Post pobrano z: Title: 13 Must-Do Checks Before Launching Your WordPress Website

You worked hard on your WordPress website and now you are about to launch it. The big day is right around the corner!

But there are a lot of things that can go wrong. Are you aware of all of them? You probably aren’t if this is your first ever launch.

That is why I decided to outline 13 things that you need to check before you launch your website…

1. Domain considerations

Okay, so it’s something I shouldn’t even have to say, but I still see a lot of people making this mistake – get your own domain name (don’t use .wordpress.com)!

Domain names are extremely affordable so you don’t have any reason not to get one. For example, at Hostinger you can get a cheap domain for $8.99/year. Please do yourself and your business a favor and get a proper domain name!

2. Make sure you have a backup

You know how life is. Things are going well… Until they aren’t. You never know what might happen, which is why it’s important to have a recent backup of your website at all times. BackupBuddy is a great plugin for backing up your site, restoring it, or moving it to a different hosting provider.

3. Build good looking website

People like to say that content is king. But think about it. When you land on a website that has a terrible design, how often do you stick around long enough to check out their content? If you are like most people, your answer is “Never”. So don’t ruin all the hard work you put into creating great content by underestimating the importance of design. Make sure that your website looks great!

4. Check Images, Videos, Sliders

Okay, so you made sure that your website looks good, but before you launch it, I suggest you go through everything one more time just to make sure that all the images and videos are working properly. Also, add a WordPress slider to your homepage, it will really liven it up!

5. Setup Email for Your WordPress Site

Many people use their personal emails for their blogs, but I don’t recommend it, because as you get more popular your inbox will be flooded with inquiries from your readers. Create a separate email account that is dedicated to the blog.

6. Make sure the contact form is working

Having a contact form is important because it provides your readers with a way to reach you. Use CaptainForm plugin to create a simple contact form and add it to your site. Just don’t forget to test it before the launch!

7. E-commerce Websites

Are you creating an ecommerce website using WordPress? Then you’ll need an easy way to process payments. Stripe works great for that. Simply install a payment plugin and add “Buy Now” buttons. You are ready to sell!

8. Build a knowledge base

Your customers will have questions… a lot of them! If you don’t want to spend all your waking hours on customer support, you should create a knowledge database. Install the KnowAll Theme and add the most frequently asked questions to it. It will save you tons of time in the long run!

9. Setup social media accounts

When it comes to social media, you want to hit the ground running, which is why it’s important to setup your social media accounts prior to the launch. I recommend you to start with Facebook and Twitter. Once you have grown these a bit, you can branch out to other social networks, such as Instagram and Pinterest.

10. Use social media schedule tool

Things are going to get busy once you launch your website. It’s very easy to neglect your social media profiles when there are so many other pressing matters that need your attention. That’s why you should use Viraltag to schedule and recycle your posts on various social networks. Put it on autopilot and watch your profiles grow!

11. Want to earn from affiliates?

Are you aware that you don’t actually need to have your own product to start earning money from day one? You can become an affiliate, sell other people’s products, and earn a commission. It can be a very lucrative business model. For example, you could become an iGaming affiliate and use VegasHero.co – WordPress Affiliate themes & plugins – to add monetized games to your website. There are plenty of opportunities like that, you just need to look!

12. Make sure you take care of analytics

Data is extremely important because that is what allows you to make good decisions in your business. That’s why you need to set up Google Analytics before the launch. That way you’ll have all the metrics you need from day one.

13. Make sure Yoast is running

Do you want people to be able to find you on Google? Well, then you better make sure that each of your posts is optimized for search engines, not just for the readers. Yoast SEO plugin can be incredibly helpful in that regard. Do you already have it running? Make sure that you do!

Conclusion

I know that you are already busy. There are many things that you need to do before the launch. However, please do yourself a favor, and run the checks that I recommended. It will make the launch day go much smoother!

Post pobrano z: Designing a mobile app? These tips will help you

Mobile navigation is one of the essential aspects of mobile application design.  In a time when many of us use mobile phone applications to carry out online tasks, the ability to use an application quickly and efficiently makes all the difference.  A mobile application should work intuitively in a way that provides you with what you need when you need it.

However, designing an effective mobile navigation system for a mobile application can be complex.  Hardware and software are continually changing and evolving. Phones come in different strengths and sizes.

And unlike a desktop or laptop, mobile screens are small, and therefore each area or aspect of a screen becomes increasingly more important.  For this reason, navigation systems should be minimal.

When a user opens up an application, they need to be able to understand where to go, and how to get there.  If they cannot do this, you will lose them.

This means that designing an effective navigation system for a mobile application is crucial.

Get to know your audience

Without understanding who will be using your design, it can often be difficult to gain insight into how to begin designing.

Audience research assists with making better choices when working towards a design.  It will also assist with gaining consensus on how these designs should be implemented.

If you are unsure where to start, get some UI design inspiration by looking at the competition.

Without an effective navigation system, the website or application will suffer.  However, creating an interface which will be effective across different interfaces or screen sizes may not always be easy.

You, as a designer, have to balance business goals with technical constraints, stakeholder strategy, content needs and user behavior.

The Principles of Mobile Navigation

Mobile is different

Although desktop computers are seen to be more powerful than a small screened computer like a mobile phone, smartphones are more powerful than desktops in that they work quickly, are highly personal, and are carried with us.

A smartphone has sensors which can detect location, movement, acceleration, orientation, proximity, traffic conditions and much more.

A mobile phone is very different to a desktop computer.  So, when designing for a mobile phone, take the following points into consideration:

• Go Zen: edit your features carefully, only including those which will assist the app to work intuitively, and with efficiency.
• Be unique: With so many applications to choose from, add a special interface, which will motivate a user to pick yours.
• Be effective: Mobile phones are very personal.  We use and interact with them constantly.  Apps that are fun, efficient, reliable and delightful to use bring pleasure.  People will become attached to the experience.

Mobile devices have their own contexts

It’s important for designers to understand when and why we use mobile phones.  This enables an enjoyable application experience.

Mobile phones are often used to carry out micro-tasks such as banking, checking a location, searching for recipes or booking tickets.  Understanding when people use phones adds to creating a valuable experience.  Most people use phones when they are bored, busy and lost.

Bored

Waiting at an airport, traveling by train or passing time often provide opportunities for phone use.  People may often play games or search for information.  A mobile app can provide a fun or playful experience which a person might become immersed in.  In this context, applications can be geared towards longer time sessions.

Busy

Carrying out tasks while in a rush or during a quick break means they need to be efficient and often might be carried out with only one hand in a busy environment. Bold design is important.

Lost

People in unfamiliar surroundings or who are searching for somewhere new in a familiar surrounding might be considered to use a phone while lost.  Create an application which wouldn’t use too much battery power, and which can be extended to offline support.

Guidelines for creating a Mobile Application

If the interaction between the user and the app is not instant, then the app will not have an audience.  If a user uses the app, there needs to be an instant response, even while the app may process this input.

Style:  An app which is both attractive and intuitive will be extremely valuable.  Place a lot of attention into the finer details of how the app is styled to give it a gorgeous interface.

Thumbs:  Ensure your user will be able to use thumbs to get your app to work.  Even in a two-handed grip, your user will likely use thumbs to get the app to work.

Scrolling:  Try to avoid a scrolling screen, which can be frustrating and unreliable when in a hurry.

Targets:  Thumbs present large areas when working on a small screen.  Consider what this means for the various features or targets of your app.

What size would you need numbers or letters to be?  Where do you space your features?  Planning carefully helps.  It wouldn’t be helpful to place a return and send button close together on an SMS application, for example.

Navigation models

There are many navigation models for mobile apps.  Choose one which will be most effective for your application.

None:  Most helpful for isolated screen utility apps.

Tab Bar:  Three to six content areas.

Drill Down:  Content placed in a hierarchy.

Design interactions to be tappable

With a mobile interface, the user won’t be clicking on options or instructions.  Instead, the user taps a screen.

Therefore, improving the quality of this interaction will improve the user experience.  Ensure that your app doesn’t respond to accidental tapping or touch, as this will frustrate the user.

Create buttons which are large enough, and spaced widely enough to create a usable interface, but not too far apart that they become unreachable.

User-friendly keyboards

Assist your user with typing keyboards which are easy to use, and which is most useful for the information being submitted.

If your application requires a lot of typing, ensure that it can be used in landscape position to enable a larger keyboard.

Gestures

If your app enables the use of gestures, such as a screen swipe to turn a page, you might have to decide how to reveal their availability to the user.

Two-handed gestures are often difficult for a user, and not an essential part of your app.  Most apps use controls which can be used with a single finger.

The benefits of designing for mobile

Apart from not being left behind as people use smaller screens to carry out everyday tasks, there are other benefits to embracing a mobile-first approach:

• Mobile users needs are met.
• This allows designers to focus on content, structure and navigation details.
• Web pages become easier to navigate, which improves the overall experience. This assists visitors with wanting to visit a site.
• A mobile first approach produces fresh concepts and clean designs.

Conclusion

In order to create an effective design for a mobile application, a different perspective is needed.  Mobile applications need to be simple, responsive and intuitive.  This is important when designing for clients.

Designing for the small screen can be challenging.  Not all design concepts can be implemented on smaller screens.  Different sizes or technical capabilities of phones means that designs are often complicated.

There is no single solution to designing for mobile apps.  Instead, focusing on what your audience needs, and providing effective and well thought out designs to enable pleasurable user experiences is crucial.

By conducting research and exploring how a mobile app interacts with users, a designer can provide a quality product which offers value and efficiency.