Well earlier this week (13th July 2010) ComScore released it’s June 2010 search engine statistics. ComScore release these figures once a month, they use an ever changing formula to create more and more accurate results. The statistics are in essence related to the number of searches conducted by each search engine. So what did the results say?
Well as expected, Google top the chart – with 62.6% of the current market share, a loss of 1.1% from May 2010. Google was then followed by Yahoo! (18.9% up 0.6% from May). In third place was Bing (formerly MSN) with a growth of 0.6% taking Bing to an ever growing market share of 12.7%. In fourth remains ASK search network, at 3.6% and with no change from the previous month. Finally, in fifth is AOL who suffered a loss of 0.1% taking them to just 2.2% of the search market.
So what does this all mean?
Well clearly it means that the search market is changing, no longer is MSN (now bing) the stick in the mud that wouldn’t change. But the important thing of note here is that Bing continues to grow, and with Bing taking over the search functionality of Yahoo! later this year, Bing (using todays figures) would have a market share of 31.6% – a truly staggering thought and something that I believe means now is the time to take note of Bing (and not to wait several months) for SEO’s. So with this in mind, it is now time to Love the Bing.
But it isn’t just SEO’s that need to take note it is other search engines, and this is something Google are already doing (almost in fear it feels). With lasts months role out of background images, Google made a move to be “more like” Bing – but after much uproar in the first few seconds of being live, Google decided unlike Bing having a default image wasn’t a good idea and it is now optional.
The one thing the results do not show is that the world is showing an exponential growth of mobile search. With the advent and influence of the iPhone, Blackberry and Android’s of the world this isn’t going to slow down any time soon and is a huge target market. However, without specific results we can only presume that search is in the same proportions – though I know at least in the UK blackberry (and anyone on the Three mobile network) searches are defaulted to Yahoo!, android in 90% of cases I believe are pointed at Google (the creators) … as for apple I also see these guys using Google … So sorry bing but you need to get up and make some deals – message here is if your mobile focused target Google mobile and Yahoo mobile.
Now there are so so many resources out there, but I want to share my top 5 online resources for web designers, developers and website owners.
Articles & Blog Resources
1 – Smashing Magazine
These guys are simply superb, renowned for the “top ten” lists they role out on a regular basis and of course the experts whom right for the blog, Smashing Mag is always worth a read. Add to this recently they added the Smashing Network of blogs, so now it’s not just Smashing Mag updates you get but also those from other related blogs in the network (only the best blogs). – @smashingmag
2 – Boagworld
Although based around a world famous podcast, the Boagworld website also offers some amazing articles from designers, developer and marketers (including myself) – On top of that you get to see paul boag (the father of web design) rant a little about what is often a nothing subject, but it brings a new non-techie angle which is good. Also the site offers a fairly active forum where all sorts of discussion go on from design discussion to how something works in php. Boagworld is for website owners & recently Paul released “the website owners manual” – a superb reference guide if you have anything to do with a website. – @boagworld
3 – Think Vitamin
From the guys and gals at Carsonified, Think Vitamin is a superb resource for all kinds of things. With topics including business, marketing, design, development, mobile and web apps there is something for everyone here. Also with Think Vitamin radio you can consume materials on the go. The guys at Carsonified also arrange a number of great conferences each year including various future of events. – @carsonified
4 – 37signals
This is a resource I’ve only just began reading on a regular basis, but it’s well worth spending a few minutes taking a look here each week to see if there is anything of relevance to you. 37signals are all about productivity and making things work properly, they are the makers of the now infamous BaseCamp software and amazing web designers working with clients like threadless. – @37signals
5 – A List Apart
This is primarily a designer and developer blog, it isn’t in any way formed for a website owner (it’s far too techie). However, if you are a website designer or developer I seriously advise you subscribe to the RSS and twitter feed, some big names post here and it’s superb. – @alistapart
Top Web Related Tweeters
Here are all the webby type people i suggest you follow if you have anything to do with the internet. Not all will be relevant to everyone but they all have something great to offer!
This list has been formed and outed for you, because I was asked by a fellow designer for my list (and here it is), but now I want to go a step further and want your ideas! so tweet me @andykinsey the resource you favour using, from blogs to css galleries to books, let me know. – Or leave a comment.
So you’ve designed a website, or had one designed for you … you’ve tested it and it functions correctly … but something is missing – your website isn’t CRAP!
That’s right, your website should be as CRAP as possible!
What is CRAP?
All design, no matter whether it is print or online really should be CRAP. The word CRAP refers to the 4 major principles of design; Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Position (or proximity).
Each of these principles has an effect on your design, at least to some extent (and never the same extent on two projects). CRAP is an easy to remember word and if you can remember the main points of each principle then CRAP will help guide you into a more attractive design (than if you don’t make it CRAP). Now, as with most things on the web CRAP-ness began as offline design principles – however, I believe they are just as valuable online as offline.
Creating Contrast in Design
In design you should always avoid 2 or more things being “similar” – this is to say that (for example) if you have headings and text you should always make the difference clear. This means not making them a similar font size, and as with in the case on this website the same colour. The main point here is that If it isn’t the same make it look different a fairly simple idea
So how do you create differences?
Different Font Styles & Font Sizes
Different Font or Background Colours
Underline or Border an Object
Re-Align an Object
Space Your Objects
So you’ve got some ideas on how to create contrast on your website, but that isn’t enough because I bet your thinking of some real world examples on your own website(s) and need some help with this. So let’s take a look at some real world examples of contrast on the web.
Emphasis of Interaction
Now there are many ways to signify emphasis of user primary interaction, or “calls to action” as they are more widely known. However, I want to look at the worlds number 1 online user interaction (at least in my view) …. Google
As always Google have kept design to a minimum and user interaction to a maximum. It is clear here what the call to action is… to search! so the buttons stand out clearly and show the user where to click. When you look at a wider view you can see navigation at the top of the screen on both the left and right but this isn’t the main interaction and so is all but ignored by most users.
Highlight Your Notices
Contrasting and highlighting can be very important when things go wrong. We’ve all seen the windows pop-up errors that appear all over the place (even on the high street) but online error messages are vital. If you are filling in a form online, it gets rejected and you can’t find out why easily then you will probably stop filling in the form, for website owners this mean’s you’ve lost a conversion!
Below is an example of a simple error message standing out from it’s form.
Notice how the red border of the box makes the error stand out, this is emphasised even more so by a light red background differentiated from the page background this also makes the text and therefore error stand out.
Repetition of Elements
Repetition of design elements throughout your website(s) creates not just continuity but also an air of professionalism – chopping and changing makes for a second rate interface. Put simply by repetition in this case I am simply talking about “being consistent” in how a site looks, feels and how elements function.
Now generally you will have noticed repetition subconsciously relating to brands, with brands the repetition is dictated in style by brand guidelines. Online this can be a little harder to control for any business, however it is not impossible. The best way to ensure consistency is simply to employ someone as the “controller” or “manager” of your website (or group of) – this will ensure a continued style of user interface.
One of the most consistent of online brands is … once again … Google. Can you see how the below or consistent in design?
Aligning your Content
This is one of the more simply explained CRAP attributes of any design. We all know of the 3 major alignments (mainly because we’ve all used them on Microsoft Office); Left, Centre & Right. The rule of thumb is simple; Always think about alignment, never randomly align. This is to say as with the above continuity you should always follow your own rules for alignment of elements (and this includes text obviously).
Correctly aligned elements can be used to guide the user through a document or web page, just as incorrectly aligned elements can harm the user experience (and make people turn away in many cases). Users naturally will follow a hard line of an element, so if you are left aligned this is where the user will focus (on the left), and the same with the right. The next natural occurrence is that humans will also follow pages from top to bottom in the search for what they are after (generally skimming content), a more natural flow is from top left to bottom right (as with print on an A4 Page).
Now, do a Google Search … you will see all text is left-aligned, very little content (if any) is otherwise aligned.
Positioning is Key
Proximity of elements, sounds a little like rocket science… but it isn’t. Quite simply I am talking about placing related elements close to each other (primarily navigation/controls). Mentally, things that are positioned closer to each other are subconsciously seen as having a stronger relationship that those far apart. However, being close doesn’t always mean related, this can difference is easily shown by a breakdown header or some other break point.
A clear example of this (once again) can be seen on the latest Google SERP update.
As you can see Google have added a secondary navigation tool bar to the left of the results (primary tool being the search bar). The proximity of this navigation to the results shows these are related items. Also you can see a clear horizontal rule between the top links and bottom, this shows a split in relation. The lower links are secondary tools for a user to use (my guess is they may look nice but aren’t often used).
Following the rules of being CRAP will make for a better website & better user experience all around.
So is your website CRAP? Let SEOAndy know via twitter (@andykinsey)
For a while I’ve considered posting the tools I use for various pieces of SEO from a general overview to getting information in more detail to finding out just how search engines see our site and how often a site is crawled. But I’ve pretty much always wrote the post and deleted it because the tools an SEO uses are pretty much his trade and he holds them a guarded secret. (I apologise for relating to SEO’s in a male term its just easier for me and not meant in any sexist manner). So I’ve always refrained from posting any of the tools I use in any post. – Though I am happy to share them face to face and over twitter most of the time it would appear.
Anyway, today I want to share a number of tools I use or used to use for SEO. Most of these are of former use as I’ve found the tool within another tool or there is an easier or better tool available, but that doesn’t take away from the nature of these being quite amazing SEO tools – it just means it may take you a little longer to realise various SEO factors. These tools are aimed at website owners in the main, however the tools can be used by anyone and are used within the Internet Marketing industry. Best bit of all is these are all free!
SEO Tools for Website Owners
Website Grader
Website Grader – 5 STAR
This tool is constantly updated an includes various factors such as number of inbound links, number of indexed pages, date of last crawl, checks meta tags, image alt tags, heading tags, gives advice on various other factors and one of its best features it allows you to compare your site to others easily. – One of the biggest draws for website owners is there is no coding involved at all. – Website Grader then gives you a total score based on your site and external factors including related twitter accounts, a related blog (if your site isn’t one) & your alexa ranking.
Google Webmaster Tools – 4 STAR GWT rates as 4 star and not the top of the pops because of one factor, you need to have some technical knowledge (you either add a line of code to your site or upload a file via ftp) so this tool maybe out of reach of some website owners. Once you’ve verified your domain by these means you can start to see various factors surrounding your site (if your site is new it can take a few weeks or months for anything to show up whilst data is collected) GWT lets you see where your ranking for keywords and phrases, shows your how important these terms on your site appear to google, your crawl rate & set the rate of crawl, your website targeting market (eg UK), number of links not just to your site but each page of the site, allows you to see http and crawl errors, submit sitemap(s), check for malware, check speed of your site and also allows you to fetch as googlebot (a nice tool). So although there is some messing around and waiting this bunch of tools is top notch. Also Google release articles on a regular basis about how search engine optimisation can work and what google are doing at the moment (and don’t forget the youtube webmaster channel from google!).
IWebTools
IWebTools – 3 STAR
This is a set of tools and is ranked in a lower manner as unless your paying you don’t get them bunched together nor are you able to store the data. However tools such as pagerank checker, link popularity, pagerank predictions, multirank checking, speed testing and ping testing there are some nice tools here so IWebTools is really worth a look, right after you’ve seen the other stuff.
SEO Chat
SEOChat Tools – 2STAR
Much like IWebTools but a much larger list of them, my problem with this site is that its not 100% reliable in results it gives (indeed some can appear random) and they are not all strictly SEO factors so you can begin to waster your time here – by the time I suggest this site you should have used the 3 above and not need to see repeat information like this site can give (though its always nice to check things twice)- I advise you use this for double checking things only, thats SEOChat.
SEOMOZ
SeoMoz.Org – 1 STAR
This is one of the most used SEO tools around the web, it is ranked very low in my working because of its you must pay &/or register before certain tools are available and even then they aren’t the most intuitive of things. There are a series of free tools offers by SEOMoz but nothing we’ve not seen in the above, even the paid stuff isn’t much different to the above – my advice is use the free stuff and search for a free version of the other things they ask you to pay for. Another great thing which i think is a better resource than these tools is the blog posts and the forum this site offers.
Have Your Say:
Let SEOAndy know what tools you use by commenting below
Also let us know what you’d like to see in our NEW SEO Book by tweeting with #seoandybook – helping us build a practical seo book.
Are you the owner or person responsible for a website? Is the website being beaten to the top of Google or Bing by your competitors? Does the search market look scary? or maybe you’ve been trying for months but just can’t seem to get ranked by the search engines?
If you’ve answered “yes” to any of the above then here’s some good news for you!
SEOAndy today are introducing a new service, THE SEO CLINIC
Today has seen the launch of what is one of the more simple websites I have seen.
The site has been redesigned from being a busy rubbish ridden “thing” to being a simple website with a clear call to action without clutter. Now I’m not saying this site is perfect and I’m not saying that the redesign they have launched will work, but I like it and whats more its been launched by a friend who has been in the web design game as long as me (since 2005) whom is going to partner with me on several upcoming projects as he is a media mogul with his fingers in way too many digital pies.
So check out the site and give him a shout if you have an upcoming project you need media coverage for.
You know when you visit a site often enough and you notice subtle changes? or when you visit a site from time to time and when you return next time there is a totally revamped site? Well today I’m wanting to talk about a couple of them, well three really.
National Rail Enquiries
- Best Redesign of 2009 - National Rail Enquiries
New design released December 2009 (the most recent of the bunch) taking what was an old, hard to use website into a user friendly clearly web2.0 based website.
The site now places things where you want them – want to search for a train … its there … want to see if there could be any issues with your train journey … its there – and what makes this better this was all there in the old site just hidden away behind what was a boring almost tabular styling which made for hard reading at times.
The site has gone from having a huge navigation to a more simple 5 button navigation with what appears to be a custom search for Yahoo! (think this was there previously though), the “legals” – ie. links such as t&c contact us etc – are at the bottom of the pages and easy to find. This site has finally come of age offering the same services in a newly formatted way clearly works.
Right down to the details of the clock in the top right hand corner this is a superb redesign and many could learn from the idea of Simple is Best.
Manchester City FC
- Runners Up 2009 - Manchester City FC
Another totally stunning redesign of a website, Manchester City Football Club pulled all the stops out with this site. They moved from an antiquated few year old site to a 21st century stunner. www.mcfc.co.uk is truly what the web is about, interaction.
Users are drawn in by the almost “flash” nature of the site, buts its usable and friendly (for the user and search engines alike) javascript code. The layout flows through the pages and is very modular, but it’s not boring or over bearing like some sites (including the BBC).
All in all this site has gone from nothing to something amazing, this is a close runner up to NRE.
The White House
- Third Place Redesign 2009 - The White House
I can hear you muttering back there “he’s mad… nothing from the US gov’t or UK Gov’t has ever been good” … as true as this maybe I must tell you that who ever the US Gov’t employed for redesign they have done terrifically well!
No more slow loading and hard to find information layout from the White House! instead the site is web2.0 in all its glory, with detail paid to typography and layout above all else. This redesign is for the masses, design to make life at least 90% easier if you visit the site.
Ok so there are a few CSS bugs in the system and it doesn’t validate but none of that really matters because it looks so stunning. (also very few of my sites validate! I don’t hide this) But the CSS bugs do draw back from the experience in some browsers (such as Chrome) so The White House comes a glorious third.
Other Great Redesigns of 2009:
Facebook- total revamp … not quite a prize winner Google – slight tweeks to front page but total new search styling AK Designs – total redesign Twitter – small changes to interface = win Crystals Merchant Services – redesign tweeks better typography and cleaner Microsoft- total revamp including bing, awesome
What is your favourite website redesign of 2009? let us know below or tweet @andykinsey
So with 2009 drawing to a close I am taking time to look back over the year and how my life and career have progressed. Looking back is a pretty daunting task for me as so much has happened this year, from gaining a brilliant bunch of new clients and friends (when i moved) to growing up and doing my own tax return earlier in the year. This year has been so busy for me, yet it seems like only a few days ago I was on a ramble in a manchester pub to a few friends about 2008! … Well this year they have been saved from my ramblings, but you my friend have not!
However, you are being thanked for reading this, simply because I am going to keep much of my personal life out of this and focus on one key thing that has happened this year and that I MUST continue in a much bigger way next year.
A few weeks ago I wrote about design concepts, breaking the rules of conventions and how doing so can help or hinder your website/ clients website. During the months before this I feel I had become like most other designers… doing what they do… being stuck in a trend and style … that ok, was particular to myself … however it meant my designs became boring and rather predicatable.
Then came my first chance to break conventions of life, my site was hacked and although I managed to salvage my work (or at least most it). My first job was moving them out of the line of fire, over to SEOAndy and that was meant to be a case of copying my old files over to create a similar experience. However, I went against the grain spent 2 weeks developing a new wordpress theme (now available for download) breaking rules and conventions, there we’re no images but plenty of text, as little code as possible meant more content… it was an experiement for my SEO which has paid divdends.
Next I designed myself a new site, again wanting to not have an average site I designed myself a poster of what I thought I’d say to advertise myself… it was a complex message that I cut down to its bones leaving me with a simple effective statement about who I am and what I do. Looking at the site you would be forgiven (as many are) for thinking that the site only has a single page, but click the text or find the navigation at the bottom of the site and you will find an interactive haven which is growing week on week. Look out for next weeks change.
Then came what I believe is the first actual site I am proud of … Spirit Beauty Salon (Haddington) – I broke a lot of conventions as I stated in the previous post about daring to defy conventions. So I wont go on about it, but from a technical view point and from a design standing I believe that Spirit Beaty is the best website I’ve designed, once again thanks to Kirsty Burgoine for helping with development of the working engine behind the site – another innovative project for AK Designs and KBG designs.
From my weee ramblings I’m guessing you know what my resolution for the new year will be…
To break conventions when I need/want to – and – To do more work I am proud of.
I feel I should now explain why I’ve never really been proud of my websites, there has always been something that hasn’t sat right… looked right or felt right. Maybe it’s as simple as most of the projects have not been with me from conception to fruition and beyond… they are normally with me for design or development or deployment and not much else. But Spirit Beauty E-commerce / CMS has been something of a huge project for me, and seeing it from birth to becoming a huge success has made me very very happy and awfully proud… pretty much a proud parent.
Other Personal Things I Resolve To Do:
Continue to grow and develop my design and seo skills.
Continue to enjoy life for all its worth and a little bit more.
Continue to do what I enjoy doing most in life – designing
Continue to write about SEO and help as many people as I can.
Continue running to keep fit – and – run for charity again.
Forget anything bad and forgive my past … I hold no grudges.
A few years ago (I think around 2005) there was a huge website, the guy sold a pixel for a dollar… he sold a million of them… and became a millionaire (obviously). This was the million dollar homepage, something people have tried to emulate and multiple occasions, generally without any success!
Then a few months ago I was chatting with a developer (Kirsty Burgoine) about a project she has been involved in, and how she was making an attempt to re-create / re-hash the million pixel script for a charity website (Jakarna Wildlife Trust).
I am happy to say the obstacles Kirsty came across have been overcome and expectations of my own exceeded. The “million pound map” as I have dubbed it, asked for a £10 donation in return of a adoption of a piece of land in a Kenyan wildlife reserve.
At this point I want to congratulate Kirsty for her work on this project. And encourage everyone to go and adopt a little piece of land
Further than this I want to extend my thanks to Kirsty for her awesome work alongside myself over the past few months to bring a number of sites from a rough sketch / design on my screen to what I must confess are some of the best sites I know of.
My absence of fear over breaking conventions is one which I have never hidden, however I don’t think it was ever really unleashed until the most recent project myself and Kirsty attempted … Spirit Beauty Salon is a modern, clean and crisp design with a few twists in design to ensure interactivity and making the user feel at home, as well as features to ensure the site is easy to recall to a friend. Case Study: Coming Soon
(I feel this “speech” has gone on too long, so one last thing)
Keep your eyes peeled for the next project of myself and Kirsty
If you have RSI at any level then I want to share a little something with you, The Wrist Donut, a little device that will save you money, hassle and increase your work rate.
The Wrist Donut
Recently I had my RSI flare up, mainly in my right hand and arm, though it has begun to spread. Now I know there are all sorts of reasons for RSI and never just one of them alone will cause it… so I am attempting to fix various other issues I have which may cause RSI. However I spend a heck of a lot of time in front of a computer each day (actually a few of them at the same time), this doesn’t change at the weekend when I am doing other work…
Anyway with this in mind I went about doing a search for these gel pads you can get for keyboard and mouse, but I’ve never really liked the look of them nor the real estate they would take up on my desks… and I wouldn’t need just one i’d need 7 or 8 … so this solution just wasn’t practical and I would guess a lot of webby people are in my situation. That said I should emphasise this would also be brilliant for the average office worker or telesales person who spent all day on data input or the likes.
I eventaully after a while came across the wrist donut … a simple band that cushions the wrist, effectively being a gel pad without the gel pad and you take it around with you so regardless of the machine your using it works perfectly!
Now I admit I’ve only had them a few days and that you can’t buy them as a pair (they are sold individually) and they look like swimming armbands for your wrist but all the same for around £20 for 2 (including shipping) this product is worth every penny. I am already feeling the difference and am able to type at almost full speed once again… without them my type rate more than halves.
I also want to add that the customer service from these guys really is second to none, I ordered one afternoon, posted first class recorded and it was here the next day at 9AM … seriously superb.
After posting this review I was contacted by the lady at wrist donuts and a few things were mentioned I want to share. For example, should you require a little more support in one area of your band than another the material inside can be manipulated by your fingers or my rubbing it down the edge of a desk (quite handy since my keyboard was still a tiny bit higher than the normal… works a treat). Next is something I realised when I was eating lunch but was also mentioned in the email is that you can use donut to exercise your hand and increasing strength in the hand and flexing your tendons a little.
I also want to add at this point that you can visit the official website and if you buy 2 donuts you will receive 10% off, oh and you can customise the donuts! So hope over and visit WristDonut.com and give them a try for yourself.
Well earlier this week (13th July 2010) ComScore released it’s June 2010 search engine statistics. ComScore release these figures once a month, they use an ever changing formula to create more and more accurate results. The statistics are in essence related to the number of searches conducted by each search engine. So what did the results say?
Well as expected, Google top the chart – with 62.6% of the current market share, a loss of 1.1% from May 2010. Google was then followed by Yahoo! (18.9% up 0.6% from May). In third place was Bing (formerly MSN) with a growth of 0.6% taking Bing to an ever growing market share of 12.7%. In fourth remains ASK search network, at 3.6% and with no change from the previous month. Finally, in fifth is AOL who suffered a loss of 0.1% taking them to just 2.2% of the search market.
So what does this all mean?
Well clearly it means that the search market is changing, no longer is MSN (now bing) the stick in the mud that wouldn’t change. But the important thing of note here is that Bing continues to grow, and with Bing taking over the search functionality of Yahoo! later this year, Bing (using todays figures) would have a market share of 31.6% – a truly staggering thought and something that I believe means now is the time to take note of Bing (and not to wait several months) for SEO’s. So with this in mind, it is now time to Love the Bing.
But it isn’t just SEO’s that need to take note it is other search engines, and this is something Google are already doing (almost in fear it feels). With lasts months role out of background images, Google made a move to be “more like” Bing – but after much uproar in the first few seconds of being live, Google decided unlike Bing having a default image wasn’t a good idea and it is now optional.
The one thing the results do not show is that the world is showing an exponential growth of mobile search. With the advent and influence of the iPhone, Blackberry and Android’s of the world this isn’t going to slow down any time soon and is a huge target market. However, without specific results we can only presume that search is in the same proportions – though I know at least in the UK blackberry (and anyone on the Three mobile network) searches are defaulted to Yahoo!, android in 90% of cases I believe are pointed at Google (the creators) … as for apple I also see these guys using Google … So sorry bing but you need to get up and make some deals – message here is if your mobile focused target Google mobile and Yahoo mobile.
Now there are so so many resources out there, but I want to share my top 5 online resources for web designers, developers and website owners.
Articles & Blog Resources
1 – Smashing Magazine
These guys are simply superb, renowned for the “top ten” lists they role out on a regular basis and of course the experts whom right for the blog, Smashing Mag is always worth a read. Add to this recently they added the Smashing Network of blogs, so now it’s not just Smashing Mag updates you get but also those from other related blogs in the network (only the best blogs). – @smashingmag
2 – Boagworld
Although based around a world famous podcast, the Boagworld website also offers some amazing articles from designers, developer and marketers (including myself) – On top of that you get to see paul boag (the father of web design) rant a little about what is often a nothing subject, but it brings a new non-techie angle which is good. Also the site offers a fairly active forum where all sorts of discussion go on from design discussion to how something works in php. Boagworld is for website owners & recently Paul released “the website owners manual” – a superb reference guide if you have anything to do with a website. – @boagworld
3 – Think Vitamin
From the guys and gals at Carsonified, Think Vitamin is a superb resource for all kinds of things. With topics including business, marketing, design, development, mobile and web apps there is something for everyone here. Also with Think Vitamin radio you can consume materials on the go. The guys at Carsonified also arrange a number of great conferences each year including various future of events. – @carsonified
4 – 37signals
This is a resource I’ve only just began reading on a regular basis, but it’s well worth spending a few minutes taking a look here each week to see if there is anything of relevance to you. 37signals are all about productivity and making things work properly, they are the makers of the now infamous BaseCamp software and amazing web designers working with clients like threadless. – @37signals
5 – A List Apart
This is primarily a designer and developer blog, it isn’t in any way formed for a website owner (it’s far too techie). However, if you are a website designer or developer I seriously advise you subscribe to the RSS and twitter feed, some big names post here and it’s superb. – @alistapart
Top Web Related Tweeters
Here are all the webby type people i suggest you follow if you have anything to do with the internet. Not all will be relevant to everyone but they all have something great to offer!
This list has been formed and outed for you, because I was asked by a fellow designer for my list (and here it is), but now I want to go a step further and want your ideas! so tweet me @andykinsey the resource you favour using, from blogs to css galleries to books, let me know. – Or leave a comment.
So you’ve designed a website, or had one designed for you … you’ve tested it and it functions correctly … but something is missing – your website isn’t CRAP!
That’s right, your website should be as CRAP as possible!
What is CRAP?
All design, no matter whether it is print or online really should be CRAP. The word CRAP refers to the 4 major principles of design; Contrast, Repetition, Alignment and Position (or proximity).
Each of these principles has an effect on your design, at least to some extent (and never the same extent on two projects). CRAP is an easy to remember word and if you can remember the main points of each principle then CRAP will help guide you into a more attractive design (than if you don’t make it CRAP). Now, as with most things on the web CRAP-ness began as offline design principles – however, I believe they are just as valuable online as offline.
Creating Contrast in Design
In design you should always avoid 2 or more things being “similar” – this is to say that (for example) if you have headings and text you should always make the difference clear. This means not making them a similar font size, and as with in the case on this website the same colour. The main point here is that If it isn’t the same make it look different a fairly simple idea
So how do you create differences?
Different Font Styles & Font Sizes
Different Font or Background Colours
Underline or Border an Object
Re-Align an Object
Space Your Objects
So you’ve got some ideas on how to create contrast on your website, but that isn’t enough because I bet your thinking of some real world examples on your own website(s) and need some help with this. So let’s take a look at some real world examples of contrast on the web.
Emphasis of Interaction
Now there are many ways to signify emphasis of user primary interaction, or “calls to action” as they are more widely known. However, I want to look at the worlds number 1 online user interaction (at least in my view) …. Google
As always Google have kept design to a minimum and user interaction to a maximum. It is clear here what the call to action is… to search! so the buttons stand out clearly and show the user where to click. When you look at a wider view you can see navigation at the top of the screen on both the left and right but this isn’t the main interaction and so is all but ignored by most users.
Highlight Your Notices
Contrasting and highlighting can be very important when things go wrong. We’ve all seen the windows pop-up errors that appear all over the place (even on the high street) but online error messages are vital. If you are filling in a form online, it gets rejected and you can’t find out why easily then you will probably stop filling in the form, for website owners this mean’s you’ve lost a conversion!
Below is an example of a simple error message standing out from it’s form.
Notice how the red border of the box makes the error stand out, this is emphasised even more so by a light red background differentiated from the page background this also makes the text and therefore error stand out.
Repetition of Elements
Repetition of design elements throughout your website(s) creates not just continuity but also an air of professionalism – chopping and changing makes for a second rate interface. Put simply by repetition in this case I am simply talking about “being consistent” in how a site looks, feels and how elements function.
Now generally you will have noticed repetition subconsciously relating to brands, with brands the repetition is dictated in style by brand guidelines. Online this can be a little harder to control for any business, however it is not impossible. The best way to ensure consistency is simply to employ someone as the “controller” or “manager” of your website (or group of) – this will ensure a continued style of user interface.
One of the most consistent of online brands is … once again … Google. Can you see how the below or consistent in design?
Aligning your Content
This is one of the more simply explained CRAP attributes of any design. We all know of the 3 major alignments (mainly because we’ve all used them on Microsoft Office); Left, Centre & Right. The rule of thumb is simple; Always think about alignment, never randomly align. This is to say as with the above continuity you should always follow your own rules for alignment of elements (and this includes text obviously).
Correctly aligned elements can be used to guide the user through a document or web page, just as incorrectly aligned elements can harm the user experience (and make people turn away in many cases). Users naturally will follow a hard line of an element, so if you are left aligned this is where the user will focus (on the left), and the same with the right. The next natural occurrence is that humans will also follow pages from top to bottom in the search for what they are after (generally skimming content), a more natural flow is from top left to bottom right (as with print on an A4 Page).
Now, do a Google Search … you will see all text is left-aligned, very little content (if any) is otherwise aligned.
Positioning is Key
Proximity of elements, sounds a little like rocket science… but it isn’t. Quite simply I am talking about placing related elements close to each other (primarily navigation/controls). Mentally, things that are positioned closer to each other are subconsciously seen as having a stronger relationship that those far apart. However, being close doesn’t always mean related, this can difference is easily shown by a breakdown header or some other break point.
A clear example of this (once again) can be seen on the latest Google SERP update.
As you can see Google have added a secondary navigation tool bar to the left of the results (primary tool being the search bar). The proximity of this navigation to the results shows these are related items. Also you can see a clear horizontal rule between the top links and bottom, this shows a split in relation. The lower links are secondary tools for a user to use (my guess is they may look nice but aren’t often used).
Following the rules of being CRAP will make for a better website & better user experience all around.
So is your website CRAP? Let SEOAndy know via twitter (@andykinsey)
For a while I’ve considered posting the tools I use for various pieces of SEO from a general overview to getting information in more detail to finding out just how search engines see our site and how often a site is crawled. But I’ve pretty much always wrote the post and deleted it because the tools an SEO uses are pretty much his trade and he holds them a guarded secret. (I apologise for relating to SEO’s in a male term its just easier for me and not meant in any sexist manner). So I’ve always refrained from posting any of the tools I use in any post. – Though I am happy to share them face to face and over twitter most of the time it would appear.
Anyway, today I want to share a number of tools I use or used to use for SEO. Most of these are of former use as I’ve found the tool within another tool or there is an easier or better tool available, but that doesn’t take away from the nature of these being quite amazing SEO tools – it just means it may take you a little longer to realise various SEO factors. These tools are aimed at website owners in the main, however the tools can be used by anyone and are used within the Internet Marketing industry. Best bit of all is these are all free!
SEO Tools for Website Owners
Website Grader
Website Grader – 5 STAR
This tool is constantly updated an includes various factors such as number of inbound links, number of indexed pages, date of last crawl, checks meta tags, image alt tags, heading tags, gives advice on various other factors and one of its best features it allows you to compare your site to others easily. – One of the biggest draws for website owners is there is no coding involved at all. – Website Grader then gives you a total score based on your site and external factors including related twitter accounts, a related blog (if your site isn’t one) & your alexa ranking.
Google Webmaster Tools – 4 STAR GWT rates as 4 star and not the top of the pops because of one factor, you need to have some technical knowledge (you either add a line of code to your site or upload a file via ftp) so this tool maybe out of reach of some website owners. Once you’ve verified your domain by these means you can start to see various factors surrounding your site (if your site is new it can take a few weeks or months for anything to show up whilst data is collected) GWT lets you see where your ranking for keywords and phrases, shows your how important these terms on your site appear to google, your crawl rate & set the rate of crawl, your website targeting market (eg UK), number of links not just to your site but each page of the site, allows you to see http and crawl errors, submit sitemap(s), check for malware, check speed of your site and also allows you to fetch as googlebot (a nice tool). So although there is some messing around and waiting this bunch of tools is top notch. Also Google release articles on a regular basis about how search engine optimisation can work and what google are doing at the moment (and don’t forget the youtube webmaster channel from google!).
IWebTools
IWebTools – 3 STAR
This is a set of tools and is ranked in a lower manner as unless your paying you don’t get them bunched together nor are you able to store the data. However tools such as pagerank checker, link popularity, pagerank predictions, multirank checking, speed testing and ping testing there are some nice tools here so IWebTools is really worth a look, right after you’ve seen the other stuff.
SEO Chat
SEOChat Tools – 2STAR
Much like IWebTools but a much larger list of them, my problem with this site is that its not 100% reliable in results it gives (indeed some can appear random) and they are not all strictly SEO factors so you can begin to waster your time here – by the time I suggest this site you should have used the 3 above and not need to see repeat information like this site can give (though its always nice to check things twice)- I advise you use this for double checking things only, thats SEOChat.
SEOMOZ
SeoMoz.Org – 1 STAR
This is one of the most used SEO tools around the web, it is ranked very low in my working because of its you must pay &/or register before certain tools are available and even then they aren’t the most intuitive of things. There are a series of free tools offers by SEOMoz but nothing we’ve not seen in the above, even the paid stuff isn’t much different to the above – my advice is use the free stuff and search for a free version of the other things they ask you to pay for. Another great thing which i think is a better resource than these tools is the blog posts and the forum this site offers.
Have Your Say:
Let SEOAndy know what tools you use by commenting below
Also let us know what you’d like to see in our NEW SEO Book by tweeting with #seoandybook – helping us build a practical seo book.
Are you the owner or person responsible for a website? Is the website being beaten to the top of Google or Bing by your competitors? Does the search market look scary? or maybe you’ve been trying for months but just can’t seem to get ranked by the search engines?
If you’ve answered “yes” to any of the above then here’s some good news for you!
SEOAndy today are introducing a new service, THE SEO CLINIC
Today has seen the launch of what is one of the more simple websites I have seen.
The site has been redesigned from being a busy rubbish ridden “thing” to being a simple website with a clear call to action without clutter. Now I’m not saying this site is perfect and I’m not saying that the redesign they have launched will work, but I like it and whats more its been launched by a friend who has been in the web design game as long as me (since 2005) whom is going to partner with me on several upcoming projects as he is a media mogul with his fingers in way too many digital pies.
So check out the site and give him a shout if you have an upcoming project you need media coverage for.
You know when you visit a site often enough and you notice subtle changes? or when you visit a site from time to time and when you return next time there is a totally revamped site? Well today I’m wanting to talk about a couple of them, well three really.
National Rail Enquiries
- Best Redesign of 2009 - National Rail Enquiries
New design released December 2009 (the most recent of the bunch) taking what was an old, hard to use website into a user friendly clearly web2.0 based website.
The site now places things where you want them – want to search for a train … its there … want to see if there could be any issues with your train journey … its there – and what makes this better this was all there in the old site just hidden away behind what was a boring almost tabular styling which made for hard reading at times.
The site has gone from having a huge navigation to a more simple 5 button navigation with what appears to be a custom search for Yahoo! (think this was there previously though), the “legals” – ie. links such as t&c contact us etc – are at the bottom of the pages and easy to find. This site has finally come of age offering the same services in a newly formatted way clearly works.
Right down to the details of the clock in the top right hand corner this is a superb redesign and many could learn from the idea of Simple is Best.
Manchester City FC
- Runners Up 2009 - Manchester City FC
Another totally stunning redesign of a website, Manchester City Football Club pulled all the stops out with this site. They moved from an antiquated few year old site to a 21st century stunner. www.mcfc.co.uk is truly what the web is about, interaction.
Users are drawn in by the almost “flash” nature of the site, buts its usable and friendly (for the user and search engines alike) javascript code. The layout flows through the pages and is very modular, but it’s not boring or over bearing like some sites (including the BBC).
All in all this site has gone from nothing to something amazing, this is a close runner up to NRE.
The White House
- Third Place Redesign 2009 - The White House
I can hear you muttering back there “he’s mad… nothing from the US gov’t or UK Gov’t has ever been good” … as true as this maybe I must tell you that who ever the US Gov’t employed for redesign they have done terrifically well!
No more slow loading and hard to find information layout from the White House! instead the site is web2.0 in all its glory, with detail paid to typography and layout above all else. This redesign is for the masses, design to make life at least 90% easier if you visit the site.
Ok so there are a few CSS bugs in the system and it doesn’t validate but none of that really matters because it looks so stunning. (also very few of my sites validate! I don’t hide this) But the CSS bugs do draw back from the experience in some browsers (such as Chrome) so The White House comes a glorious third.
Other Great Redesigns of 2009:
Facebook- total revamp … not quite a prize winner Google – slight tweeks to front page but total new search styling AK Designs – total redesign Twitter – small changes to interface = win Crystals Merchant Services – redesign tweeks better typography and cleaner Microsoft- total revamp including bing, awesome
What is your favourite website redesign of 2009? let us know below or tweet @andykinsey
So with 2009 drawing to a close I am taking time to look back over the year and how my life and career have progressed. Looking back is a pretty daunting task for me as so much has happened this year, from gaining a brilliant bunch of new clients and friends (when i moved) to growing up and doing my own tax return earlier in the year. This year has been so busy for me, yet it seems like only a few days ago I was on a ramble in a manchester pub to a few friends about 2008! … Well this year they have been saved from my ramblings, but you my friend have not!
However, you are being thanked for reading this, simply because I am going to keep much of my personal life out of this and focus on one key thing that has happened this year and that I MUST continue in a much bigger way next year.
A few weeks ago I wrote about design concepts, breaking the rules of conventions and how doing so can help or hinder your website/ clients website. During the months before this I feel I had become like most other designers… doing what they do… being stuck in a trend and style … that ok, was particular to myself … however it meant my designs became boring and rather predicatable.
Then came my first chance to break conventions of life, my site was hacked and although I managed to salvage my work (or at least most it). My first job was moving them out of the line of fire, over to SEOAndy and that was meant to be a case of copying my old files over to create a similar experience. However, I went against the grain spent 2 weeks developing a new wordpress theme (now available for download) breaking rules and conventions, there we’re no images but plenty of text, as little code as possible meant more content… it was an experiement for my SEO which has paid divdends.
Next I designed myself a new site, again wanting to not have an average site I designed myself a poster of what I thought I’d say to advertise myself… it was a complex message that I cut down to its bones leaving me with a simple effective statement about who I am and what I do. Looking at the site you would be forgiven (as many are) for thinking that the site only has a single page, but click the text or find the navigation at the bottom of the site and you will find an interactive haven which is growing week on week. Look out for next weeks change.
Then came what I believe is the first actual site I am proud of … Spirit Beauty Salon (Haddington) – I broke a lot of conventions as I stated in the previous post about daring to defy conventions. So I wont go on about it, but from a technical view point and from a design standing I believe that Spirit Beaty is the best website I’ve designed, once again thanks to Kirsty Burgoine for helping with development of the working engine behind the site – another innovative project for AK Designs and KBG designs.
From my weee ramblings I’m guessing you know what my resolution for the new year will be…
To break conventions when I need/want to – and – To do more work I am proud of.
I feel I should now explain why I’ve never really been proud of my websites, there has always been something that hasn’t sat right… looked right or felt right. Maybe it’s as simple as most of the projects have not been with me from conception to fruition and beyond… they are normally with me for design or development or deployment and not much else. But Spirit Beauty E-commerce / CMS has been something of a huge project for me, and seeing it from birth to becoming a huge success has made me very very happy and awfully proud… pretty much a proud parent.
Other Personal Things I Resolve To Do:
Continue to grow and develop my design and seo skills.
Continue to enjoy life for all its worth and a little bit more.
Continue to do what I enjoy doing most in life – designing
Continue to write about SEO and help as many people as I can.
Continue running to keep fit – and – run for charity again.
Forget anything bad and forgive my past … I hold no grudges.
A few years ago (I think around 2005) there was a huge website, the guy sold a pixel for a dollar… he sold a million of them… and became a millionaire (obviously). This was the million dollar homepage, something people have tried to emulate and multiple occasions, generally without any success!
Then a few months ago I was chatting with a developer (Kirsty Burgoine) about a project she has been involved in, and how she was making an attempt to re-create / re-hash the million pixel script for a charity website (Jakarna Wildlife Trust).
I am happy to say the obstacles Kirsty came across have been overcome and expectations of my own exceeded. The “million pound map” as I have dubbed it, asked for a £10 donation in return of a adoption of a piece of land in a Kenyan wildlife reserve.
At this point I want to congratulate Kirsty for her work on this project. And encourage everyone to go and adopt a little piece of land
Further than this I want to extend my thanks to Kirsty for her awesome work alongside myself over the past few months to bring a number of sites from a rough sketch / design on my screen to what I must confess are some of the best sites I know of.
My absence of fear over breaking conventions is one which I have never hidden, however I don’t think it was ever really unleashed until the most recent project myself and Kirsty attempted … Spirit Beauty Salon is a modern, clean and crisp design with a few twists in design to ensure interactivity and making the user feel at home, as well as features to ensure the site is easy to recall to a friend. Case Study: Coming Soon
(I feel this “speech” has gone on too long, so one last thing)
Keep your eyes peeled for the next project of myself and Kirsty
If you have RSI at any level then I want to share a little something with you, The Wrist Donut, a little device that will save you money, hassle and increase your work rate.
The Wrist Donut
Recently I had my RSI flare up, mainly in my right hand and arm, though it has begun to spread. Now I know there are all sorts of reasons for RSI and never just one of them alone will cause it… so I am attempting to fix various other issues I have which may cause RSI. However I spend a heck of a lot of time in front of a computer each day (actually a few of them at the same time), this doesn’t change at the weekend when I am doing other work…
Anyway with this in mind I went about doing a search for these gel pads you can get for keyboard and mouse, but I’ve never really liked the look of them nor the real estate they would take up on my desks… and I wouldn’t need just one i’d need 7 or 8 … so this solution just wasn’t practical and I would guess a lot of webby people are in my situation. That said I should emphasise this would also be brilliant for the average office worker or telesales person who spent all day on data input or the likes.
I eventaully after a while came across the wrist donut … a simple band that cushions the wrist, effectively being a gel pad without the gel pad and you take it around with you so regardless of the machine your using it works perfectly!
Now I admit I’ve only had them a few days and that you can’t buy them as a pair (they are sold individually) and they look like swimming armbands for your wrist but all the same for around £20 for 2 (including shipping) this product is worth every penny. I am already feeling the difference and am able to type at almost full speed once again… without them my type rate more than halves.
I also want to add that the customer service from these guys really is second to none, I ordered one afternoon, posted first class recorded and it was here the next day at 9AM … seriously superb.
After posting this review I was contacted by the lady at wrist donuts and a few things were mentioned I want to share. For example, should you require a little more support in one area of your band than another the material inside can be manipulated by your fingers or my rubbing it down the edge of a desk (quite handy since my keyboard was still a tiny bit higher than the normal… works a treat). Next is something I realised when I was eating lunch but was also mentioned in the email is that you can use donut to exercise your hand and increasing strength in the hand and flexing your tendons a little.
I also want to add at this point that you can visit the official website and if you buy 2 donuts you will receive 10% off, oh and you can customise the donuts! So hope over and visit WristDonut.com and give them a try for yourself.
Well as expected, Google top the chart – with 62.6% of the current market share, a loss of 1.1% from May 2010. Google was then followed by Yahoo! (18.9% up 0.6% from May). In third place was Bing (formerly MSN) with a growth of 0.6% taking Bing to an ever growing market share of 12.7%. In fourth remains ASK search network, at 3.6% and with no change from the previous month. Finally, in fifth is AOL who suffered a loss of 0.1% taking them to just 2.2% of the search market.
