Web Design Trends Companies Should Watch For, 2014

As the trends keep changing every year, the concept of web design is growing less complex, more streamlined and much cleaner web interface. In this post, we shall discuss on various trends that fall under the broad category of simplicity from bold colours to parallax scrolling.

Parallax Scrolling For Virtual Retreat

Quite famous in the world of animation, Parallax scrolling is observed when your foreground text moves faster than the background image. This trick, if used in the right manner, will give a strong user-engagement and will come across a great experience.

Importance to Context

Google recommends focusing more on quality and updated content that has to be increased by leaps and bound. Why people follow certain brands on social media? Not only to show off but expecting interesting and more unique content. The result of this approach is well understood that is to get an interactive data visualization. You can easily crawl them up and down and are found through a search engine easily.


Clean Icons

Flat design talks about easy or simple designs. But what trending more in these days is clean icon which is not referring to flat design. The new iOS 8 design interfaces has come out as an inspiration for the designers so as to create clean, and elegant interface with minimal techniques. Opt for simple icons that can be identified easily cross color wheel and platforms. 

 

Infographics

Making use of brilliant infographics in an eye catchy manner can indulge more and more number of visitors and eventually businesses. To make it even better, typography, bold colors, bar charts and graphics could be the best tools to draw much attention.


Videos an Integral Part

Videos are being preferred by more and more numbers of businesses to interact with customers instead relying on images and icons to convey information to the user. It is estimated that by 2017, videos are going to be the largest engagement of customer internet traffic. Web designers have to consider videos as part of the design process and this can be disruptive.

We recommend that a decent design should serve both practical and aesthetic purposes that should meet user’s needs and apply best practices.

The Future of Mobile Payments: Apple Pay vs. Google Wallet

Mobile electronic wallet has been around for a decade, the newly unveiled Apple Pay seems to be different and signs are visible that the latter might be able to pull it off.

Only this week did Apple confirmed that the iPhone will have near-field communication (NFC) functionality that facilitates customers to pay for in-store purchases using their device, thus eliminating the need to carry around cash and credit cards.

But how is Apple Pay compared to its closest mobile payment system rival- Google Wallet? Read On

Google Wallet

Set Up: Google Wallet allows you to add to the cart simply by either signing into the Google Wallet website and use the Settings menu in the mobile app or log in through your bank's website.

Check Out: It uses NFC technology and during check out, it requires you to hold your phone near the contactless reader. Besides, you’ll need to wake up your screen and enter a PIN to complete the purchase.

Why Google Is Different? Despite the fact that both Apple Pay and Google Wallet lets you pay for both online and offline purchases, the latter one offers even more ways to pay and send money online.

• Aren't limited to major credit and debit cards

• Use your Wallet Balance (the amount stored in your Google Wallet or Google Wallet Card) to pay for purchases

   
Apple Pay

Set Up: Adding credit and debit cards to Apple Pay which are all stored in Passbook has many ways. If you are a new user, either take a photo of the card or enter the information manually. For those already registered, use the credit or debit card associated with your iTunes account by entering the security code.

Check Out: In order to speed up checkout, Apple Pay combines NFC technology and the iPhone's Touch ID fingerprint reader. All it requires is to simply hold your iPhone near the contactless reader with your finger on the Touch ID; the phone will vibrate and beep when checkout is complete.

Why Apple Pay Is Different? Many steps are taken to make Apple Pay safe and secure.

• Assigns each credit and debit card with a unique, encrypted Device Account Number to process payments

• Can disable or wipe your phone remotely with Find My iPhone in case you ever lose your device.

Companies have taken chances to turn the phone into a mobile wallet. Now it’s time for Apple and if they continue to execute on it, it'll really reshape the way people buy.

Striving To Improve Your Joomla Website? 5 Security Metrics to Get It Done

 Hackers are everywhere. But nothing to fear! All it takes is a few steps to strengthen your security and turn your Joomla website into a fortress. Infact, for all good reasons, more than 2.5 percent of websites are running on this CMS despite businesses of all sizes.

As the admin you have the daunting task of ensuring your CMS is properly patched. Here we shall show you how to guard against the most common exploits and hacks that this open source CMS faces.

1. Nothing More Critical Than Hosting and Servers

Many a server errors can be attributed to unpatched servers. So,

• Make sure you are using a well-known secure host and that you stay current with your server patches.

• Host your site on a server that runs PHP 5.2 or better

• Ensure that you are using the latest Apache version and that your Apache configuration doesn't allow browsing/indexing.

2. Enable and Use the htaccess File:

Even though the htaccess file is not in use, ensure you rename it from “.htaccess.txt” to “.htaccess”

3. Consider an Incident Management Plan

"Back up early and often"- this takes a lot of the pressure off your shoulders when your site be hacked to ensure you can restore your site without significant downtime or loss of data.

4. Manage Third party extensions

What make Joomla CMS so wildly popular is that every extension is considered to be another item that you have to ensure is updated / patched.

5. Use SSL Certification

Induce Joomla into SSL mode for all logins. Be aware that you must have a properly configured SSL certificate for your site's domain rather than a shared SSL certificates.

Joomla security depends on a number of things that have to be maintained and updated on a regular basis. Need to stay on top? Know your site and stay current with patches and extensions, as well as cleaning things up from time to time. Good luck!

Determining When Responsive Web Design Is a Good Idea: A Few Harsh Truths

With increasing web traffic on mobile phones and tablets, most of the firms have come to the point to optimize their online business sites to almost all devices, browsers, and screen resolutions. Well, thanks to the great idea of responsive design but again optimizing for the mobile Web isn't a simple task.

Before you get to step in, understanding RWD's simplicity and convolution will help you decide when to leverage it to meet their customers' mobile needs.

Pros for Using RWD

• RWD website from an adaptive site, using which it is possible to build one website with different implementations for different devices.

• Includes a single code base thus makes it developer’s desire.

• Reduced maintenance time and

• A single device-agnostic URL structure which doesn’t requires two or more domain names as used for mobile website.

Here, The Question Of The Hour Is When Should You Pull The Trigger On Going RWD?

Here Are 5 Strategies To Help You Make That Decision.

1. Greater the number of different presentation venues, more chances for RWD arguments.

2. The cost factor may be an issue if it eliminates the need for a company to build different sites for desktop, tablet portrait, mobile portrait and mobile landscape, etc.

3. How many unique page formats are there? If to reuse templates and other components- RWD certainly aggravate.

4. Top notch skill sets for HTML, CSS and JavaScript are required.

5. In case your project’s life span is short, it might not be worth the time and cost.

The sum of your answers shall determine where your project falls on the scale between standalone mobile site and responsive site. Responsive web design is a good step not only to the device of the visitor but a call-to-action for all designers out there. Aside from responding to the device or the browser of the end-user, a true design means responding to the end-users.

How to Regulate the Rising Security Risks for Online Shopping

Some of the most successful elements of an ecommerce website in general are: displaying clear product information with pictures, to offer multiple payment options, to include postage & GST in purchase price, proper customer support, and most importantly a secure platform.

People look for trust and integrity, besides the first impression. And, for this very reason website development companies have surpassed mainstream security measures set in place to properly regulate online commerce and prevent consumer identity fraud. 


Fundamental Security Tips in the E-Commerce World

1. Share Only That Is Required

• Sellers need to create online checkout forms but including highly sensitive personal information such as social security or driver's license numbers are irrelevant.

• If you have a digital wallet app, sharing without taking basic precautions is just asking for a problem down the road.

• No all shared Wi-Fi networks are safe for your sensitive data.

2. Verify Urls For Secure Connections

Many fail to check URLs for "https" security when making transactions online, especially when making purchases on the mobile Web. Though it can thrive off ease-of-use and convenience, ensure to take time to check the URL.

3. Ensure You Transact With Legitimate Sites

Aside from checking the URL for validity, there is a simple two-step process to ensure authenticity.

• Firstly, check the shopping cart site has a valid "About us" or "Contact us" page with contact information listed.

• Secondly, confirm the company has some type of social media presence. Fraudulent sites are likely to show up in Google results with consumer complaints, BBB warnings, or other scam indications.

4. Protect Your One Online Identity

No matter how cautious you are in the ecommerce sphere, having a Facebook account for instance can be the best way to protect yourself to monitor your online identity actively. With 50 % of Web sales projected to occur via social media by 2015 your social media presence defines your digital footprint to the point to combat online payment fraud in the near future.

10 Best Practices to Design a Better Mobile Checkout

The US market saw an 81% spike in mobile ecommerce sales in 2012, comprising a $25 billion market and the numbers keep growing with years. This rate has influenced retailers to fuel by creating seamless, user-friendly checkout processes that inspire trust and that make full use of all of the advantages the medium has to offer. 

This post compiles 10 best practices for mobile checkout and how it really helps both business as well as the customers.

1. One Cohesive Page with covered Essentials: A responsive mobile checkout process succeeds by reducing the fields to the bare essentials, condensing the entire process into one cohesive page.

2. Provide An Option To Check Out As A Guest: This should be one of the standard practices across media but sadly 24% of ecommerce websites don’t. By removing the “Register” button a user is more likely to complete an order.

3. Mobile UI Elements: Instead of a user being prompted to select quantities using a typical drop-down menu, a responsive design prompts to update quantities using increment selectors- a speedy way.

4. Content Shouldn’t Be a Distraction:  A content-rich checkout page might seem like a good idea but they aren’t. But then, never neglect content part for answering about shipping guidelines, delivery, terms and conditions and more.

5. Watch the Loading Speed: Your mobile website needs to be light weighted and not to take more than five seconds to load.

6. Progress Bars Alleviate Anxiety: Although many implementations leave much to be desired the majority of major e-tailors show a progress bar until they are done.

7. Security Reassurances- A Biggest Reservation: Designers needn’t be subtle when it comes to security. Using iconography, SSL certificates and dedicated callouts in copy resolves this.

8. Checkout via Payment Gateways: Rather than fumbling through checkout forms, use a trusted service such as Google Wallet, PayPal and Amazon to get users two taps away from completing their payment.

9. Use Geolocation and One-Touch Calling: Through these, Google will automatically retrieve the nearest location and provide directions to make an in-store purchase successfully.

10. Don’t Neglect Mobile Testing: Though it is difficult and time-intensive, this would make sense to choose between a native app/website, cross-browser experience, and a native aesthetic.

The promise of mCommerce is assured but only with retailers offering a clear, focused, streamlined and lightweight path to making their purchase.

How Bold Enough Are You When Branding Your Website?

This question sometimes shakes everybody. Website design is daunting as it requires a lot of efforts to stand apart from others. How much ever hard you try, there is one thing that could possibly be missing from a website crafted by a developer? - Your brand.

When it comes to your branding, only you will be evident throughout the pages on your site? Compiled here are some undeniable truths about branding your website:

LOGO + WEBDESIGN = IDENTIFYING MARK

While it is obvious that your logo is the face of your company, it should never be the sole identifying factor. Even before an audience has been properly conditioned a logo will do its job immediately. Your audience need to catch hold of your brand the moment they arrive on your home page, starting from the colors used to the content you share. Plan your website design around that brand strategy.

The Question Of The Hour Is: will your visitors know what you selling, how you selling it, more importantly, why you sell it?

Static Websites Never Grow

When designing a website, make sure it turns out to be a dynamic one with a great content that tells your brand story. Stories need to be posted occasionally in the form of frequent blog posts, landing pages for lead generation, and even videos and images that share your products and company culture.

Aside from content gearing up the interest of your buyers and solidify your brand message it also helps you with search engine rankings.

First Impression Happens Only Once and You Need to Win That

Potential customers will determine the worth of you website in their first impressions itself. Believe it or not, 80% of US consumers have admitted to leave the shopping cart if doesn’t load in 5 seconds. Elegant design can get these standards across to your buyers to see if your company’s purpose and value fulfilled immediately.

If you’re not sure of your brand standards, take website design and development slowly and be meticulous. “Your Each Word Can Spell The Magic Of Your Brand Story”