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23 Exciting New Tools for Designers, February 2021

We’re going to try something a little different this month; with this roundup of tools and resources for designers, we’re going to pick a few of our favorites and group everything else in a manner that makes it even easier to find elements that will work for you, and your projects, right now.

Here’s what’s new for designers this month…

February’s Top Picks

Pika

Pika is a new Mac app that is an open-source color picker. It helps you find color swatches on-screen, saving time and design headaches. Plus, it’s packed with bonuses such as the ability to confirm accessibility compliance for colors, compact size and style, easy to access from your desktop, and format-friendly with plenty of color code options.

Iconduck

Iconduck is a searchable database of more than 100,000 icons in one place. (No more searching various marketplaces!) The goal of the project is to make open-source icons and illustrations more accessible. So, everything you find here is free! The site does all the heavy lifting for you by collecting icon sets, tagging them, and making them searchable.

Descript

Descript is a premium tool that eliminates some of the intimidation factors with audio and video editing. With a design that functions as a word document and allows you to transcribe, record the screen, publish, and edit, all with some cool AI features.

Persona

Persona is an all-in-one identity infrastructure that allows you to collect, verify, manage, and decide customer identities from a single dashboard. Everything is fully automated, and most users can be up and running in about 10 minutes. The premium tool does have a free version for small-scale verifications.

6 Productivity Boosters

Peekalink

Peekalink turns standard links into rich content that users will be delighted to share and engage in. And it’s easy to use. Just send a request to the API with a link and get a response back to use, including a rich link for your project.

LinkAce

LinkAce is an open-source and self-hosted archive to store and organize links that you want to save. You can search thanks to tags and lists, and all of the content is available thanks to automated backups and monitoring. There’s a demo you can try before installing it yourself.

Formality

Formality is a WordPress plugin that helps you make forms a little bit easier. It’s made to work with the Gutenberg-based form builder with a single block format to control the form. The plugin has a theme-agnostic design that works with any layout style and includes customizations to make it feel a little more personal.

Wondercall

Wondercall is an embeddable video call system for any website or app. You can make calls and schedule them with a widget you can embed right into your design.

Editor X

The Editor X website builder is out of beta and ready for mainstream use. The platform is designed for designers and agencies to create websites collaboratively and quicker. Features include live commenting, roles and permissions, and shared design libraries. Plus, the platform offers code-free interactions.

Shareful/h2>

Shareful is a Mac app that makes the system share menu more powerful. You can copy, save as, and open indirectly from the system share menu.

2 Icon Sets

Supercons

Supercons is a giant set of icons in React. They are all open-source, and there are plenty of choices to help you propel projects forward.

Plumpy Icons

Plumpy Icons are packed with style. The set of icons has a fun design, comes in duotone colors, and scales to any size. Plus, there are more than 4,000 icons in the collection. There are free and paid options depending on the file type and use.

3 Tutorials and Demos

Noise Planets

Noise Planets is a fun look at plotting random points in a circle to create amazing art pieces. You can generate fun shapes and textures and even animate your results with the tutorial and code snippets’ help.

CSS Polygon Shapes

CSS Polygon Shapes are generated using CSS-doodle and clip-path. You can go in and make adjustments to customize shapes further and use them in your website projects.

Mutsuacen

Mutsuacen is a little app that lets you create animated and interactive drawings. There’s a lot of potential with this tool if you have some true drawing chops, but it not; it’s just fun to play with. Create a doodle or sketch and export.

5 Fresh Fonts and Text Tools

Text Warping – Animated

Text Warping – Animated is a fun effect pen from Lokesh Dhakar. It feels funky while leaving text pretty readable. Play with it for sure.

Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a fun and flexible premium font family with 14 styles from thin to heavy italic. It’s a highly readable serif with a wider stance and great curves.

Stay Home

Stay Home is a simple, line-style all caps font. It has a limited character set but could have some fun applications.

Dogmeal Figure

Dogmeal Figure is an almost silly novelty typeface with dog faces and paw prints in the character set. It might make a fun option for a kids’ project.

Haster

Haster is a futuristic-style slab with a limited character set. It does have shapes and lines with a lot of impact for display use.

Covid Pandemic Lockdown

Covid Pandemic Lockdown is an interesting novelty font with thick lines and a brush-dot style. While it probably won’t read well small, it could be fun as a display option.

Valeria

Valeria is a simple typeface that’s a little wide but has a nice shape and structure. It includes upper- and lowercase letters.

Cornellia

Cornellia is a beautiful script that has amazing letter combinations for use with long swashes and tails. It can add extra elegance to almost any design project instantly.

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The post 23 Exciting New Tools for Designers, February 2021 first appeared on Webdesigner Depot.

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8 février 2021/par Service comm.

Top New CMS Plugins, February 2021

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Welcome to our roundup of the best plugins for popular CMS, this month. We’re going to cover plugins built to enhance WordPress, Shopify, Craft CMS, and Joomla. Enjoy!

WordPress

Tutor LMS Elementor Addons

Tutor LMS Elementor Addons is a useful plugin that adds 25+ add-ons to the Elementor page builder. The plugin allows users to create custom styling and layouts for Tutor LMS courses. For this plugin to work effectively, you will have to install Tutor LMS and the Elementor Plugin. After activating all three plugins, you will be able to build single course pages using Elementor. Some of the Elementor Addons include course rating, course title, course author, course level, course duration, course thumbnail, course price, and lots more. The plugin can also be used to edit the look of your existing courses. The pro version of Elementor is not required to use this plugin. It has also been tested with top WordPress themes.

Quick Audio Player

Quick Audio Player is a customizable audio player for WordPress websites. The plugin is responsive and works with any WordPress theme. It runs seamlessly on all devices and major web browsers. Features of the plugin include an HTML5 audio player, live player editing, player poster image, rich control settings, player shortcode, player width customization, and player color customization. The player is available in different audio types including .mp3, .wav, and .ogg.

Simple Responsive WP Slider

Simple Responsive WP Slider is a lightweight slider plugin for WordPress. The plugin allows you to create and customize unlimited sliders for your website. You can use a shortcode or place the slider within Gutenberg blocks to add the slider to a webpage. Some of the features of the plugin include unlimited sliders and multiple sliders on each page. You can set custom configuration options for each slide, including the navigation and slider. Some of the basic configuration options for individual sliders include adding dots or arrows to the slides.

NutsForPress Images and Media

Images and Media is an essential plugin from NutsForPress that makes it easy to customize image and media files on WordPress. The plugin allows you to set the threshold size for images on your website and automatically resizes images that exceed that threshold upon uploading. It also allows users to set a JPEG compression level and will automatically compress JPEGs to meet that compression quality upon uploading. You can prevent GIFs from getting resized to avoid breaking their animation. The plugin can also bulk rebuild “alt title,” “description,” and “caption” for all uploaded media files. You can also bulk rebuild missing PDF preview images. They are seven custom thumbnail sizes to choose from. The plugin is fully compliant with WPML.

Ultimate Social Media Share

Ultimate Social Media Share is a lightweight and responsive plugin for WordPress that allows users to add social media share buttons and social media follow buttons to their site. The plugin is GDPR compliant and DSGVO compliant. The plugin does not collect any IP or personal data. You can insert the social buttons and icons in widgets or Gutenberg blocks. The plugin is free to use and supports 9 different languages. You can customize the plugin to suit your audience’s needs, and it is responsive on any screen, big or small. It is compatible with Gutenberg and Classic WordPress editors. Ultimate Social Media is compatible with WooCommerce, BBPress, BuddyPress, and all custom post types. You can choose from over 35 social media platforms. It is also free to use. The plugin’s social icons are Scalable Vector Graphics, meaning they are scalable to any screen size and load fast.

Wall Pricing Table

Wall Pricing Table plugin allows WordPress users to create pricing tables for their WordPress site. You can add the features of the different pricing plans and also display the price table anywhere on your site. The available fields on the pricing table are title, subtitle, price, button, and features(you can add as many as you want). You can differentiate each plan by color. The plugin is completely free to use.

Job App Manager

Job App Manager is a simple WordPress plugin that allows you to display a job application form on your website for candidates to apply with their details. A shortcode is used to display the form on any webpage on your site. After the user completes a form, they will receive a confirmation email. To find the submissions in the form, go to ‘All Submissions’ on the admin page. On the admin page, you can also search, filter, and delete forms. There is also a dashboard widget that shows the latest 5 form submissions.

Jetpack Boost

Jetpack Boost is a one-click optimization plugin that allows users to supercharge their WordPress site’s performance and SEO. Jetpack Boost is still pre-release software, so it’s advised to install the plugin on only production sites until version 1.01 is released. The pre-release version of the software has three powerful modules. The first module uses local critical CSS to generate optimized styles for your webpages. This will allow content to load faster on the screens of viewers. The second module defers non-essential Javascript. This means that the non-essential tasks show after the page loads, allowing important visual information to be seen sooner. The third module implements lazy image loading, so images load when they appear in the browser’s viewport. So if a viewer doesn’t scroll to the end of the webpage, images placed at the bottom of the page won’t load. This makes the website load faster.

Rsiltech Postcode Availability

Rsilitech postcode availability is a simple plugin that allows your customers to check shipping availability. All your customer needs to do is enter their postcode in the “check availability” section of the product details page. Other features include display delivery date in the product page, display shipping note on the product page, add postcode in the admin panel, edit postcode in the admin panel, and list postcode in the admin panel.

WPTD Video Popup

WPTD Video Popup is a simple video popup plugin for WordPress. The plugin supports both YouTube and Vimeo. Some of the plugin features include unlimited popups, retina ready, easy shortcodes for set up, and customizable width and height size for YouTube and Vimeo videos.

Easy Translate

Easy Translate allows you to translate your WordPress site into multiple languages. The plugin will translate everything on your site regardless of themes or plugin specifications. Easy Translate currently works with Polylang and WPML plugins. It uses the plugins to detect frontend language. It is easy to use and is compatible with all themes and plugins. You can translate your site to as many languages as you want. A unique feature of the plugin is that it can translate dynamic strings added by themes, WordPress, and plugins.

Shopify

ConvertOut Ambassadors

ConvertOut Ambassadors is a Shopify plugin that allows users to create an ambassador program in minutes. You don’t need any technical knowledge to get started. The plugin starts working minutes after installation. For every sale made, ConvertOut will track the commission it needs to pay to the ambassador. Payouts are made directly to the ambassador’s PayPal account.

Product Stories Convert Sales

Products Stories Convert Sale is a cool plugin that upgrades your website by giving it a trendy social network look. The plugin makes it fun and easy for customers to view products in your store. All your catalog will appear in carousel stories, just like Instagram feed stories. Coupons will also pop up in the stories to help increase sales. You will also receive real-time reports that will help you identify what your customers are interested in.

Advoz

Advoz is a Shopify plugin that allows experts to create high-quality Google, Facebook, and Instagram ads to promote your business. Once you set a weekly budget, you will receive a custom graphic or video on how the ads will run. The plugin will create ads that will drive quality leads to your store.

Craft CMS

Presence

Presence is a Craft plugin that displays the current users editing an entry. The users are displayed in the right sidebar settings when editing an entry. A default logo is set for users that do not have a profile image. Admins can review and approve the entries made.

Marketplace for Craft Commerce

Marketplace for Craft Commerce allows Craft users to turn their e-commerce sites into a marketplace. Users can add payees to products and also charge fees for your platform. You can charge a flat or percent fee. Payouts are handled via Stripe Connect.

Joomla

AA Youtube Subscribe Button

AA Youtube Subscribe Button is a Joomla module that allows you to show a Youtube subscribe button with your site’s subscriber number. It is easy to use and is fully responsive. It has cross-browser support and works with any template.

MyRealPin

MyRealPin provides a Pinterest-like look to your website. You can create your own pinboards and collaborate with friends. You can customize the Joomla extension to suit your needs.

AA Tiny Audio Player

AA Tiny Audio Player allows Joomla users to add an HTML5 audio player to their website. The extension comes with a responsive layout and supports animations. It works with .mp3, .ogg, and .wav video formats. It also works with all templates.

Featured image via Pexels.

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3 février 2021/par Service comm.

Should You Become a Web Designer in 2021?

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If you’re here, then you’re thinking about becoming a web designer and wondering if it’s a smart move.

Honestly, it’s not uncommon to be plagued by doubts and what-ifs when making a big career change, and that’s especially so right now, what with all the uncertainty we’ve faced over the last year.

Here’s some good news: It’s never a bad time to become a web designer, which makes 2021 the perfect time to turn your passion into a career! Here are 8 reasons why:

1. People Are Spending More Time Online Than Ever Before

DoubleVerify surveyed consumers’ digital consumption habits in 2020, and guess what it found? The amount of time people spend online has doubled since the pandemic began. Before 2020, consumers worldwide were spending an average of 3 hours and 17 minutes online every day. Now? The average is 6 hours and 59 minutes.

Needless to say, web designers are in high demand as businesses rush to get in front of these consumers.

2. There’s a Big Freelance Boom Right Now

An Upwork study at the end of 2020 reveals that freelancing grew by 22% (about 2 million workers) since 2019. This now-popular career move is a great option for everyone — from university graduates entering the workforce for the first time to anyone who’s been recently laid off. Heck, if you’re just plain unhappy with the course of your career and want to shake things up, freelancing could be the breath of fresh you need.

3. It’s a Future-Proof Field

In these uncertain times, you’re right to be cautious about jumping into something new. But web design is a career that’ll be around for a long, long time. It’s not just the fact that we’ll always need people to build websites that makes this field future-proof. You could build… Websites. Mobile apps. Web apps. Progressive web apps. You could specialize in… Graphic design. UX design. Web development. You could work for yourself. Build your own agency. Go work for someone else.

There’s a ton of flexibility in how you make a living as a designer. So if your interests change or your industry is impacted, that’s fine. Just pivot!

4. You Can Do It From Anywhere, Anytime

When people are nervous about traveling or living in densely packed cities, that’s not something that should worry you as a web designer. One of the benefits of being a web designer is that you can do it from anywhere you want and on your own schedule.

This is especially nice for anyone who has a family and needs a more effective way of managing it all at once, even when the kids aren’t in school or jobs out in the physical world are diminishing.

5. You’re in the Driver’s Seat

Let’s face it, it can be really stressful working for a company where you have little to no say about what goes on, how it gets done, and how much money you make for all your efforts. This is one of the reasons why freelancing is such an attractive option for many. You get to decide which content management system you build websites with. You get to decide who you work with. You get to set your hours of availability. You make the rules. And you know what? You can change them at any time. It’s all on you.

6. It Can Be a Lot of Fun

There’s some fascinating stuff coming down the line in digital design. For instance, augmented and virtual realities are really starting to pick up speed as ecommerce companies need a better way to allow customers to window-shop and try stuff on digitally.

AI is also bringing a lot of changes to the space. Not only can machine learning and language processing improve the way companies do business online, but they can also improve the way web designers work, too.

7. It Can Also Be Really Rewarding

Because you control your career as a web designer, you get to decide who you build websites for. So, what kinds of causes are you passionate about? Is there an industry you have close ties to and want to give back? This isn’t about working for free. This is about offering your professional design services to people you’re invested in and causes that get you excited.

Not only will it be easier to work for clients like these, but you’ll enjoy it more, too.

8. You Don’t Need to Go to School to Become a Designer

This is a common question for people wanting to leap into web design. While you should have some basic knowledge and skills when you start, you don’t need a degree in design or development to start making money.

One of the beautiful things about becoming a web designer is that you can learn as you go. Here are 5 free courses that’ll help you get to the next level. For instance, you can start as a freelancer, building websites from pre-made templates or themes. As you get more experience and pick up advanced design and coding skills, you can then branch out into specialized fields or areas of expertise.

Ready to Become a Web Designer?

There are many, many reasons to leap into web design in 2021. But are you ready? Before you get started, make sure you have a trusted set of resources to help you with the business side of becoming a web designer. Webdesigner Depot is a good place to start. You’ll learn things like:

And much, much more. When you’re ready, check out this 3-part business branding series where you’ll learn how to kick off your new web design business the right way.

Featured image via Unsplash.

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27 janvier 2021/par Service comm.

20 Best New Websites, January 2021

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Here we are into a brand new year, and although we’re far from out of the woods yet, there is a feeling of renewed hope on many fronts.

In this first collection of the year, we have a mix of retrospectives, brand new ventures, and business as usual. There is an eclectic mix of styles on offer, from glossy and slick to minimalist and brutalist, but all confident and looking to a better world in the year ahead.

Clar

Brand strategists Clar have a simple but strong site. Aside from a few personnel profile shots and the odd bit of line animation, it is all text. The typography is good, and the use of color holds interest.

Ebb Dunedin

This boutique hotel, opening in March 2021 (COVID permitting), has bucked the usual luxury hotel trend and bravely gone for a more minimal design style to complement its interiors.

Aplós

Perfect for Dry January, Aplós is a new, non-alcoholic spirit that can be drunk on its own, with a mixer or in a cocktail. The site design and branding aesthetic is sophisticated calm.

Malala Fund COVID Initiative

Subtle color and simple line decorations keep this site for the Malala Fund’s COVID Initiative clean but warm and appealing.

Taubmans Chromatic Joy

This micro-site promoting Taubmans’ new paint color collection is bursting with color and makes a big nod to the Memphis style of the 1980s.

Myriad

Myriad video production agency’s site uses small amounts of bright colors really well. And they quote Eleanor Shellstrop.

The Ocean Cleanup

Cleaning all the plastic crap out of the oceanic garbage patches is a grim job, but it’s getting done, and The Ocean Cleanup site explains how and why in a not grim way.

Photo Vogue Festival

This site displaying the work and talks from Vogue Italia’s 2020 Photo Festival mixes a hand-drawn style with clean type and a strong grid.

Zero

Zero is a digital branding agency. Their site is glossy with lots of high-quality images, smooth transitions, and a clear structure. The background options are a fun touch.

Fluff

This site for cosmetics brand Fluff takes an old school approach to designing for different viewports — sticking a fullscreen background behind your mobile view for desktop sounds like a terrible idea, but here it works.

Patricia Urquiola

The new site for Patricia Urquiola design studio is bright, bold, and assured, inspiring confidence.

Breathing Room

Breathing Room describes itself as a volunteer creative coalition that designs spaces for black people to live without limits through art, design, and activism. The design radiates confidence and optimism.

A Year in Review

A microsite from Milkshake Studio, highlighting their work over the past year. Some good scrolling animation.

Umamiland

Umamiland is an animated interactive introduction to Japanese food, with links to Google search results for individual items or where to get them.

Acqua Carloforte

Carloforte is the town on the island of San Pietro, near Sardinia, and the scents of the island inspire the perfumes of Acqua Carloforte. Cue beautiful photography.

Eugene Ling

Eugen Ling’s portfolio site is simple and straightforward with little or no marketing-speak and a lovely, understated slider transition.

CWC Tokyo

Cross World Connections is an Illustration and Creative Agency based in Japan and represents illustrators from all over the world.

Lions Good News

Following the cancellation of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity in 2020, this site was set up to highlight good news in creativity during the pandemic. A carousel of paper flyers forms the main navigation and creates a lo-fi, DIY feel.

G!theimagineers

G!theimagineers is a production studio for events and entertainment. White lines on black, horizontal concertina navigation, and lots of circles.

Sgrappa

Sgrappa is handmade grappa with attitude, and this site has an uncompromising, in your face vibe.

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25 janvier 2021/par Service comm.

12 Best WordPress Themes for 2021

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If you already have a good idea of what you want a new website to look like, the next step would be to decide on the tools you’ll need to put into play to turn that vision into a reality.

Tools enable you to present its content in ways that will engage and captivate its audience and gain their trust.
Tools that will make your website perform flawlessly in all respects.

That is why choosing the right WordPress theme to get the job done is so important. You want a theme that features the page building tools and design aids that make your task far easier than anticipated.

The following 12 top WordPress themes and plugins have been selected with those purposes in mind. They will not only get the job done for you but do it better than most of the other website-building tools in the marketplace are capable of doing.

The choice is up to you. Whatever that choice may be, it should prove to be a winner.

1. BeTheme

A website-building toolkit that can boast of 40+ core features sounds like a pretty good-sized toolkit, and BeTheme is just that. In fact, this popular (200,000 sales) theme is the biggest WordPress theme of them all.

It’s unlikely you will need to put every one of these core features to use for your next project, but some will be essential, such as –

The Muffin Builder page builder, Admin Panel, and Shortcode Generator combine to make BeTheme easy to use, give you a ton of flexibility, and enable you to build your website without any need for coding.
Be’s library of shortcodes together with the many Header, Footer, and Grid options, and the new Header Builder extends your design options even more.
The Layout Generator will come in handy if you want to start a page from scratch.
You’ll love what may be the most important core feature of them all; Be’s selection of 600+ customizable pre-built websites. They cover most industry sectors and website types plus a variety of business niches.

Click on the banner to learn more.

2. Total Theme

Designed with excellence in mind, Total features an exceptional selection of tools and design aids to work with. Total is also well-known for its speed, ease of use, and the flexibility it offers its users.

Since you can disable any feature you want to, you won’t be distracted by or bothered with those you don’t intend to use.
Total’s 40+ quick import demos and one-of-a-kind theme cards are designed to get your projects off to a rapid start.
The Dynamic Template function is a driving force behind this WordPress theme’s remarkable flexibility.
You’re given a wealth of design options to work with, thanks to the live customizer and the advanced theme panel.
Total is a WordPress plugin and WooCommerce friendly.

Click on the banner to learn more.

3. Avada Theme

When a WordPress theme has the distinction of being the #1 best seller of all time, you can safely assume that those who created it got it right. Avada’s 450,000+ sales can’t easily be ignored.

Look closer, and you’ll see some of the many reasons behind Avada’s popularity.

There’s an impressive selection of one-click import demos, pre-built websites, and a wealth of supporting design elements.
The Fusion drag and drop builder and Fusion page and theme options enable designers to create complex websites without resorting to coding.
5-star support and free updates ensure users that they will always be able to follow the latest design trends and create websites as they envision them.

Click on the banner to learn more.

4. MaxCoach – Online Courses, Personal Coaching & Education WP Theme

MaxCoach is a specialty tool that enables web designers to create an online distance learning and/or tutoring platform. This LearnPress theme was last year’s #1 coaching theme, and it will most likely be so in 2021 as well.

The platform is learner-centric
MaxCoach’s design is modern, trendy, and unique
Elementor is the drag and drop page builder of choice

Visit the site to see for yourself why this specialty theme has generated so much interest.

5. TheGem – Creative Multi-Purpose High-Performance WordPress Theme

TheGem, WordPress’s ultimate multiuse toolbox, gives its users:

A selection of more than 400 professionally-crafted pre-built multi-page and single-page websites
Two popular page builders – WPBakery and Elementor
Demos, layouts, and page sections you can mix and match to create a look that’s uniquely yours

The GemBlocks with its 300+ pre-designed section templates to speed up your workflow, plus WooCommerce layouts and design aids

6. Uncode – Creative Multiuse & WooCommerce WordPress Theme

The Uncode multi-use WordPress theme is ideal for entrepreneurs, creative individuals, agencies, and small businesses.

Its 80.000+ sales to date have made it a ThemeForest best-seller.
Features include a unique WooCommerce Custom Builder you can use to give site visitors a supreme shopping experience.

Viewing Uncode’s showcase of user-built websites is a must. Click on the banner to visit the site and prepare to be impressed.

7. Rey Theme

This highly modular popular theme is definitely worth a close look. It is simply one of the most innovative website building tools you’re likely to find on the market today,

Rey’s features include a library of professionally-designed templates and an imposing selection of WooCommerce site-building tools
It is easy to set up and easy to use
You will be more than satisfied with Rey’s robust performance

Rey has built-in SVG support and is user and developer-friendly.

8. Aurum – Minimalist WordPress Theme

With this multiuse minimalist WordPress theme at your fingertips, you’ll be able to create an online store that will give shoppers a fully satisfying shopping experience.

With Aurum, you can design megamenus to accommodate huge selections of products
Aurum’s page load times are super-fast, and Aurum’s pages are responsive to every screen size
Popular plugins are included, and all the popular WordPress plugins are supported

Click on the banner and check it out.

9. Hongo – Modern & Multipurpose WooCommerce WordPress Theme

Its trendy selections of creative design elements and ready-to-go store demos make Hongo an ideal choice for company, blogging, and eCommerce websites.

Premium plugins and WPBakery custom shortcodes are among the most popular of Hongo’s website-building features
This multipurpose theme also features an attractive selection of product-related tools that include product compare, quick view, wish lists, and product filter

You can expect and receive exceptional user support.

10. XStore – The Most Customizable WooCommerce Theme Ever

With its $39 price tag, XStore gives you more value for your money than you’ll find in any other WooCommerce theme.

For starters, there are 100+ good-to-go shops
A full Ajax shop is another popular feature
As is XStore’s single product page builder and its selection of product filters and display features

Check XStore out if you’re looking for a way to create an awesome online store in no time at all.

11. KnowAll – Knowledge Base Theme

Have you ever come across a FAQ page you really liked? It doesn’t happen often.

Visitors that can’t find a good answer might decide to make a phone call (and be placed on hold). That answer is OK, but additional information would be more helpful.

With AI-based KnowAll, customers get answers 24/7, and they can search for other relevant information. They will be happier customers, which is obviously good for business.

12. Pofo – Creative Portfolio, Blog, and eCommerce WordPress Theme

Bloggers, creatives, agencies, and those looking to create an eCommerce site should give Pofo a good, hard look.

Pofo is fast, flexible, SEO optimized, and packed with useful features that include:

Trendy selections of pre-built design elements, ready-to-go home pages, and one-click import demo pages.
Premium plugins, including Revolution Slider and the WPBakery page builder.

Detailed online documentation is provided, and you’ll be more than pleased with this theme’s customer support.

A modern, fast-loading, and smoothly performing theme is what you need. It will help you create a website that will have a significantly positive impact on your business’ growth.

Themes like those presented here can do just that by enabling you to give your website the professional touch you’re looking for. You can do it without having to rely on a single line of code.

These 12 top WordPress themes are modern, trendy, and easy to work with. Trying to find the “best” of the bunch could admittedly be somewhat daunting. But, you can take comfort in the fact that you really can’t make a wrong or bad choice.

[– This is a sponsored post –]

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20 janvier 2021/par Service comm.

Popular Design News of the Week: January 11, 2021 – January 17, 2021

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Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers.

The best way to keep track of all the great stories and news being posted is simply to check out the Webdesigner News site, however, in case you missed some here’s a quick and useful compilation of the most popular designer news that we curated from the past week.

Front-End Performance Checklist 2021

Google Design’s Best of 2020

Skynet – Build a Free Internet

An Early Look at Full Site Editing in WordPress

30 Basic Fonts

5 Great Ways to Develop your Eye for Design

No More Facebook – Privacy-friendly Alternatives to Facebook Products

Bold CMS – The CMS that Understands your Content

Design in 2021 – What will Design Activism Look Like?

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17 janvier 2021/par Service comm.

6 Tools for Rapid Cross-Device Website Testing

Actualités, Actualités

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:

1. Multi-Screen Test

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.

2. Responsinator

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.

3. Google Dev Tools

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.

4. Browser Stack

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.

5. TestComplete Mobile

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.

6. Sizzy

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

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14 janvier 2021/par Service comm.

The Potential of AR in Web Design

Actualités, Actualités

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?

The Benefits of Experimenting with AR

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.

1. Focus on Real-Time Feedback

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.

2. Define input and output

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.

3. Embrace Customer-Friendly Performance

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.

4. Address the Environment

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:

Public environment: The entire body of the user is involved as a controller, like with the Xbox Kinect or Nintendo Wii;
Intimate environment: Where a user can be seated – often in a desktop environment;
Personal environment: AR on smartphones, mobile devices, and tablets, like Pokémon Go;
Private environments: Completely private spaces, such as with wearable technology like the Google Glass solution.

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.

5. Remember User Fatigue

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.

6. Remember the Essential Principles of UX Design

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.

Unlocking the Potential of AR Web Design

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.

Are You Ready to Embrace 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.

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Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

31 décembre 2020/par Service comm.

50 Best Websites of 2020

Actualités

2020 has been one of the most memorable years in our history. Few of us have been alive long enough to experience a more turbulent time. But throughout the year, we saw design respond to challenging events with positivity, color, and a desire to elevate those people and projects working to make the world better.

As we head into 2021, there’s no denying that 2020 has changed our outlook on life and marked a major turning point in web design trends.

Here’s a collection of the websites we loved the most this year. Enjoy!

Looks Like You Need Iceland

On Looks Like You Need Iceland, you are invited to record a scream, which will then be broadcast into the Icelandic wilderness. It’s meant as a form of therapy. The idea is that you will one day visit Iceland in person. That might still be some way off for most of us, but we could certainly use a good therapeutic scream.

Black Lives Matter

Across 2020 there were major protests around the world in support of Black Lives Matter. The movement’s website is a central hub for news, resources, and civil rights information in 38 countries.

2º Earth

2ºC Earth takes the user to 5 locations worldwide and shows what will happen there if global temperatures rise by 2ºc. Sound is used really well here to create an immersive experience, along with some beautiful photography.

Github

Along with some new features announced earlier this month, GitHub has a glossy new homepage. It has a clean feel, with some nice scrolling animation and sparing but effective use of illustration.

I Weigh Community

Political and social initiatives were big in 2020, and non-profit activism initiative I Weigh Community is the brainchild of actress Jameela Jamil. It’s devoted to radical inclusivity, communicated with bold, expressive graphics.

UNREAL

Back in January, we clicked around UNREAL’s site for hours, enjoying the sharp transitions. The Swiss agency produced a wonderfully chaotic love letter to web animation.

Delassus

Delassus grows fruit, from citrus to avocados. The Moroccan company employs a cornucopia of 3D design to make its site bold, fun, and practical.

Lynn Fisher

We loved everything about Lynn Fisher’s site back in May. The homepage illustration was awesome. It was a humorous approach to RWD that we really appreciated. The site has since changed, with tons more to explore.

Minervo

The Minervo site feels distinctly Latin, with the hot pinks and sun-blasted desaturation feeling suitably South American. We love the cropping on the custom typeface.

Babord

Norwegians have an almost mystical connection with the sea, which is evident in the site for Babord, a Norwegian seafood supplier. We loved the brand font too.

Calexo

Calexo makes THC-infused beverages, and back in April, we loved the color and positivity of the site. The animated hamburger menu was a hit too.

Moooi

Moooi’s site layers illustration with a maximal effect that makes you feel like you’re chasing a white rabbit. There are tons of great UI details here, especially the bar that reveals the product videos.

Blind Barber Anniversary

The Blind Barber celebrates 10 years of success with this microsite. A deconstructed grid and an entirely black and white design, but with color photos, create energy and a sense of joy.

Zand Harirchi Architects

Zand Harirchi is an architecture firm based in Tehran, Iran. Its site features subtle references to architecture, like the delightful thumbnails reminiscent of small windows.

WFN

The WFN (Women’s Funding Network) is an international alliance supporting women’s foundations and gender justice funders. The sophisticated color palette and clean type are both confident and feminine.

Nathan Taylor

We loved exploring Nathan Taylor’s playful site all the way back in January. The different lighting modes were a firm favorite.

Käthe Kollwitz Memorial

A tribute to the life and work of Käthe Kollwitz, an Expressionist printmaker. There’s a catalog of her work, presented alongside large type and splashy color transitions.

Emotive Feels

Emotive Feels is a design manifesto from the Emotive Brand agency that illustrates an A–Z of potential brand emotions with simple animations that we likened to a Blue Note release.

A. N Other

A.N Other’s site for perfume highlights quality ingredients, materials, simplicity, craftsmanship, and the environment; in the process, it cleverly invokes a sense of luxury.

Playtype

Danish type foundry Playtype’s site fits its name perfectly. The playful site with bright blocks of color and the occasional animation shows off some pretty nice typefaces.

Feijoo Montenegro

All-text sites are always a thrill, and back in June, we were treated to this simple one-pager by Feijoo. Details like the numerals being replaced by words are delightful.

Wavering Stripes

Although this site’s subject matter is harrowing, it is presented in a very beautiful, thoughtful manner.

The Oyster & Fish House

Sophisticated typography, the wave textures, the nostalgic feel of the photography, and even the cookie notice’s on-brand styling all show attention to detail, which gives this site its appeal.

Who Cares

Find and ‘photograph’ the endangered species to learn about them in this delightfully illustrated game.

Curbed

When Curbed came under the umbrella of New York magazine earlier this year, it got a makeover. Neon highlights and a distorted grid give an edge to the classic magazine layout.

Yolélé

The carousel of fonio (it’s a West African grain) products on Yolélé’s landing page is a good example of horizontal scrolling that works well. There are some great page transitions too.

Pantheone Audio

Pantheone Audio’s site employs elegant scrolling to enable seamless navigation of an extremely luxurious site, underpinned by a complex grid.

Aelfie

Bright color, an irregular grid, illustrations, and a display type that feels almost hand-drawn perfectly captures the aesthetic of this NY-based home furnishing brand.

Highcourt

This site for private membership leisure club Highcourt uses subtle background color changes and simple line illustrations to create a sense of calm. Black and white are softened to dark blue and ivory, and gentle animation adds interest.

Kate Jackling

Kate Jackling’s site takes a step back and allows the content to bask in the glow of attention, placing her photography at center stage.

Treaty

While there is less hustle and bustle outside than we were used to pre-pandemic, we could certainly all use some calm. Treaty’s site for CBD oils reflects that calm with a combination of video, whitespace, and botanical drawings.

Ukrainian Railroad Ladies

Ukrainian Railroad Ladies is a book of photographs of women, and some men, who work on the Ukrainian railways. The site is basic, even brutalist, but it has charm, and the photographer’s fascination with his subject comes through.

Year & Day

Year & Day is an ecommerce site that sells tableware, from glassware to ceramics. The colorful collection is designed to complement different types of food, and the site’s color scheme reflects that perfectly.

Juan Mora

Juan Mora’s ‘under construction’ holding page has probably been crafted with more care than many full-blown sites. This showcase cleverly manages to demonstrate its subject’s skills without showing a single piece of work.

Lucciano’s

Lucciano’s homepage hero video alone will have your mouth watering for some of their gelato. Much of the appeal of food is visual, and the photography here does not disappoint. Circular text boxes in ice cream colors complement the product shots nicely.

Bored Solutions

Back in April, we were already a little weary of lockdown — if only we’d known how long it would last! The amazing color blobbing of bored.solutions was the ideal distraction.

Grand Matter

Grand Matter is an artist agency representing illustrators. There is a wealth of talent on show here and a broad enough range of styles to keep the web interesting for a good while.

Dunderville

This site for Dunderville motion design studio features a paper fold detail, which adds tactility to the virtual. Some superb type and vector animations showcase an impressive portfolio.

Album Colors of the Year

Album Colors has taken the covers from 150 albums released this year and arranged them by dominant color. The hex code for each color is provided if you want to copy it.

Mammut Expedition Baikal

Mammut uses stunning photography and a strong narrative to present its Eiger Extreme outdoor clothing. Longing for the great outdoors will either be alleviated or exacerbated by this one.

808303

808303.studio is a virtual Roland TR-808 drum machine and TB 303 bass synthesizer. You can program, record, and share your very own 80s techno masterpiece.

Bliss

Humor can be hard to get right, especially when you want to be taken seriously at the same time. Here, it works, and the result is a memorable site, oozing with confidence.

Jazz Keys

Type your message into Jazz Keys, and you’ll hear it in sound. You can send the message to anyone and let them hear your words — the web lives for side-projects like this.

Érika Moreira

The fabulous, simple site for Sao Paulo-based Érika Moreira has some awesome big type and creative case studies. It’s an excellent example of a non-visual portfolio.

G.F Smith

Earlier this year, the site for leading paper supplier G.F Smith got a redesign. It is a simpler design than the previous site and keeps the visual focus on the products and the colors.

Abbotsford Convent

Abbotsford Convent is a creative arts venue in Melbourne, Australia, based in a former convent. The UI for its site blends architectural forms to acknowledge the building’s heritage.

Waka Waka

Waka Waka designs and builds wooden furniture. The mid-century typography and the noise textures transport the site to the last century’s radical graphic design. There’s some clever disruption to the typical thumbnail approach.

Cone

Sites advertising apps always seem to want to box the design into a hastily de-branded mock-up. Cone takes a daringly refreshing approach by depicting a more expansive mobile experience.

Ride Out

Amsterdam’s Ride Out bike store teases the content with an intriguingly masked video. Plus, we love the wheel-inspired spinning links.

Puddle Sound

This site is a model of minimalism. Beautiful photographs and very little text, there is nothing to distract from the product on display.

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Source de l’article sur Webdesignerdepot

28 décembre 2020/par Service comm.

Popular Design News of the Week: December 21, 2020 – December 27, 2020

Actualités, Actualités, Business

Every week users submit a lot of interesting stuff on our sister site Webdesigner News, highlighting great content from around the web that can be of interest to web designers.