Web Design

How to Create a Responsive Logo

An often overlooked, or rather, underappreciated aspect of web design is the versatility of the responsive logo. Today, we are surrounded by screens that tower over us in Time Square and conversely, fit in our pockets. How your company’s logo appears on a desktop should be as effective as it appears on your smartphone. Here are some tips to create a timeless, memorable and responsive logo.

Less is More

If you create a logo that is rich in detail it may appear clean on a desktop web page, but it will become blurred or cluttered when viewed on a mobile device. When designing a responsive logo, it should be adaptable enough to retain its meaning when scaled down or enlarged. You can achieve this through creating a logo that is both simple in design and direct in its message. Luckily, minimalist design has not only proven to be incredibly successful and memorable, but popular among contemporary web designers. For example, companies like Google and Instagram have been able to simplify their logos overtime without losing their identity. While Facebook and Skype have adapted to mobile viewing by shortening their logos to an “F” and a “S” respectively.

Make it Adaptable

Keep the scalability of your responsive logo in mind during the early design stages. Then it will easily adapt to new technologies that will challenge the display of the logo. When you are designing a responsive logo techniques such as stacking the design, reducing detail and removing wording that will only be blurred and cluttered when scaled down, are to be kept in mind. Logos become unsuccessful, distracting and forgettable when they over complicated and filled with subtleties. Apple’s initial logo was an intricate illustration of Isaac Newton resting under an apple tree. Realizing the downfall of the logo, Apple changed it to one that is nearly identical in design to its logo today.

While following these simple tips will enhance your responsive logo, every great logo begins with a design that maintains the message of your company through the many innovations it will experience.

Using Abstract Shapes in Web Design

Union Square Design Design, Web Design

abstract shapes on a web page — source: extcreative.com

An unlikely trend has developed this January — using abstract shapes in web design. These squares, squiggly lines, and triangles are scattered on the home page design in a seemingly random fashion. But it kind of works. It is unique, and it draws readers’ eyes across the page. It holds attention. And we know how important it is to capture and keep visitors’ attention. So here we’ll give you a brief rundown on these abstract shapes and how to incorporate them on you own website.

Geometric Designs on Websites

Geometric designs and backgrounds have always been popular in web design. Websites are generally designed on a grid, so incorporating shapes into the grid seems to make perfect sense. Geometric backgrounds are also used in place of photos because they take less time to load. Geometric designs are perfect to make your site stand out, and they’re generally very nice looking as well.

Abstract Shapes in Web Design

However, these abstract shapes are a bit different from geometric design. These shapes are just thrown into a design, and are used to either move visitors’ eyes, or simply spice up a flat design. The shapes you choose can be anything you like. You can fill them in, or leave them as simple outlines. They can move around the page, or they can stay in one place. You can make them interactive. It’s really up to you to get creative with these abstract shapes. The possibilities vary, depending on the kinds of aesthetic you want for your page.

To include abstract shapes on your website’s design, you need to be a certain kind of company. They’re playful shapes — so they pair well with playful, creative companies. So if you or your business’s website is more serious, these shapes may not be for you.

4 Goals for Web Developers in 2017

Union Square Design Web Design, Web Development

Do you need to work on some web development skills? Are you having trouble keeping your skill set up to date? If so, you’ve come to the right place. We’ve already written about trends we expect to see in 2017 — so how should web developers prepare themselves for these trends? Here are 4 goals for web developers in 2017; sticking to these goals are a great way to expand your knowledge and prepare for the future of web development.

Learn more about AI

Artificial Intelligence is being used in various ways such as with chat bots and website creation. Bots are making life easier in some ways, but creating and perfecting them takes time and effort. Conversational UI in particular will become more important as time goes on.If you don’t know much about AI, now is the time to learn. Soon it will be integral for every site.

Make websites even more mobile friendly

The new motto is “mobile first”. Design for mobile sites in mind, and then translate them to computer screens. People literally live with their phones in their hands, all of the time. Designing with mobile in mind will save you time and money down the road.

Include Live Support

We’re sure you’ve seen those “Chat with us!” pop-ups at the bottom of web pages. Live support is important for websites to have today — especially e-commerce websites. If you’re a developer, be sure to learn how to create these little chats. Many companies will be asking for them.

Learn a New Language

Every developer has a language that they’d like to learn but just keep putting off. So here is your push: learn a new language this year. If you are unsure about which one to learn, there is a buzz around a few languages this year, such as JavaScript and Ruby on Rails.

Hopefully we’ve inspired you to learn a few new things this year. These goals for web developers aren’t totally out of reach. It’s important to try and stay ahead of the game — or at least keep up with it.

How to Create a Great Landing Page

Union Square Design Design, Web Design

A landing page, also known as a home page, can make or break a website. Since it is the first page all visitors will see, you need to make sure it is eye-catching and informative. There are a few things that can mess up a landing page: the design, the loading time, the content, and more. Here are a few tips on how to create a great landing page.

Keep the Content Simple

You don’t want to scare visitors away with unclear jargon, or too many words on the page. A landing page shouldn’t have an insane amount of content on it. Instead, make sure your overall message is clear, and provide links to additional pages. Use the rest of your website to explain what you’re all about. Just let the home page act as a summary, and a call, to entice visitors to keep reading.

Make it Look Professional

Your landing page’s design should be attractive. The overall look of a website contributes to the feel of it, and the way people will respond to it. If a website looks cheap, or poorly designed, people will not trust it. First impressions count, especially on the Internet.

Let Visitors Know You’re Real

On the Internet, there are tons of fake, spam websites looking to take people’s money. In order to assure visitors that you’re a real person, with a real company, provide your contact information. An email, a phone number, and the location of your business (if applicable) should be somewhere on the landing page — we recommend putting it on the footer.

With these tips, you can transform your landing page into an effective business tool. By creating an enticing home page, visitors will stay on your website longer and return to it as well. You don’t want to mess up the very first impression people will have of you or your business.

4 Most Common E-Commerce Design Mistakes

Union Square Design Design, E-Commerce, Web Design

In the world of e-commerce design, there are many ways to maximize your e-commerce business. But there are also ways to miss a lot of important opportunities. Selling goods online can be a great way to expand your business. Here are a few ways to make sure you don’t over-look some of the basics of e-commerce design when moving your business into the next step of technology.

1. Inconvenient or long checkout.

In e-commerce design the obvious goal is conversion. Such a simple concept, yet so many retailers fail to provide consumers with an easy checkout process. Ideally, you will want a short and clear method of purchase. The shortest and easiest path to entry of payment information will yield higher conversions. Having too many steps to finish at checkout only gives the consumer more chances to navigate away. The best solution is single page checkout.

2. Registration or account requirement.

Making a sale is more important then data collection when it comes to e-commerce design. Offer a user to save or create an account after the purchase. Since all the information has already been entered, you can entice them to register by offering order tracking and other options. The consumer will be less resistant since the order is complete, the information is already entered, and there is now a perceived value.

3. Site product search-ability.

Searching is important to users. The use of filters and categories can help the consumer refine their search to their needs. A search that returns either too much data or data that is irrelevant can be frustrating for the consumer. Your e-commerce design platform should have a solid search engine. Plugins are also available for many platforms to extend the search capability. Results should be sort-able as well. This gives the consumer as many tools to make a decision as they need.

4. Shopping cart layout.

The presentation and features of your cart are vital to the shopping experience. The ability to have multiple items in the cart and manipulate quantities are essential. The path of progress when adding an item is important too. Ideally you want to have the consumer add the item to the cart and either return them to the last page they were on, or never leave that page to begin with. Another great idea is to have the items in the cart be links. That way if the customer wants to recheck something they can easily go to the product info.

By avoiding these mistakes, you’ll be able to optimize your e-commerce store in no time.

What is Social Media Optimization (SMO)?

Union Square Design E-Commerce, Web Design, WordPress

You’ve probably heard of SEO — search engine optimization — which is incredibly important for website success. But have you heard of SMO — social media optimization? The two acronyms are often mixed up or lumped together. But SMO is just like the name suggests: It’s all about social media. SMO can help your website succeed, grow your brand, and increase sales (if you’re an e-commerce site). Here’s what you need to know about SMO.

Why Bother with SMO

Social media optimization is great for visibility. Social media accounts help you extend your business by connecting with other social media users. If people find you on Twitter, and are intested and in what you’re saying, they’ll most likely check out your website. Social media optimization helps with your branding and marketing. Optimizing your social media accounts is a process that will help you boost your website’s success.

How to Increase SMO

Engage with users who follow you. If followers, or other Twitter users, reply to a post or send you a message, be sure to respond to this in some way. Whether it is a reply back, a like, or a re-tweet, all of this is a good way to engage with users. It’s also a great way to build a fan base.
Post relevant content. Post things that people actually want to see. To do this, you’ll need to figure out who your target audience is, and the sort of things they like. If you aren’t attracting users with your posts, then they won’t visit your website.
Bring originality to your social media accounts. This is your chance to give your company a voice. Use this space to represent your website/business in the best way possible.

Today, SMO is just as important as SEO. Especially since Google takes into account social media profiles into their search engine results. Overall, social media is the best new way to market yourself.

4 Funny 404 Pages for Inspiration

Union Square Design Web Design

404 pages, which are the “Page Not Found” errors you’ll see upon clicking a broken link, don’t have to be disheartening. In fact, they can be amusing and creative. We’ve picked out four funny 404 pages for some design inspiration of your own. These funny 404 pages sort of make the broken link worth clicking on. They give users something to laugh at, while pointing users in the right direction. Here is the list of funny 404 pages.

1. Hillary Clinton’s Funny 404 Page

If you click on a missing or broken link on Hillary Clinton’s website, you’ll be taken to her funny 404 page. It’s a classic GIF of her trying and failing to swipe her New York City subway card correctly. So if you’re not a fan of hers, you can laugh at her. If you are a fan of hers, you can laugh with her for this self-deprecating GIF. Overall, it’s pretty amusing and clever.

2. NPR’s Funny 404 Page

NPR’s funny 404 page presents users with a few different options. There are helpful links, such as to return to the homepage; there are also funny links to articles they’ve written about other missing things. Amelia Earhart, 18 1/2 Minutes of Watergate Tapes, and The Lost City of Atlantis are a couple of them. Check it out yourself.

3. Bluegg’s Funny 404 Page

Bluegg is definitely capitalizing on the Internet’s love of goats. Their funny 404 page takes users to a looped video of a goat screaming like a human. It’s funny, and it’s cute. They also, thankfully, provide a link to get back to their homepage. So you can either stay there and watch the goat, or get out of there as quickly as possible.

4. Distilled’s Funny 404 Page

Distilled’s funny 404 page takes users to a cartoon of two gentlemen having a conversation about how the 404 page could have appeared. It’s amusing, as they say things like, “old chap” and refer to coders as, “web butlers”. There are also navigational links at the top of the page, to guide users back to where they need to go.

Hopefully some of these funny 404 pages have inspired you to create one of your own. Remember, 404 errors don’t have to be a nuisance!

Great 404 Error Page Template Designs

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Creating custom 404 error pages is something that is common on the Internet. If you haven’t made one already, you should definitely start thinking about it. Some are funny, some are smart, but all of them include navigational links to help users get back to the website’s homepage. That’s the most important part of creating a custom 404 error page. If you’re not sure how to make one, we’ve compiled a few great 404 error page templates for you.

1. Green Glossy 404 Error Page

This template is fairly straightforward. There is the error message, followed by a prompt to enter your e-mail address. There are also social media links at the bottom of the template. This allows users to visit one of these accounts, and get off the 404 error page. This 404 error page template is also free to download.

2. Modern Error Template

This 404 error page template is very informational. Along with the giant 404 numbers, there is a search bar so users can search for what they were looking for. There are also many navigational links: to the home page, to the about page, to the contact page, and more. You can customize these yourself. Social media links are at the bottom as well. This ensures users won’t leave your website just because they hit a 404.

3. 404 22 Page Template

This 404 error page template is very minimalist in design. They present visitors with two options: to go back to the page they were on, or to go to the homepage. Simple, yet effective for directing users out of that page. It’s worth noting that minimalism is a popular web design trend right now.

There are plenty of other 404 error page templates out on the Internet — but all of these are free to download. Overall, these templates are helpful for visitors stumbling across a broken link. A custom 404 page is great for getting visitors to stay on your website, unlike a normal 404 page.

Best Parallax Scrolling WordPress Themes

Union Square Design Web Design, WordPress

Parallax scrolling has been hugely popular this year; many websites are implementing this trend. Parallax scrolling provides websites with a smooth, eye-catching way to navigate. This type of scrolling is when the background image moves slower than the content in the foreground. It injects some life into the simple act of scrolling down a web page. Here are some of the best parallax scrolling WordPress themes.

1. Hatch

The parallax scrolling WordPress theme, Hatch, is built with HTML5 code and CSS3 scripting. There are plenty of features available, including: 80+ page elements, pre-built layouts, premium plugins, and more. There’s also a drop and drop menu builder, as well as WooCommerce if you need to make an online store. Overall, Hatch is great for subtle and sophisticated parallax scrolling.

2. Rhythm

Rhythm is a parallax scrolling WordPress theme that provides many different demos for users to browse. There are multiple page templates and layouts to choose from. Their theme is very user-friendly, and accessible on any screen. Rhythm also has a drag and drop interface, so you don’t need to be able to code to update your website. Parallax features are included in this theme, which allows for smooth scrolling.

3. You

You is a parallax scrolling WordPress theme that is flexible and excellently designed. This theme is also good for SEO optimization, which will result in more traffic to your site. You can create almost any site with this theme — from a large business to a personal blog. The parallax scrolling is subtle but effective — you’ll be sure to captivate visitors.

4. Tower

Tower is an incredibly business-oriented, parallax scrolling WordPress theme. Their other features include: SEO optimization, multi-purpose design, premium sliders. and much more. There are different packages to choose from depending on your business. Therefore, this allows you to represent your business on the web in the best way possible.

We’ve included links for you to check out the themes yourself; we doubt you’ll be disappointed by any of these dynamic parallax scrolling WordPress themes.

4 Successful E-Commerce Trends

Union Square Design E-Commerce, Web Design

Trends come and go, but over time certain trends can’t be called “trends” anymore. They turn into website standards; if you don’t follow the trends, you’ll get left behind. These are 4 successful e-commerce trends that are almost past the “trend” status.

1. Creating Responsive Websites

Of all the successful e-commerce trends, this one might be the most obvious. Mobile browsing, and mobile shopping, have become increasingly popular. Therefore, you need to adapt your e-commerce store to m-commerce. The more accessible your store is, the more sales you’ll make. In fact, experts have predicted that by 2017, mobile commerce will account for 50% of e-commerce sales.

2. Having Product Recommendations

Product recommendations and other personal touches are a good way to attract more business. For example, a user puts something into their cart, and 3 product recommendations pop up; that’s three items they might like to buy — three items they would have otherwise missed. Websites are becoming more user-centric — having product recommendations will only help your business.

3. Selling Unique Products/Services

Being a unique or niche business is easier than ever. Kickstarter and GoFundMe can help you start your business, or if you just want an outlet to sell goods, Etsy is as popular as ever. These helpful websites make selling your specialty products or services more feasible. People are looking for more personalized shopping experiences and goods, which is part of why Etsy has flourished over the years.

4. Great Usability/User Experience

You should work on measuring your website’s usability, to ensure that customers can easily shop around. We get used to the layout of our own sites very quickly, and can overlook potential usability issues. The customer’s experience will affect your site’s growth — the more that people like it, the more they will use it, and the larger it will grow. Therefore, if people find your e-commerce site difficult to navigate, they won’t return to it.

With these successful e-commerce trends in mind, you’ll be able to optimize your website in no time. Website upkeep is important in order to grow your business.