We can optimize and improve our website in a number of ways. We can use A/B testing, install different plugins, tools and add-ons, Google Analytics, JS galleries, quick buttons to social networks, and a million other things … Our desire to be up-to-date and have everything on our website may turn into an actual limitation. We forget the most important thing – the first impression it has on visitors. Oh, the first impression is crucial. Even small details may send them off to the competition. So, how can your page make a great first impression?

The eyes look, the mouse acts!

People can not do anything with your website except look through it and click with the mouse (we are not including those movie hackers who do not use any computer mouses). That’s the way they will experience your brand online. The eye simply scans the page and locates information within seconds. Does your website follow eye logic? Does it make it easy for users to find what they are looking for at first glance?

Overcrowded home pages, packed with a lot of information, do just the opposite. A user assesses a website in only a second. If you want to make sure that your website is attractive enough, we advise you to read our articles: “Good content – an essential element for website success” and “The psychology of colors in Web design”.

What do you have to offer?

This moment is critical. Even if your website guides the user smoothly and easily through the pages and all the information is arranged intuitively, if you do not state what you are offering loud and clear, you risk losing the client instantly. Don’t forget that your offer should be the right one for your visitor. It should satisfy his necessity for the specific product or services and solve his problem.

And now what?

All right. Let’s say you’ve covered the first two main requirements – users can easily navigate through the website and know exactly what you have to offer. Now you need to show them how to get it. Maybe it’s just information; maybe they have to buy something. Make it simple for them. Wandering around your menu and trying to figure it out by themselves is a big No. Don’t annoy your customers before they have even become real ones. Let them get what they what as quickly as possible. At the end of the day, you want the same. Time is equally valuable to both sides.

No room for mistakes

You may be thinking things like: “If someone has found us online, then he/she must be really intrigued by what we have to offer. So, they will take their time to find what they need. They will also grasp our complex industry terminology and read all the information we’ve provided.” Wrong! It is a possible scenario, but not at first sight. Needless to say, a single look leaves a powerful first impression and determines users’ subsequent actions. There is no room for mistakes or excuses. They work against you.

If you’re not sure how to do all of this, contact Speedflow team at info@speedflow.bg. We know how.

Many people associate SEO only with optimizing written content. However, if you want your website to rank higher in search engines like Google, you must start optimizing your website images too. Today we will focus on the important factors and steps you need to consider in order to achieve a better SEO. Boost your website traffic with perfect image SEO optimization for the web!

 

Image size

Image size has a great impact on website speed. And speed is one of the main factors determining your website position on Google. But that’s not all! Faster working websites provide a better user experience. And imagine if the case is an eCommerce website. Better UX/UI, better load speed and fast loading images mean more online sale.  To learn more about this topic, feel free to read our article “How to improve your website speed?”

Meanwhile, during and after every website development, try to reduce the size of your images. Photoshop has a very useful feature for that called “Save for Web”. It is recommended that they do not exceed 70 kb, especially if you are going to use them for e-commerce projects. Does this sound too small? Of course, we do not want you to compromise on image quality.  The next paragraph sheds some more light on the types of image format and their usage.

 

Image format

Here are the most widely used image formats for the web:

• JPEG – One of the most popular formats on the Internet. It allows large image compression (up to 10 times more than the other two formats below), while maintaining relatively good image quality. However, that’s not always the case.
• GIF – Generally, gifs are smaller images of less good quality. They are mainly used for icons, logos, animated or decorative images.
• PNG – This format offers the best quality-compression ratio and is the most preferred image format for the web.

 

Image name

And here we start getting into the deep waters of keywords. Keywords are the basis for building a successful SEO strategy including image SEO. Now is the time for them to enter the picture – literally. Forget about the random DSC_46938.png image names. They must be directly related to what is depicted on them, as well as to the semantic core of your website. The more specific, the better.

Bonus: Rumor has it that Google prefers names written with dashes to those written with underscores.

 

Example:

Bad name: DSC_46938.jpg
Better name: lego_orange-09.jpg
The best name: orange-lego-design-work-speedflow.jpg

 

Alt attributes

Alt attributes are in fact text alternatives of images. Their function is to explain to the browser what the image is all about. This is particularly useful when your photo cannot be loaded by the browser for some reason. Originally created to help blind people read websites, they are currently being used as a powerful SEO optimization tool. Alt attributes provide you an ideal place to put keywords relevant to your website.

Note: Avoid keyword stuffing your alt attributes. Otherwise, they may have a negative overall effect on your position in SERP (Search Engine Results Page).

Title Text

Title text serves the same function as your image name. However, when filling in this text field in your dashboard, separate your words with spaces, not with dashes or underscores. If your image name is descriptive enough, you do not need to fill in this alt attribute.

Alt text

In this field, you can provide a more thorough description of your image. Thus, you will help search engines get a better understanding of your image topic as well as about the whole content surrounding the image, i.e. the general picture of your website. Here is the time to think about the right keywords to use.

The code for the example above should look like this:

 

<img src=“https://speedflow.bg/uploads/orange-lego-design-work-speedflow.jpg”
alt=”Orange lego design work by Speedflow Bulgaria“>

 

Alt tag, in this case, is: “Orange lego design work by Speedflow Bulgari”

We recommend that at least one image per page contains a keyword that is relevant to your business. But do not simply through it in without a purpose. Try to be descriptive and create a meaningful text in which the keyword blends naturally. If possible, position it at the beginning of the text. Keep word length between 50-180 characters. However, it can actually be as long as it needs to be. Do not miss out on some important details just to fit into those recommendations.

Image Caption

If you are going to place an image within an article, then it is better to think of a caption to go with it.  Make it easier for readers to skim through your article and still get a good understanding of what it is about. Moreover, captions provide an additional place to put keywords on your site.  Do you need to do this for all the pictures in your article? Of course not. Only where necessary. Do not overdo it, cause it’s not going to be good for your image SEO.

 

Image Sitemap

If a website contains a lot of images, it needs an image sitemap. This way Google will recognize your images quickly and the overall website performance will be considerably improved, leading to better user experience.

 

Anchor Text

Do not directly share links to your images on the Internet. Better do that using appropriate and informative anchor text (visible text of a link) made up of wisely-used keywords.

 

Copyright

Add a watermark or your brand logo to the image. When Google finds the same pictures over the Internet, it tries to identify the original. Help Google, please.

We hope that you find these image SEO optimization tips helpful. If you have any questions, please contact our team at info@speedflow.bg.

You have certainly heard of UX and UI design. These two abbreviations are used quite often in one and the same sentence. And this is by no means any coincidence.  The two terms go hand by hand when it comes to digital product/mobile apps/website development. Both of them are actively being involved at various stages of the development process. What is UX, what is UI, and what are the differences between them? That is what we will discuss today.

What is UX Design?

UX (User Experience) is the process of crafting as well as improving the user’s interaction with a product. It aims at providing great product usability, enhancing customer satisfaction and brand loyalty in general. UX is the very basis and skeleton for any product that is being developed across multiple industries, not only digital ones.
Or in other words, this is the process of designing and improving user interaction with a web/digital product like eCommerce website, a simple one-pager, a sophisticated web platform, or a mobile application – defines any type of interaction that occurs between potential or active customers and a company.

Here are some of the main product development processes UX design is responsible for:

1. Analyzing target audiences
2. Analyzing competitors
3. Development of product structure and strategy
4. Content creation
5. Prototyping
6. Testing and Iterating
7. Planning
8. Coordinating with UI
9. Coordinating with developers
10. Tracking goals and integration
11. Final analysis and Iterating

What is UI Design?

UI (User Interface) design transforms and translates what has been done by UX into a complete, attractive and intuitively guided product layout. UI provides the actual real contact between a user and a product. It guides the user and directs him/her on how to use it. UI most powerful tools are the visual ones.

Here are some of the main product development processes UI design is responsible for:

1. Analyzing target audiences
2. Researching designs
3. Creating branding and graphic designs
4. Preparing Storylines and User Guides
5. Prototyping
6. Interactivity
7. Animation
8. Developing responsive designs
9. Coordinating with UX
10. Coordinating with a developer

Differences between UX and UI design?

We can basically conclude that there are no differences between UX and UI because these are two completely different things. Therefore, they can not be compared to any criteria. However, here is some food for thought:

• The main purpose of UX design is to help the user find a solution to a problem. The main purpose of UI is to create the look and feel of the product that is solving the user’s problem.
• UX focuses on the conceptual design elements of a product, while UI deals with elements that trigger the user’s senses.
• UI is usually associated with the on-screen product design, while UX creates the overall user experience, often having nothing to do with “on-screen” design.
• UX develops a useful interface. UI develops an attractive interface.
• UX helps users achieve a goal. UI creates emotional connections between products and consumers.

 

And you? Do you think we should always differentiate between UX and UI design? Should a UX designer be a UI specialist too? While pondering over this, take a look at our article about the successful web design tendencies of 2017.

A World of Colors

The world around us is full of colors. Their impact on everyday human life is inevitable. Unfortunately, this fact often goes unnoticed. The colors of traffic lights have not been chosen by accident. You probably bought those biscuits yesterday, because you were unconsciously attracted to the colorful packaging. Colors have even invaded our speech. We use them to describe emotions and associations. For example, we say “blackout” for a loss of consciousness, “feel blue” for sadness, or “golden opportunity” for a lucky situation that may never present to us ever again.

 

Psychology of colors

Scientists have been studying the importance of color in every aspect of human life since ancient times. There are several scientific fields trying to unravel the power of color. Color Psychology is one of them. It considers colors an influencer of human behavior. Numerous studies have shown, for example, that product colors are strongly related to one’s desire to own those products. Did you know that 2/3 of prospects claim they are not going to buy a big appliance if it does not come in their preferred color combo?! Moreover, a person can decide whether or not to buy a product based solely on its looks for less than 90 seconds. 90% of these users say color determines their choice.

The psychology of colors in Web design

Color Psychology is used exclusively in design. Web design is no exception. The Internet is just as gigantic and colorful as the real World. Thus, when we’re talking about eCommerce website, online products must be color-perfect to ensure successful conversions. You want to persuade visitors to complete a specific action on your website. How? With a precise and strategic web design color optimization.  But be careful. The emotions you provoke in your potential clients may be not only positive but also negative. You aim for sales, don’t you? Here is how Psychology of Colors can be implemented in your web design:

 

1. Do your Research

There are a number of factors such as gender, age, and culture that make people perceive color differently. Do not generalize. For instance, let’s take a look at the purple and its symbolism in relation to:

• Traditional meaning: Relates to notions of honor, majesty, aristocracy.
• Cultural differences: Some cultures In Thailand and South America associate purple with mourning.
• Brand symbolism: Dark purple often leaves a sense of luxury, exclusivity, and wealth, while light purple hues are viewed as girlish, childish and feminine.
• Gender Differences: Purple is one of the top three favorite female colors, but is also among the top three least favorite male ones!

And now? One color with so many different meanings. It’s never going to be an easy choice. Therefore, you need to explore your target audience in detail. Do your research. Which market is your website targeting – international or local? Are most of your users male or female? What is their age? How about their preferences? The answers to these questions as well as the guidance of Color Psychology will help you come up with effective web design.

 

2. Your brand

Next, you need to focus on your own brand. Do you already have an active brand? What are your logo colors? What is the company history? What is your brand message? Build a strategy. But keep in mind that the world is not only black and white. Experiment with your website. Refresh your brand colors with brighter or darker hues for the purpose of your website. But still, keep your brand identity intact.

 

3. Color synergy

We can go on discussing color synergy for hours, so better leave it for our next blog post. Today, we want to highlight a few key elements:

• Proper color contrast for good readability and recognizable images.
• Color harmony for aesthetics, stylishness, and pleasure to the eyes.
• Fewer colors clustered in one place to avoid the sense of confusion.
• Color consistency across multiple communication channels for professionalism and increased brand recognition.
• A professional web designer for top results.

Experiment! If a color combination works for some, this does not mean it will work for all. For example, when Performable changed their CTA buttons from green to red, they increased their conversions by 21%. Ript did the same, but from red to yellow, and got a 6.3% increase! There is no universal recipe.

 

4. Where should color be placed?

There are several strategic places on your website where color plays a particularly important role. When creating your web design, Color Psychology is crucial for:

• Pop-ups
• Outlines and frames
• Headlines
• Background
• Buttons, especially CTA
• Hero images

 

If you need help or are looking for good web designers, do not hesitate to contact us here. We will make your project in the colors of success.