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    Video File Format for Web Design

    May 18th, 2012

    In our previous blog post we have actually made it clear why it is necessary for website designers to incorporate in videos in their web design. Just in case you have missed it the main gist of the reasons on why you should use video or incorporate video in your web design is to increase the time spent of your website visitors on your website, this is beneficial because of the fact that you are able to capture the visitors’ attention thus giving him or her the salient points about your website or about your product or services. A visitor staying longer in your website would also mean that your bounce rate will decrease.

    Enter HTML5

    The talk about incorporating video into the web design became popular when the World Wide Web Consortium have announced and implemented the video incorporation capability of HTML 5 through its new element the <video> element. Before HTML 5 incorporating video in a web design concept was never thought-of, because of the fact that before a video could be played there is a need to download external video players, with HTML5 however there is no need for such third party software application.

    The Acceptable Video File Format For Web Design

    Now that you have an idea on the benefits of a video being incorporated in your web design you have to understand that not all video file format are applicable to be used with HTML 5. There are only some recognised video file formats which every new browser is compatible with and these are the following:

    1. MP4 – also called the MPEG-4 it utilises the video codec H264 and the audio codec AAC. However this video file format is only compatible with Internet Explorer version 9 and Apple Safari 5.

    2. WebM – this video file format utilises the audio codec Vorbis and the video codec VP8. It is compatible with the latest versions of Firefox, Google Chrome and Opera.

    3. Ogg – a video file format that utilises the audio codec Vorbis and the video codec theora, this video file format is compatible with Firefox, Google Chrome and Opera.

    Conclusion

    As you can see not all file formats are compatible with all of the different available web browsers, this is why when creating a website design with video in it, you have to make sure that you are using a file format that best fits majority of web browsers, on top of that choose a file format which is compatible with web browsers that are commonly used by internet users.

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    Posted in Web Design Work |

    Video Editing For Web Design

    May 17th, 2012

    The incorporation of the new elements in HTML 5 makes it possible for every website owner to incorporate video in their web design. Using a video in your website to augment not only your web design but most of all your content would greatly help increase not only your website traffic but it would also help your users maintain attention into your website. Video is a popular content of choice nowadays for a website design because of the different benefits that it could give to your website design and to your website traffic.

    Benefits of Video

    Using videos in your website design gives several benefits and these are the following:

    1. Visual Content – videos are considered to be better than text content as based on the point of view of a website visitor. Although text content is better for SEO the incorporation of videos as your website content could help your website viewers to understand better the message which you are trying to convey.

    2. Lesser Bounce Rate – since videos can make your users or website users to stay focused on your video, provided you have made it interesting, you websites’ bounce rate is going to be greatly reduced. Bounce rate is the total number of website visitors who have not stayed longer than thirty seconds in your website and have already clicked away from your website. Reducing your bounce rate would not only increase your sites’ potential return of investment but also increases the reliability of your website.

    3. Captures Attention – site visitors can always click away from your website, but having a video incorporated in your website design will increase the possibility of capturing the attention of your website visitors and once captured other benefits would follow such as lesser bounce rate and improved visual content.

    Conclusion

    Using videos in your web design does not only allow you to add beauty to your website but rather it also adds traffic benefits to your website. Indeed video is already made essential to website design as it can be an alternative to your text content.

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    Posted in Web Design Work |

    Graphic Design Software For Web Design

    May 14th, 2012

    As what was previously discussed in this blog a website designer does not only need to know how to code or to write web design scripts. There is also a need for the website designer to know how to utilise the different multimedia editing software. Multimedia such as graphics, video and audio are now easily incorporated to a web page design thanks to HTML 5 elements. The problem however is that a website designer must be ready and be knowledgeable in editing such multimedia interfaces such as video, audio and graphics. One of the first thing that a web designer must know is how to create graphic designs that would be incorporated into the website. There are several software applications that may be used for graphic design which could produce great images that could be used for website design.

    The Software Applications

    There are three common names which we always hear when it comes to Graphic design, they are popular because of the power and flexibility which the application can give to a graphic designer and these software applications are:

    1. Photoshop – developed by Adobe systems, this graphic design software is considered as one of the most powerful and versatile graphic design application. This is because it does not only allow the design for a specific platform but rather it gives you the choice on how to design the image based on the purpose to which you intend to use it. If you intend to do it for video purposes then you will have to utilise the presets made available in photoshop. Furthermore, its compositing capability makes it more flexible through the different options available to edit different layers of the composited image.

    2. Corel Draw – also known as an alternative to Photoshop because of the fact that it has the same power and flexibility in terms of graphic design. Compositing is also possible and its features and functionality are almost the same as that of Photoshop.

    3. GIMP – again another graphic design software that offers almost similar features with that of Photoshop. Its third party support however is not as vast as that of Corel and Photoshop. It’s upside however is the fact that GIMP is actually a free software.

    Conclusion

    Knowledge is power as they say, knowing your different options in terms of graphic design which you could use to create and edit images to be used in your web design will give you an idea on what software will best fit your needs. Choose one software and become a master graphic designer using such software, we guarantee that you will be able to create great designs.

     

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    Posted in Web Design Work |

    What You Should Know Aside From HTML

    May 13th, 2012

    If you are trying to start out as a web designer trying to create your own web design you have to learn the different tenets or foundation of web design such as the different scripting languages like the hypertext markup language or HTML, Cascading Stylesheets or CSS, JavaScript, Hypertext Preprocessor or PHP among others. However, your learning curve must not stop with those scripting languages because along with the different processes in web design comes the need to incorporate multimedia to your website, therefore as the website designer you should also know how to create multimedia presentations in the field of audio, video and graphics.

    What Should You Learn?

    As stated above you should also learn how to create website design processes that involved multimedia. The following are the different multimedia that are commonly used in website design:

    1. Graphics – no website would be complete if there are no images incorporated. There are times when photos are too large or too small for your overall website design where instead of complimenting the web design as a whole it causes distortion to the general design. This is why it is very important to learn how to adjust or readjust images through the different image editing software. There will also be some instances where you need to incorporate drawings or cartoon images into your web design this is where you knowledge in graphic design would come in handy, thus it is important for you to learn graphic design.

    2. Audio – There are times when you need to incorporate audio to your website like music or a narration. Of course not all narrations or music would easily be incorporated into your website, in the latest HTML 5 version there are only some file formats that are recognised by browsers thus it is handy to learn how to convert your audio file in to a web friendly audio file. There will also be instances that noise in the background of your audio may be evident, this is where your knowledge of audio editing would come in handy.

    3. Video – perhaps one of the multimedia that revolutionised the development of websites is the video. This is because of the fact that it can combine graphics and audio into one. Enabling website visitors to watch video makes the user stay at a website longer. In order to make a presentable video you have to know how to edit videos as well as to add those necessary captions and graphics to help users in viewing your video.

    Conclusion Multimedia Web Design

    Graphic, Video and Audio and their processes of editing should be included in your learning curve because the future of web design does not only rest in texts and codes but also in multimedia.

     

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    Posted in Web Design Work |

    Should You Convert To WordPress?

    May 13th, 2012

    Many of those starting out with web design have learned how to create websites or web pages using the basic scripting language the Hypertext Markup Language. HTML is considered as the lingua franca of the internet that is why it is important for those starting with website design to learn about the said language. The knowledge on website development of course will continue on with learning CSS, Javascript and PHP. Those are the most difficult part of the learning curve. So after gaining all the knowledge in HTML and other web design languages you might be asking yourself what is next?

    Use WordPress

    The next thing that you may have to do is to learn how to use a content management system like WordPress. WordPress is a free Content management system that was initially developed in order to use it for blogging. With its continued development however it became not only as a blogging platform but also as a content management system capable of transforming a site into an e-commerce website.

    Using WordPress is fairly easy because of the fact that it just would require you to get to know the interface and you will already be able to create your website using WordPress. It does not entail a lot of hand coding only minute ones whenever it is requires.

    Why Use WordPress?

    WordPress as stated is a content management system but above all else it offers several features which would allow you to fully customise your website accordingly. The following are the different features that WordPress has to offer.

    1. Free Themes – a lot of third party developers would love to share their skill in website design, thus they create themes for wordpress which could easily be installed in the wordpress platform. Anyone can customise their website according to the theme that that want.

    2. Plugins – aside from themes plugins are also readily available. These plugins are used for various purposes and it delivers a lot of power to your website. There are plugins that could be used for integrating social media to your website, plugins to hasten or make your SEO efforts more efficient and there are other plugins that will help protect your website from would be intruders. What’s more fascinating is that most if not all plugins are all free of charge.

    So Why Study HTML and PHP?

    Maybe you will again asking yourself are all the learning curves regarding PHP and HTML and the other scripting languages be of waste? Since you can already use WordPress to easily create a website? Definitely not, your knowledge in web design scripting will come in handy when you want to fully customise your WordPress site. You may use your knowledge in HTML and CSS to override the set codes in the design of your WordPress site, further you can also use your knowledge in PHP to create a WordPress website that would help you in customising your own theme or creating your own plugins.

    Conclusion

    Tie in of all the knowledge in web development would result to the efficient use of WordPress as a websites’ content management system. This is why it is very important that you do not shun away any of your knowledge in website design and scripting language as WordPress is just a product of all those languages and full control or manipulation of the WordPress site would mean the use of all those languages for web development.

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    Posted in Web Design Work, Wordpress |

    Is Your Web Designer Legit?

    May 11th, 2012

    It is fascinating how the internet has revolutionised the world of business. Transactions have been facilitated and made easy with just a click of a button. Through web design, business owners can actually create a website that will help them inform their target clients about their products and services. With the advancement of internet technology web designers can also make websites which could handle online transactions such as shopping carts and payment interfaces. Managing finances online is also made possible through web design and web development.

    The Need For Web Design and Web Designers

    It is because of these vast benefits from the internet that having a website has become imperative for business owners. This makes web designers to be an indispensable part of business. Many Website Designers have been offering their services to those who would require it. Anyone with the proper knowledge in website design could offer their services as website designers and with the use of the internet web designers could actually get clients coming from different parts of the world.

    The Danger

    It is because of the fact that website designers could be hired from anywhere in the world there are some attached risks for those hiring their services. Many web design service clients have fallen prey to some unscrupulous website designers who would just take the money from the client without delivering the correct or expected output. The web design clients is opening themselves to the said risks when they hire a web designer, this is why it is very important for every business owner seeking to have their website built to be vigilant in the characteristics of a legitimate web designers. Such characteristics are the following:

    1. Provides Portfolio – a website designer should be able to present a portfolio of his works; he or she must be able to showcase his or her capabilities as the web designer. A portfolio must be readily presented as you ask for them.

    2. Have their own website – website designers offering their services must have their own website, not only to show their portfolio but to also show that they do have the knowledge in the field of web design.

    3. Makes Contact Details Available – a website designer must always make their contact details available from their website URL to their own mobile number. This is important to show would be clients that they can be contacted anytime regarding issues about their web design work.

    Conclusion

    So if you have already entered into contract with a web designers, maybe you should ask yourself, is your website designer legit? Do they have the different characteristics of a legitimate web designer as stated above?

     

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    Posted in Web Design Work |

    Reasons Why Your Web Design Should Be in HTML 5

    May 10th, 2012

    HTML is known as the lingua franca of the internet and it is because of this such language is developed from time to time, in fact the latest version being used is HTML 5 or the Hypertext Markup Language 5. The change in the version or the update in the version of the Hypertext Markup Language is because of the fact that web design must also conform with the latest internet technology especially those affecting the structure of a website. Since the version updates are due to the fact that it has to conform to the latest technology website designers must also adapt in using the latest version of the web scripting language. Just like any other human nature,  some website designers are afraid of change, this is why the news of the HTML 5 version made some website designers cringe especially so that most of the elements that they became familiar with in the previous versions of HTML is now considered as deprecated or already not a standard.

    So Why Use HTML 5 For Web Design?

    Using HTML 5 is very important especially for website designers because there are several benefits such as:

    1. HTML 5 allows for development of games – through the canvas elments web designers can develop mobile and interactive games. This elements allows you to embed other codes that will be enable you to create web based games.

    2. Cross Browser Compatibility –  HTML 5 document type definition was already made simple and compatible with all types of modern web browsers.

    3. Mobile Compatibility – since the future in technology is through mobile browsing and the use of smartphones, HTML 5 is being designed for website designers to create a responsive website allowing every web page to be compatible with different screen sizes, since we know that tablet PC ‘s and smartphones have varying screen sizes.

    Conclusion

    The future of HTML or website design structure is through HTML 5 this is why it is imperative for every website designers to start learning and mastering HTML 5 before the language is fully released and made the industry standard.

     

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    Posted in Web Design Work |

    WordPress is Too Complicated

    May 9th, 2012

    In the field of web design many nowadays are relying on using a content management system in order to organise their content as well as to easily incorporate updates, images and multimedia into their website. There are three very popular content management system, their popularity is based on availability, interface and ease of navigation, these three are WordPress, Joomla and Drupal. These three are considered to be the most popular because it is available for free, it is also provides an interface for easy navigation. However, there are also some complexities present in these three content management systems.

    WordPress is Complicated

    When venturing out into the unknown it would always be very difficult when taking the first steps, this principle is applicable in all aspects of life including website design. Many of those starting out with WordPress would tend to say that WordPress is a very complicated content management system due to its numerous backend features. However, one should realise that using WordPress is better than hand coding or creating a static web page using HTML. It would be very easy for one to just post content in the WordPress CMS interface rather than to use a static web page and encode the content.

    The Difference between Web Page and WordPress Post

    When created or developed a WordPress Post and a static Web page could be classified under the web page category, however because WordPress is a content management system there are several differences between the plain web page with that of the WordPress post. One main difference is that a Web Page is static which means that its main scripting language is HTML thus there is no interaction with the server and client computer other than downloading the HTML document, while for a WordPress post it is considered as a dynamic web page thus several features could be included to allow interaction of data between client computer and server computer.

    Which is Better?

    Judging from the characteristic of a web page and a WordPress post the question now is which is better? Of course a dynamic web page is better than a static web page, because it allows you to better control your website especially when incorporating your website design, it is user friendly as it does not require a lot of coding, you just have to know what to click, familiarise yourself with the WordPress interface.

    Conclusion

    So is WordPress complicated? Again we revert back to our first statement, it is difficult only when you are starting out however when you get the hang of it you will immediately realise that it is not so difficult after all. Going through the learning curve is all worth it because WordPress offers a lot of powerful features for website design and maintenance free of charge.

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    Posted in Web Design Work, Wordpress |

    Breaking Down the Video On HTML 5

    May 8th, 2012

    As we all know, Hypertext Markup Language is the web design language of choice, in fact it is known as the lingua franca of the internet.  Through the years the Hypertext Markup Language has gone through several changes and several updates, from HTML 1 to HTML 5. The versions of Hypertext Markup Language is said to be updated in order to conform with the changing times. Every update corresponds with the different internet technologies that are being introduced. The latest version that is currently in the works and which is hoped to be the current standard in web design is HTML 5.

    What to Expect in HTML 5

    In terms of website design there are really a lot of scripts that are to be excited about, there elements in HTML 5 can do a lot more than those in the previous version of HTML5. This time a lot of third party software application requirements were already removed such requirements like video players and audio players are no longer needed since HTML 5 allows website designers to code for the inclusion of multimedia controls like audio and video. This time around new browsers does not need to require installation of video players since it is already capable of recognising the HTML 5 code for a video and audio control

    The HTML 5 Video Control

    Since HTML 5 allows the use of video control through its video element we are pretty sure some website designers have to learn how to utilise the video element. Incorporating video in your web design is now possible through the use of elements just like the code shown below:

     

     The Explanation

    As you can see on the code above, there are new elements which are not present in the previous versions of HTML. The following are the explanations of the different elements and attributes.

    1. <video> – this elements sets the defining of the video or movie. This element is responsible

    for creating the area where the video will appear within the browser.

    2. <source> – this element defines the location  and type of the video to be displayed. This

    can also be used for the <audio> element.

    3. src attribute – this attribute contains the actual directory location and file name of the

    video.

    4. type attribute – this attribute defines the file type of the video being used.

    5. control attribute – this would allow you to display or hide the video control interface of

    the video element.

     Conclusion

    What is clear is that videos can already be recognised by new browsers and moving forward with the development of HTML 5 the use of third party software is indeed being eased out. The use of HTML 5 video is going to be the new standard and familiarising their syntax will easily allow you to include video to your website.

     

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    Posted in Web Design Work |

    Security Tips to Remember When Using WordPress

    May 7th, 2012

    Security is still the number one factor when it comes to creating a site. When blogging using WordPress, other than having the best website design, you also need to be certain of its security features. Securing your website should also become one of your priorities. It is one way of having a successful blog or website.

    Let us check out some of the best security tips that you can keep in mind in order to secure your WordPress blog site.

    1. Protect you Administrator Account – Many online hackers are capable of trying out several admin passwords until they will able to get the right one. Using the AskApache password protects plugin will help you. It creates a second level of security for your WordPress blog site. In which it requires a username and a password to access any file from the /wp-admin/folder. There are still other plugins you can use to protect your admin account completely from any attacker.
    2. Make sure to install updates – It is always important that you update WordPress to the latest version. This is important because you need to update the security bugs you have and make your site truly protected. Many WordPress updates will even give you more chances of getting new ways for great web design.
    3. Avoid showing up the WordPress version on your site – It is important that in creating a website design. For online attackers to know your WordPress version, it gives them more opportunity in finding ways on how to break in your account. The security bugs used in some previous released are already known to the public, making it a bad idea to put your version number on your site.
    4. Backup your site and its database regularly – This is quite obvious, no need to stress it out. Creating and making regular backups of your important files is always important.
    5. Finally, use a strong password – This is your first defense in making your WordPress blog site protected. Make sure to create a solid and unique password.

    Conclusion

    It is more than just an outstanding web design if you want to be successful with your blog site. You also have to be certain with the security and protection of the contents of your site. Online threats are just around the corner. Attackers are even working hard these days. Therefore, you also have to make sure that you do your best in securing the site completely.

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    Posted in Wordpress |

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