Eight Amazing Sources Of Web Design Inspiration

Do you feel like you’re stuck in a web design rut? If you’re able to find fresh sources of inspiration, you’ll be able to snap out of your slump and create even better designs. If you’re seeking new and exciting sources of inspiration, these are a few of the places you’ll want to look at.

1. Look At Your Favorite Sites

Take a closer look at some of your favorite sites. Don’t just use the sites the way you normally do. Instead, try to identify the elements that make the site stand out to you.

Your favorite sites resonate with you for a reason. Try to spot what makes these sites special. You may be able to incorporate some of these elements when you design your own sites.

2. Check Out Web Designer Portfolios

Designers often showcase the best work that they’ve done in their portfolios, which is why they can be a fantastic source of inspiration. While you won’t want to copy the work of other designers, you can get plenty of ideas from them. Combine the best elements of various designers to create something that’s uniquely your own.

3. Use Color Wheels

While white is the primary color on most sites including a few other pops of color on a website can really help it to stand out. If you’re trying to choose the best colors for a site that you’re designing, look at a color wheel. This can give you a better idea of which colors compliment each other.

4. Check Out Book Covers

You don’t have to focus all of your attention on websites when you’re looking for web design inspiration. Try to look at book covers as well. Book covers are specifically designed to command attention. Browsing best-selling book covers can give you new and exciting ideas about how to create an eye-catching website.

5. Browse Old Site Designs

You should try to keep up with the current trend designs, but you shouldn’t be afraid to take a look at the past. Combining older design philosophies with more modern elements can help you to build a really impressive site that’s perfect for people today. You can easily see what sites looked like in the past with resources like the Wayback Archive.

6. Stay Ahead Of The Curve

While you should absolutely pay attention to trends when designing new sites, this shouldn’t be a major source of inspiration for you. If you’re able to predict what trends will be in the future, you’ll be able to develop a design that won’t have to be altered for a long time.

7. Download The Latest Apps

A growing number of people are exclusively browsing the internet through their mobile devices. Obviously, this means that any site you build should have a responsive design. However, you should also look at the experience that people are getting from their favorite apps. If you’re able to include elements from apps in your own site’s design, you’ll be able to design

8. Experiment

You can be your own source of inspiration. If you experiment with different design elements, you’ll get a better idea of what does and doesn’t work for you. Even when you’re not working on a specific design project, you should try to experiment and create sites that are unlike anything you’ve ever built before.

You can get web design inspiration anywhere you look. You shouldn’t limit yourself when you’re designing new websites. If you’re hoping to find fresh ideas that will help you to create sites that you’re proud of, these ideas can give you the creative spark that you’ve been searching for.

What Is the Relationship Between SEO and Webflow

In today’s generation, having a website is not enough to make people aware of your company’s presence on the internet. You need that extra boost, that X-factor that separates your website from your competitors. Building a website is not a Herculean task these days. Thanks to website developing tools like Webflow, almost anyone can build a website and go online. However, what will you do to get a response from people? That’s where the competition becomes fierce. The war is primarily about better content of the site. So, what should you do differently?

Optimizing the website

Why did you build the website in the first place? To reach your target customers, right? So, why not optimize the website to help reach the customers as soon as they search for related products in a search engine? That’s where SEO comes in. Optimizing the website doesn’t necessarily mean tweaking the algorithms. Instead, SEO optimizes the website for the respective target audience using search engines.

The entire game of SEO and Webflow revolves around the most relevant and helpful content. Although it may sound easy to develop content for the audience, there are lots of things that SEO experts have to keep in mind. Developing unique content is the secret weapon to make your SEO strategy successful. That said, you can also tweak a few things in Webflow to make sure that the website becomes more visible on the search engines. It will increase the helpfulness, shareability, and clarity of the content of the website to boost its optimization.

Here are a few ways how you can ensure better visibility of your website:

Design responsively

One reason why web designers love Webflow is it provides responsive designs. You cannot imagine how crucial this feature is when it comes to SEO of a site. When you use Webflow, it helps your website’s SEO with two things: makes it mobile-friendly by providing tag in search. Secondly, it offers a better user experience to everyone by keeping the functions simple for the entire site. So, you don’t have to redesign the website for a mobile version. Webflow will do it as you design the site for the first time.

Writing SERP-in content and keyword research

SERP-in content allows you to provide more keyword variations in search engines to provide a bigger and better search. Keywords rule when it comes to SEO and websites. Unless you develop content that matches what people are searching in the search engine, your website will fail to rank higher. That is why SERP-in content becomes so crucial. For example, you want to search for responsive web design. The moment you type “responsive web design,” you get additional suggestive keywords like responsive web design tutorial, responsive web design templates, and so on.

That means the websites providing these details offer not only information about responsive web design but also the other keywords mentioned above. You can follow the same rule while writing about your company’s products and services. This will create more response from the target audience.

Keep important pages on top

It is almost like organizing essential files in an office. You keep the most important ones on top followed by the ones you need once in a while. Consider your website like a bunch of files. Keep the essential pages lined on top so that viewers can see them as soon as they enter your site. For example, if you visit the website of Webflow, you will see the CMS page first, followed by the Designer page, and then the Pricing page.

There can be hundreds of SEO strategies to improve website visibility and ranking, but you should ensure that the web design is up to the marking, especially when you use Webflow.

The Web Design Process In 7 Simple Steps For Beginners

You do not have to be a professional designer to launch a website. There is a much easier way that does not involve all that coding and knowledge. So, consider this as a web design process in 7 simple steps aimed at non-professional designers. If you lack the knowledge to create a website from scratch, this is definitely the guide to read. And without wasting any more time, this is how you approach the basic design process.

1. Consider The Niche Of Your Site

The best place to start is to think about the niche of your site. This is important because it provides you with a framework on how to go forward. For example, your niche will help you decide whether you should lean towards a casual or professional design. Also, research your audience and see what they like about the websites they visit. This information can help a great deal to launch the best site.

2. Research The Best Platform

There are so many platforms you can use to launch the site. The most popular has to be WordPress, mainly because it has a good reputation and it is very user-friendly. You do not require any special knowledge in order to use this platform to your advantage. Of course, there is a big difference between a basic and a professional site. But even a basic site can go a very long way.

3. Choose Your Domain And Platform

The domain name you choose is almost as critical as the design. Take some time to brainstorm names that pop. Or at the very least, go with a domain name users will easily remember. But do not just pick any domain name just because you are in a hurry.

4. Research Free And Premium Themes

Once you are settled on a platform, like WordPress, it is time to choose a theme. WordPress is going to offer a wide variety of free themes you can install, and you can choose between premium options if you are willing to pay. Either way, there will not be a lack of options. Just remember the niche of your website and the users you are trying to attract. The theme you ultimately choose has to appeal to your audience.

5. Consider Paying A Professional Designer

Alternatively, you can hire a professional website designer. And as you can imagine, there are many benefits to working with an expert designer. For example, they can design a custom site according to your specific needs. This is not possible when you install a pre-existing theme. Also, a site designed from scratch is more unique, which helps if you are building a brand.

6. Install The Theme

After deciding whether to go with a free/premium site or to get one designed from scratch, you have to install the theme. If you are using WordPress, the installation should require one or two clicks. But take note if the site is responsive before you install it. You want the theme or design to accommodate all devices that try to access the site.

7. Make The Necessary Tweaks

Finally, go through the site and assess whether any tweaks are necessary. If you are using a free theme, chances are you will have to do some tweaking. But if you are using a professional, they will do the customization for you. Once the tweaks are done, you can consider your website ready for launch.

Just don’t forget to add content and media in order to flesh out the site. Otherwise, users are going to get bored very quickly and leave even quicker than they arrived.

Why Your Business Needs a Website

In today’s digitally dominated world, having a business website is as necessary as it once was to be listed in the Yellow Pages. In fact, 85% of consumers use the internet to find local businesses. If your business is not on the web, it’s not existing in a world where most customers are spending their time.

Why does my business need a website?

Your business needs a website because it provides additional details about your company that will boost exposure and visibility.

Online Presence

First, a website provides your business with an online presence. As previously mentioned, the vast majority of customers search online to find local businesses. Google and other search engines are an opt-in service, which means that unless you tell search engines your contact information, it will not be provided to people online. A website works to tell search engines information about your business including your address, telephone number, service areas, and business hours. If your business isn’t found on search engines, it essentially doesn’t exist online.

Engagement

The second reason your business needs a website is because it creates a channel for customer engagement. A good business website gives people opportunities to intereact with your business, such as by requesting a free quote, scheduling an appointment, emailing your business, or even just looking up your address and phone number. The more information your customers can learn about your company in the fastest amount of time, and the more opportunities they have to engage with you, the more likely they will be to engage with you.

Competitive Advantage

If you want potential customers to find and use your business over your competitors, your business needs a website. The more information you can provide about your products, services, and personality, the more you can distinguish your business from competitors in your local community.

Also, by using content reflective of the personality and culture of your business, your website can get a feel for the experience of your business, not just its products and services. The more familiar you can make someone with your business, the more they will be drawn to it.

How does a website help a business?

Having a website doesn’t just lead your business to exist in the digital world; it helps it to thrive in the physical world as well. A website helps a business in various areas of growth involving your customers, your reputation, and your visibility in your community and industry.

Generates Leads

A website helps your business by generating leads with calls-to-action. A call-to-action is a button or text on your website that prompts someone to provide their contact information for specific purpose. Examples of calls-to-action include schedule an appointment, get a quote for a service, download a brochure or eBook, or request more information from the business. Having calls-to-action on your website that require visitors to fill out a contact form provides you with a list of people to follow up with and potentially convert into clients and customers.

Saves Time

A website can save you time and money as a business owner. Think of your website as a conversation you’d have with a person interested in your services, whether on the phone or in person. Answering questions they have will show that you are knowledgeable in your area of expertise, will increase their trust in you, and may potentially lead to a sale.

Having a website enables you to provide the same information you would in a conversation, but without you actually having to be there. Even better, a website works to allow you to have multiple “conversations” with potential customers at once because, unlike having a one-on-one conversation, more than one person can view your website at a time. Time otherwise spent answering these questions and informing customers can now be allocated to other priorities. In addition, the thought-out content on your website will, at times, articulate your business and services better than you can on the fly.

Promotes Your Business

In addition to giving information about your business, a website allows you to showcase your business’s products and services. Depending on your business, you can have a photo gallery or portfolio of your work, a blog where you can stand out as an expert in your area and provide useful information, and even a section for customer testimonials. This allows customers to see how and why they should use your business, which makes their decision making easier.

Expands Your Reach

One final way a website helps your business is by expanding your reach. Store fronts, hanging flyers, and business cards have geographical limitations in terms of who they can reach. With a website, anyone can find or stumble upon your work, not just people in your area.

SEO, or search engine optimization, works to get your business found by people conducting online searches, putting your business in front of more than just the people who are walking by. If your business website contains enough content that is relevant to your service and location and useful to your audience, you will show up on search engine results pages and get discovered by more people.

Increases Local Exposure

Customers often conduct local searches through Google maps to find businesses and services in their area. Having a website linked to your Google listing allows customers to seamlessly proceed to the next step of engaging with you after finding you, whether that step is visiting your store, calling your number, or something else. Clearly listed contact information to facilitate convenient engagement is one of the must-haves for a business website.Why Your Business Needs a Website

Some Of The 8 Essential UI Design Tips

Having a properly designed website is essential in order to provide a good end-user experience. One of the keys to providing a well-optimized web design comes with the user interface. Having a good interface design is very important because it focuses on the entire experience as a cohesive unit rather than just the interface itself. Below, we will be going over some of the top and essential UI design tips that you will want to implement into your design process.

Essential UI Design Tips:

Figure Out How People Will Use Your Interface.

For one, you want to fully understand not only how people will use your interface, but also how you want them to use it. Prior to designing it, you want to understand the different ways in which people will use it. That way, you will be able to come up with a better design that matches their use-case. For instance, with the increasing prevalence of touch-based input devices, it is essential to factor that into the equation when you are looking to come up with your UI design. If more people are going to be interacting with your UI through touch, it needs to be an integral component of the design creation process. That way, you can ensure that you will be able to optimize your website for touch navigation.

Understanding Your Audience.

You also need to fully understand the audience that you are trying to reach and engage with. This means that you should know everything about your audience ranging from their interests, what they want and need, and their respective demographics. Knowing your audience will help you fully engage with them and allow you to create a design that works well for their use-case.

Focus On Getting Feedback.

One of the key things that you should be actively doing throughout the design creation aspect would have to be getting feedback from your audience. You want to be certain that you are getting feedback through the various stages of the design process because it will allow you to get the best results out of your efforts. By getting the appropriate feedback directly from your audience, you can make subtle or major tweaks here and there to optimize the entire experience.

Know The Standard Elements Of The Operating System.

When designing anything like an App or a website’s UI, you want to be sure that you fully understand the elements of the operating system to ensure that you are integrating a seamless design that won’t detract from it. While you might think that you need to come up with a brand new UI that is futuristic, a standard UI isn’t a bad thing. While it might be nice to have something that completely stands out, it shouldn’t go against the standard elements of the basic UI design. Otherwise, you could find that you are going against the operating systems standard design patterns which can annoy users and provide an unsatisfactory end-user experience.

Keep It Simple.

Your interface should be simple and easy to learn. You want it to achieve a purpose and have people want to engage with it.

Follow Analytics.

Using analytics along with a good feedback system will help you figure out where your design could use improving and where you might have nailed it.

Get Inspiration.

Don’t be afraid to look at the competition and other websites and apps for inspiration for your own designs.

Understand Mistakes Will Be Made.

It is important to understand going into the process that mistakes will be made. Therefore, you will want to look to attempt to anticipate them prior to making them. Overall, there are plenty of different things that you will want to know going into your UI design phase. By following some of the tips above, you should be able to come up with something that works very well.