This was going to happen sooner rather than later. Google algorithmic updates have all focused on helping visitors find high quality websites, and the latest update is a step in the same direction. This one is going to have a marked effect on the layout of the web page.  Google has acted on user’s complaints about difficulty in coming across content on a particular website if it is packed to the brim with advertisements and design elements.

Users aren’t too happy about scrolling down a webpage to look at the content that they are interested in seeing. For them, this is a waste of time and Google, in a bid to ensuring that website visitors are promised the best user experience design that allows them to find the actual content easily as soon as they land on the website, has come up with an update. According to this update, if a website doesn’t have sufficient amount of content "above the fold" on the website, its ranking might be affected.

What this means is that if the space "above the fold" is populated by a slew of ads, it does not make for very good user experience and this is what Google wants to make right. The phrase "above the fold" refers to the upper half of the web page, or to put it more specifically, that part of the web page that a user can easily access without scrolling.

Now, placing advertisements "above the fold" is a common occurrence on most websites, this is because a website owners’ prime concern is to make their sites more profitable, and ads placed in prominent positions encourage monetization. But, excessive placement of such ads means the real content of the website is difficult to find. This update will have no impact on those websites that place ads "above the fold" in normal amounts.  This is the kind of amount that does not push the website content "below the fold".

This update will only impact those websites that display so many ads "above the fold" that they push the content down, so much so that visitors will have to scroll the page in order to have a look at it. Google estimated that less than 1% of searches will be impacted by this change. If a website’s rankings have been affected by this change, webmasters can relook their layout and make the necessary changes on the necessary webpage to ensure that the content on the page can be found immediately. Any change made, will be automatically reflected in the results on the search page. But, it’s important to remember that any layout update or its reorder will take some time to reflect on the SERPs and is dependent on various factors including the amount of webpages updated and also the crawlability of the content.

So, a great idea would be to fashion a website that gives a lot of importance to user experience so that this update doesn’t affect your website’s rankings adversely. Good user experience results in better conversions and reduces bounce rates and this is reason enough to focus on it.

A word of advice – Google has made no bones about the fact that its focus of attention is always on ensuring a better experience for website visitors. So, instead of making changes to your website, whenever Google comes up with an update in its algorithm, it is always better to give due importance to enhancing the user experience of your website, as much as possible.

Successful web design is always emphatic in the message that it is trying to deliver through the use of various design elements.  The concept of ‘emphasis’ is in marked contrast to that of ‘unity’ another important concept that contributes towards custom web design success. While the former involves designers ensures that a particular web design element stands out and draws the attention of viewers, the latter asks designers to ensure that all elements used for website design, come together to make an impression on the viewer.

Here we are going to talk about how you can emphasize certain elements of website design. Let’s take a look at 4 ways that will help make this possible.

The Art of Proper Placement

When you view a website what is the portion of the website that you look at first? Typically, it’s the center of the composition. So, what this means is that if you want to provide emphasis, you must place the design element right at the center of the layout. This is where it has the strongest possible chance of getting noticed. But, you could also think about using the top left corner of the web page to provide emphasis. This is yet another significant portion of the web page that garners a lot of attention.

Maintain Proper Flow

The idea behind maintaining a continuing flow with respect to design elements is to ensure that a viewer’s eyes move in one direction alone. At the end of this visual path that you have determined for the viewer, you can place the dominant feature. Such features will definitely catch the viewer’s eye and create a marked impression. Take for example the use of the common ‘arrow’ when you place an object at the end of the arrow, this object assumes tremendous importance.

Emphasis through Isolation

Proximity helps create unity, while isolation provides emphasis. Think of the Sahara with its endless sand dunes and an oasis in the middle of these sand dunes. Doesn’t the oasis create an impact? Well, the same brand of thinking works for website design as well. If you place an element in isolation, it is bound to stand out.  Your eyes and anybody else’s for that matter will be attracted to a design element that is surrounded by plenty of white space.

Contrast always comes to the rescue

Think about it, big and small, dark and bright, two colors that lie at the opposite ends of the color wheel etc. have helped provide emphasis, since time immemorial. The art of using two dramatically different graphic elements in a layout is bound to create an impression - More the difference, greater the element’s capacity to stand out. Disparate graphic elements are commonly used by web designers to provide emphasis.

These are just four ways of providing emphasis, and there are plenty more. It’s not absolutely necessary for you to follow these pointers for providing emphasis. All we have done is offer the most commonly used ways and the most easily incorporated of ideas that help provide emphasis. When it’s a matter of emphasis, you can get as creative as you like.

Your search for a software development company must diligently focus on the necessities and ignore the non-essentials. Once identified, you will need to draw up a legal contract with the company that exhaustively defines the nature of your working relationship with the company and the duties and responsibilities assigned to the said company. This is a process that requires attention to detail and a prime focus on mitigating any and every risk associated with working with a software development company and the process of software development in general.

Here are 4 ways of ensuring that the risks to software development are mitigated considerably.

Understand the Contract and then Sign on the Dotted Line

Typically, you will be presented with either a Fixed –Price or a Time and Material Contract. In the former, the risk related to cost overruns is assumed by the developer while in the latter, you are burdened with it. At first glance, you might think that there is no doubt that you must choose the ‘Fixed Price’ contract. But think about it for a second. Developers aren’t fools; they will ensure that they will take into consideration the prospect of cost overruns, while determining the fixed cost of the project development.  You are paying for it, but you just don’t realize it.  When it comes to a Time and Materials contract, you are going to pay the developer on an hourly basis, so there is a case where the developer might feel it’s worth his while to extend the period of the development to bill some more hours to you.

The bottom line is that both contracts have some risks linked to them. You will need to ensure that you are able to read between the lines of the contract and ensure that each and every deliverable related to the project, is stated explicitly. Otherwise, you are leaving space wide open for potential disputes.

Tweaking Advance Payments

Most software companies will ask for an upfront payment. This could be half of the total cost of the project, if it’s a major investment on the part of the client, or it could even by a full payment if the size and scope of the project is not really that big. But, the problem with such advance payments is that you are bearing the risk of the non-performance of the developer. This is a huge risk and you will need to mitigate it. This can be done by trying to work out a payment deal with the developer that has you making a payment that is time bound. This means you will pay for a week’s worth of development; once the week is out you can take a look at the work done, and then move forward for the next week’s payments.  When you are making advance payments, your focus should only be on minimizing the amount that you pay as much as possible.

Beware of Kill Switches

Oops!  If you forget about this risk, your software is in danger. One of the reasons why experts ask for due diligence before you choose any software developer to work on your project is because there are plenty of crooked developers out there. These are the kind of developers that won’t think twice about working a kill switch into the application that they are developing for you. In some circles, this switch is also known as an extortion switch. In the event there is a payment dispute between you and the unscrupulous developer you are working with, all they will do is press the switch and shut your application down, remotely. Do what you will, but you will have no other option but to pay up. One of the ways that you can get around this blackmail is that you have a contract that categorically makes mention of such practices and prohibits their use.

Beware of the Disappearing Act

The internet has paved the way for plenty of “enterprising” elements who are out to make a quick buck and fool gullible people who think something that’s said on the internet must and will be the absolute truth. There are plenty of people who call themselves freelance developers, playing the field on the World Wide Web. Their modus operandi is simplicity itself. They have a wonderful looking website, a fantastic portfolio, and they respond immediately to quote requests from potential clients. These quotes are often bottom of the barrel that anybody will find attractive. They ask for a limited upfront payment, which is also something that attracts potential clients. When the payments are made, there is no word from the developer. The developer and your money will have disappeared.

It’s very easy to avoid falling into such a trap. The first step is to choose a developer or a development company, that has a physical address and the second step, will be to visit that address and have a face- to-face conversation. At the cost of sounding repetitive, I want to say once again that the key is due diligence. Only work with a company or a freelance developer if you are absolutely sure about their credibility and reputation on the market.

There are plenty of other ways that help ensure, you minimize the risk associated with software development. But, these are enough to push you in the right direction. The important thing is to take all your decisions after a lot of forethought and by evaluating and analyzing everything that you think will go wrong.

Has your ecommerce website witnessed an explosion in sales this holiday season? Why are we asking this question? Well, according to experts, compared to 2010, online sales, this holiday season, went up by more than 15%. If your website hasn’t been at the receiving end of the online shopper largesse this year, then maybe, just maybe, there is something wrong with it.

There must be something wrong with the design of your ecommerce website, which might be interfering with its potential to generate sales. Let’s take a look at how you can improve the sales of your ecommerce website.

Design Should Allow Shoppers to Find the Product

No, it’s not that shoppers find your products expensive, or don’t like the visual appeal or design of your website or that they don’t really want to buy your products in the first place that is the reason behind your website’s failure. You will be surprised to note that, one of the primary reasons why shoppers don’t purchase a product from a particular ecommerce website is that they are unable to find the product that they want. Does your website conveniently guide users to their desired products? Be honest with yourself.

If it doesn’t, you need to improve it. A simple, clear, and convenient navigation should be able to do the trick.

Design Should Cater to Different Kinds of Shoppers

Believe it or not, there are different types of shoppers that your ecommerce website design must cater to; it must be the one size fits all, kind of design. It must cater to the requirements of the power shopper, the recreational shopper and also the reluctant shopper. Let’s take the case of power shoppers first, the kind of shoppers who know what they want and don’t want to waste any time when they shop. For them, an intuitive search bar is a great idea as it will keep providing suggestions as they type. All, in all, for them, the design must be able to make shopping quick and convenient.

Now for the recreational shopper who has all the time in the world when it comes to shopping and has a tendency towards impulse buying. So, a series of featured products, great products visuals, and unbeatable discounts will go a long way in vowing them. And now for the most difficult kind of shoppers; the ones that are reluctant to buy anything only, because of various concerns. Your website design has a better chance of converting them into customers if their fears regarding privacy, security, customer services and trustworthiness of the products are dispelled.

Conversion through Product Details Page

If and when, your website attracts the attention of shoppers, it needs to hold their interest. This can be done through many different ways. One of these ways is using high quality photography to showcase the products on the product details page. Something else you can do is sweetening the whole prospect of buying the products, for the prospective shopper. Some early bird discounts or reward points will definitely attract prospective buyers. It will also be a good idea to make your site more engaging by offering reviews and ratings; this also makes your ecommerce website achieve credibility and forge a solid reputation.  These are just some of the many ways that can help you showcase your products, in a way that is sure to captivate and convert.

But, It Doesn’t End Here

With the tips given above you have not just attracted prospective customers to your site, but the shopper centric ecommerce website design has ensured that they have added a whole list of products to their shopping carts. But don’t pop the champagne just yet. They still need to take the shopping cart through the checkout process. This is when the deal will be sealed. The payment process of the shopping cycle must be quick and painless and one of the ways of doing this is by offering one page checkouts. A long drawn out checkout process is never enjoyable, so cutting down on those pages makes perfect sense. Another great idea would be to do away with the need for registration, if the shopper wants to buy products on the site.

Tips are easier to read and very difficult to incorporate. When it comes to the website design of your ecommerce site, the tips given above are not going to be a cakewalk, but they aren’t impossible to implement, either. If you are looking for ecommerce success, it makes sense to put in some efforts in website design. The dividends will be fantastic.

The choice of the base color of any website is dependent on the purpose of the website. At times, the choice of the color might not entirely be in your hands, as a designer; the colors used in the web design might be dependent on the existing marketing collaterals of the company and also its logo. There are a number of clients who prefer choosing their colors for the design of their website; and rightly or wrongly, you will have to go along with it.

But, even if you have to go along with the color choice of the website owners, you can still ensure that you choose a color scheme that fits the needs and requirements of the website and its purpose. The standard color schemes that you can choose to use include, monochromatic, analogous, complementary, split complementary, triadic and double complementary.

Let’s take a look at each of these schemes in terms of their use in web design.

Monochromatic Color Scheme

A monochromatic color scheme involves the use of just one single base color in the various pages of the site. Of course, designers are able to use the various tints and shade of that color. You can choose to use different monochromatic color schemes for different pages of the site. There are some designers who take this route through the intuitive use of RGBA transparency. More importantly, you can choose to use a monochromatic design for one page, while in another you can go for analogous design. The use of multiple color schemes improves the visual appeal of your site and helps make it more engaging.

Analogous Color Scheme

You have a color wheel and there are colors adjacent to each other on that wheel. If you use colors lying adjacent to each other on that color wheel, you will be using the analogous color scheme. The idea is to use a large slice of the colors on the wheel and make them a part of the website’s design. The correct use of the analogous color scheme deepens the symbolism of the site and brings it out in all its glory.

Complementary Color Scheme

Choosing colors that are placed opposite each other in the color wheel, means you have chosen to go for a complementary color scheme. It gives rise to a unique combination of colors that if used wisely, will provide an interesting look and a solid foundation for the website design.  This doesn’t mean that such a color scheme must be bold; designers can tone it down so that the colors look more natural. Astute website designers couple complementary color schemes with artistic texture in order to create better visual impact.

Split Complementary, triadic and double complementary Color Schemes

As the names of these color schemes rightly suggests, these are just variations of the complementary scheme. If you want to use split complementary color scheme, you will need to choose two colors that lie adjacent to the complement of your chosen base color.  If you are after a triadic color scheme, it involves you choosing colors that are equally placed on the color wheel. This can easily be achieved if you choose colors that are placed one notch more on each side, with respect to the split complement.

Double complementary color scheme is just combining one complementary scheme with another one.

These are the standard color schemes and there are variants of the standard schemes that designers can also use. But, most designers are perfectly happy with the use of standards color schemes, as they make for a more focused approach towards website designing.