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Anthony T. Browder is an author, publisher, cultural historian, artist, and an educational consultant. He is a graduate of Howard University’s College of Fine Arts and has lectured extensively throughout the United States, Africa, Caribbean, Mexico, Japan and Europe, on issues related to African and African American History and Culture.
Mr. Browder is the founder and director of IKG Cultural Resources and has devoted 33 years researching ancient Egyptian history, science, philosophy and culture.
He has traveled to Egypt 49 times since 1980 and is currently director of the ASA Restoration Projectwhich is funding the excavation and restoration of the 25th dynasty tomb of Karakhamun in Luxor, Egypt.
Browder is the first African American to fund and coordinate an archeological dig in Egypt and has lead five archeological missions to Egypt since 2009. His archeological work in Egypt has been acknowledged by former President Mohamed Morsi, the Minister of Tourism and various Ministers of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Mr. Browder’s three decades of study have lead him to the conclusion that ancient Africans were the architects of civilization and developed the rudiments of what has become the scientific, religious, and philosophical backbone of mankind. It is from this framework that IKG has concentrated its research and disseminated its findings.
Through IKG, Mr. Browder sponsors lectures, seminars, cultural field trips of Washington, D.C., publishes his research, and has conducted study tours to Egypt, West Africa, South Africa and Mexico since 1987. He has been featured in 5 documentaries and has produced dozens of DVD’s of his numerous lectures.
He is the author of six publications (including the best sellers, From the Browder File and Nile Valley Contributions to Civilization) and the co-author of four publications, including two written with his daughter, Atlantis Tye.
All of Mr. Browder’s publications, DVD’s and documentaries are currently being used in classrooms around the world.
“Tony” describes himself as a chronicler of facts and information relative to the positive portrayal of the worldwide African experience.
]]>From phages to phylogenies, bacteria to the biosphere, molecules to mice, and everything in between, The Helix covers current happenings in the Department of Biological Sciences at UMBC. Initially, a new spotlight on a project in our research labs will be posted biweekly. Reports on department-sponsored seminars given by outside scientists will be posted periodically.
Science works best when results are shared, supported, and critiqued in a community. The goal of The Helix is to promote communication across labs, perhaps facilitating heretofore unconsidered collaborations. A second goal is to inform those outside the department about all the amazing things happening here. Questions and comments are strongly encouraged. Perhaps all a research project needs is the perspective of an outsider to make its next leap forward.
By communicating up-to-date information about projects online, there is no excuse for not knowing what's going on in the department. Students and faculty can peruse the posts on their own time and follow up with in-house researchers and/or outside speakers if a topic sparks their interest.
If you would like your project to be featured in The Helix, please contact me at sarah54@umbc.edu. I will visit your lab to conduct an interview, and you will have the chance to review my report before it is posted. I created The Helix to help the department communicate better about current research, and it will also help me reach my career goal of becoming a science writer/journalist.
Please enjoy, share with others, and contribute to the conversation! The first reporting post should be up soon!
--Sarah Hansen, Biological Sciences graduate student
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[1-8-2014] UMBC has earned the distinction of being named as one of the Top 20 best online programs for the master’s degree in Information Systems, according to U.S. News & World Report.
For the 2014 edition of the Best Online Graduate Computer Information Technology Programs rankings, U.S. News incorporated program ratings by peer institutions. Only regionally accredited schools that met the federal standard of 100 percent online course delivery were evaluated.
For a list of admission requirements, visit U.S. News & World Report. To learn more about applying to graduate programs at UMBC, visit the UMBC Graduate School webpage or the Information Systems webpage, or e-mail onlinems@umbc.edu.
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[1-2-2014] Congratulations to the latest winners of the UMBC Idea Competition!
As part of the Alex. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship's Fall 2013 Idea Competition, student entrepreneurs pitched their ideas to a panel of seasoned entrepreneurs, all UMBC Alum, and a full house at the Sportzone on November 11, 2013. Many of the ideas were developed by students in the College of Engineering and Information Tecnology.
There were two first place winners:
Best Idea: Kryan Richardson (Financial Economics) & Percy Addo (Information Systems) with InSOURCE
Best Presentation: Perry Ogwuche (Computer Science), HACKaTHON
2nd Place: Titus Jones (Graduate Non-Degree), Chatseats
3rd Place: Jennifer Lasbury (Biological Sciences), Speakedu
Other ideas included:
• Markus Proctor (Mechanical Engineering) with BrainCAD, a thought driven CAD program
• Emily Schultheis (Chemical Engineering) trying to make 3D printing available to students
• Mohammed Danish Akbar (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) with Instaride, a carpooling alternative for students
• Abdulhadi Al Ruwaithi (Emergency Health Services) with the SJ Helmet, an airbag motorcycle helmet
• Cody Kenlak (Information Systems) with Dynamik Beats, a mood & activity driven music player
Stay up-to-date with where these ideas are headed by joining the UMBC Entrepreneurs Facebook and Twitter pages.
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In this tutorial, we will use Magento’s powerful shipping-method code abstraction to create a shipping carrier. We will create two shipping methods that provide a fixed shipping price, allow for free shipping promotions, define logic based on an item’s weight and, finally, make it all configurable in the admin panel.
We will cover the following:
This tutorial assumes that you are familiar with how to create a Magento module. If you are not, please first refer to an earlier tutorial in this series, “The Basics of Creating a Magento Module.” To begin, you will need a Community or Enterprise installation of Magento, either locally or on a server that you are able to access.
The logic we will implement in this tutorial could be client-specific, so we will implement our module as a “local module” and, therefore, create it in app/code/local. Let’s start by creating the following file structure:
app
- code
- local
- SmashingMagazine
- MyCarrier
- Model
- Carrier.php
- etc
- config.xml
- system.xml
- etc
- modules
- SmashingMagazine_MyCarrier.xmlNow we can create SmashingMagazine_MyCarrier.xml:
<?xml version="1.0"?>
<config>
<modules>
<SmashingMagazine_MyCarrier>
<active>true</active>
<codePool>local</codePool>
<depends>
<Mage_Shipping />
</depends>
</SmashingMagazine_MyCarrier>
</modules>
</config>
Notice the dependency on the shipping module. This ensures that our SmashingMagazine MyCarrier module will load after the Mage Shipping module, and it will throw an error if the Mage Shipping module has been disabled.
Before continuing, we should understand the terminology that Magento uses throughout its shipping abstraction. A “carrier” represents a shipping carrier in the sense you would expect (DPD, FedEx, etc.). Each carrier has one or many shipping methods, which contain the carrier code, the carrier title, the method code, the method title, a price to be paid by the customer and a cost of shipping to the retailer (optional).
During the checkout process, Magento creates a shipping-rate “request” object that contains all of the shipping information. The request can be used to determine which rates apply. For example, an “express” shipping method might not apply to orders under $10. All applicable rates are then “appended” to a shipping-rate “result” object, which generates a list of methods for the customer to choose from.
The following list names these concepts defined above, along with their representation as Magento classes:
Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Request
Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Result
Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Result_Method
Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Abstract and implements the interface Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Interface
To create our shipping carrier, we need to extend Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Abstract, implement Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Interface and add the required abstract methods.
The most important method is collectRates. This is the method that receives a shipping request, appends applicable shipping methods and returns a shipping result.
Copy the following code into app/code/local/SmashingMagazine/MyCarrier/Model/Carrier.php:
<?php
class SmashingMagazine_MyCarrier_Model_Carrier
extends Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Abstract
implements Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Interface
{
protected $_code = 'smashingmagazine_mycarrier';
public function collectRates(
Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Request $request
)
{
return Mage::getModel('shipping/rate_result');
}
public function getAllowedMethods()
{
return array();
}
}
This is the skeleton for a shipping method class, but it is pretty useless because we have no shipping methods.
Let’s start by hardcoding a method. This method will be called “standard” and have a price of $9.99. For now, we will assume there is no cost to the retailer.
<?php
class SmashingMagazine_MyCarrier_Model_Carrier
extends Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Abstract
implements Mage_Shipping_Model_Carrier_Interface
{
protected $_code = 'smashingmagazine_mycarrier';
public function collectRates(
Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Request $request
)
{
$result = Mage::getModel('shipping/rate_result');
/* @var $result Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Result */
$result->append($this->_getStandardShippingRate());
return $result;
}
protected function _getStandardShippingRate()
{
$rate = Mage::getModel('shipping/rate_result_method');
/* @var $rate Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Result_Method */
$rate->setCarrier($this->_code);
/**
* getConfigData(config_key) returns the configuration value for the
* carriers/[carrier_code]/[config_key]
*/
$rate->setCarrierTitle($this->getConfigData('title'));
$rate->setMethod('standand');
$rate->setMethodTitle('Standard');
$rate->setPrice(4.99);
$rate->setCost(0);
return $rate;
}
public function getAllowedMethods()
{
return array(
'standard' => 'Standard',
);
}
}
Now we are just one step away from a working shipping method — the module configuration file.
The module configuration has the standard structure (as detailed in “The Basics of Creating a Magento Module”). Copy the following into app/code/local/SmashingMagazine/MyCarrier/etc/config.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<config>
<modules>
<SmashingMagazine_MyCarrier>
<module>0.0.1</module>
</SmashingMagazine_MyCarrier>
</modules>
<global>
<models>
<smashingmagazine_mycarrier>
<class>SmashingMagazine_MyCarrier_Model</class>
</smashingmagazine_mycarrier>
</models>
</global>
<!-- Default configuration -->
<default>
<carriers>
<smashingmagazine_mycarrier>
<active>1</active>
<!--
This configuration should not be made visible
to the administrator, because it specifies
the model to be used for this carrier.
-->
<model>smashingmagazine_mycarrier/carrier</model>
<!--
The title as referenced in the carrier class
-->
<title>Smashing Magazine Carrier</title>
<!--
The sort order specifies the position that
this carrier appears relative to the other
carriers available in checkout.
-->
<sort_order>10</sort_order>
<!--
Out of the box, Magento offers shipping
carriers the ability to restrict themselves
to specific countries. For this configuration
option, 0 means allow all countries available,
and 1 means allow all countries specified
in the country list that we will add later
in system.xml
-->
<sallowspecific>0</sallowspecific>
</smashingmagazine_mycarrier>
</carriers>
</default>
</config>
This default configuration “registers” the model we have just created as a shipping carrier. As you may know, Magento merges all of its configuration XML together and caches the result (if the cache is enabled). When a customer loads the shipping-method list, Magento loops through all of the carriers in the carriers node of the configuration and loads the shipping methods from the models determined by the “active” carriers.
We should now be able to see our shipping method in the checkout.
We have already specified the default configuration for this module. So, let’s make our module configurable in the admin panel by copying the following into app/code/local/SmashingMagazine/etc/system.xml:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<config>
<sections>
<carriers translate="label" module="shipping">
<groups>
<smashingmagazine_mycarrier translate="label">
<label>Smashing Magazine Carrier</label>
<frontend_type>text</frontend_type>
<sort_order>2</sort_order>
<show_in_default>1</show_in_default>
<show_in_website>1</show_in_website>
<show_in_store>1</show_in_store>
<fields>
<!--
The following fields are available
to modify in the admin panel.
The values are saved in the
database.
This shipping carrier abstract checks
this value to determine whether
the carrier should be shown.
-->
<active translate="label">
<label>Enabled</label>
<frontend_type>select</frontend_type>
<source_model>adminhtml/system_config_source_yesno</source_model>
<sort_order>1</sort_order>
<show_in_default>1</show_in_default>
<show_in_website>1</show_in_website>
<show_in_store>0</show_in_store>
</active>
<!--
This value can be used to specify a
custom title for our method.
-->
<title translate="label">
<label>Title</label>
<frontend_type>text</frontend_type>
<sort_order>2</sort_order>
<show_in_default>1</show_in_default>
<show_in_website>1</show_in_website>
<show_in_store>1</show_in_store>
</title>
<!--
The sort order is used in Magento
to determine what order the carrier
will appear in relative to the
other carriers available.
-->
<sort_order translate="label">
<label>Sort Order</label>
<frontend_type>text</frontend_type>
<sort_order>100</sort_order>
<show_in_default>1</show_in_default>
<show_in_website>1</show_in_website>
<show_in_store>0</show_in_store>
</sort_order>
<!--
This value is used to specify whether
the carrier is available only for
specific countries or all countries
available in the current Magento
installation.
-->
<sallowspecific translate="label">
<label>Ship to Applicable Countries</label>
<frontend_type>select</frontend_type>
<sort_order>90</sort_order>
<frontend_class>shipping-applicable-country</frontend_class>
<source_model>adminhtml/system_config_source_shipping_allspecificcountries</source_model>
<show_in_default>1</show_in_default>
<show_in_website>1</show_in_website>
<show_in_store>0</show_in_store>
</sallowspecific>
<!--
If 'specific countries' is chosen
in the previous option, then this field
allows the administrator to specify
which specific countries this carrier
should be available for.
-->
<specificcountry translate="label">
<label>Ship to Specific Countries</label>
<frontend_type>multiselect</frontend_type>
<sort_order>91</sort_order>
<source_model>adminhtml/system_config_source_country</source_model>
<show_in_default>1</show_in_default>
<show_in_website>1</show_in_website>
<show_in_store>0</show_in_store>
<can_be_empty>1</can_be_empty>
</specificcountry>
</fields>
</smashingmagazine_mycarrier>
</groups>
</carriers>
</sections>
</config>
These fields are visible in the admin panel by navigating to System → Configuration → Shipping Method → Smashing Magazine Carrier.
So far, we have added a standard shipping method for the price of $9.99. However, the customer may wish to pay more to receive their order faster. The following code creates a shipping rate with a higher price and different shipping code:
protected function _getExpressShippingRate()
{
$rate = Mage::getModel('shipping/rate_result_method');
/* @var $rate Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Result_Method */
$rate->setCarrier($this->_code);
$rate->setCarrierTitle($this->getConfigData('title'));
$rate->setMethod('express');
$rate->setMethodTitle('Express (Next day)');
$rate->setPrice(12.99);
$rate->setCost(0);
return $rate;
}
To make this shipping rate appear next to the standard rate that we created earlier, we will need to modify the code in the collectRates method to append the new rate. Add the following before the return statement:
$result->append($this->_getExpressShippingRate());
Finally, add the shipping method to the allowed methods array in getAllowedMethods:
public function getAllowedMethods()
{
return array(
'standard' => 'Standard',
'express' => 'Express',
);
}
Many websites offer free shipping when a customer spends over a certain amount or satisfies certain conditions. We need to be able to do the same here. In Magento, you can set up a “Shopping Cart Rule.” With it, you can specify a set of conditions and define actions if those conditions are met; one of those actions is free shipping.
If free shipping is available for a customer, then the request object will populated with is_free_shipping set to 1. We need to check for and handle this possibility in our shipping method. Add the following before the return statement in the collectRates method:
if ($request->getFreeShipping()) {
/**
* If the request has the free shipping flag,
* append a free shipping rate to the result.
*/
$freeShippingRate = $this->_getFreeShippingRate();
$result->append($freeShippingRate);
}
Add the following code to app/code/local/SmashingMagazine/MyCarrier/Model/Carrier.php:
protected function _getFreeShippingRate()
{
$rate = Mage::getModel('shipping/rate_result_method');
/* @var $rate Mage_Shipping_Model_Rate_Result_Method */
$rate->setCarrier($this->_code);
$rate->setCarrierTitle($this->getConfigData('title'));
$rate->setMethod('free_shipping');
$rate->setMethodTitle('Free Shipping (3 - 5 days)');
$rate->setPrice(0);
$rate->setCost(0);
return $rate;
}
Remember to add the method to the allowed methods array:
public function getAllowedMethods()
{
return array(
'standard' => 'Standard',
'express' => 'Express',
'free_shipping' => 'Free Shipping',
);
}
Tracking numbers may be added to shipments through either the admin panel or an API. But to make our shipping methods visible in the admin panel, we will have to overwrite the isTrackingAvailable method in the abstract to return true.
Add the following method to the end of SmashingMagazine_MyCarrier_Model_Carrier.
public function isTrackingAvailable()
{
return true;
}
You should now see the shipping carriers and methods available in the delivery courier drop-down menu when you try to place a shipment in the admin panel.
Earlier, we added a more expensive express shipping method. But heavier items that require complex shipping arrangements might not be available for next-day delivery. We can check for this using the weight attribute of the request object by wrapping the code that appends the shipping method to the shipping result:
// ...
$expressWeightThreshold =
$this->_getConfigData('express_weight_threshold');
$eligibleForExpressDelivery = true;
foreach ($request->getAllItems() as $_item) {
if ($_item->getWeight() > $expressWeightThreshold) {
$eligibleForExpressDelivery = false;
}
}
if ($eligibleForExpressDelivery) {
$result->append($this->_getExpressShippingRate());
}
// ...
Notice that we have added a reference to the configuration. To make this appear in the admin panel, we need to add the following XML to the app/code/local/SmashingMagazine/MyCarrier/etc/system.xml file in the fields node:
<express_weight_threshold translate="label">
<label>Express Weight Threshold</label>
<frontend_type>text</frontend_type>
<sort_order>100</sort_order>
<show_in_default>1</show_in_default>
<show_in_website>1</show_in_website>
<show_in_store>0</show_in_store>
</express_weight_threshold>
With a relatively small amount of code, we have been able to define our own shipping logic that integrates with checkout, the admin panel and even the shopping-cart promotions. You can learn much more about creating shipping modules in Magento by looking at the examples in the core files — namely, Mage_Usa and Mage_Shipping.
I welcome any questions and would love to hear your feedback in the comments area below.
(al, ea)
© Matthew Haworth for Smashing Magazine, 2014.
]]>With the digital landscape becoming increasingly competitive and the cost to acquire a new website project steadily growing, web designers need to be proactive in finding additional ways to create ongoing value for their clients.
To survive, web designers need to adapt and increase the revenue generated per client.
This article will cover five strategies for growing your income from website projects.
Peace of mind is a beautiful thing, both for you and the client. Your customer is going to want to know you’re going to be there if anything ever goes wrong.
And you can be, for a price.
Websites crash, CMSes and their plugins need to be upgraded regularly, updates to JavaScript libraries need to be issued, the list goes on.
Ongoing upkeep is such a crucial part of running a website that some agencies specialize solely on providing website maintenance services:
Google search results for the phrase “website maintenance services”, showing companies that concentrate only on providing site maintenance.
Discussing an ongoing website maintenance service arrangement before a project begins is going to ensure you don’t have to do any awkward post-project upselling, and the client will be able to sleep easy knowing you will be there to assist them if ever the time comes.
For many of our clients at Social Garden (the digital agency I have co-founded) we start them off on a base rate of 5-10 hours per month depending on how complex their website is, which is then automatically charged out at our standard hourly fee.
If this all sounds like too much work for you or your staff, consider outsourcing website maintenance tasks to high-quality service providers that will readily take the commitment off your hands. You can also consider service marketplaces like Tweaky or CreativeFolks.
At the end of the day, you can’t predict with complete certainty how actual users are going to behave on the site you have built.
This is where conversion rate optimization services come in.
Most of my clients are astonished when I explain to them the concept of being able to automatically split test different variations of their website — A/B testing — to improve their conversion rates.
Providing conversion rate optimization services can involve:
Your client has decided to make an investment in a website and the most common reason they have done so is because they believe it’s going to generate new business opportunities for them. Developing their online marketing plan can be an additional service you can provide. This can involve setting up their mailing list, SEO, developing best practices for managing their social media presence, creating an online advertising strategy, and so forth.
If you aren’t an online marketing professional, you can still make a tidy ongoing profit from sub-contracting work to experts in that field. Many digital marketing agencies (including my company) offer a healthy partnership program that allows you to deliver an industry-leading marketing product without spending the time and effort to learn and execute the latest traffic generation strategies.
When selecting an agency to form a long-term partnership with, be patient and do your homework. Your client trusts your advice and you don’t want to rush into something and end up letting them down.
Website hosting has traditionally been the go-to way for web designers and developers to create a recurring income from their current clients.
Your clients will be delighted to hear they don’t have to find a hosting company and manage their own web hosting solution. This also makes it easier for you and the client to perform site updates and maintenance services.
Reliable shared web hosting companies like Rackspace and MediaTemple offer affordable, managed solutions that allow you to host multiple website domains.
If you’re looking for good value and the ability to finely control your web hosting services, you should consider using a virtual private server (VPS) provider such as Linode, Digital Ocean or Prgmr. Like shared hosting, a VPS will also allow you to deploy and manage multiple website domains using virtual hosting.
The downside to using a VPS is that if you don’t have web server administration knowledge, the learning curve can be steep.
However, a VPS will give you many benefits compared to shared web hosting, such as more hardware resources and much better control with the software and configuration of your server.
With technology constantly evolving, websites are becoming stale faster than that bread loaf in your cupboard.
Sharing your passion for design and the future of the Web with your client is a great way to develop a closer bond, and acts as a great pre-sell for when you find a new plugin or piece of technology that you know is going to help their business.
I’m constantly on the hunt for new ways to improve both my own website and my clients’ websites. And when I find something great, I never hesitate to let them know about it and offer them my services to implement it on their site.
What other strategies are you using to increase your revenue? I’d love to hear your ideas and suggestions in the comments.
Michael Bird is the Co-founder and Director of Strategy at Australian-based digital marketing agency, Social Garden. Connect with him on Google+ and LinkedIn.
The post Earning More From Web Design: Extra Services You Can Provide appeared first on Six Revisions.
]]>
It’s the time of year when every blogger on the Web pulls out a crystal ball, dusts off the tarot cards and spends hours staring pointedly into tea cups in an effort to predict the trends for the coming year.
The resulting lists usually range in plausibility from the absolutely certain (Apple will release a new device) to the utterly implausible (it will be a TV).
The truth is that it is extremely rare for any trend to arrive out of the blue. If you look carefully you’ll see the roots of every major trend in the coming year start to develop in 2013 (or earlier). Whilst it’s possible that a genuinely revolutionary concept will be popularized, it’s far more likely that 2014 will be a year of small incremental gains, inspired by, or in response to, steady technological development.
The future of web design is already evident, we just need to look behind us to see it. Here are 7 predictions for 2014 that are already proving true, and how you can survive them.
The :hover pseudo-class in CSS is one of the most original design concepts on the Web. Closely tied in with the cursor, it indicates when a person is considering clicking an element, and encourages them to do so. However, as devices that lack a cursor continue to flood the market, the usefulness of :hover is increasingly questionable.
Recently, I overheard a conversation in which a designer argued that the use of :hover was actually bad practice, as it encouraged UX designers to think in terms that most end users wouldn’t experience (ie. navigating with a cursor). Certainly, interesting hover effects are cropping up less and less in new sites.
Survival tip: Whilst it’s true that mobile users will probably surpass desktop users over the next 12 months, the percentage of desktop users will still be in double figures. We’ve designed for platforms, IE7 for example, with far less market share. Mobile-first does not mean desktop-never, and :hover degrades gracefully. So for me, :hover still has a slot in the toolbox; just not a mission-critical one.
When it first arrived on the scene jQuery was a revelation. I’m still consistently amazed by how simple it is to manipulate DOM elements on the fly, and not just in one browser, but across all of them!
jQuery is justifiably one of the most popular libraries of all time, and for many people has become synonymous with JavaScript, with sites being built in “HTML, CSS and jQuery”.
However, jQuery isn’t without its critics and the voices of dissent grew louder throughout 2013. The principal objection to jQuery is that it’s big. Even though version 2.0 has dropped support for IE 6, 7 and 8, it’s still a large file to load; especially on mobile sites. The extra http request and the extra kb is a hefty price to pay for something simple, like an opacity tween.
More and more people are realizing that vanilla JavaScript is faster, and more efficient, for anything other than large amounts of DOM manipulation (when jQuery really does excel).
It’s unlikely that jQuery will disappear anytime soon — it’s far too good a library for that — but the market dominance it’s enjoyed over the past two or three years is starting to slip.
Survival tip: Spend some time getting to know the language behind jQuery; find out how document.getElementById() works. You may surprise yourself with how much vanilla JavaScript you already understand, and your ability to use jQuery will improve too.
So much of the web design landscape is made up of the attitudes, fads and prejudices of web designers; the mobile web was doomed the day someone suggested it as an alternative to responsive design.
The mobile web is any website designed to work exclusively on a mobile device, usually a smartphone, normally run in parallel with a desktop site. In other words, two websites. You might as well hang a ‘Best viewed on a 1024 x 768 monitor’ sign on your homepage.
Of course, there’re good arguments for running multiple sites for some businesses, not least because our use-case varies — the classic example being a restaurant site, where desktop users probably want to see the menu and mobile users probably want directions to the business. But all of that has been lost in the mad rush to embrace the one-site-fits-all mentality of responsive design, especially as real-world situations that justify multiple sites are few and far between.
Survival tip: Consider developing multiple sites if there’s a good reason to believe that users will benefit from different content on different devices, but treat them as micro-sites. And of course, make sure any site you build is responsive (the variety of mobile screen sizes will continue to increase this year).
When Flash took a nose-dive, it took with it not only Adobe’s unassailable market position, but also the fashion for anything Flash-like.
Clients, unsure of exactly what was bad about Flash rejected anything Flash, flash, or flashy. A few brief years of restraint followed, with designers embracing minimal design and clients embracing smaller invoices.
It was very early in 2013 when things began to change, and the growing love of full-screen images, text animation, page transitions, single-page sites has continued to grow at pace.
The incredibly under-baked quality of HTML5 video set rich media back by a couple of years, but 2014 will be the year that changes.
Survival tip: Make your motto “Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should.” Learn from the mistakes of the past by using rich media in ways that enhance projects and always focus on keeping load times down.
The old adage that ‘content is king’ is justified by Google rankings, design fundamentals, and client priorities.
However, the endless march of CMS like WordPress, SquareSpace, Webydo and Drupal means that designers are increasingly finding themselves designing not only for content they don’t have, but for content that will change on a regular basis.
Content is often finalised many months after the web design agency has moved on to pastures new, and whilst this can only be a bad thing for design, the good news is that clients are increasingly understanding the Web as an ongoing project, one that requires both regular maintenance and professional management.
Survival tip: With content in a state of permanent flux, the new monarch is the brand. Not just visual brand, but tone of voice, style, language and quality. Be flexible with your approach, and focus on designing systems, not fixed pages. Websites now need to be designed responsively, not just for a variety of devices, but for a variety of content.
Changing its algorithm on a Friday night seems to be something the team at Mountainview do whenever they think they’re the only ones working the weekend. Many a web designer has arrived at his/her desk on Monday morning to discover reports of clients’ sites, previously at #1 on Google, languishing on page 8357 of 8358. It’s a wonder Google have yet to name an update ‘Hyena’.
There’s no reason to think that 2014 will be any different to 2013 or 2012 on this front.
Survival tip: Google continue to advise the same thing: Write good original content aimed at humans not bots. If you’ve dodged a bullet so far, don’t think you’ll continue to be lucky. Now is the time to ensure your SEO is entirely white hat. The big news this year is local SEO, so focus your content on that front.
I’ve been predicting that SVG will take off for years, and I’m consistently proved wrong. But, 2014 will be the year of SVG, all down to our love of icons.
In the last 12 months the Web has become increasingly besieged by icons. Where once text reigned, we now have icons. Even the helpful little ‘menu’ to indicate navigation on mobile screens has been replaced by an obscure hamburger icon that takes up exactly the same amount of space and is less transparent.
Yes, it’s possible to use icon fonts, but why would you, when a small amount of code delivers the same results without the need to load a bulky icon font file?
SVG also solves the responsive image issue; it’s true that the images suited to a vector format are more limited than bitmap, but the popularity of flat design and the fashion for simple block-color illustrations creates the perfect environment for SVG to establish itself and develop in 2014.
Survival tip: Try exporting some SVG files from a drawing application and then take a look at the code. It’s great that there are image apps that will create SVG for you, but a real master understands his/her tools; learn to hand-code SVG and you’ll be reaping the benefits throughout 2014 and well into the future.
What trends do you see developing in 2014? Do you think something revolutionary will happen? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
Featured image/thumbnail, prediction image via Shutterstock.
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