Monthly Archives: August 2022

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Manchester: Nine Guidelines for Good Web Design

August 31, 2022

A website’s design must serve its intended purpose by conveying the appropriate message and capturing the visitor’s attention. Several elements, including consistency, colors, typography, graphics, simplicity, and usefulness, contribute to the design of a successful website.

With the sole goal to deliver original and quality services, Markustudio has grown rapidly, a freelance web designer in Manchester providing web design, logo branding, print, SEO and digital design services. If you need help creating a style guide or staying consistent with your branding, our team of experts is here to assist you.

When developing a website, the way it is seen is influenced by a number of crucial elements. A well-designed website can aid in building visitors’ confidence and guiding them to take action. Creating a fantastic user experience requires ensuring that your website’s design is optimised for usability (form and aesthetics) and how simple it is to use (functionality).

The following principles can assist you in planning your next web project.

1. WEBSITE PURPOSE

Your website must cater to the user’s requirements. Having a basic and clear purpose on each page will aid the user in interacting with what you have to offer. What purpose does your website serve? Are you providing how-to advice? Is it an entertainment website, such as sports coverage, or do you sell products to the user? There are a variety of objectives that websites may serve, but there are essential functions that all websites have.

  1. Describing Expertise
  2. Constructing Your Reputation
  3. Generating Prospects
  4. Sales and Customer Service.

2. SIMPLICITY

When considering the user experience and the usability of a website, simplicity is the ideal approach. Listed here are design strategies for achieving simplicity.

Colour

Color is capable of conveying messages and evoking emotional responses. Finding a color scheme that complements your brand will enable you to impact your customers’ perceptions of it. Limit the color palette to less than five options. Complementary hues are quite effective. Color schemes that are aesthetically pleasing improve client engagement and make the user feel happy.

Type

Your website’s typography is crucially vital. It draws attention and serves as the visual representation of the brand’s voice. Use no more than three distinct fonts on a website and ensure that all typefaces are legible.

Imagery

Imagery encompasses the visual components of communication. This encompasses photography, illustration, video, and all other types of graphic design. All graphics should be expressive, convey the company’s soul, and serve as the embodiment of their brand personality. As the majority of the initial information we consume on websites is visual, it is crucial to use high-quality photos to establish expertise and credibility in the minds of site visitors.

3. NAVIGATION

Navigation is the navigation system used on websites to allow visitors to engage and locate the information they need. Navigation on a website is essential for retaining visitors. Visitors will abandon a website with complicated navigation if they cannot find the information they need. It is crucial to maintain easy, intuitive, and consistent navigation on each page.

4. F-SHAPED PATTERN READING

The F-based pattern is the most prevalent technique in which website users skim material. Eye-tracking research have revealed that the majority of what individuals perceive is in the upper left and upper right corners of the display. The F-shaped design mirrors our natural reading pattern in the West (left to right and top to bottom). A well-designed website will accommodate the natural pattern of page scanning employed by the reader.

5. VISUAL HIERARCHY

Visual hierarchy is the ordering of visual elements according to their value. This can be achieved through the use of size, color, images, contrast, font, whitespace, texture, or style. One of the most significant tasks of visual hierarchy is establishing a focal point, which indicates to visitors where the most essential information is located.

6. CONTENT

A successful website combines excellent design and content. Visitors can be attracted and converted into customers through the use of persuasive language and engaging content.

7. GRID BASED LAYOUT

Grids aid in the organization of your design and content by providing structure. The grid assists with page alignment and maintains cleanliness. The grid-based layout organizes content into a clean, rigid grid with columns, sections that line up and feel balanced, and imposes order, resulting in an aesthetically beautiful website.

8. LOAD TIME

Visitors will leave a site that takes too long to load. Nearly half of all website users expect a page to load in less than two seconds, and they are likely to abandon a site that takes more than three seconds to open. Image size optimization will help your website load faster.

9. MOBILE-FRIENDLY

Web browsing is becoming increasingly popular on mobile and other devices. Consider a responsive layout for your website so that it can adapt to multiple screen sizes.

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How to Get a Job as a BigCommerce Developer

August 19, 2022

BigCommerce is the world’s fastest growing SaaS eCommerce platform. BigCommerce, in my opinion, is one of the greatest eCommerce systems for providing both B2C and B2B capabilities at the same time. There appears to be a high demand for web developers in recent months, particularly in the eCommerce market. Many recruiters are looking for Shopify and BigCommerce developers. This blog post will go over the abilities required to become a skilled BigCommerce theme developer. In upcoming blog posts, I will discuss how to become a BigCommerce App developer, SEO specialist, BigCommerce solution architect, and so on. If you are looking to hire bigcommerce website designer, I highly suggest to check out Always Open Commerce.

This post will serve as a primer for someone who is new to web programming. You may already have some core knowledge and can proceed, but don’t dismiss the importance of refreshers.

Understanding the Fundamentals of the Web/Internet

  • Knowing how the internet works
  • What exactly is DNS? What are the most often used DNS Records?
  • What exactly is a domain registrar?
  • How do webpages function? What exactly is web hosting?
  • Here are a few videos that I believe may be useful to you:
  • DNS Made Simple videos
  • IT Free Training on DNS Records
  • By 48 in 48, the distinction between a domain name registrar, DNS, and hosting.

HTML with semantics

  • HTML would be one of the initial stages toward becoming a web development professional.
  • In my 12+ years of experience, I frequently run across applicants/people that claim to be HTML experts yet are unaware of web semantics, web standards, and so on.
  • As a result, I strongly advise you to grasp web semantics as well as W3C standards when learning HTML. Writing relevant HTML can improve the user experience, accessibility, performance, and SEO of your website.
  • There are numerous online courses accessible (Free or paid).

CSS

  • CSS is being added as a second stage here, but it will generally work with HTML.
  • There are several CSS frameworks available, however I strongly advocate mastering pure CSS. Once you understand the principles of a language, you can rapidly adapt any framework. Coding with pure CSS will assist you in improving your stylistic abilities.
  • Learn about responsive web design and the mobile-first approach while learning CSS.

Design Resources

  • A basic familiarity of design concepts and tools will be extremely beneficial to your web development career. You do not need to be an expert in these design tools, but you should be familiar enough with them to extract assets and other information from design files.
  • Popular design tools used in front end web development include Figma, Photoshop, Sketch, and Adobe XD.
  • After you’ve completed the HTML/CSS training. Attempt to locate certain web page design files and turn those files into an usable responsive webpage using HTML/CSS.

JavaScript/ES6

  • A thorough understanding of Vanilla JS will be really beneficial.
  • Find an online course that teaches you the fundamentals of the JS. Make sure you’re understanding advanced ES6 capabilities like arrow functions, fetch/await, map functions, and so on. Find a course that teaches you the fundamentals of JS as well as the most recent advanced features of JS.
  • After you’ve finished learning JavaScript, I strongly advise you to PRACTICE. There are YouTube courses available that include some practice JS tasks. Many applicants are weak in this area, therefore consistent, thorough JS practice will put you ahead.

jQuery

  • There are numerous JS frameworks/libraries available. It will be simple to customize any framework once you have a solid understanding of JavaScript. In this list, I will include jQuery as a necessary ability. The BigCommerce Cornerstone theme and many websites on the internet still use jQuery, therefore learning it is a smart idea.

Awareness of the BigCommerce Platform

  • This is an important step. You cannot create BigCommerce websites unless you are familiar with the various options offered within BigCommerce.
  • Before designing themes or websites on the BigCommerce platform, I prefer developers to have a solid understanding of the platform’s fundamentals.
  • You can set up a trial BigCommerce store and play around with the various aspects of the admin panel.
  • Configure basic and sophisticated products
  • Create categories based on the parent-child connection.
  • Products for import-export
  • Create customer groups.
  • Payment options, shipping, discounts, taxes, and so on
  • Examine each option and learn how it works.
  • Videos for BigCommerce

Basic SEO Knowledge

  • If you are creating a website for a customer, they will want the website to appear in search engines and generate business. I don’t expect engineers to be SEO gurus, but they should understand the fundamentals of SEO.
  • Developers are frequently working on an existing website CRO implementation or collaborating with a team on on-page SEO things.
  • Make certain you understand:
  • Canonical keywords
  • Snippets Rich
  • as well as others

Internet Accessibility

  • Many retailers have been sued in recent years for failing to follow ADA compliance rules.
  • There are third-party apps that make the website accessible, but they are limited and will not fix all of the problems.
  • It is recommended that while building or developing a website, web accessibility rules be followed.
  • Understanding the ADA compliance checklist and methodologies will be extremely beneficial to you as a developer. This ability will set you apart from the competition.

Awareness of Web Performance Optimization

  • Conversions are negatively impacted by slow websites. There are approaches and development workflows available to assist you in developing quick websites.
  • Find out more about Core Web Vitals. Google now considers CWV to be a ranking factor.
  • I believe that online performance optimization is a critical ability that will help you design high-quality, speedy BigCommerce websites and distinguish you from other developers.

Integration of Third-Party Apps

  • Most BigCommerce websites may necessitate the installation/setup of one or more apps. There are numerous possibilities, including: reviews app, filters app, incentives app, back in a stock app, and other features.
  • To be a successful BigCommerce Developer, you must first learn how to install third-party apps.

Project Management Software

  • It is recommended that you understand the fundamentals of Project Management tools in order to work efficiently with a team or simply manage your personal projects. Basecamp, Asana, Teamwork, JIRA, Trello, and so on.
  • You do not need to understand every tool because they all perform comparable functions (like tasks, time tracking, progress tracking, etc.). However, the primary concept is to grasp the communication method and workflow of the firm with whom you are dealing.
  • When working with a firm or client, strong communication is essential, therefore start documenting your work on a daily basis.

Tools for Testing and Bug Tracking

  • After you have finished developing the site, you should test it on various platforms, devices, and browsers. BrowserStack is what I use, although there are alternative platforms accessible. Similarly, I use BugHerd for bug tracking, but there are other options.
  • The goal is not to learn every tool, but rather the concept and method. You could go over one tool and learn how it works and how it can help your development workflow.

Please contact me if you are searching for mentorship, web development career counseling, or one-on-one BigCommerce development training sessions.

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Technology

How Much Do Drones Cost

August 17, 2022

Drone technology has been around for a few years now, but it seems like it is only recently that they have become popular. This is most likely due to the increase in availability and the decrease in cost. So how much do drones cost?

Read more as we’ll give some details about the prices of drones and UAVs in today’s post.

Primary Considerations

When it comes to drones, there are a few things that you need to take into consideration before making a purchase. The first thing is to decide what kind of drone you want. There are three main types of drones: ready-to-fly (RTF), bind-and-fly (BNF), and kit.

RTF drones are the most common type and they come with everything you need to start flying. BNF drones require some assembly, but they come with a controller. Kit drones are for experienced flyers who want to build their own drone from scratch.

The next thing you need to consider is what you want to use the drone for. Drones can be used for many different purposes such as search and rescue, photography, videography, surveying, and racing. Each type of use requires different features, so make sure to get a drone that has the right features for your needs. It is important to consider what you will be using it for. If you plan to use it mainly for recreation, then a cheaper model will likely be adequate. However, if you need a drone that can handle more challenging terrain or wind conditions, then you will need to spend more money.

Be sure to read the reviews before purchasing any drone, as this will give you a good idea of what to expect from different models. Also, be aware of the laws surrounding drone use in your area; in some cases, you may need to obtain special permission or license before flying your drone.

Last but not least, you need to consider your budget. It’s important to set a realistic budget before you start looking. Keep in mind that the more features a drone has, the more expensive it will be.

Average Cost

The price of drones varies depending on their size, features, and brand. But on average, they range from $100-$5,000. There are some cheaper drones available, but they may not have all the features that you want. And there are also some more expensive drones that have features like 4K cameras and autonomous flying like most of the drones used in the oil and gas industry.

What Are Some Of The Best Drones For Beginners

If you’re new to the world of drones, you might be wondering which ones are the best to start with. Here are a few of our top picks:

The DJI Spark is a great option for beginners. It’s easy to fly and comes with a ton of features, making it perfect for those just starting out. Plus, at under $500, it won’t break the bank.

For those looking for a bit more of a challenge, the DJI Mavic Pro is a great option. It’s a bit more expensive, but it comes with a lot of advanced features that make it perfect for those who are ready to take their drone flying to the next level.

If you’re on a budget, the Holy Stone HS100D is a great option. It’s one of the more affordable drones on the market, but it still comes with plenty of features to keep you entertained.

How Much You’ll Spend If You’re Going To Upgrade Or Accessorize Your Drone

If you’re looking to add a little bit of extra flair to your drone, or want to upgrade it with the newest and latest features, you’re going to need to cough up some cash. Depending on what you’re looking for, upgrading or accessorizing your drone can cost anywhere from $10 to $1,000 or more.

One popular way to upgrade your drone is by adding a camera. If you want to be able to take high-quality aerial photos or videos, a good camera can set you back anywhere from $100 to $1,000. Another popular upgrade is adding a GPS system, which can help you keep track of your drone and make sure it doesn’t get lost. GPS systems can cost anywhere from $50 to $200.

If you’re looking for something a bit less expensive, there are plenty of other accessories and upgrades you can add. A good propeller set can cost around $20, while a new battery might run you around $30. And if you really want to deck out your drone, there are plenty of cool gadgets and gizmos available that can set you back hundreds of dollars. So before you start upgrading your drone, be sure to figure out exactly what you want and how much it’s going to cost.

Conclusion

Overall, drones are becoming more and more affordable. As technology advances, it is likely that prices will continue to drop, making them accessible to even more people. Whether you are looking for a drone for recreation or business purposes, there is sure to be a model that meets your needs and budget. Check out Airborne Drones if you’re looking for quality long-range drones today.

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Furniture Uncategorize

7 Ideas for Finding a Great Mattress at a Fair Price

August 8, 2022

We assist you in sorting through the available choices and locating the ideal mattress for a sound night’s sleep. Consequently, you require a new mattress. A mattress will normally endure between eight and ten years, according to conventional thinking. The best markers of whether you need a new mattress, however, are your comfort and the quality of your sleep. A good mattress may last 15 years, according to some research.

Making the effort to check out various types and goods will help you determine what feels fantastic to you and will increase your likelihood of being happy with your new mattress. Avoid purchasing a used mattress if at all possible because a mattress is a personal item that is likely to be infested with bedbugs and dust mites. If you want to buy mattresses on sale near me, check out Icon-Sleep.com as they most affordable USA made mattress online. These are the four most popular mattress varieties.

Innerspring

Innerspring mattresses are still the most popular kind, and you may have slept on one all your life. Wire coils, which are also responsible for the well-known mattress bounce, provide support in an innerspring mattress. Salespeople may assert that the quantity of coils matters, although this isn’t always the case. WebMD’s specialists advise. . Nowadays, individually encased coils are found in most innerspring mattresses. Regardless of what a dealer tells you, you absolutely won’t need more than 390 coils.

Hybrid

Hybrid mattresses have innersprings but also include cushioning elements like foam, gel, or a plush pillow top, for instance.

Mattress made of air

According to WebMD, air mattresses have foam on top of air-filled chambers rather than coils. There are advanced types of air mattresses designed for couples that allow each person to customize the firmness level of their side of the mattress by inflating or deflating it. These air mattresses are ideal for sleeping partners with very different needs.

Latex

The Wirecutter describes latex as a “springier” type of foam in a thorough examination of mattress shopping. . A memory foam mattress and an innerspring mattress are regarded as having similar textures. Expect robust, springy support, advises WebMD. In fact, The Spruce reports that some consumers find latex to be overly firm. Are you unsure whether a latex mattress is right for you? You can test out this kind without making a significant investment by purchasing a latex mattress topper. Memory foam:

Memory foam beds are not springy, in contrast to innerspring and latex mattresses. Instead, they absorb motion, which reduces the likelihood that you will be bothered by a restless companion. During the 1970s, NASA created memory foam. For those who experience back discomfort, for instance, it conforms to the heat and weight of the body. Some people are devoted to memory foam. Others claim it causes them to sleep hot. To address this issue, several producers add gel to their products. According to a mattress buying guide, innerspring mattresses with gel do allow for a slightly cooler night’s sleep. Gel-infused foam mattresses, however, did not provide a cooler sleeping surface.

Tips for buying mattresses

The types, prices, bells, and whistles that come with mattress buying can be overwhelming, but it’s still important to take your time and make an informed decision.

1. Start by shopping at stores.

One day you might buy a mattress online. However, because mattress tastes are so subjective, no amount of online research can replace the experience of trying mattresses out for yourself at a store. Some instructions advise customers to test a mattress for at least 15 minutes while taking their own pillow with them to the store to replicate their personal bedding situation. You can compare prices online once you’ve decided on the style you like. The top two websites to buy mattresses online are Amazon and Icon-Sleep.com.

2. Locate the mattress you desire before it goes on sale.

Due of the crowds and active salespeople, mattress buying during a sale can be irritating and challenging if you haven’t done your homework beforehand. Spend some time finding a mattress you like, then seize the opportunity of a reduced pricing.

3. Take note of the mattress height

If you wish to continue using the fitted sheets you now own, measure the height of your current mattress and look for a new mattress that is the same height.

4. Take a companion.

Don’t let someone else handle your mattress shopping. Both of you should try out the possibilities in stores if the mattress will be shared by two people.

5. Avoid buying into sales hype

Don’t feel like you have to spend a lot of money on fancy features if you purchase on a tight budget. Consumer Reports, which claims to test mattresses under circumstances that simulate eight to ten years of use, states: The warehouse clubs and internet merchants are great places to find high-quality mattresses at reasonable prices. ”

6. Search for a lenient return policy

If you purchase from a retailer that allows “comfort returns,” you can return the mattress if you’re dissatisfied with it for any reason, but you might be required to pay a charge. Know what a warranty covers in detail and how the return policy operates before you buy.

7. Strike a deal

You should always try to negotiate, especially during a discount, as mattress merchants frequently charge hefty markups. Ask for non-monetary benefits, such as free new pillows or bedding, if you are unable to negotiate a lower price.

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