Web Design Vs Functionality

admin    Website Design     Design, Functionality

Web Design Vs Functionality

The debate of design vs functionality is highly important in the web design community, and open to much discussion. Ultimately it seems a balancing act between creating a visually impressive website without jeopardising the usability is essential.

If the website seems to be tricky to navigate then customers are likely to leave the site altogether, which defeats the object of having a web presence to promote your company and increase sales in the first place.

After some research we have discovered that functionality goes hand in hand with knowing your target audience. This is key to the design of the entire site, as designers will need to make the website accessible and appealing to this market.

For example, a website built for information or to promote services to the older generation of online user’s needs clarity, bold navigation which easily guides the viewer through the website and doesn’t alter from page to page – both of which will reassure the user. Coupled with this a predictable and logical layout, with a design that compliments the content, are also required.

Evidently this particular generation of web users will utilise websites such as the BBC, NHS or an ecommerce site like John Lewis, which all ensure functionality takes precedence over groundbreaking website designs.

For the younger target audience or the design community, an opportunity to be creative and experiment with the parameters of web design is present. They can either be for an individual bespoke client or a portfolio site.

Some of the most innovative designs are evident in portfolio sites especially for creative industries, obviously website design as well as graphic design, fashion, illustration, film and photography.

Design takes priority over the functionality here, as the designer will presume that the target audience is web savvy and capable of exploring the site with a keen eye, quickly familiarising themselves with the style and order in which the site is to be viewed in.

The user is prompted and stimulated with clever uses of flash galleries and the use of jQuery in the navigation, content and layout – all contributing to the interactivity of the site. Because of these elements it could potentially alienate the older web community from viewing a site like this, but because the designer knows the target audience this allows a free rein to showcase their skills and create a unique and exceptional website unlike anybody else’s.

There is an expectation within the design community that when you design your own portfolio website that it will be brimming with design, with functionality almost a secondary concern as the aesthetics are key. Tools such as nifty drop downs allow the site to be minimalistic yet pleasing on the eye.

So discussions of design vs functionality remain open to debate, but discovering and understanding your target audience seems a constant theme throughout. This allows the designer to gauge the balance between web design and functionality, and which should take priority.

Related Web Design Articles

Functionality of Twitter Applications

admin    Twitter Marketing     Applications, Functionality, Twitter

There are few areas in which twitter is lacking and one of them is the search functionality. Twitter applications have several pleasing features for twitter users, friends and colleagues. Many twitter applications have stepped up to the task as well. With these featured applications, you can find people by name; map your tweets around the world.  It has become really very easy to find people by their names. It has saved many hours which you generally spend to look for the mundane details of people’s lives flash across the screen.

Followers and tweets are the key terms in using twitter. Twitter concept is all about sending 140 characters in a tweet at the max and directly to the friends or to the twitter followers. Twitter followers are the users in your friend list who have accepted your friendship proposals. Twitter followers are actually the ones who follow your account. With the growing fame of twitter, twitter applications have also gone popular.

Upcoming twitter applications include the features which make you able to find people having common interests with you. You can tweet twitter followers by topic of interest.

There are such applications also which can track the time which you have spent on your twitter account. Some twitter applications also take your twitter usage graphs in a colorful chart and you can display them in a web page or blog.

You can try out other twitter applications if you want a more cosmic experience. Twitter applications like this can be used as an alarm system to promote a certain gimmick or task. Some applications give the newest and most promising looks to your user accounts which support the further contact. You can also send tweets to and from Twitter by using twitter applications in cell phones, I-pods etc.

Some twitter applications do integrate your twitter account into your MySpace, Face book and other social networking accounts. You can also use the very basic components of these applications if you don’t want that much functionality. These applications offer basic email interface as well as a post to the future feature.

You already know that SMS is faster than emails and that is what creates the magic while using twitter. Twitter applications are also useful for advertising and marketing for your company. You can send tweets regarding your company’s latest news and blog posts to the twitter followers in your account. You can easily interact with your customers with the facilities which are offered by twitter applications. Internal collaboration and group communication are the other things which are achievable by these applications.

So do enjoy using twitter applications for their amazing features and functionality.

Free Twitter Applications Improve Functionality For Twitter Users

admin    Twitter Marketing     Applications, Free, Functionality, improve, Twitter, Users

In response to the phenomenal growth of Twitter, software developers have come out with numerous free applications designed to deliver greater functionality for twitter users. Here’s a list of some of the best applications.

1. Tweetdeck.com: This is the biggest program of the lot. To run it you first need to download it to your hard-drive. Once it is set up you can use it to organize your Twitter followers into different groups so that you can deal with all the tweets that have come in, prioritize your responses and so on. This app is for serious tweeters.

2. Twellow.com: The Twitter yellow pages. If you want to be found by Twitter users, post your Twitter details here.

3. TweetBeep.com: Track your keywords on Twitter. Tweetbeep will update every day or every hour when your keywords have been used by someone on Twitter.

4. TweetLater.com: This tool lets you write your messages and plan them to go out at specific times. As with Tweet beep, you can set up keyword tracking.

Tweetlater also permits you to automatically respond when someone follows you. You can also set up a welcome message and Tweetlater will automatically post it out to each of your new followers.

5. SocialToo.com: This service tells you who has recently started following you and who is no longer following you. You can pre-write an automatic welcome message for your new followers.

Socialtoo also allows you to run online questionnaires, and publish them on various social networks as well as Twitter and Facebook.

6. TwitterCounter.com: Check the number of people are following you, or anybody else. You can plug in two different Twitter users and compare their stats. Twittercounter also predicts how many followers you will have in the future. You can then post the result in a widget on your blog.

7. Friendorfollow.com: Find out which of the people you are following is NOT reciprocating.

8. Tweetergetter.com/hirohurl Here is neat resource, by Gary McCaffery, that is designed to build your following on autopilot.

9. Twittergrader.com: This tool gives you feedback about the health of your network, how often you post messages on Twitter and how complete your profile is. It also gives you an overall score which you can then Tweet out on Twitter!

10. Twitthis.com: This is a great way to tweet about links to anything that takes your fancy on the net. Post a button to your website to encourage people to tweet your articles.

11. Tweetstats.com: this attractive tool shows you uses bar graphs to display your performance on Twitter. Find out when you use Twitter the most. If you wish, you can share it with everybody else by tweeting about it!

12. Twollo.com: Set your keywords and this neat little tool will seek out people who posted the same keywords so that you can follow people with similar interests to yourself!

13. Is.gd: This service will shorten any URL and so free up some characters for your main message if you wish to link out to a website or blog post.

Improve your Functionality with Twitter Applications

admin    Twitter Marketing     Applications, Functionality, improve, Twitter

In response to the extraordinary growth in the usage of Twitter, software developers have come out with plentiful free twitter applications intended to convey greater functionality for twitter users. Here’s a list of some of the best functionalities which the twitter applications provide you.

Once twitter applications are set up, you can use them to put in order your Twitter followers into separate groups so that you can deal with all the updates that have been received, prioritize your answers and so on. These applications are for serious tweeters.

If you want to be searched by Twitter users, then you can post your Twitter details using certain applications.

You can track your own keywords on Twitter. Twitter Applications will revise every day or every hour when your twitter keywords have been used by someone on Twitter.

Some applications let you carve your updates and map them to go out at specific instants times. You can also set up keyword tracking.

These applications also permit you to robotically take action when someone follows you on twitter. You can also set up a greeting tweet and the application will routinely post it out to each of your new twitter followers.

Some services tell you who has newly started following you and who is no longer following you. You can pre-write a habitual greeting tweet for your new twitter followers.

Some applications allow you to run online questionnaires, and issue them on various social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook as well.

You can check the number of people who are following you, or anybody else. Some applications plug in two different Twitter users and compare their stats. You can also predict how many twitter followers you will have in the future. You can then place the prediction in a widget on your blog or company’s website.

You can also find out which of the twitter followers are not reciprocating and you are following them.

Applications are a neat resource to build your twitter following on autopilot.

Some application tools give you feedback about the health of twitter network, how frequently you send tweets on Twitter and how updated your profile is. It also gives you an on the whole twitter score which you can then Tweet out on Twitter to your twitter followers!

This is really a great method to tweet about links to something that takes your fancies on the web. You can install a button to your twitter homepage to support people to tweet your articles.

Some applications show you bar graphs to present your overall performance on Twitter. You can find out when you make use of Twitter the most. If you desire, you can share it with everyone else by sending messages about it!