Locating the URL, Title Tag, and Favicon page is easy once you know what to look for.

Here’s a preview of what this blog post looks like in various web browsers, with the URL, Title Tag, and Favicon marked in each one.

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As web designers go digital with their conceptualization process, they’re losing some of the magic in hand-drawn sketches. (more…)

Every website design guide will tell you that large blocks of text will be ignored. However, it’s not every day that this is so clearly illustrated.

On Wednesday, a website called ReadWriteWeb.com inadvertently proved that a certain segment of users will completely ignore all text except for the exact phrase they are looking for.

ReadWriteWeb published an article called Facebook Wants to Be Your One True Login. Google picked up that post and presented it a news result for the search “facebook login”, which meant that (at least for a few hours) it came up above the normal Google results for “facebook login”.

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In an email to Google Apps administrators, Google announced that they will begin phasing out support for the old, outdated Internet Explorer 6

On March 1, 2010 they will drop support for IE 6 in Google Docs. Later in the year, gMail and gCal will also drop support for the outdated browser. Web developers will surely celebrate today as the day the internet was saved from the evils of IE 6. The email is reproduced below:

Dear Google Apps admin,​

In order to continue to improve our products and deliver more sophisticated features and performance, we are harnessing some of the latest improvements in web browser technology. This includes faster JavaScript processing and new standards like HTML5. As a result, over the course of 2010, we will be phasing out support for Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as other older browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers.

We plan to begin phasing out support of these older browsers on the Google Docs suite and the Google Sites editor on March 1, 2010. After that point, certain functionality within these applications may have higher latency and may not work correctly in these older browsers. Later in 2010, we will start to phase out support for these browsers for Google Mail and Google Calendar.

Google Apps will continue to support Internet Explorer 7.0 and above, Firefox 3.0 and above, Google Chrome 4.0 and above, and Safari 3.0 and above.

Starting next week, users on these older browsers will see a message in Google Docs and the Google Sites editor explaining this change and asking them to upgrade their browser. We will also alert you again closer to March 1 to remind you of this change.

In 2009, the Google Apps team delivered more than 100 improvements to enhance your product experience. We are aiming to beat that in 2010 and continue to deliver the best and most innovative collaboration products for businesses.

Thank you for your continued support!

Sincerely,

The Google Apps team

In the land of web design, we spend a lot of time trying to make websites reflect the aesthetics and attitude of our clients. We wondered how unified a message some of the big retailers here in New York had between their websites and storefronts, so we sent an eagle-eyed intern out to investigate.

We captured the soul of 53 brick and mortar storefronts as a basis for our comparison. Then we took screenshots each of those companies’ website homepages. Finally, we placed them side-by-side in this virtual coliseum to find out which companies make their stores work hand-in-hand with their websites, and which companies have apparently never seen a modem before.

1. Adidas

Adidas storefront

Adidas.com (USA)

On the storefront side, “gray” or “drab” comes to mind, but we’ll go with “muted.” It’s not Adidas’ fault, however, that gray is “in,” this winter. The lone bright and happy spot is the signage behind the ubiquitous SALE bait. It seems to suggest that Adidas is a candy store where the candy has been replaced by shoes.

On the other hand, we have the website, which is pretty much the exact opposite of the storefront. Its cheerful shotgunning of Skittles-hued apparel and athletic people is visually exciting, if confusing and labyrinthine. Again, we have the candy store feeling, but rather than selling shoes, the website’s hawking the Adidas brand.

2. Tommy Hilfiger

Tommy Hilfiger Storfront

tommyhilfiger.com

Tommy’s hoping that “less is more” in this storefront. We’ve got our requisite gray with a couple of nice fashion ideas to whet your shopping hunger.

Web-side, Tommy’s hoping “even less” is “lots.” Here’s your sale, here’s where you buy. Interesting that the majority of the websites use loads of color, while most storefronts are decidedly gray. Thinking caps… on!

3. lululemon

Lululemon

Lululemon.com

And now lululemon sinks my entire color hypothesis with a beautiful, bright, cheerful storefront swimming in fun shades that beg to take you by the hand and pull you into spring with fashionable athletic gear to get you in shape for summer. It’s an eye-catching display.

The website’s utilitarian layout and style seems less about selling the clothes than selling you on seeing yourself wearing those clothes. I don’t see myself practicing yoga on ice, however.

4. Victoria’s Secret

Victoria's Secret

VictoriasSecret.com

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Your logo is your company’s first impression, so make it a good one.

All well-designed logos share these common elements:

• Memorable—they have recall value
• Striking—they grab your attention
• Captivating—they hold your attention
• Educational—you can learn about the company just from seeing the logo
• Simple—it captures the essence of the company’s brand

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Too often while browsing the internet we come across blogs with horrible spacing, font-sizes that are too big or too small, and line-heights that are non-existent.

I have created for you, a basic wordpress stylesheet that can be used as a stepping stone for any blog you wish to create.

Click here to download the stylesheet

The goal of this stylesheet is to provide an easy to understand stylesheet for developers who are installing a new theme.

WordPress uses numerous default classes and enables users to apply many stylings with the WYSIWYG editor. All of these elements are contained in my stylesheet can be easily configured by changing margins, padding, or background-images. All elements in this stylesheet have spacing applied to the bottom of each element. This is essential for keeping consistent spacing throughout your blog!

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Website Launch: LGS Racing

Let’s Go Stables (LGS) was already providing the thrill of owning top quality thoroughbred racehorses. Now the company has launched LGSRacing.com, meant to help decrease the random nature of the racehorse selection process, thus increasing the chances of financial success. The website, designed and developed by Blue Fountain Media in under 2 months, gives  racehorse investors the ability to access in-depth information regarding their racehorse(s) through an owner login back-end system.

Homepage:

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(photo source: DavidErickson)

Websites are a complicated mix of art and function. Combining the power of programming and a tangled web of knowledge to connect with the art of graphic design, websites can run the spectrum from extremely artistic with little functionality to very functional while lacking artistic quality.

The goal for all sites should be to combine these 2 elements harmoniously to a specific application. Here are 5 important aesthetic aspects to remember when creating a worthwhile website:

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A successful website doesn’t happen by accident—it takes strategy and direction. Each website we make is different according to the needs, wants, and desires of each client. Many of our clients ask us about the foundational changes they can make to improve their website. Here are seven elements that have helped to improve their usability, online presence, and traffic—changes that you can apply today:

1. IDENTIFY YOURSELF

In today’s web-saturated world, it is imperative that you differentiate yourself from the millions of other web sites. By identifying what makes you different, you will attract individuals who will recognize your unique web identity, increasing the likelihood of repeat visits. Developing a memorable name, slogan or catchphrase can help in this as well.

On your Contact page, include your address and phone number and an easy-to-use contact form. This adds credibility to your site and lets the users know you are legitimate; this is especially important if you want your users to perform financial transactions, like an ecommerce website.

2. IDENTIFY YOUR MESSAGE

When a visitor comes to your site, there should be a clear and purposeful message stating what the site is and why it exists. By clarifying the main message of the site, you are creating a more informative and useful experience for the user. To help formulate your message, ask yourself these questions:

1. What is our purpose?

2. What makes us different?

3. Why should a user return to our site?

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