Users can take courses, listen to podcasts, or take lessons on a wide variety of web development topics. Khan Academy Khan Academy is a well-known free educational resource. Users can learn anything from macroeconomics to linear algebra to US history, as well as a handful of computing topics. freeCodeCamp freeCodeCamp is a non-profit organization (like Khan Academy) that helps people learn to code for free. With thousands of articles, videos, and interactive lessons, as well as worldwide study groups, freeCodeCamp helps thousands of developers and engineers learn about programming and land development jobs. Team Treehouse Team Treehouse is a subscription-based online learning program. Users pay a monthly fee and gain access to hundreds of courses on over 20 different topics. From JavaScript to Python to PHP, Treehouse can teach you all you need to know about web development.
Web Development Communities Web developers are masters of the Internet, so it makes sense that they’d hang out and connect in Internet-based communities. According to Code Condo, developers join these communities for: Up-to-date information and problem-solving Insightful answers, new perspectives Tips and tricks for all-level programmers Links to resources, talks, and research papers Meeting new friends, code buddies, and potential partners Here are a few online communities recommended by our developers.
Stack Overflow Stack Overflow was introduced nearly 15 years ago and has since become one of the most popular programming communities in the world. According to co-founder Jeff Atwood, “[Stack Overflow] is by programmers, for programmers, with the ultimate intent of collectively increasing the sum total of good programming knowledge in the world.” Stack Overflow is a great place to go with questions because most of the time, other developers have asked and answered the same ones. The forums in Stack Overflow keep you connected to other developers while also keeping you informed. Mozilla Development Network Mozilla Development Network (MDN) is known to be more thorough and accurate than other online resources. It’s not as much a community as a comprehensive resource and library of documents for coding languages. MDN is useful when learning how certain functions work and staying up-to-date on coding and development news.
Reddit Reddit is a forum-based community where developers of all levels gather to ask and answer questions. It’s incredibly interactive and includes people from all over the world. You can also join “subreddits” based on specific topics such as web design, JavaScript, or freelancing. Dive Into Web Development The Internet is here to stay, and it’s constantly evolving to meet user needs. Web developers are on the front lines of these innovations and improvements — from this blog to your favorite social network to the apps you use on your phone, web development is everywhere. As a result, it’s worth taking the time to understand coding and programming to help make your business website the best it can be — for you and your customers. Editor's note: This post was originally published in November 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness. Fun Fact: There are almost 2 billion websites in the world today.
HelpWith so many websites, it can be hard – seemingly impossible – to stand out. Getting traffic to your site is hard enough on its own, and getting those people to stay and actually do something is harder still. What makes a good website? Background designed by Freepik What makes a good website, anyway? In short, a good website should excel in both form and function. It should have a clear purpose. It should be visually pleasing and easy to navigate. It should perform well for a wide range of visitors and be technically stable and secure. Good websites are attractive, functional, and useful. Your website is sometimes the only thing your customers see. You want that sucker to be so eye-poppingly awesome that it attracts backlinks, case studies like these, media attention, and customers out the wazoo. And you’re in luck. Because in this post, I’m going to teach you everything we know about what makes a great website.
And you don’t even need to be a designer. Yippee! The Index of Awesome Web Design (Click to Navigate) Section 1: Visual Website Design (AKA “Prettiness”) Section 2: Technical Website Design (AKA “Geeky Stuff”) Section 3: Website Tools (AKA “Useful Stuff to Make Your Website Better”) -dark-chat-banner-2 Enough talk, let’s dive into web design 10 What Makes a Good Website?
Alright, so this is a pretty huge subject to tackle. There are thousands of books and courses written on web design. Before I start spatting off lessons, I want to ensure you can take something away and implement it today. So, here are the four basic principles of what makes a good website to keep in mind before your redesign/launch: Purpose. Great design starts with a purpose in mind. Ask yourself, “What do I want to accomplish with this page?” If a page doesn’t have a clear purpose, consider getting rid of it. Aesthetically pleasing. I’ll dig more into this in section one on visual design, but your site needs to look good. If your site looks like it was built in the 90’s, it’s time for an update. Relevant and original content. Your site should show content that’s relevant to your target market and original. Plagiarism is illegal and penalized by Google. Besides, it’s better to be a first-rate version of yourself than a second-rate version of someone else. Clear site navigation. I’ll discuss this further in section two on technical aspects, but know that navigation matters. Any page on your site should be within three clicks of any other page on your site. Your navigation should be intuitive and simple. This helps both Google for SEO and your visitors for navigation. Great design starts with a purpose in mind.CLICK TO TWEET Now that you have the major principles in mind, let’s dive a little deeper.
Visual Website Design (AKA “Prettiness”) Imagine a scenario for a moment. You’re looking for a gift for your sister’s birthday. You notice a tweet by someone you follow sharing their friend’s new clothing shop. You click. Then you see this. ugly-website-design-1024x533-2Haha, nope. You’re gone. Is this an extreme example? Yes. Does website design still matter a whole heck of a lot? Yup.
Squarespace: Although not as intuitive as other website builders, Squarespace offers several add-ons, templates and tools. Plus, your website will always be optimized for mobile devices. This website builder is best for e-commerce and small businesses with lower transaction rates. Weebly: For those wanting an easy-to-use website editor, Weebly might be the perfect option. However, it might be limiting to those wanting to heavily personalize their website since they have fewer add-on and customization options. WordPress: We’re referring to WordPress.com, which is easier to use than WordPress.org, which is an open-source software, which can take some time to learn. A WordPress site is best for bloggers and writers, as the website editor is more limited in terms of design but can be very easy to start using. Shopify: This user-friendly website builder option is best for e-commerce stores. The platform was designed with product and sales descriptions in mind. Because of this, Shopify’s website set up process helps ensure you don’t miss any essential e-commerce-related steps. Select a website theme Now, it’s time to consider your website’s theme. This process can feel a bit overwhelming since many web platforms offer so many options. Here are some key components to keep in mind when choosing a theme:
Look and feel: This is the most important aspect to consider. Finding a theme that matches your website design vision is important. But don’t just fall in love with a design and select it—do your research. You’ll also want to check the theme details to make sure key areas are easily updatable so that you can customize them for your website. Popularity: You may decide you want a theme that no other sites are using. However, if you will need assistance with web development, you’ll want to find themes popularly used by developers. A good web developer can easily tweak your look and feel to make any theme feel like your own. Keep in mind that you’ll have more options when choosing independent web talent if you opt for a theme that’s more well-known or widely used. Responsiveness: These days, finding a responsive theme isn’t optional. With so many people viewing websites regularly from mobile devices, it’s important to find a website theme that’s not only responsive but also allows you to edit your settings to customize better how pages will look on certain devices and screen sizes. Additional plug-ins, extensions and apps: Some plug-ins work better with certain themes. If you already know of plug-ins, extensions or apps you’d like to use, make sure they’re compatible with the theme you choose. While a DIY approach to website building might work for some, not everyone has the time, artistic eye or expertise to pull it off. Engaging an independent professional can help you build a professional website that meets your business needs. For example, an independent web designer can bring your ideas to light while also offering a unique perspective regarding website needs, usability, font type and size, website load speed, etc.
There’s a lot to say about getting the professional-looking website of your dreams. With , you can find experienced web designers offering hourly pricing within your range. Plan and produce page content Remember the sitemap you started building in step one? You’re ready to put it to full use. You’ll want to lock down every page you’ll need on your site and decide which content will be placed on your homepage, which pages fall into the navigation menu, and which should only be accessed through links and buttons across your website. Once you have your final page list, it’s time to determine how each page should look and the content you’ll need. If you already have some designs or content to use, great! If you need more, you don’t have to go through the process alone. Create a content plan (such as coming up with a few blog ideas to start with) and work with independent designers and/or writers on to fully flesh out each webpage. Just be mindful of including keywords in your website’s content. When it comes to search engine optimization (SEO), keywords can be as little as one word or a longer phrase. Either way, keywords alert search engines (e.g., Google) to what your page is about. Using targeted keywords can increase organic search traffic to your website, increasing brand awareness and converting potential customers.
Add functionality for your business You’re ready to add extra functionality to your website to enhance user experience further. Here are a few options to get started with: Scheduling apps: Do you want users to be able to set appointments? Integrating scheduling apps like Calendly or Square Appointments would be your next step. Look for the app you’d like to use and make sure it’s added to the correct pages on your website. Media plug-ins: Will you be hosting a large number of pictures or videos on your website? Media plug-ins can help you better organize and store this content, enhance the way it looks on your website, and offer you more robust storage options. E-commerce integrations: Do you need to be able to conduct sales on an online store? If you didn’t select an e-commerce platform, you might need to consider integration with a tool that can accept payments on your behalf. You can keep this simple with PayPal or Venmo integrations or build more professional stores using WooCommerce, Shopify or BigCommerce. Account creation tools: If you want users to log into your site to gain access to specific content or shopping tools, you’ll want to secure a plug-in or app that offers protected user accounts. Security apps: Keeping your information secure, particularly if you’re saving customer data like credit cards and passwords, is critical. These are just a few additional plug-ins and tools to consider. Do some research on your niche to find more that are well-suited to your industry or connect with an web developer to discover other recommended tools.
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Start measuring key metrics Measuring your website traffic is key to growing your business and making money through specialized campaigns or web ads. You can integrate services like Google Ads and Google Analytics. Tracking metrics using free tools like Google Analytics can help you better understand your audience. Using cookies, Google Analytics can help you understand website traffic. For example, let’s say you post on social media about a sale on your website. Google Analytics can provide you with details regarding who visited your site. Curious if you have repeat visitors or if you’re attracting new customers? Google Analytics can show you data about new and returning visitors. Google Analytics also provides information about how many interactions a site visitor had within a specific period. Sessions, as Google calls them, start when a user visits your website and finishes 30 minutes after any activity. Although sessions finish after 30 minutes, you can adjust your settings for how much inactivity will lead to the end of the session. In addition to sessions, Google Analytics can tell you the average time visitors spend on a specific page. This insight is great for understanding how engaged visitors are with the content you create. Google Analytics can even tell you the type of devices visitors are using. This insight highlights the importance of a mobile-optimized site. It can also tell you if you need to work harder on mobile optimization. For example, an e-commerce small business owner might notice that their site’s visitors are mostly on mobile devices. To ensure their shopping experience is seamless, they might invest additional time in optimizing the site’s content for those devices.
There are also a variety of additional features you can pay for to better understand what users are doing when they visit your site. These include Ad Manager, Display & Video 360, Search Ads 360 and Campaign Manager 360. Furthermore, Analytics 360 includes customizable funnel reporting and access to advanced data and data-driven models. Test for bugs and compatibility issues Before launching your site, it’s important to test it for any potential bugs or compatibility issues. To get started, log out of your website (user experience can vary when you’re logged in) and test all of the links on your site. Make sure all buttons and image links work properly. You’ll also want to test videos, contact forms, the navigation menu and other apps to ensure they’re functioning correctly. Lastly, you’ll want to test compatibility and responsiveness from various devices (phones, tablets, large-screen monitors, etc.). You should also view your site in different web browsers (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera) to ensure there are no compatibility issues. A QA tester can help ensure a full QA of your website and address and fix any bugs or compatibility problems.
Adapt to keep up with customers Once you’ve launched your new website, congratulate yourself! This is a major accomplishment that will bring you closer to achieving your business goals. Since digital media is at our fingertips, it’s important to keep your site current and updated. At this point in the website development process, it’s time to take another look at key metrics. Are there certain keywords that bring in traffic? In this case, writing a blog post with search engine optimization (SEO) in mind can help you continue to target your audience. Alternatively, you might have more projects to add to your portfolio. For example, you might have just taken wonderful wedding photos as a photographer—of course, you’ll want to add new pages to your website. Ultimately, updating your website regularly will help keep your content fresh and increase organic traffic. Build your website with the world’s best Creating a website that you can be proud of is important for any business. Websites attract new customers, bring in new readers and subscribers, and can help further legitimize brands and simplify the sales process.
