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| 4 Things to Look for in a Blog Theme Posted: 10 Dec 2013 04:00 AM PST Blogging is as intrinsic to my life as taking a shower, eating, and drinking coffee. Of course, I have to come clean and admit that it is part of my job, so I can’t really avoid blogging on a daily basis, but I also have to say that there is something differently enjoyable when I have time to play with my personal blog. It does not get updated as often as I would like, but I do make it a point to change things up once a year if possible. And when it comes to “changing things up”, the blog theme is always a factor that I consider. Any blogger would agree, I think, although the frequency of changing themes (and/or blog design) will definitely vary from one blogger to another. How do you go about choosing a blog theme if you do not have something particular in mind? One, you can browse sites such as WPThemes.org, which offer a host of blog themes. Two, you can look at blogs that you already admire and find out which themes they use. If you are looking to redesign your blog, here are four simple things to help you choose the right theme. After all, there are more themes than you can count out there. These will help narrow down the field. First impressions last!No matter what we say about first impressions, there is something true about the first look having a lasting effect. How many times have you left a website, never to return again, because it looked spammy – or plain ugly? If you want to increase the chances of retaining your visitors, then make sure that the blog theme you choose makes a good first impression overall. How do the colors blend?Now on to the details…colors play a huge role in how a blog looks. It’s not about what color you prefer, but more about how the colors used by the theme play together. If they look good, then you can tick off this item. More than the colors, though, you also have to look at the fonts the theme uses. As with the colors, they should come together in such a way that the overall result is pleasing to the eyes and makes the blog content easy to read. Does it have integrated features?Integrated features depend on what you need. Basically, though, you will want social sharing buttons to be present. If there’s an SEO feature (or two), that’s even better. You can always add plugins, sure, but if you want things to be easy, especially if you’re a beginning blogger, then these integrated features will make your life so much better. Load times matter.Last, but not the least, make sure that your blog will load fast. You may have the most mind blowing theme, but what good will it do you if the load times are slower than a turtle who has just woken up? Looks make a difference, but if the pages don’t load quickly enough, your readers will vanish even quicker. The post 4 Things to Look for in a Blog Theme appeared first on The Blog Herald. |
| Ecommerce web design – understanding what it takes Posted: 09 Dec 2013 05:44 PM PST
There are different elements involved in the creation and development of anything that you wish to present to a target audience and ecommerce web design is no exception. Understanding them holistically as well as in some detail will help you provide inputs to your web designer. Should you want to do it yourself, this knowledge will be pretty handy to have. Let us look at some of the main elements. Brief overview If you are selling products of varied types and at various price points, it would be a good idea to present the visitor a quick brief overview of what he or she can expect to find in your site. This definition of the products you are about to showcase is a good starting point and very similar to the index page of a book. Ensure you lay down your thoughts clearly for this so that you do not miss out on any aspect. Categorisation of the products This is another important element in ecommerce web design as it quickly leads the visitor to the products of interest. This becomes more crucial when you have many products or services. You want to make the navigation of your site a pleasant and easy one for your visitors so that they not only spend more time at the site but also send out positive referrals. Doing this will also lead to faster decision making and better conversions, which is a very good thing. Broad layout of the site Navigation is further improved by the addition and inclusion of appropriate hover links, headers and text content that is not too verbose or long. That will make it easy for the visitor to view products on the single web page at one glance without having to keep moving the cursor. Headers are typically images and texts. Banners that are synergistic with the products showcased will complement what you want the visitor to see wonderfully. Content This is the heart of the site. Depending on how you can present content that is not only fresh but also updated regularly will determine repeat visits to your site and also the attention you want from major search engines. Well drafted text, interesting images, captivating videos and generally informative content about the products and services showcased will get you loyal visitors. You also need to make it easy for people visiting your site to be able to interact with you. That is useful not only from the point of view of connecting better with them but also from the perspective of getting fresh ideas that you can implement down the line. Good content also reflects the professionalism of the web master and creates a favourable impression among visitors that this site can be trusted to do business with. Payment gateway and security E commerce web design has to incorporate the best and most robust payment gateway systems for easy check out. Buyers should also feel secure about the confidentiality of sensitive payment related information they are providing. The above are just a few of the aspects you need to keep in view with regard to e commerce web design. For more information you can visit an ecommerce web design agency like BT Websites who can offer you free and impartial advice about how to get setup online. The post Ecommerce web design – understanding what it takes appeared first on The Blog Herald. |
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