How to Ensure Your Blog Design Doesn’t Get in the Way of the Actual Content

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While the writing style, topics and the value of the content on one blog are the factors that will determine whether it will become successful or not, they are not the only thing a blog owner should pay attention to. The next important thing is blog design.

Blog design plays a vital role in forming the overall user experience. The more you think it through, the better it will resonate with your readership. Here are some tips to follow to ensure your blog design doesn’t get in the way of the actual content. [Read more…]

7 Ways to Use More Effective CTAs in Your Blog Posts

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“Buy our stuff!”

That is an example of an obnoxious, obvious call to action (CTA). But what if selling a certain item is your main goal for a content piece? Luckily there are a number of ways to engage your audience, give them answers to what they’re looking for, and build a relationship that’s not all about your bottom line—all while boosting sales and strategic goals.

The following seven ways can help you cleverly weave CTAs into your content to move customers further down the sales funnel without causing them to bounce off the page or become annoyed.

Create CTAs that your readers will actually respond to. Click To Tweet

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Responsive Design for Newbies [Infographic]

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responsive design for newbies

With the rise of mobile devices and people using them more and more to go online, the need for web design that works across devices arose. While the term “responsive design” wasn’t coined till May 2010 by Ethan Marcotte, the concept finds its roots in 2004, when Cameron Adams first demonstrated a site layout example that adapts to browser viewport width.

Leaving all that dry historical data behind, let’s look at the basics of responsive design. If you’re already up to your elbows in the concept, then you might want to look at another post of ours: Responsive Webdesign – A Paradigm Shift In The Industry [Infographic]. [Read more…]

Design Trends 2015

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design trends 2015

The world of design, whether online or offline, is always in a state of flux. It has to be said, however, that there are certain principles that remain constant, perhaps only being tweaked or incorporated into modern design trends.

In the past year, we have seen a lot of design trends that impress. Many of these trends are new, although we still see how great design does not do away with time tested ideas. [Read more…]

Your Aging Website: When and How to Get a Web Design Facelift

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Editor’s note: This post was written by Adam Kruger, who works at Resurgent Technology LLC, a growing yet small startup company in Chicago, IL. He enjoys sharing his insights and experiences through blogging.

It is not normally one single factor that flags up your website as needing a facelift, but a combination of issues that combine to spell out to you that a remodel would be a good idea.

web design facelift

There are plenty of tools available to help your website get a new lease of life and makeover, such as Adobe CS5 Design Premium Mac, but before you get started you need to take a baseline and see how your current site compares to the competition. [Read more…]

Upgrade Your Design With The New Colossal Bundle From Inky Deals: Giveaway!

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Being a blogger means knowing – and doing – a bit of everything; from a little of blog design to search engine optimization to content marketing. While you may not be an expert on blog design, or design in general, it pays to know the basics and to use the right tools to help elevate your blog.

That’s where Inky Deals can help you. A deals site targeting designers, Inky Deals also caters to anyone who has the slightest inclination toward design.

If you are looking at purchasing premium resources and tools for whatever project you may be working on, then this site is the place to go: you get some of the best tools at the best prices. [Read more…]

The 2014 Website Builders That Are Aiding Designers to Create More and Code Less

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So you want to create a website? Who doesn’t? With all the resources available these days, practically anyone can build a website. You don’t have to be a pro to come up with a decent site, although it does help to know at least the basics.

If, however, you do not have the luxury of time (and money), then you will want to opt for a website builder that will do most of the work for you. If you are a professional designer, and you want something that will provide you the results you want, fret not. This post is going to point you in the right direction. We understand your pain as a professional designer, and know how tired you are of the DIY website creators, which is why you’ll love what we are about to share with you.

Here are three website builders that will certainly make your life easy. The trick is to dig a little deeper with regard to the features they offer so that you can make an informed decision as to which website builder to use.

Webydo

website builder [Read more…]

Do Your Readers a Favor by Incorporating Web Page Screenshots and Thumbnails

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With the overwhelming amount of content to be found online, it is a wonder than anyone can catch – and keep – the attention of readers. There is the “old” adage that content is king, but with so many excellent copywriters and bloggers making a living out of content creation, what else can you do to make sure that your blog or web site gets the edge that you need?

Screenshots

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Images. Photos. Screenshots.

No matter how many times the phrase “a picture paints a thousand words” may be used, no matter how much it may grate on your nerves because of overuse, it rings so – especially online! [Read more…]

4 Things to Look for in a Blog Theme

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blog
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Blogging is as intrinsic to my life as taking a shower, eating, and drinking coffee. Of course, I have to come clean and admit that it is part of my job, so I can’t really avoid blogging on a daily basis, but I also have to say that there is something differently enjoyable when I have time to play with my personal blog. It does not get updated as often as I would like, but I do make it a point to change things up once a year if possible.

And when it comes to “changing things up”, the blog theme is always a factor that I consider. Any blogger would agree, I think, although the frequency of changing themes (and/or blog design) will definitely vary from one blogger to another.

How do you go about choosing a blog theme if you do not have something particular in mind? [Read more…]

Awesome Blog Design with Dano Hart

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Blog Design

People like to say content is king, but how important is design in the overall process?

If they can’t read your content, then it doesn’t matter how great your content is. Many blogs a few years ago, in trying to make a full-time living, got cluttered with ads, and images that made the reading experience horrible. I think the internet has grown to where there’s a great balance of content, and other items that help pay the bills. Ultimately, we’re seeing a trend in going back to simpler designs because a simple design gets to the point, and that point is good quality content.

Through years of owning a blog, a lot of bloggers have taught themselves how to do basic design, and many how to code. Do you think everyone should learn or do you think it requires a certain kind of person?

Everyone CAN learn how to code, and it’d probably save some bloggers some money in the long run to read up on some basic HTML and CSS skills. I say go for it, but always keep in mind the tasks that you are passionate about. If editing your website layout isn’t your thing, then leave that up to someone that is driven by creating, and editing design elements for the web. [Read more…]