Web Design vs Web Development

The Role of a Web Designer

It’s understandable why people are confused by the term “Web Designer”. The role of a web designer has evolved quite a bit, often blurring the lines between web designer vs web developer. In general, a web designer spearheads the user experience planning and visual aspects of your websites design.

Web designers plan the overall user journey and site structure, as well as focus on a color scheme, typography, layout, and images. Web design governs what the user will ultimately see on their device when they arrive at your site. It’s also the main driver of business goals, such as generating more leads or improving online sales.

Designers are looking to keep an overall consistency (repetition or rhythm) of the entire site, so it doesn’t feel like every page belongs to a different site entirely. There is unity in the layout, which helps the human brain organize the information they are processing on the site.

Web designers stick to a theme for the site that speaks to the target audience, and finds relevant images for the subject matter, ensuring no inconsistencies. The web design is the first impression a visitor will get of the brand, and if they like what they see, they might stay around longer to explore the product or service offerings.

The Role of a Web Developer

Once the planning and design process has been completed, the web developer, often called programmers, step in and build a fully functioning website from the design.

They bring the vision to life. The design is non-interactive at this point, and the developer starts the engine and begins fueling the process towards an interactive user experience. The web developer can use HTML for the process or make use of programming languages like PHP or a CMS (content management system) like WordPress, which gives the client the opportunity to update and maintain their website without the need for a developer for every change or addition.

There are two types of web developers working on a site’s functionality –front-end (client-side) and backend (service-side). You might find that some web designers are also proficient at front-end developing, understanding the ins and outs of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.  

Web developers may convert a static layout into a dynamic website by using image and content sliders, active states for links and buttons, and other interactive elements.

The backend developer has a specific knowledge of a programming language like Python, Django or Ruby on Rails and also understands databases. The full stack developer is one who is skilled at both front-end and back-end web development. They are the code masters who jumpstart the design into an operating website.

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DIFFERENT TYPES OF WEB HOSTING

Before we take a look at the different types of hosting available, it’s important to understand how types of hosting can be categorized. One way of categorizing hosting is based on how the servers are set up and the amount of access you have to those servers. Thus, the result is the following types of hosting:

• Free web hosting

• Shared hosting

• VPS hosting

• Dedicated hosting

• Cloud hosting

• Colocation hosting

• Self-service hosting

Free Web Hosting

There’s no such thing as a free ride, and though you think you are getting free hosting with these services, this is not actually the case. With a free web hosting service, you are not technically creating your own website, but creating one or more pages on someone else’s website.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the cheapest option you can find where you get your own domain. It’s generally best suited for small websites without much traffic. To understand why you need to understand how this type of hosting works.

When you sign up for a shared hosting plan, your website will be sharing space on a server with other websites. To make things more efficient and so they can offer cheap hosting options, hosting companies put multiple users on the same server. Some servers can have over 1,000 users. When you take into account that every user can have multiple sites, depending on the plan they signed up for, you’ll quickly realize that one server can have as many as 5,000 sites.

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting

Virtual Private Server hosting is the next step up from shared hosting. It’s quite a popular option for website owners looking for an upgrade from traditional shared hosting because it is quite balanced from all points of view, including cost.

A VPS server still requires you to share space with other users on the same physical server, but the way this is achieved is entirely different to traditional shared hosting.

Dedicated Server Hosting

With a dedicated server hosting plan, any faulty coding or problematic websites are no one’s fault but your own because you are completely alone on the server. So, right off the bat, one benefit of dedicated hosting is that you don’t have to worry about other people’s sites hogging up your resources, just like with a VPS plan.

When you’re on a dedicated plan, quite a few providers are more than happy to let you customize the server to a certain degree. You might be able to choose how much and what type of RAM to equip the server with, as well as other hardware, and you could also decide on which operating system that server will run on. In other words, you’ll be able to make any changes you need, which could come in handy if you plan on running special software on the server.

Cloud Hosting

The difference between traditional computing and cloud computing is a bit like the difference between using your laptop on battery and plugging it in. When you’re running your laptop just off the battery, you can use it until the battery runs out of power. If your laptop usage is light, say only browsing a website or two, or using the word processor, then the battery power will last longer. If you’re playing a graphics-heavy, resource-intensive game, the power will run out faster.

Once you plug it in, though, you can use your laptop as much as you like because it’s pulling power from the main grid. So, no matter how heavy your usage is, your laptop will keep on running for as long as you want it to because it’s receiving power from a huge network.

Cloud-based computing is similar in the sense that you gain access to a massive network of servers, and can use those resources based on your needs with no interruption to service. In other words, with cloud hosting, you are never going to find yourself running out of resources, regardless of how gigantic your site gets.

Colocation Hosting

With colocation hosting, you buy your own server, rent space in a data center’s rack and use their bandwidth. It requires you physically taking the server to the colocation provider and installing it, though some providers offer managed services and can handle the installation and maintenance. You then use the bandwidth, IP, and power given to you by the provider.

Colocation hosting is similar to having a dedicated server, except that you own the hardware. So, the advantages and disadvantages are similar, except that since it’s your own server, you can do whatever you like without restriction, including upgrading the hardware.

On the flip side, if hardware fails, you will be the one responsible for the replacement, at least regarding cost.

Self-Service Web Hosting

As the name implies, this is a completely DIY form of hosting. You buy the servers, install and configure all the software, ensure backups are made, provide cooling to keep the servers from melting down, and so on and so forth. Depending on your needs, you’re essentially building a mini data center, which will require space, hardware, and staff to operate.

It’s pretty much like having your own dedicated server, expect that the sky’s the limit regarding resources. Or, your bank account is at least. You can buy as many servers as you like, building your own cloud architecture, like Amazon or Google.

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TOP PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE WEB DESIGN PART - 1

Websites that are not well designed tend to perform poorly and have sub-optimal Google Analytics metrics (e.g. high bounce rates, low time on site, low pages per visit and low conversions). So what makes good web design? Below we explore the top 10 web design principles that will make your website aesthetically pleasing, easy to use, engaging, and effective.

1. PURPOSE

Good web design always caters to the needs of the user. Are your web visitors looking for information, entertainment, some type of interaction, or to transact with your business? Each page of your website needs to have a clear purpose, and to fulfill a specific need for your website users in the most effective way possible.

2. COMMUNICATION

People on the web tend to want information quickly, so it is important to communicate clearly, and make your information easy to read and digest. Some effective tactics to include in your web design include: organising information using headlines and sub headlines, using bullet points instead of long windy sentences, and cutting the waffle.

3. TYPEFACES

In general, Sans Serif fonts such as Arial and Verdana are easier to read online (Sans Serif fonts are contemporary looking fonts without decorative finishes). The ideal font size for reading easily online is 16px and stick to a maximum of 3 typefaces in a maximum of 3 point sizes to keep your design streamlined.

4. COLOURS

A well thought out colour palette can go a long way to enhance the user experience. Complementary colours create balance and harmony. Using contrasting colours for the text and background will make reading easier on the eye. Vibrant colours create emotion and should be used sparingly (e.g. for buttons and call to actions). Last but not least, white space/ negative space is very effective at giving your website a modern and uncluttered look.

5. IMAGES

A picture can speak a thousand words, and choosing the right images for your website can help with brand positioning and connecting with your target audience. If you don’t have high quality professional photos on hand, consider purchasing stock photos to lift the look of your website. Also consider using infographics, videos and graphics as these can be much more effective at communicating than even the most well written piece of text.

6. NAVIGATION

Navigation is about how easy it is for people to take action and move around your website. Some tactics for effective navigation include a logical page hierarchy, using bread crumbs, designing clickable buttons, and following the ‘three click rule’ which means users will be able to find the information they are looking for within three clicks.

7. GRID BASED LAYOUTS

Placing content randomly on your web page can end up with a haphazard appearance that is messy. Grid based layouts arrange content into sections, columns and boxes that line up and feel balanced, which leads to a better looking website design.

8. “F” PATTERN DESIGN

Eye tracking studies have identified that people scan computer screens in an “F” pattern. Most of what people see is in the top and left of the screen and the right side of the screen is rarely seen. Rather than trying to force the viewer’s visual flow, effectively designed websites will work with a reader’s natural behaviour and display information in order of importance (left to right, and top to bottom).

9. LOAD TIME

Everybody hates a website that takes ages to load.  Tips to make page load times more effective include optimising image sizes (size and scale), combining code into a central CSS or JavaScript file (this reduces HTTP requests) and minify HTML, CSS, JavaScript (compressed to speed up their load time).

10: MOBILE FRIENDLY

It is now commonplace to access websites from multiple devices with multiple screen sizes, so it is important to consider if your website is mobile friendly. If your website is not mobile friendly, you can either rebuild it in a responsive layout (this means your website will adjust to different screen widths) or you can build a dedicated mobile site (a separate website optimised specifically for mobile users).

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SEO Vs. AdWords – When to use them

What is Google AdWords?

Adwords is an advertising platform created by Google that makes it possible for you to position your advertisement on the top or right-hand side of the search results pages on Google and other affiliate websites.

AdWords allows you to target internet user’s search queries and display your offers every time they look for a similar product. The visitor then clicks on your advertisement and it takes them to your site or landing page.

With Adwords, your business listing can be displayed alongside the natural search results when people search for specific keyword phrases in Google. Search results displayed by Google Adwords are also called Pay Per Click (PPC) results because you shell out money for every click on one of your ads. We’ve illustrated the difference between the natural or organic search results and the paid Adwords search results below.

What is SEO?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, and is a method of digital marketing that focuses on making your website content relevant to search engines. SEO or Search Engine Optimization helps you to rank higher in the organic, or natural, search results. Properly implemented SEO optimizes your site in terms of keywords, content, links, and other technical aspects.

By optimizing these areas, search engines see your site as the most relevant result, and, as such, put your site in a primary spot on the search engine results page (SERP). SEO is the process of getting more traffic to your website by getting the site listed and ranked highly for queries relating to your product, market, or business in the natural or organic search results.

SEO Versus AdWords

The best practice is to use a mixture of both SEO and Adwords to keep your brand top of mind for internet searchers. Even though you rank in top positions in the organic search results, you should still consider using AdWords to target users who might not be as familiar with your brand.

Here are a few other factors to consider when debating how much of your resources to spend on SEO and AdWords.

SEO requires more time for results than AdWords, but can result in a high rank in Google for an amount of key search terms. There’s no charge per click linked with the organic search results, but on the other hand, ongoing work is necessary to sustain your search engine rankings with SEO.

Adwords can be switched on and off instantaneously, while SEO can take a lot longer to make an effect on search results

Adwords pretty much guarantees your business will be displayed in the search results. There is no assurance you’ll rank in the organic search results through SEO.

SEO targets high traffic keywords mentioned in your website. (Just don’t keyword stuff)

Adwords also permits you to respond quickly to a shifting marketplace by targeting new terms visitors may be looking for. This can be very useful for e-commerce businesses.

Adwords ads are displayed on top of the organic listings. On some screens (particularly on mobile) this area is all the user can see without scrolling.

Adwords targets abundant variations that you have around particular keywords and allows you to use negative keywords, so you can avoid ranking for terms that aren’t a good match for your brand.

AdWords runs on a variety of websites that register for Google Ads, so your site may gain more exposure.

Adwords is a rapid method for generating quality leads and sales.

If SEO is stopped, the ranking of a website decreases over a period of time due to constant algorithm updates by Google.

SEO also optimizes the quality and quantity of incoming links to your website.

AdWords pulls instant traffic from the start of the campaign. This is useful for new websites or services and products that are seasonal.

In Conclusion

You don’t have to choose between SEO and AdWords. These are two very different tools you can use to reach the same goal: an increase in sales and traffic.

It is also very important to keep the user in mind. Above all, provide high-quality content that is actually useful to your readers. Do not “over optimize” it to get better placements. You need to keep relevant content that actually transforms your clicks into business!

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Benefits of CSS in Search Engine Optimization

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) is a style sheet language that permits web designers to attach style like spacing, color, font, etc. to HTML documents. Cascading style sheets work similarly to a template; permitting web developers to label style for an HTML element and after that apply it to the number of web pages required. Thus, Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are collections of formatting rules, which control the appearance of content in a web page. With CSS styles you have great flexibility and control of the exact page appearance; from precise positioning of layout to specific fonts and styles.

There are many benefits of using CSS. One of the major benefits of using CSS is the easy maintenance of the website. Maintenance of a website made with CSS is much easier compared to the ones which are table based. CSS splits the presentation style of documents from the content of documents and makes the maintenance of the site easier. Aside from being able to make site extensive changes with no trouble through one CSS file, the clean code it generates makes it easier to update. Webmasters can characterize the appearance of a site in one place, and change the whole site by changing just one file. With CSS, when you decide to craft a change, you simply alter the style, and that element is updated automatically anywhere it appears in the site. So, if you have to alter the color of all pages in your site, you only have to edit one style sheet. This saves you enormous amount of time, particularly if you have to edit each page independently. CSS generally requires less code compared to table based. This makes your code lighter and cleaner. Clean code makes a huge difference in maintaining your site.

Cascading Style Sheets Benefits and Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Another major benefit of CSS is that it makes your website SEO friendly. The reason behind this is simple. The search engines spiders are actually very lethargic. They do not go through the bundles of HTML codes to get to the indexed codes. Font tags and tables make the HTML code very cumbersome; thus, reduce the accuracy of the results. If you use external CSS files to design and determine the design attributes; the HTML code will be clean and it will result to better search engine rankings. With some knowledge of CSS you will be able to change the code layout without destroying the actual visual layout. For instance, you could easily make the main content of your site to show up above the header or navigation menu in the code of your website; thus will help to show search engine crawlers the importance of your content. I personally saw a huge boost in rankings in fully CSS web sites. When I look at someone’s website that was built using old school HTML code with tags such as: TABLES, TD, TR, FONT and so on, I feel awkward and immediately convert that site to a fully table-less CSS layout. There are many tools on the Internet that shows the actual code over text ratio weight of your site. Do you know why? Because modern search engines such as: Google, Yahoo and MSN love light-weighted websites. They want to see your content; the text, not the code. With CSS everything is possible. You practically externalize excessive code into external file, thus leaving the actual page clean and simple.

Website Accessibility

CSS makes your website more accessible. The number of users browsing the web through hand held devices are continuously growing tremendously. It is always important that your site is accessible to them also. You can make an additional CSS document particularly for handheld devices like cell phones, which will be called up in place of the regular CSS document; which is not achievable with a tabular layout. CSS benefits accessibility chiefly by separating document structure from presentation. By separating style from markup, webmasters can simplify and clean up the HTML in their documents, making the documents more accessible.

Increases Download Speed of Your Website

CSS code downloads faster than tables. Browsers read through tables twice previous to exhibiting their contents; first to work out their structure and then to determine their content. Moreover, tables are shown on the screen as a whole, no part of the table will be displayed until the entire table is downloaded and rendered. Tables support the use of spaced images to assist with positioning. CSS generally requires less code than cumbersome tables. All code to do with the layout can be placed in an external CSS document, which will be called up just once and then stored on the user’s computer; while the table layout stored in each HTML document, must be loaded up each time a new page downloads. Also with CSS, you can manage the order of the items downloaded into the screen. You have the control to make the content appear previous to the slow loading images, which is liked by most of the web users.

Cross Browser Compatibility

For all webmasters out there! CSS makes your website more professional. Taking the benefits of CSS like making your websites load faster and easy to maintain, you save a lot of time and labor. This in turn makes you lots of money. CSS makes links of the website look more attractive and dynamic. Using CSS, you can slot in rollovers easily and effectively, without having to use a single character of JavaScript. Thus, CSS gives your websites a professional look. It is wise to use CSS to jive with the current trends of the industry. All major browsers like Firefox, Explorer, and Netscape presently recognize CSS and it is definitely safe for web designers to use CSS now.

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PHP vs Node.JS

Both PHP and Node.js can manage web applications of any complexity, but they are built with different architectures and concepts. If you want to develop an app for your company and are confused between these two environments, you should be well aware of the major limitations or advantages.

PHP is one of the most used back-end programming languages for creating websites and web applications. Node.JS is not a script but an environment for working in the back-end which is written in javascript. However, it is possible to create codes for the back-end in javascript with the help of Node.JS.

Since last few years, both the platforms have continued to improve and expand. Moreover, Node.JS developers can now choose from various other javascript development frameworks like React.JS, Angular.JS, Meteor, and much more.

In this post, we are going to make a brief comparison between PHP and Node.JS.

What is PHP?

PHP is a server-side scripting language which is the most popular choice for web developers after it released in 1995. These days majority number of websites are running on PHP, because of the popularity of choice of language for content management systems(CMS) like Drupal, WordPress, and Joomla and also for modern development frameworks like Symfony, Laravel, and CakePHP which has accelerated the development with PHP.

What is Node.JS?

Javascript is a programming language which typically runs on every web browser and makes the webpage interactive and dynamic. However, since the release of Node.JS in 2009, it is now possible to do asynchronous coding with javascript in the back-end. Node.JS is a runtime and development environment with a number of frameworks available that run on top of it.

Major Differences: PHP vs Node.JS

Both PHP and Node.JS are a server-side programming language. Here are the major differences between PHP and Node.JS:

Runtime Environments: Both PHP and javascript can be embedded into HTML directly. For that, both need an interpreter for running it. PHP is simple and straightforward to install and use on server-side and it is powered by Zend Engine. On the other hand, Node.JS is the running environment of javascript on the server-side which is powered by V8 javascript engine of Google.

Concurrency: PHP uses multi-threaded, blocking I/O for carrying out multiple tasks in parallel like other server-side programming languages. Javascript is unique as it uses various techniques to achieve event-driven,non-blocking I/O execution model which uses a single thread for execution. However, PHP is a mature language and has found its way to achieving asynchronous process most notably by using HVVM project launched by Facebook.

JSON: JSON is a very lightweight data format which gives an edge to Node.JS over PHP in handling JSON files. While JSON can work with PHP, but it’s more situational.

Simplicity: All the concepts of PHP are much simpler to use than Node.JS. While setting up the server all you need is a “.PHP” file with some code contained in the tags, enter the URL into the browser, and you are done. At the back, there is a web server like MySQL with PHP installed is easily able to interpret the file and display that web page in the browser. Setting up the Node.JS server is not difficult but it mostly requires few lines of codes and a basic understanding of how callback functions and closures work.

When to use PHP or Node.JS

Both these are server-side technologies, but Node.JS provides a benefit of working on a javascript stack for both front and back-end. If you are trying to choose between these two server-side technologies. Here are mentioned below for the same.

When to use PHP:

– For software stacks like WAMP, MAMP, and LAMP.

– For content management systems like Drupal, WordPress, Joomla etc.

– For servers like SQL, MySQL, Oracle etc.

When to use Node.JS:

– Single page dynamic web applications (SPAs).

– Using with software stacks like MEAN stack.

– Using server-side technologies like Express.js, Node.JS, MongoDB, etc.

– Using with front-end technologies like Angular.JS, jQuery, React.JS etc.

Conclusion:

Both these programming languages are good and it finally comes to the decision of the businesses on which platform they want to develop their website. If you want a good database integration than PHP is an ideal choice for you. On the other hand, if you are looking for designing interactive user interfaces than you should go for Node.JS. Therefore, it ultimately comes down to businesses preference and requirements of their project.

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