding project, for example. You can present to your client two or three logo concepts, providing them with options. This decreases the number of times a client is unhappy with the project’s direction because they can choose which one they want. Remember to make each design unique, rather than just a small variation of the other. Think of them as three different directions to explore with your client, and take it from there.
Ensure each concept you provide is top of your game, too — that way, whatever your client chooses, it will be a great design. Imagine you make two okay concepts and one great concept, and your client chooses the weakest design!
Imagine the scene: you go to a meeting with your client to talk about the final design. You arrive, and as well as your normal contact, the CFO is present at the meeting. They take one look at your design and decide it doesn’t work.
Don’t get mad! For a start, you don’t know if the CFO has the final say on the design, and even if they do, you have an agreed scope of work, and this is now an opportunity to move the goalposts (for a fee) and renegotiate the scope of work. Look at this as an opportunity, not as a setback!
Also, remember that you can’t please everyone all the time. Not everyone will love your designs, and it’s not a personal attack.
Think before you open your mouth — communication is crucial in the freelancing world, and you need to be on par with your clients’ energy and vocabulary. Imagine you have just agreed on a project with a new client, and after the meeting, they say, “I cannot wait for you to knock this logo out of the park!” And you reply hesitantly, “I’ll do what I can.”
This has already made your client doubt you, and that’s a red flag. Now your client may leave the meeting wondering if they chose the right designer for the job. What you and your body language need to say is, “Hell, yes! We’re going to knock this logo out of the park!”
This is why matching a client’s energy is so important. If they are aggressive in articulating themselves, you should be, too; obviously within limits — always be professional, but don’t be afraid to sound excited and confident!
Sometimes, you don’t get on with someone. It happens. We can’t be best friends with all of our clients! If there’s a personality conflict that’s causing problems, it can be impossible to resolve. You may want to have someone else handle the client relationship or transfer the project to another freelancer.
being afraid will never get you anywhere as a freelancer
What makes being a freelancer great is that you actually have all the power — you can fire a client if it’s really not working for you. An employee cannot fire his or her boss. If the relationship between you and your client has turned sour, you hate the work, and it’s causing you too many headaches, you can get rid of them. No one can make you work for someone!
Even if your client represents a huge chunk of your income, don’t be afraid to fire them. There are always more clients — being afraid will never get you anywhere as a freelancer. You also need to remember that your quality of life is just as important as your income! One cannot exist without the other — there’s no point in having a huge paycheck if your sanity is suffering due to it.
‘Difficult’ clients in freelancing do exist, but a lot of the time, you’ll discover they could have been avoided if you, the designer, took a few key steps.
You should always be selective with your clients and ensure they fit your ‘ideal client’ model; if they don’t, you can gently refuse their project and send them on to another designer who is a better fit.
When you do start working with a client, remember they are just that, a client. They are not your boss or employer, and you are a freelancer. They don’t get to dictate your working hours or appearance in meetings. They agreed to work with you, for your skills and talents, as long as you deliver quality work on time, they don’t get to tell you what to do.
Always have a scope of work in a written contract and set expectations before you begin. This saves you hassle later when a client becomes overly demanding. Along the design process, document all agreements in paper and have benchmarks wherein you check-in with your clients.
Finally, take care with how you handle your clients in person – don’t take offense if they don’t like a design, match their energy, so they have no room to doubt you, and if it really just isn’t working due to a personality conflict, remember you are free to leave!
Featured image via Pexels.
User experience is one of the most important aspects of web design, but many experts overlook that UX doesn’t just apply to web pages. User experience as a concept encompasses all aspects of end-user interaction with a company.
That means you need to discover the right UX strategies for everything from your homepage to your email marketing and even your listings on Google.
Today, we’re going to explore some of how you can apply UX principles to your client’s image on search engines.
Let’s start with the basics: 89% of customers start their purchasing process with a search engine. That means that whether you’re creating a portfolio to sell your services or building a website for a client, the first connection a customer has with your design isn’t on the homepage.
Most of the time, you’re driving a specific experience for an end-user before you even realize it. Before you can wow an audience with a beautiful site design or an amazing CTA offer, you need to convince them to click on your Google link.
When you invest in user experience, you think carefully about the journey that an end-user goes through when interacting with a brand. This often means considering things like the user’s intent, their needs, and their pain points.
Those same principles apply to create an impressive search engine listing.
UX on a website is all about giving your audience what they need in an informed, and strategic manner; UX in the search engine results works the same way.
So, how do you begin to apply the principles of UX to your Google Search results?
It’s much easier than you’d think.
Delivering an excellent experience on a website often means providing end-users with the information they need as quickly as possible. Imagine designing a landing page; you wouldn’t want your audience to scroll forever to find what they need. Instead, you’d make sure that the value of the page was immediately obvious.
When creating an image for your search engine listing, you’ll need to take the same approach. This often means thinking carefully about two things: your headline and your meta description.
Around 8 out of 10 users say that they’ll click a title if it’s compelling. That means that before you do anything else to improve your SEO strategy, you need to make sure that your web page’s title is going to grab your audience’s attention.
The best titles deliver instant value. These titles tell the audience exactly what they’re going to get when they click onto the page. The promise drives action, while clarity highlights the informed nature of the brand.
The great thing about using an excellent title for a page is that it doesn’t matter where you’re ranked on the search results. Whether you’re number 2 or number 5, your customers will click if they find something they want.
It’s just like using a CTA on a landing page. Make sure your titles are:
Trust factors are another essential part of good UX.
When you’re designing a website for a new brand, you know that it’s your job to make visitors feel at ease. Even in today’s digital world, many customers won’t feel comfortable giving their money or details to a new company.
Within the website that you design, you can implement trust symbols, reviews, and testimonials to enhance brand credibility. On search engines, it all starts with your URL.
Search-friendly URLs that highlight the nature of the page will put your audience’s mind at ease. When they click on a page about “What is SEO” in the SERPs, they want to see an URL that matches, not a bunch of numbers and symbols
Use search-friendly permalink structures to make your listing seem more authoritative. This will increase the chances of your customer clicking through to a page and make them more likely to share the link with friends.
Once you decide on a link structure, make sure that it stays consistent throughout the entire site. If a link doesn’t appear to match the rest of the URLs that your audience sees for your website, they may think they’re on the wrong page. That increases your bounce rate.
To deliver excellent UX on a website, you ensure that your visitor can find all of the answers to their most pressing questions as quickly as possible. This includes providing the right information on each page and using the correct navigational structure to support a visitor’s journey.
In the SERPs, you can deliver that same informative experience with a meta description. Although meta descriptions often get ignored, they can provide a lot of value and help you or your client make the right first impression.
To master your meta descriptions:
Don’t forget that adding keywords to your meta description is often helpful too. Keywords will boost your chances of a higher ranking, but they’ll also show your audience that they’re looking at the right result.
You’ve probably noticed that the search engine result pages have changed quite a bit in the last couple of years. As Google strives to make results more relevant and informative, we’ve seen the rise of things like rich snippets. Rich snippets are excellent for telling your audience where to look.
On a website, you would use design elements, like contrasting colors and animation, to pull your audience’s attention to a specific space. On search engines, rich snippets can drive the same outcomes. The difference is that instead of telling a visitor what to do next on a page, you’re telling them to click on your site, not a competitor’s.
When Google introduced rich snippets, it wanted to provide administrators with a way of showcasing their best content. Rich snippets are most commonly used today on product pages and contact pages because they can show off reviews.
Install a rich snippet plugin into your site if you’re a WordPress user or your client is. When you enter the content that you need into the website, use the drop-down menu in your Rich snippet tool to configure the snippet.
Ideally, you’ll want to aim for the full, rich snippet if you want to stand out at the top of the search results. Most featured snippets have both text and an image. It would help if you aimed to access both of these by writing great content and combining it with a relevant image.
As a website designer or developer, you’ll know that different people on a website will often be drawn to different things. Some of your visitors might immediately see a set of bullet-points and use them to search for the answer to their question. Other visitors will want pictures or videos to guide them. So, how do you deliver that kind of diversity in the SERPS?
The easiest option is to aim to take up more of the search result pages. Google now delivers a bunch of different ways for customers to get the answers they crave. When you search for “How to use Google my Business” on Google, you’ll see links to blogs, as well as a list of YouTube Videos and the “People Also Ask” section.
Making sure that you or a client has different content ranking pieces for the same keywords can significantly improve the experience any customer has on the search engines. Often, the process of spreading your image out across the SERPs is as simple as creating some different kinds of content.
To access the video’s benefits, ask your client to create YouTube videos for some of their most commonly asked questions or most covered topics. If you’re helping with SEO marketing for your client, then make sure they have an FAQ page or a way of answering questions quickly and concisely on articles, so they’re more likely to appear in “People Also Ask”:
Speaking of Google My Business, that’s another excellent tool that’s perfect for improving UX in the search results. GMB is a free tool provided by Google. It allows business owners to manage how information appears in the search results.
With this service, you can manage a company’s position on Google maps, the Knowledge Graph, and online reviews. Establishing a company’s location is one of the most important things you can do to help audiences quickly find a business. Remember, half of the customers that do a local search on a smartphone end up visiting the store within the same day.
Start by setting up the Google Business listing for yourself or your client. All you need to do is hit the “Start Now” button and fill out every relevant field offered by Google. The more information you can add to Google My Business, the more your listing will stand out. Make sure you:
Taking advantage of a Google My Business listing will ensure that your audience has all the information they need to make an informed decision about your company before they click through to the site. This means that you or your client get more warm leads and fewer people stumbling onto your website that might not want to buy from you.
If you’re already using things like rich snippets in your Google listings, you should also have a structured schema markup plan. Schema markup on Google tells the search engines what your data means. This means that you can add extra information to your listings that will guide your customers more accurately to the support they need.
Providing additional schema markup information to your listings gives them an extra finishing touch to ensure that they stand out from the competition. You might add something like a “product price” to a product page or information about the product’s availability.
Alternatively, you could provide the people who see a search result with other options. This could be an excellent option if you’re concerned that some of the people who might come across your listing might need slightly different information. For instance, you can ask Google to list other pages along with your search results that customers can “jump to” if they need additional insights.
Baking structured data into your design process when you’re working on a website does several positive things. It makes the search engine’s job easier so that you can ensure that you or your client ranks higher. Additionally, it means that your web listings will be more thorough and useful.
Since UX is all about giving your audience the best possible experience with a brand, that starts with making sure they get the information they need in the search results.
Remember, as you begin to embed UX elements into your search engine listings, it’s important to be aware of relevant evolutions. Ultimately, the needs of any audience can change very rapidly. Paying attention to your customers and what kind of links they click on the most will provide you with lots of valuable data. You can use things like Google analytics to A/B test things like titles, pictures, featured snippets, and other things that may affect UX.
At the same time, it’s worth noting that the Google search algorithms are always changing. Running split tests on different pages will give you an insight into what your customers want. However, you’ll need to keep an eye on the latest documentation about Google Search if you want to avoid falling behind the competition.
Like most exceptional UX aspects, mastering your SERP position isn’t a set it and forget it strategy. You’ll need to constantly expand your knowledge if you want to show clients that you can combine UX and SEO effectively.
It’s easy to forget that there’s more to UX than making your buttons clickable on mobile devices or ensuring that scrolling feels smooth. For a designer or developer to deliver wonderful UX for a brand, they need to consider every interaction that a company and customer have. Most of the time, this means starting with the way a website appears when it’s listed on the search engines. Getting your SEO listing right doesn’t just boost your chances of a good ranking. This strategy also improves your reputation with your audience and delivers more meaningful moments in the buyer journey.
Featured image via Unsplash.
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the corporate business world to network with associates and communicate with potential clients using online communication tools. Hence, given the current market conditions – having a functional and efficient communication system has become the need of the hour. Due to which platforms offering text, voice, and video chat features must ensure they offer enterprise-level models. These platforms must be customizable and scalable. It is also important for the communication platform to be of a certain standard that supports a huge number of users with minimal latency rates. Nevertheless, with multiple options in the market, it can be difficult to choose the right real-time communication platform.
So, what is Twilio? Twilio is one of the top-rated cloud communication platforms in the market that uses a PaaS model. Twilio offers developers tools or software-based platforms to integrate voice, video, or messaging into any mobile app. Twilio is basically a developer’s platform, which means that this platform cannot be used by a marketer or a non-developer. Twilio as a communication platform provides a powerful API system for phone services offering companies to make and receive phone calls and send and receive text messages instantly.
