Oh, this is fun. Two of my favorite things in one awesome title.
Okay, we, lamentably, aren't talking about food (the most perfect food) but we are actually talking about navigation on a website. You've seen it around… usually you'll see this menu structure in mobile views of your website but we are starting to see this more and more often in desktop views as well.
The real question is, "Do people know what these really are?"
I hope you won’t be surprised when I tell you that, as a web designer, I like it when things look really, really good. What was that cheesy ‘80s commercial quote?
When building a new website, one of the most important aspects to consider is the hero banner. A hero banner is a large, prominently placed image or video that appears at the top of a website's homepage. It is the first thing that visitors see when they arrive at your site, and it plays a crucial role in setting the tone and establishing your brand identity.
The fold. If you're a web developer, you've heard it mentioned plenty of times. Often, a client will throw the word out, having heard it somewhere in a designy context and wanting to see if it makes them sound informed. What does it mean and does it apply to web design here in 2015?
You would think the response is quick and simple, but this is a very complicated, very debated topic. Go ahead and Google it! If you do, you'll see there is a pretty even split of people who are for and against designing with the fold in mind.
All our sites are built with best-practice workflows on Pantheon. Here’s why you should keep it there.
Pantheon ensures your website will continue to perform at high speeds, with minimal need for support. The platform automatically does much of the work required to keep professional-grade Drupal sites fast, secure, and scalable.
Every dollar you spend on web development should contribute to the growth of your business. Using open-source CMS like Drupal brings you closer to that goal, as developers don't need to start from scratch. However, they must still spend many hours on system administration. Pantheon allows you to funnel 100% of your investment in web development directly to the high-value features and strategy that grow your business. And not just while your website is in development, but for its entire lifetime.
Web forms on your website can be very helpful tools. They can be used to gather data about potential customers or give current customers a convenient option to ask for help. On the other hand, they can be the source of some inconveniences as well. Spam is an ever-increasing problem, and having web forms on your site is an invitation to spammers everywhere to fill your inboxes with garbage.
A spambot is an automated computer program designed to assist in the sending of spam emails or populate website forms. These programs continue to get more intelligent and now people have become a big part of spamming in recent years. Where there is cheap labor, people can be hired at an extremely low cost to do nothing but fill out forms and send emails.
It was only a few years ago that I thought that mobile use of the web would require very little consideration. When the first iPhone was introduced, the ability to pinch and zoom made it possible to use the small screen to see elements on the page without difficulty.
With Google's algorithm updates in April 2015, mobile responsive is more than just a thing. It's critical to the success of your website in mobile search. You can't expect to be successful in your search engine optimization efforts without having a mobile friendly site.
Often times, we would like to use videos to visually convey a thought or process. It might be easier to explain what you want to say using video footage, but embedding videos on your web page can seem like a difficult thing to do. On a Drupal site, it is actually quite simple.
The important thing to know is that Drupal makes it very simple as long as the video resides on an online video site, such as YouTube or Vimeo. Putting video files directly into the Drupal system will result in inconsistent results, depending on the users' software. Using YouTube or Vimeo, avoids those inconsistencies by providing an embed code for your video that can be placed directly into the code for your web page. The embed code will allow you to utilize the video site's player software to display the video, so everyone gets to see the video in the exact same format.
I am curious as to what device you are reading this on? Could it be on a laptop? Maybe you’re at work on a desk? Or – perhaps you have a smartphone in your hand and you’re thumbing through this page.
Are you looking to rebuild your website? If so, then you should consider a mobile-first approach. In today’s digital age, most people use their smartphones to browse the internet. A mobile-first website is designed to prioritize the user experience on smaller screens, making it easier to navigate and find what they need. By creating a mobile-first website, you can attract more visitors to your site, increase engagement, and ultimately, boost your conversions.
At some point or another when browsing the internet, a site will come up that makes you want to stand on the top of Mount Everest and shout "What idiot designed that site?"
