Effective Web Design Tips for Your New Website

Almost everyone now has a website. Be it a company website, blog site, business site, etc. And like all website owners, you want your new website to be a hit.

There are many factors that can affect the usability of a website. As Steve Jobs once said, "Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works." In designing your new website, you need to consider not only the form (how it looks), but also the function (how easy it is to use). Remember that it is the user and not the website owner who judges whether the website is effective or not.

Below are the basic web design tips to help you create an effective, aesthetically pleasing, easy to use, and engaging website:

Effective Web Design Tips for Your New Website

1. Load Time

No matter how amazing your website is, no one will see it if it takes forever to load. According to Compuware, the old eight-second rule, which is the maximum time consumers generally wait for a website to load, has been reduced to the three-second rule. If your website takes more than 3 seconds to load, optimize your image sizes, simplify your codes, and upgrade your servers.

2. Who and What

When a user accesses your website, they should be able to tell outright what it is for and it should always be able to cater to your visitors needs.

3. The Kiss Principle - Keep It Simple

Your website should be self-explanatory and aesthetically appealing to your users. You should always strive for simplicity instead of complexity.

4. Clear Navigation

You need to have a clear navigation to make your site visitors go through your website. To achieve this, you need to make sure all important links are at prominent places. This is where you can apply the "F" pattern design. Based on eye tracking studies conducted, it is identified that people scan computer screens in an “F” pattern. Most people see is in the top and left of the screen. Rarely do they see the right side of the screen. So, rather than forcing the visual flow, try to design around the reader's natural behavior by displaying your information in order of importance, which is from left to right, and top to bottom.

5. Use the White Space

The white space is the space between the elements in your website. It is an essential element in web design that is often neglected. It is used to direct the viewer's eye to the important parts of the website and it helps in balancing the design and readability. Also, it makes the page appear modern and uncluttered, which helps the viewers absorb the content of the site more easily. As Luke Wroblewski said, "for designers, white space is often as important as the content" so, avoid cluttering your page with too many images, backgrounds, and colorful fonts. Minimize the use of graphics and use a lot of white space.

6. Choose the Right Color

A well thought of color palette can enhance the viewer's experience and will keep them around longer. Colors can influence the emotion, set the mood for a design, and attract the attention of a viewer to certain parts of your design layout. Use complementary colors to create balance and harmony. Use contrasting colors for the text and background to make reading easier on the eye. Finally, use vibrant colors to create emotion. However, they should be used sparingly (e.g. for buttons and call to actions).

7. Typography

Typography, like white space and color, can be used to effectively draw the attention of viewers to key elements in a site layout. Try to use readable and professional looking fonts. Sans Serif fonts (fonts without decorative finishes) such as Arial and Verdana are easier to read online. Keep your design streamlined by using a maximum of 3 typefaces in a maximum of 3 point sizes. Also, keep in mind that 16px is the ideal font size for easy online reading.

8. Mobile Friendly

Keep up with the trends by creating a responsive web design (website that adjusts to different screen widths). Your website should look good in different platforms and devices, whether it is being viewed on an iPhone, Android tablet, a desktop computer, or a Windows phone.

These are just some of the basic design principles you can apply in creating a beautiful and functional website. Have fun designing your new website!

Simple Tips to help You Make an Effective Blog for Your Business

Corporate blogs are considered essential because they help bring information to current and prospective customers. You can bash away about blogs, but you cannot close your eyes to them because blogs are simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since Internet came out -- and they're going to shake up every corner of the business world. Regardless of your business' nature, whether it's a flower shop, made-to-order accessories, or a catering business, blogs are inevitable and cannot be ignored or postponed. With the constant changes both in the Internet and business world around us, blogs are not a business elective, but instead they're now a prerequisite. In order to have an effective business-oriented blog, it must be relevant, trustworthy, and responsive, otherwise, your blog will just be a waste of your time and money. Below are four simple tips that will help you make a blog that works for you, your clients, and your bottom line.

Know Your Platform

First things first, decide whether you want to put up your business blog on Tumblr, WordPress, TypePad, or other platforms you may know of. Make sure you are aware who your target demographic is and choose a platform that would reach your audience the most. WordPress is the most commonly used platform in blogging and offers the most customization options compared to other platforms.

After you've chosen the most suitable platform for your blog, you'll need to decide whether you want to host it yourself or have a third party host it. Hosted sites allow you to set up your page for free in minutes, however, you don't technically own your content and it often comes with an awkward URL format. If your plan is to make a sturdy blog, you may want to consider self-hosting. Most of the blog platforms provide drag and drop editing features, making it easier for anyone to create a simple but good-looking blog, even for those who do not have an experience in creating websites.

Make a Relevant Blog

A successful blog should be able to solve problems for readers or provide new insights, making it educational and entertaining at the same time. For example, if your blog contains your experiences and insights of what it's like to manage a coffee Internet shop, make sure to offer tips on how you manage your business on a daily basis, as well as your on-duty experiences that will serve as a guide to those who are planning to start up a business like yours. Try to be bold with your content and provide helpful insight on what you do best -- whether it's a bestseller coffee recipe or an advice on how to provide fast and affordable Internet connection to your customers. Readers will surely come back to your blog if they find your content helpful and interesting.

Become a Trusted Resource

With the freedom of use and expression on the Internet nowadays, almost anyone can post anything even if they're not really sure what they're talking about. Make sure your readers know that you're really an expert in your industry. Indicate your credentials on your blog's About Us section, as well as other articles you've written for other sources to provide customers additional references of your profession. In addition, make sure that you interact with your audience both on the site and on social media. This will give them the impression that your presence is visible and accommodating for any concerns that they may have. Make it a point to keep your social media profiles in line with your site content so that readers will have a clearer picture of your personality, as well as your expertise in the industry.

Post Regularly

Keep in mind that active blogs also keep your company at the upper ranks when it comes to search results. Offer your customers something new on a regular basis so that they'll have a reason to come back to your blog site. If someone adds your blog to their RSS feed, it's a must that you give them frequently updated content to keep up with. To make it easier for you to stay on track, create an editorial calendar, whether you're planning a weekly or monthly content update.

Since the social media aspect is now also a part of almost everybody's lives, take time to develop and enrich your skills in making informative and entertaining content, especially since you're in the business industry. This is a skill that every entrepreneur must have, alongside with the harnessed talent and expertise in the chosen industry, in order to achieve the goals of succeeding in your chosen business endeavor.

Securing Your PC By Permanently Deleting Files So They Can't Be Recovered

Most Windows users think that emptying the Recycle Bin will totally rid them of their deleted files. What they do not know is that the files emptied from the Recycle Bin can still be recoverable through the use of a recovery software. The reason behind this is that the delete operation in Windows only removes bits of information from the files, making them appear to be deleted from your operating system. Deleting files merely marks the space the file occupied on your drive as reusable. So, until that space is overwritten, the file can still be recovered. This is bad news especially if you want to get rid of important financial documents, sensitive company files or manifesto. It's a good thing there is a software you can use to ultimately shred sensitive files you want to get rid of.

Eraser is an advanced security tool that allows you to completely remove sensitive data from your hard drive by overwriting it several times with carefully selected patterns. This software can be used in Windows XP (with Service Pack 3), Windows Server 2003 (with Service Pack 2), Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2.

To learn how to permanently delete files using Eraser, follow the steps below:

Permanently Shred Files So They’re Unrecoverable

The first thing you need is to download and install Eraser on your Windows computer. You can download Eraser free of charge here.

Once Eraser is installed, it will automatically add itself in the Context menu.

To permanently shred a file, all you have to do is right-click the file you want to shred, then go to Eraser, and then click Erase.

When the Eraser window appears, go to Default file erasure method and select your method of choice. Most users select either a 3-pass or 7-pass method. However, if you are really paranoid, select the Gutmann method, which overwrites the file with random data 35 times.

To permanently shred the deleted files in your Recycle Bin, all you need to do is right-click Recycle Bin, then go to Eraser, and then click Erase.

Like in the previous step, go to Default file erasure method and select your method of choice.

You can also use Eraser to wipe your free space too. Just right-click your hard drive, go to Eraser, and then click Erase unused space.

Best Monochrome Laser Printer Under $150

Printer manufacturers tend to jam a lot of features into their machines. This is well and good, but at the end of the day, all the consumers want is just a printer that is fast and produces good quality print outs. Nothing against color printers, I love color prints like the next guy, but it is a sacrifice I'm willing to take if it means I can have speedy laser quality that's not only cheaper but also easy to maintain.

Monochrome laser printers are faster, render sharper texts, and for the most part, last longer than inkjet printers. It is an ideal choice for students, for home use, and even for small businesses since it is not only budget-friendly but is also most efficient in making hard copies of documents, contracts, term papers, and anything else you want to have in grayscale.

Before deciding on which monochrome laser printer to purchase, you need to consider the print quality, speed, ease of setup, features, and of course the cost. With this in mind, the best and most affordable black-and-white printer in the market these days, according to The Wirecutter, is the Samsung Xpress M2825DW.

The Wirecutter even noted that the Samsung Xpress M2825DW "has the best print quality and speed in its class and has wireless networking and auto duplexing. Plus it’s fairly easy to set up (unlike most printers)." In their print tests, they mentioned that the large typefaces appeared to have crisp edges and dark centers, while the small texts were perfectly legible down to three-point font, sometimes two-point. In addition, grayscale graphics found on presentations, reports, term papers, or tax forms are good enough for office use. Compared to Brother HL-2270DW, the Samsung Xpress M2825DW had the best contrast on edges on graphs and tables and had even filled the gray backgrounds the most evenly and consistently.

But the most important asset any monochrome laser printer must possess is speed, and without a doubt the Samsung Xpress M2825DW has it. Even advertising at 28 pages per minute. However, based on the test performed by the people at The Wirecutter, they actually measured close to 31 pages per minute for single-sided printing and 13.5 pages per minute in duplex mode. The speed stayed fast even when the print quality was maxed out. While people from PCMag and Computer Shopper have observed that printing is a tad slower when printing from business-oriented software, which often have pages with more complex formatting, averaging 10 pages per minute. Not bad for a monochrome printer, not bad at all.

The Samsung Xpress M2825DW comes with a variety of connectivity options, such as USB, Fast Ethernet, and Wi-Fi. It even comes with a WPS (Wi-Fi Protected Setup) button, which allows the printer to be connected to a WPS-ready router with just a press of the button. It even supports mobile printing, which allows you to print through Cloud using your Android, iOS, and Windows smartphones and tablets.

As per Digital trends, the Samsung Xpress M2825DW is not flashy, but it’s very good at doing what it was intended for. It delivers a perfect balance of speed, output quality, paper handling, and more.

To learn more about the Samsung Xpress M2825DW, check out the specs below:

GENERAL

Processor	600MHz
Memory	128MB
Interface	Hi-Speed USB 2.0 / Ethernet 10 / 100 Base TX / Wireless 802.11 b/g/n
Power Consumption	400W (Printing) / 45W (Standby) / 1.3W * (Power Save) * (Wi-Fi Direct on: 1.8W)
Noise Level	Less than 50dBA (Printing) / Less than 26dBA (Standby)
Dimension (WxDxH)	368 x 334.5 x 202mm (14.5" x 13.2" x 8")
Weight	7.4kg (16.4lbs)
Maximum Monthly Duty Cycle	Up to 12000 pages

PRINT

Speed	Up to 28ppm in A4 (29ppm in Letter)
First Print Out Time (Mono)	Less than 8.5 seconds (From Ready Mode)
Resolution	4800 x 600 dpi effective
Emulation	PCL6 / PCL5e / SPL
Duplex Print	Built-in
Operating System	Windows 8 / 7 / Vista / XP / 2000 / 2008R2 / 2008 / 2003, Mac OS X 10.5 - 10.8, Various Linux

PAPER HANDLING

Input Capacity	Cassette: 250-sheet Multipurpose tray:1-sheet
Media Type	Cassette: Plain / Thin / Thick / Cardstock / Recycled / Archive / Bond Multipurpose tray: Plain / Thin / Thick / Thicker / Cardstock / Transparency / Pre-Printed / Recycled / Archive / Bond / Label / Envelope / Thick Envelope / Cotton / Coloured
Media Size	Cassette: A4 / A5 / A6 / Letter / Legal / Executive / Folio / Oficio / ISO B5 / JIS B5 Multipurpose tray: A4 / A5 / A6 / Letter / Legal / Executive / Folio / Oficio / ISO B5 / JIS B5 / Envelope (Monarch, No-10, DL, C5, C6) / Custom (76 x 127mm - 216 x 356mm / 3" x 5" - 8.5" x 14")
Media Weights	Cassette: 60 - 163g/m² (16 - 43lbs) Multipurpose tray: 60 - 220g/m² (16 - 58lbs)
Output Capacity	150-sheet Face Down, 1-sheet Face Up