Shiny Magic

15 Basic Kinds of Fonts For Your Web Design

August 30, 2018September 21, 2017

The typeface is a crucial element in designing a website. Fonts help establish a message for consumers. It also provides an identity to the website that sets it apart from the others.

To help you choose the best typography for your website, we bring you the 15 basic kinds of fonts perfect for your web design:

Serif

Serif fonts originated in the Latin alphabet. It is usually used in documents. The popular serif fonts are Times New Roman, Calibri, Cambria and Century Gothic, among others.

Sans Serif

Sans Serif means “without line”. These fonts are used for print and web content. Most common sans serifs are Avant Garde, Helvetica, and Geneva.

Slab Serif

Slab Serif came from Britain 200 years ago. It carries geometric and bold features. It widely used in advertising content. Popular slabs include Adelle, Sentinel, Clarendon, and Amasis.

Script

Scripts follow a calligraphic style which exudes elegance and sophistication. They are created in fluid, cursive strokes. They are used in formal invitations for weddings and concerts, among others.

Display

Display is a headline type of font which is perfect for posters, billboards, packaging, book jackets and advertisement copies. Famous display fonts include Algerian, Allegro, and Bauhaus.

Decorative

Decorative font is a major classification that consists of diverse styles. This includes grunge, psychedelic, graffiti and 3-dimensional fonts, among others.

Lettering

Lettering or hand-drawn fonts are fonts written on paper, scanned and enhanced via graphics editors. It uses various styles depending on the artist. Most common hand-drawn fonts are Carosello and Arabella.

Retro

From the word itself, it follows an old-fashioned look. Retro fonts are used in logos, posters, and packaging that adopt a classic and vintage style.

Dingbat

Dingbat is a specialized font that utilizes shapes and symbols to represent a letter of the alphabet. Dingbat may be buttons, pictograms, interface elements, illustrations and more.

Monospaced

A monospaced font is an organized type of font that follows a certain length, width, and dimension. They are referred to as fixed fonts just like the fonts used by a typewriter.

Novelty

Novelty fonts do not fall in the categories of serif, sans serif, script and cursive. They are fun, aesthetic fonts used to grab attention in headlines and advertisement copies. Novelty fonts have no rules in its design and creation.

Comic

Comic fonts are reader-friendly fonts used in cartoons and comics. The objective of this font is easy readability and a generic theme that fits all. Comic Sans is the legendary comic font.

Stencil

Stencil was invented by R. Hunter Middleton in 1937. It is composed of uppercase letters that have round edges and thick strokes. They are used in newspaper headlines, as well as public signage, graffiti, and posters.

Gothic

Gothic font is an ancient font that has black texture, distinct caps, and dramatic strokes. It was first used in Gutenberg Bible. The most classic gothic font is Old English.

Typewriter

Typewriter fonts basically adopt the style of the typewriter. It exudes a vintage and retro feels. This is often used in poetry and literature.

These were just few of the many font types and styles. What is your favorite so far?

9 Amazing Techniques To Create Engaging Web Pages

June 15, 2018September 21, 2017

In creating and maintaining a website, among the most important elements are the design and layout. It should look amazing to attract new customers and keep the avid visitors. Apart from the aesthetics, customers should also have the best user experience with the website. Thus, we should create engaging web pages that our customers will surely love and will give them a reason to come back.

Here are 9 amazing techniques in creating engaging web pages:

Engaging Typefaces

Typefaces are important because they intensify the attractiveness of your web pages. Typefaces can convey feelings and meanings to readers. They also set your website apart from others. So, it is crucial for you to choose the best and the unique font types.

According to Web Designer Depot, there are various engaging display types. Firstly, your web pages can use simple but dramatic typefaces which “communicate confidence and clarity.” Decorative typefaces are also attractive. They leverage your web pages’ creativity and artistry. Lastly, you may use letter or hand-drawn type. It is great “to humanize a brand.” It also gives a sense of freedom and distinct creativity.

Card Layouts

Card Layout is popularized by Pinterest and Instagram. This technique is best for web pages that have lots of data, especially photos and videos. It creates a sense of professional organization and creativity at the same time.

Live Product Previews

Live product previews first started in 2016 and have grown popularity this 2018. It is a great technique of giving your potential users a taste of how the product operates.

Collaboration Tools

Are you surprised when suddenly a chat box pops? Yes! That’s another technique that makes your site and web pages engaging. Instant messaging features allow companies to speak with their users faster and easier.

White Space

The more white space your web page has, the cleaner it looks. The white space creates a sense of comfortability, elegance, and freshness. It reduces clutter, increases legibility, and highlights other elements in the web pages.

Larger Pictures

Some web pages, especially the minimalist ones, utilize larger photos to say it all. Larger photos are creative aesthetics in your website. It steals attention. Just take note to balance all the other elements along with the big picture.

Single Page Scrolling

Everyone can relate to this. Most of the people hate web pages that require you to click the “next” to see the continuation of the content. A better web page design involves single page scrolling. It saves time from having to load new pages. Plus, it maintains users’ interest.

Interactive Video

Videos are always attractive. Since 2015, websites have started putting high-definition videos on their header, sidebars and anywhere in their web pages. It catches attention and provides a better understanding of your content.

Responsive Layout

Lastly, it is very important that your web pages are responsive. One of the reasons why visitors leave your site because of web pages that load very slowly and are unresponsive. Moreover, make sure your website is compatible with various devices.

8 Key Reasons Why You Should Maintain Website Regularly

April 10, 2018September 21, 2017

The creation of the website undergoes a lot of phases. You have to carefully plan the design and the structure of the website. Using various website builders and development tools, you can instantly have a website. However, it doesn’t end when you launched the website. The most critical and probably the everlasting phase is the website maintenance.

Website maintenance is very important. It’s like a car undergoing monthly or annual maintenance, or even a human that needs diet, exercise, and consultation to maintain being healthy and strong.

Here are the 8 reasons why you should maintain your website regularly:

To Attract and Keep Customers

Your website should create an impression that your business is up-to-date and credible. Make sure that you maintain an online presence by providing consumers some fresh content through blog posts and latest offerings. Always update your website with informative content as this attracts and keeps customers.

To Boost Traffic and Rankings

Your website should be updated with fresh content regularly. Search engines love fresh and optimized content. Regular site update allows you to boost your search engine ranking and increase more traffic to your website. Basically, it will strengthen your online presence in which more customers will visit your website.

To Keep Your Website Running

Website builders and development tools constantly have updates. It is important that you always check these changes so that your website will continue to run smoothly as possible. For example, WordPress offers regular updates which make sites run smoothly and efficiently.

To Maintain Website Security

Most content management system software updates their security features to fix bugs and patches that threaten the safe use of the internet. It is important that you protect your website and most especially, your customers from hackers, phishers, and fraudsters. Some threats include planting virus on your website which harms computers.

To Keep Up With the Trends

Every day, there are new trends. Your content in 2015 may not be appealing in 2018. By performing regular website maintenance, you can modify the design, layout, content and other elements to keep up with the latest trends.

To Fix Website Irregularities

Of course, every website is not perfect. However, there is always every day to improve your website. Make sure that you fix certain irregularities that cause slow loading, site unresponsiveness, glitches and many other errors. It is important that you check all the coding, the updates and other necessary tools that can make your website run smoothly.

To Protect Important Information

There are unexpected times when everything suddenly does not work anymore. It is important that you backup your files, content or your website on a regular basis so that you can protect all important information.

To Improve Customer Experience

Lastly, we perform certain changes and regular maintenance to improve customer experience. Our websites are made for our customers and our customers are the reason why our website, business continue to grow and exist. Thus, we should always maintain our website regularly so that customers can have a better experience with our websites.

10 Important Reasons Why Your Company Needs A Website

February 15, 2018September 21, 2017

A company website is seen as an important marketing tool for businesses. However, many businesses still do not have websites. According to business research firm Clutch, 46% of small businesses in the United States do not have a website. Moreover, more than 2 million businesses in the United Kingdom do not have a website as well.

The question is: “Does a company really need to have a website?”

Well, to answer this, here are 10 reasons why you should never think twice about making a company website.

Online Presence

Every business should cope with the digital trends. Their businesses should be felt on the internet. Having your website increases your online presence and business visibility, especially that most of the potential consumers now are online.

Market Expansion

Your physical store is serving a specific local community. But through a website, you can expand your market reach. Internet reaches millions of online consumers worldwide instantly, breaking geographical barriers.

Information Exchange

Your website is your online newspaper or magazine. It is where you publish your content about your products or services. Your content is vital as it also allows you attract more consumers to visit your website.

Accessibility

The internet is very convenient for people especially when they want to know about the information. Customers get frustrated when physical stores close on the desired time. In the website, your business is open 24/7. It provides customers access to the information about your company, including your offerings.

Consumer Engagement

The website can be your tool to conduct promotions or to offer deals for your consumers. Online visitors can also leave comments on your posts or share your content to their social media accounts. Hence, your website is a comfortable place for them to engage with your business.

Credibility

Having a website makes your business more credible for consumers. A website is perceived as a formal asset of any corporate company. Of course, you have to earn your credibility on your websites as well. Earn good reviews, link to authority websites, provide certificates, complete contact info and more.

Customer Service

A website can also be your medium of serving your customers. It is a more convenient way for consumers to raise their queries, concerns, complaints, and feedback. Make sure you have a page dedicated to the contact form.

Business Growth

There are thousands of investors surfing the web. Your business website may pass by their search. With your presence on the internet, you will have a huge opportunity of meeting with potential clients and investors.

Online Store

A website is an effective tool for distributing goods, products, and services. Most people now do not want to go to malls or stores. They prefer online shops. A website can be perfect to sell items.

Low-Cost Advertising

Lastly, a website is a window to low-cost digital marketing strategies. You can explore social media marketing, search engine optimization, and content marketing, among others. Further, if you do not want to run a physical store, your website is a cheaper way to sell goods.

Do you have your own website?

12 Crucial Elements of A Good Website Design

December 30, 2017September 21, 2017

Having your own website is fulfilling. It is the digital representation of you as an individual or your business. A personal website showcases a person’s likes, interests, skills, and portfolio, for example. Whereas business websites highlight a brand’s products or services. Of course, your website should sell to the online world. The design should look appealing and attractive.

d2 - 12 Crucial Elements of A Good Website Design

Here are the 12 crucial elements that should be present on your website:

About Page

The about page is very important as it tells about the background of the person or the company. For companies, it reflects how long you have been established for doing the business which is very important for consumers.

Contact Information

Apparently, this contains all necessary information that will allow consumers to connect with you. Make sure you include the home or office phone number, email address, and social media accounts.

Call to Action

This page contains the gateway for a consumer to make an action. This includes subscribing to a newsletter, making a purchase, providing contact information or availing a service, among others.

Search Bar

Search bar makes it easier for consumers to look for the exact information. It can be used to find older information. Usually, search bar comes with the standard magnifying glass symbol.

Shortcut Footer

The footer contains shortcuts to various pages. It includes your about us, vision and mission, contact information, location, resources, community, your niche and the year your website was launched.

Buttons

A button is an attractive element that brings consumers to other pages. When you design your website, make sure that the buttons are recognizable. It should have a unique shape, design effects, and appropriate location.

Typography

Typography is considered as one of the most important elements. The typography is also the website’s identity that sets them apart from others. It is crucial for you to choose the best font type and size.

Fresh Content

Every website is nothing without content. The content is what your customers want from your website. As part of your website maintenance, you should always update it with fresh content, integrated with SEO-keywords.

Great Multimedia

Multimedia adds life to your website. They also provide your customers better understanding of your content. Choose the most appropriate and the most appealing images, videos, and infographics.

Credibility

Credibility is an abstract element in your website. You have to make sure that consumers can trust your site. Include in your content verified links. Always write in good grammar. Your contact information should be complete. For businesses, all your certifications should be present.

User-friendly Navigation

Navigation or Nav bars are buttons that are usually placed along the top of your website. It brings your customers to certain pages. Make it easy for visitors to navigate your website by providing directional arrows.

Mobile Compatibility

Now, we live in the world of smartphones. When we build our website, it is crucial that we take into consideration if the website will look the same on smartphones and other devices.

Are these elements found on your website?

10 Most Effective Ways of Promoting Businesses Online

November 10, 2017September 21, 2017

Businesses are now exploring the huge potential of internet marketing in achieving success. Internet marketing offers a wide variety of strategies that effectively reach target audience worldwide, instantly. People are now shifting into the digital world. As entrepreneurs, we need to be versatile and keep up with the demands and the trends.

Here are the 10 most effective ways of promoting your business online:

Create A Blog or Website

According to studies, 40 to 60 percent of small businesses in the US do not have websites. Further, they are less successful than those with websites. In the digital era, it is important that you have an online presence. Create a blog or a website. Write fresh content, integrated with SEO so you can easily reach your target audience.

Optimize on Google Local Search

Local search marketing enables you to promote your business in your locality. Make sure that you optimize your business with local SEO. Update the Google list of businesses. Complete it with your business address, contact information, website and more.

Update Online Business Directories

Customers search for product and service providers through business directories. Look for the top local directories and update your information.

Use Social Media

One of the most effective ways is to utilize social media. Billions of people have social media accounts. Through social media marketing, you can have a wider reach to your target audience worldwide. It is also perfect for personally engaging with customers. The most popular platforms are Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Engage in Discussion

People ask the internet and the search engines answer. Make sure that you can be seen from those answers. Quora, Ask.com and Yahoo Answers are perfect avenues for you to answer customer queries about products and services.

Vlog on YouTube

Many likes to watch videos. Start producing music and video content that can help people increase awareness about your business. YouTube is the most popular video hosting site. It is a home for 1.5 billion users. Create product demos, tutorials, and reviews.

Offer a Deal

You can also provide deals to your customers through various deal sites like Groupon. Offer your customers voucher codes, discounts, freebies, and samples. This will allow consumers to have a free experience of your products or services and will establish your business.

Send Direct Emails

Email marketing is considered as one of the best marketing strategies. It focuses on sending email content, such as newsletters to subscribers. Email marketing is a much more personal way of reaching out to consumers.

Establish Consumer Trust

There are various sites that provide consumer reviews of products and services and recommendations. The most popular are Yelp and Trust Pilot. They help consumers find the right product and service provider for them.

Collaborate with Influencers

Influencers, including bloggers and celebrities, are effective in promoting your business online. They have a huge following which can be your potential customers. Choose the influencers that are reliable and trustworthy in promoting products and services.

10 Tips On Choosing Web Design Templates

September 1, 2017September 21, 2017

Are you excited to create your own website? Well, there are plenty of website builders on the internet that are free and are easy to use. They also come with unique templates and framework that match your taste.

The design of your website is a crucial element that attracts customers. Here are 10 tips to consider in choosing web design templates:

Website Field Match

The template should match your field or industry. Website builders appropriate templates for specific fields like food and restaurant, photography, travel, lifestyle, fitness and more. If you are confused, you can choose more generic templates that are still professional-looking.

Valid HTML and CSS

It’s important that you are aware of the coding of templates. You must test the validity of the codes and check if there are less to zero errors. There are sites that offer free markup validation service like this one. Moreover, most website builders provide a live preview of templates so you can easily check the validity.

Easy Customization

Choose a template that is easy to customize. There are website builders that have drag-and-drop editors. Make sure that the interface of the editor can be easily understood. Make sure that the template can easily be modified or changed once your website goes live.

Aesthetic Design

Look at the design as a whole. Check if everything goes in place. Make sure that there is balance, harmony and rhythm in the templates. Check the placement and sizes of certain portions, tools, and features. The website shall look beautiful in general.

Appropriate Color Scheme

Of course, part of the website’s aesthetics is the color scheme. Choose colors that match your field and the personality of the website. The color matching should be fitting, as it is one of the elements that customers notice. Choose colors that are not too bright or check out proper color combinations.

Right Visual Language

The ideal template should have display interface, fonts, icons and stock images that fit your field. Your visual language is your abstract connection to readers. Readers should be comfortable looking at your website.

Content Friendly

Most websites contain content, like blog posts to provide information for readers. Choose the templates that include a smarter layout for your content, especially for complex and informative websites. For more static content, choose simple templates.

Compatibility

Your beautifully-designed website will be useless if it will be distorted in other devices. It is important that you test your websites in various devices and web browsers. Open it in smartphones, both Android and iOS devices. Make sure that the style and functions remain the same in various environments.

Responsive Design

The website shall be user-friendly. It shall be responsive and fast loading. Users shall also have easy access to the website’s content. If your website is not responsive, most likely users will exit your site.

SEO-Oriented

Lastly, make sure that your website builder is SEO-oriented. There are free website builders that cover search engine optimization. This allows your website to perform well in search results ranking, keeping your online presence and visibility.

The Best Free Website Builders of 2017

June 20, 2017September 21, 2017

Most of the people online are into creating a platform that will showcase their likes, interest, and hobbies. Through the Internet, they explore blogging or social media, for example. For businesses and official groups and organizations, they take advantage of websites as a digital avenue for them to highlight their products, services, their brand or company.

Creating a website is made easy now. In case you do not know how to code and build a website, there are free website builders available on the web.

Wix

“Create Your Own Beautiful Website.” Wix is a popular free website builder that is very easy to use. It has advanced drag-and-drop site editor and thousands of website templates to choose from.

WordPress

According to WordPress, they power “28% of the internet.” WordPress is ideal for online blogs and shops, static sites and portfolios. WordPress also has another version that has beautiful designs and more powerful features.

CoffeeCup

CoffeeCUp is a free HTML editor that does not use a content management system (CMS). It has a responsive layout maker that allows editors to split screen and preview website output easily.

Joomla

Joomla is very popular in the CMS world. It has a web app and software that allow you to build and host sites. Joomla also features thousands of free extensions and templates that are customizable.

SITE123

SITE123 makes website building as easy as 1-2-3. You begin by selecting a general format – simple or complex. Then you can basically fill in some basic information and start customizing.

Website Builder

Website Builder features more than 10,000 templates, analytic tools, and social media integration features, among others. This website builder is perfect for both amateurs and professionals.

IM Creator

IM Creator is a state-of-the-art website builder, but easy to use as it comes with built-in tools and hosting options. More than 11 million websites are built using IM creator.

SiteBuilder

SiteBuilder is another easy-to-use website builder perfect for individuals and entrepreneurs. This platform offers free web hosting and domain registration. It also allows you to make blogs, portfolio, online stores and more.

Sitey

Sitey is an HTML5 website builder that features interactive and responsive editing tools for customizing and templates and designs. According to their site, it is the most favorite website builder in the Philippines.

Weebly

Weebly also covers web hosting and domain registration, as well as web design and marketing functions. It is also very versatile as it is compatible with every device and platform. It is perfect for businesses.

Jimdo

Jimdo has creative and professional templates that can be customized. It is already integrated with e-commerce and marketing tools, best for commercial businesses. It has launched more than 20 million websites.

Ucraft

Ucraft features a block-based framework. It also has artistic customizable templates. This platform is perfect in building blogs, online stores, portfolios, and forms. It also covers web hosting and domain services.

WebNode

WebNode is perfect for beginners and professionals alike. It has a house editor that makes your website compatible with smartphone devices. More than 27 million customers worldwide are using WebNode.

Which among these free website builders do you use?

The 8 Phases of Website Design and Development

May 15, 2017September 21, 2017

The beginning of the Internet was also the birth of websites. Websites remain a very popular tool in publishing various multimedia content. Websites are used in various applications – arts, music, entertainment, businesses and so much more. The moment you opened the browser, that’s a website.

Websites come a very long way. When Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web (www) in 1989, it had paved way to the first ever website – CERN, a website for the European Organization for Nuclear Research published in 1990.

Now, according to Internet Live States, there are almost 1 trillion of websites on the web. That’s huge! Of course, creating websites is not easy.

Let us take a look at the phases of web design and development:

Identify your goals

The initial stage is for you to identify and set your goals in creating the website. You should know the purpose of creating the site and who will be your target audience. Visualize what kind of content you are going to publish and what your target audience will expect on your website.

Plan the design and structure

In planning the website, you need to create a sitemap and wireframe. This includes the order and the structure of your website, and the details about the information architecture. This will guide you in the flow of designing and developing your website. You can just write the structure on a piece of paper or use available software.

Design the website

After careful planning, you can start designing and developing your website. Make sure your design fits your target audience. You can first create prototypes of design, usually in .jpeg form through graphics software.

Create Content

Of course, you need to create content for your website. Basically, it should have text from articles, blog posts, and lists. It should also have graphics and multimedia content – audio and video. Remember that your content should be interesting to attract customers.

Build the website

Now, let’s start making your website plan into a reality. There is a wide variety of web development tools to choose from – HTML, SCC, CGI, JavaScript, PHP and so much more. Essential elements like content management systems and interactive forms are implemented during this phase.

Test the website

Conduct a series of website testing to ensure that all links are working, webpages load properly and the website is error-free. Take a look at every detail on the site. Also, check its compatibility in various devices. Website testing tools include W3C Link Checker and SEO Spider.

Launch the website

You’re almost done! Launch the website. Do not expect that everything will be perfect. Just check how your website looks like for online users.

Maintain the website

Lastly, you have to make sure that you always update your website. Your website should always deliver fresh content. It’s time for you to do link checking, content maintenance and series of redesigns. Web designing is a fluid, continuous process of constant maintenance until you achieve perfection.

Have you tried creating a website?