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Most templates for content management systems (like Squarespace, Shopify, or Wordpress) are responsive. That means when someone visits your website on a phone or a computer, the website resizes so that it fits in the space available. (Once upon a time, websites would often redirect you to a mobile-only version.) A layout may be responsive, but it might not be the easiest to use. When selecting a template, I look for three things: 1. Quick loading speed. Mobile users are especially impatient, so the website should be speedy. 2. Tappable space. The buttons and links should all be big enough to touch. The minimum recommended size is 44x44px. 3. Easily found menus. So many websites hide their menus behind the hamburger icon alone, but that makes it so much more difficult to find. Ideally, it should use both an icon and “Menu” (or some variation) together, but text alone is better than an icon alone. These three elements elevate a responsive design from just fine to easy to use. There are lots of options to try. Stay tuned for a third furry coworker. I hope you have a safe and warm day, |
Using 10 years of design experience to help handmade businesses build websites into business assets.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the art of tailoring your website to be picked up and ranked by search engines (usually without paying). The rules are never explicitly published, but people learn them through experimentation and pushing limits. Once upon a time, this meant you could get a number 1 spot for a keyword by spamming that keyword in one giant paragraph at the bottom of your page, regardless of the rest of your content. The rules evolved and so did the techniques to rank. It was...
Internet customers have very little patience. If they don’t find what they’re looking for at first glance, they will leave. You can help yourself by putting yourself in your customer’s shoes. 1. Look at your analytics. Somewhere you should be able to see a list of the most popular sizes (mobile and desktop) people are using to look at your website. 2. Choose the most popular sizes and look at your site in that size. Note: You don’t really need precise sizes, but knowing most of your customers...
I went to Boston earlier this year and went on several tours. There was one in particular that stuck with me. The tour guide was endlessly knowledgeable, charming, and funny. His business was also new. I went to leave a review on his website and the link was broken. When I went to contact him, the contact form was also broken. Most people aren’t motivated enough to try again. Once they hit a single issue, most customers will leave. One easy way to prevent this is to test your own site. (It...