10 Amazing Web Design Showcases

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~3/kXQ36J6hxp4/

Web design is an amazingly versatile way to convey information. While many websites are standardized and follow a specific template, others break the mold and offering something a bit different. No matter what design choices are made, the message you want your site to get across still needs to come through. Looking at excellent examples of web design can serve as a source of inspiration before pursuing your next project. Here, we’ve put together a solid collection of web design showcases, each of which features hundreds of examples of web designs that innovate, educate, and inspire.

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Awwwards – Website Awards – Best Web Design Trends

Awwwards - web design showcases

Awwwards is a web design award website that features some of the most innovative and creative designs from all over the web. The sites featured are always changing, so it’s a great place to bookmark and revisit.

CSS Design Awards

CSS Design Awards - web design showcases

This site is another web design award website. It’s primary focus is showcasing how CSS can be utilized more creatively. It’s a well-spring of inspiration.

Site Inspire

Site Inspire - web design showcases

Here’s another site that features interesting web designs that you could draw inspiration from.

One Page Love

One Page Love - web design showcases

As its name would suggest, One Page Love shines a light on one-page websites and the innovative designs that can be created within this format.

Designmodo

Designmodo

Designmodo is a popular site that features information about all aspects of web design. However, they do have many dedicated articles for web design showcases and inspiration. Checking them out will give you plenty of ideas.

Dribbble

Dribbble

Dribbble is a site where designers can showcase their work and get hired for their work. However, you can use it for strictly browsing as well. Checking out the showcase of the latest designs uploaded is sure to inspire.

CSS Nectar

CSS Nectar - web design

Here’s another collection of web designs that emphasize the different ways CSS can be used in your work.

Web Design Showcases

Web Design Showcases

Now this site is simply a collection of web design showcases. Each highlights a different design style or design element.

Web Design Inspiration

Web Design Inspiration

As its name suggests, this site is all about the web design inspiration. Feature after feature of stunning designs are certain to leave you with a new perspective about how to approach your work.

 ZURB Foundation Showcase

ZURB Foundation Showcase

The Zurb Foundation showcase includes over 250 websites that are built on the Foundation framework. If Foundation is your jam, this collection will leave you flush with ideas.

Get Inspired

If you’re looking for web design inspiration, take some time out of your day to browse the web design showcases featured here. If something catches your eye, see how you can incorporate it into your work. Be sure to have a look at our own web design inspiration articles for even more finds!

Cover photo courtesy of ShotStash


What To Do If People Hate Your Brand Mascot

Original Source: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2020/02/people-hate-brand-mascot-guide/

What To Do If People Hate Your Brand Mascot

What To Do If People Hate Your Brand Mascot

Suzanne Scacca

2020-02-17T13:00:00+00:00
2020-02-17T21:38:41+00:00

There are a number of reasons why businesses decide to use mascots to represent their brands:

They want there to be a friendly and reliable face to welcome visitors to the site.
They know they need something more than an inventory of products to make an emotional connection with shoppers.
They want a strong and recognizable personality that can tie all of their marketing channels together.

While it’s clear that mascots can be invaluable for the business-consumer connection, there’s a very thin line between mascots turning customers into loyal advocates and sending prospects running away in fear.

If you’re struggling to get traction on an existing website and fear the mascot might have something to do with it, this post is for you. You should also keep reading if you’re designing a mascot from-scratch and aren’t sure how to create something your audience will fall in love with.

There’s a very thin line between brand mascots turning customers into loyal advocates and sending prospects running away in fear.

Things You Can Do to Create a Brand Mascot People Love

Not everyone is going to get as lucky as TinyPNG, which has had the same brand mascot for years.

This was the mascot that sat at the top of the page in 2014:

TinyPNG website 2014

A snapshot of the TinyPNG website in 2014 with its panda mascot. (Image source: TinyPNG) (Large preview)

Here it is again in 2017, only it’s a bit brighter and larger in size:

TinyPNG website 2017

A snapshot of the TinyPNG website in 2017 with its panda mascot. (Image source: TinyPNG) (Large preview)

The mascot also started appearing with a crown on the bottom right. This callout encouraged users to subscribe to the Pro tool.

To this day, the website continues to use the mascot in this manner (and with nearly the same layout and content):

TinyPNG website 2020

A snapshot of the TinyPNG website in 2020 with its panda mascot. (Image source: TinyPNG) (Large preview)

The panda mascot works for a number of reasons. It looks very happy, for one. Also, it’s got a welcoming presence, like “Hey, I’m just chilling here, eating my bamboo. Feel free to upload your images whenever.” And it’s downright adorable.

But not every seemingly happy, friendly or cute brand mascot works out this well. Mascots are a subjective thing. It’s like they always say: beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

So, if your audience doesn’t interpret the attractiveness, humor or personality of the mascot as the original creators did, it’s going to be a problem for the business as a whole.

Let’s take a look at what your options are if you suspect that your client’s brand mascot isn’t as adored as they hoped it would be.

Option #1: Modernize It

The first thing to think about is whether or not the mascot is worth salvaging. Is there anything good about the mascot or its personality… or should you start over?

Don’t just go based on your gut. Do some market research and throw some user surveys out there. Maybe message old customers of your client or do a poll on Twitter. You need to know why the mascot isn’t hitting the mark.

Is it boring?
Does it look too much like other mascots?
Is it difficult to tell what it is?
Is it inconsistent with the rest of the website’s messaging and vibe?
Does it fail to reflect the target audience well?
Does it look outdated?

Once you’ve nailed down what’s wrong, it’s time to redesign it. Let’s look at some websites that have given their mascots facelifts over the years, starting with HostGator:

HostGator website 2012

A snapshot of the HostGator website from 2012 with its alligator mascot logo and imagery. (Image source: HostGator) (Large preview)

This is what the HostGator website looked like in 2012. The alligator mascot had a heavy presence in the header of the website. His head also appears to be peaking out of the main banner.

Fast forward to 2017 and we see a different side of the HostGator mascot:

HostGator website 2017

A snapshot of the HostGator website from 2017 with its mascot slightly revamped. (Image source: HostGator) (Large preview)

For starters, the alligator in the logo is much smaller, so we can now see the entire body. This gives it a more human-like feeling as opposed to the bottomless gator which more closely resembles a puppet.

The mascot in the main banner is designed the same way it’s always been designed (including the facial expression). However, it’s now donning winter gear for a seasonal touch.

Since then, HostGator has given its mascot a major touchup:

HostGator website 2020

A snapshot of the HostGator website in 2020 with a redesigned alligator mascot. (Image source: HostGator) (Large preview)

Do you know what this redesign looks like to me? It looks like the CGI used in The Irishman.

The Irishman CGI touchup Joe Pesci

Vulture magazine shares a side-by-side look at CGI in the movie The Irishman from Netflix. (Image source: HostGator) (Large preview)

I’m not sure if that was the intention behind HostGator’s mascot redesign, but I’m going to assume that there was some user feedback that suggested that a softer and less intimidating mascot would perform better.

Another website that’s given its well-known mascot a touch-up is Chuck E. Cheese.

This was the Chuck E. Cheese website in 2011:

Chuck E. Cheese website 2011

A snapshot of the Chuck E. Cheese website from 2011 with its cartoon mouse mascot (Image source: Chuck E. Cheese) (Large preview)

Not even a decade ago, the Chuck E. Cheese website and its mascot looked like something out of Nickelodeon. Obviously, a design like this would’ve needed an upgrade no matter what considering how much web design has changed.

This is what the website looks like today:

Chuck E. Cheese website 2020

A snapshot of the Chuck E. Cheese website in 2020 without a mascot. (Image source: Chuck E. Cheese) (Large preview)

Gone are the crazy color palette and illustrations. Today, the website is much more subdued and customer-centric.

That said, the mascot pops up from time-to-time. Obviously, though, it’s undergone a much-needed redesign:

Chuck E. Cheese mascot 2020

The Chuck E. Cheese mascot in 2020. (Image source: Chuck E. Cheese) (Large preview)

The new mascot is still a buck-toothed mouse with a welcoming smile and wave. However, it looks more on par with the kinds of animations you’d see coming out of Pixar than old Saturday morning cartoons.

Even if there’s nothing necessarily wrong with the mascot your website is using, it might be worth looking at upgrading it so it better fits with the times as Chuck E. Cheese has done.

Option #2: Change The Tone Of It

Mascots can be really helpful at getting a brand’s message across — over and over again. However, there may be times when the kind of mascot you’ve chosen (or a lack of one) actually stands in the way of the message you’re trying to convey.

Take the old GEICO mascot: the caveman.

GEICO website 2005 - caveman

A snapshot of the GEICO website in 2005 when it featured the caveman mascot. (Image source: GEICO) (Large preview)

I don’t know that there was anything wrong with the caveman advertisements. They were smart and funny and were lauded for taking on the subject of political correctness.

That said, GEICO’s customer data must’ve told them that a change-up was needed. Maybe the messaging was too serious or the humor went over some people’s heads.

So, they scrapped the caveman mascot for an animated Cockney-accented gecko:

GEICO website 2020 - gecko

A snapshot of the GEICO website in 2020 with its gecko mascot. (Image source: GEICO) (Large preview)

Whereas the cavemen were always offended and storming off whenever someone would say “It’s so easy a caveman could do it”, this anthropomorphic mascot is a much more lighthearted figure in the GEICO landscape. The gecko is always there, ready to provide tips on how to get the most with GEICO.

In other words, it might not be enough to change your mascot to an adorable critter. You might also need to switch up your messaging, too.

While I was writing my last article on mobile storytelling, I did some digging into the alcohol industry. One company, in particular, stood out for its use of a human mascot and storyteller: Aviation Gin.

Now, what I hadn’t covered in that write-up was the fact that Aviation Gin has been around for a while. It was founded in the mid-2000s, long before current co-owner and mascot Ryan Reynolds had anything to do with it.

This was the Aviation Gin website in 2007:

Aviation Gin website 2007

A snapshot of the Aviation Gin website from 2007. (Image source: Aviation Gin) (Large preview)

Granted, these are the early days of the web, so we can’t expect much in the way of design. However, as far as mascots go, there are none to be seen. Unless you count the actual bottle of Aviation Gin.

Nearly 10 years later, Aviation Gin was still rocking the product-centric design:

Aviation Gin website 2016

A snapshot of the Aviation Gin website in 2016. (Image source: Aviation Gin) (Large preview)

It was still very simple in design and the bottle of gin remained the sole focus. Aside from some industry awards, Aviation Gin wasn’t the media darling it is now.

In 2018, Ryan Reynolds bought shares in the company and changed the whole tone of the brand:

Aviation Gin website 2020

A snapshot of the Aviation Gin website in 2020 featuring Ryan Reynolds. (Image source: Aviation Gin) (Large preview)

Today, Ryan Reynolds has become the face of Aviation Gin, pushing it at every turn on his social media. It hasn’t changed the direction of the company itself, but by having a human mascot like Reynolds on its side, the message (and likely the audience, too) has changed.

It’s also opened the brand up to bigger opportunities, like Reynolds’ latest announcement about their partnership with the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show:

So, if you have a website that performs just “okay” with its audience, a change of tone and pace might be needed. And if you don’t have a mascot yet or one that’s not a good fit, creating one that’s well-designed for a modern-day audience might be exactly what you need.

Option #3: Minimize Its Presence On The Website

Let’s say the mascot’s design and the message it brings with it isn’t the problem. What you suspect is that it’s the amount of space given to it that’s the problem.

This is easy enough to confirm with A/B testing. You’ll just need to study your heatmaps as well as your user personas to come up with some hypotheses about where your mascot should or should not be on the site.

Let’s use Cats Who Code as an example. This was the website back in 2009:

Cats Who Code website 2009

A snapshot of the Cats Who Code website in 2009 with cat logo and imagery. (Image source: Cats Who Code) (Large preview)

Back then, cats were quite prevalent on the site, from the laptop-using cat in the header to the cats in the blog images. What’s more, the tagline of the site “Learn as fast as I catch mice!” made it perfectly clear that the kind of “cats” referred to here wasn’t referring to hip or cool cats. It really was referring to the furry pet.

Skip ahead to 2014 and the cat mascot and tagline has received a makeover:

Cats Who Code website 2014

A snapshot of the Cats Who Code website from 2014 with a new mascot. (Image source: Cats Who Code) (Large preview)

For starters, the mascot has gone from a small tabby to a large black-and-white cat. In addition, the website’s tagline now reads “100% animal-friendly web development blog”. Those are both pretty significant changes.

Now, let’s look at the website in the present day:

Cats Who Code website 2020

A snapshot of the Cats Who Code website in 2020. (Image source: Cats Who Code) (Large preview)

The cat mascot no longer exists in its previous iterations. Now, it’s relegated to a small cat-like icon with code brackets where its face used to be. The website’s cat-friendly messaging is gone, too.

Whether it’s because the cat imagery was distracting or people didn’t like it, this website has undergone a drastic change. Everything is now very buttoned-up.

Another brand that cut back on the appearance of its mascot is Green Giant.

This was the website in 2013:

Green Giant website 2013

A snapshot of the Green Giant website and its mascot in 2013. (Image source: Green Giant) (Large preview)

The jolly green giant mascot is front-and-center on the home page. This is in addition to all the small appearances it makes in every product featured on the site.

In 2016, however, the giant’s likeness was removed from the hero banner and moved up to the logo:

Green Giant website 2016

A snapshot of the Green Giant website in 2016 with the mascot in the logo. (Image source: Green Giant) (Large preview)

It looks like the company was experimenting here, trying to see if moving the mascot’s face to the logo would give them more room to allow their products to shine.

In 2020, though, there’s barely any trace of the mascot left:

Green Giant website 2020

A snapshot of the Green Giant website in 2020. (Image source: Green Giant) (Large preview)

The mascot is gone from the logo as well as the hero image… sort of. It’s subtle, but the mascot’s shadow remains.

The website now appears to be more focused towards sustainability and its mission to contribute to a better world. In that sense, it’s completely justified why the mascot and even the blatant pushing of its products would be moved out of the way.

So, if you feel like your mascot might be getting in the way of getting your point across or perhaps the brand has evolved in a way where a cartoonish figure no longer fits, test out other ways to keep your mascot but in a very lowkey way.

Option #4: Lean Into The Creepiness/Weirdness/Ugliness

One other option you have is to lean into it.

Obviously, you shouldn’t go this route if customers find the mascot to be offensive or boring. If it’s just not working and there’s no way to turn the situation around, just scrap the mascot altogether. You’ll be better off focusing on strengthening your content and building trust that way than to push an already delicate situation.

That said, if you feel like people are reacting negatively to the mascot because of how novel or different it is, then you might want to go crazy with it and see what happens. Before I show you an example of a website that does this, I’m going to show you a real-world example of a sports mascot that turned haters into the biggest of fans.

I was living outside of Philadelphia around the time the Flyers hockey team introduced their new mascot Gritty. It didn’t go over well — at first.

This is how they introduced Gritty:

Philadelphia Flyers Gritty mascot

The Philadelphia Flyers introduce their mascot Gritty on Twitter. (Image source: Twitter) (Large preview)

Here are some of the initial responses people had to the creature with the giant beer gut and flaming-orange googly eyes:

@shocks23 speculated about its origins:

Twitter speculation about Gritty mascot

Twitter user @shocks23 suspects the Flyers’ mascot has a seedy past. (Image source: Twitter)

@aclee_clips expressed fear:

Twitter user scared of Gritty

Twitter user @aclee_clips is horrified by the Philadelphia Flyers’ new mascot. (Image source: Twitter)

And, like so many others, @mirtle was shocked and confused:

Twitter user confused about Gritty mascot

Twitter user @mirtle expresses confusion about Philadelphia Flyers’ mascot. (Image source: Twitter)

However, this isn’t a story of a brand mascot that failed.

The city of Philadelphia (along with the rest of the world) eventually fell in love with Gritty after it posed Kim Kardashian-like with a champagne bottle and entered the arena on a wrecking ball Miley Cyrus-style.

Gritty the mascot meme

Flyers mascot Gritty gets cheeky by posing with a champagne glass on his bum. (Image source: Twitter)

Over the past couple of years, Gritty has worked very hard to win the hearts of consumers bringing a fun and lighthearted approach to everything it does both on the ice as well as off. And win the hearts it has.

Take, for instance, an incident that happened earlier this year when Gritty was accused of hitting a child at a game. The accusation was investigated and Gritty was cleared of the charges. Through it all, fans had the mascot’s back.

Twitter users love team mascot Gritty

Twitter users love Gritty even in the face of scandal. (Image source: (Image source: Twitter)

If you can create a mascot with the right kind of personality, message and purpose, your website and brand will be able to experience this kind of die-hard fandom and support.

That said, this is social media we’re talking about. While the Flyers’ have gone all-in on showing off Gritty in the most awkward of situations or while humorously riffing on pop culture, the website itself only has one page where the mascot appears:

Get to Know Gritty fan page

The Get to Know Gritty fan page on the Philadelphia Flyers website. (Image source: Philadelphia Flyers (Large preview)

So, leaning into an awkward/strange/nightmare-inducing mascot might not be right for every site. Here’s one very well-known example where it was the right call:

This is the Mucinex website from 2010:

Mucinex website 2010

A snapshot of the Mucinex website in 2010 featuring its fat, green mucus mascot. (Image source: Mucinex) (Large preview)

If you ask me, this is one of the grossest mascots ever created. It’s literally mucus in human-like form. And yet, it works somehow because it’s done in a humorous manner.

In 2015, Mr. Mucus took on a sweaty and ill-looking appearance:

Mucinex website 2015

A snapshot of the Mucinex website in 2015 with its mucus mascot. (Image source: Mucinex) (Large preview)

This is the only look we get at Mr. Mucus on the website and I’m not sure it worked out very well for the brand. That may be because the mascot resembles Jabba the Hutt instead of a fun-loving mucus ball you want to watch walk down the aisle with Mrs. Mucus.

Nevertheless, the company pushed forward with the mascot, giving it even more airtime. The 2020 version of the website has Mr. Mucus appearing in various states:

Mucinex website 2020 - Mr. Mucus nervous

The Mucinex 2020 website shows off Mr. Mucus in different states. This is the mascot nervous about shipping. (Image source: Mucinex) (Large preview)

This looks similar to the Mr. Mucus we saw in 2015. However, something about the messaging in this banner gives his facial expression and clammy skin a different vibe this time around. It says, “Please don’t order this cold medicine. I don’t want to go away!”

In another banner image, we see Mr. Mucus rocking a dad bod alongside a message about working out:

Mucinex website 2020 - Mr. Mucus dad bod

The Mucinex 2020 website shows off Mr. Mucus in different states. This is the mascot with its dad bod. (Image source: Mucinex) (Large preview)

The mascot is still pretty gross, but there’s no denying how funny this image is. And then you have this banner that’s targeted at cold remedies for kids:

Mucinex website 2020 - Mr. Mucus kid

The Mucinex 2020 website shows off Mr. Mucus in different states. This is the mascot in kid form. (Image source: Mucinex) (Large preview)

I’m not sure if this is supposed to be Mr. Mucus as a kid or the child he had with Mrs. Mucus, but it’s another creative adaptation of the mascot.

According to CBC, Mucinex made a ton of money after launching its Mr. Mucus campaign in 2004, more than doubling its profits. And despite Mr. Mucus being one of the most recognizable mascots, it is also one of the least liked, too.

In this case, being hated was a good thing. Mucinex wanted its customers to be disgusted by Mr. Mucus. The whole purpose of the company is to help people fight off phlegmy throats and stuffed noses.

So, before you throw your hated mascot away, think about where the hate is coming from and if you can make it work to your advantage in another way.

If you can create a mascot with the right kind of personality, message and purpose, your website and brand will be able to experience this kind of die-hard fandom and support.

Wrapping Up

If your website could benefit from a little levity, a mascot would be a fantastic way to draw visitors into the content of your website as well as into the brand’s story. That doesn’t mean that every mascot should draw laughs or be shocking. There are plenty of recognizable and well-loved mascots that have subdued personalities. It’s all about working with the personality of your brand and fitting a mascot to it.

Further Reading on SmashingMag:

Transforming Lufthansa’s Brand Strategy: A Case Study
Brand Illustration Systems: Drawing A Strong Visual Identity
Analyzing Your Company’s Social Media Presence With IBM Watson And Node.js
The Case For Brand Systems: Aligning Teams Around A Common Story

Smashing Editorial
(ra, il)

Visual Explorations and Experiments of Sneakers made in 3D

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/abduzeedo/~3/PBwtXZ3Mf0g/visual-explorations-and-experiments-sneakers-made-3d

Visual Explorations and Experiments of Sneakers made in 3D
Visual Explorations and Experiments of Sneakers made in 3D

AoiroStudioFeb 16, 2020

Sneakers! We love them, we collect them and why not create imaginative 3D models just like what David Padilla is doing through visual explorations and experiments. They are delightful, playful and purely creative through many styles of color palettes waiting to be devoured by our eyes. David does a tremendous job of giving his personal pieces, visual identities, and proper authority of fashion. Hope you will enjoy!

About David Padilla

David is a visual artist and art director based in Almeria, Spain. His work is mainly focused on Photo Manipulation & CGI, make sure to check out his site and Behance profile.

Personal Site
Behance


Modular Kaleidoscopic Patterns and Illustration

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/abduzeedo/~3/A8q39s-pqaA/modular-kaleidoscopic-patterns-and-illustration

Modular Kaleidoscopic Patterns and Illustration
Modular Kaleidoscopic Patterns and Illustration

abduzeedoFeb 13, 2020

Flavio Melchiorre shared a colorful illustration project titled ”Tropicália” – 2020. He describes the project as an Experimental Digital Design involving modular kaleidoscopic patterns. The result is a super colorful set of compositions with a style that reminds me a bit of the art of the famous Brazilian artist Romero Brito. Another thing that caught my attention was the term “tropicalia”. Tropicália, also known as Tropicalismo, was a Brazilian artistic movement that arose in the late 1960s and formally ended in 1968. Though music was its chief expression, the movement was not solely expressed so, as it enveloped other art forms such as film, theatre, and poetry. 

Illustration


How Does One Raise Brand Awareness in Ecommerce?

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Designrfix/~3/2BVD4RkWj7U/how-does-one-raise-brand-awareness-in-ecommerce

Image source: Unsplash.com These days, ecommerce is a bit different than what it was 5 or 10 years ago. People may look to buy from someone who is recognizable rather than offers the best possible quality. This happens because of influencers and other factors. In other words, you may want to put more resources into […]

The post How Does One Raise Brand Awareness in Ecommerce? appeared first on designrfix.com.

90s Style & Vibrant Lettering Works by Ju Schnee

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/abduzeedo/~3/mVRQXqCAUgc/90s-style-vibrant-lettering-works-ju-schnee

90s Style & Vibrant Lettering Works by Ju Schnee
90s Style & Vibrant Lettering Works by Ju Schnee

AoiroStudioFeb 13, 2020

We are featuring a 90s style lettering work by Ju Schnee, an illustrator based in Berlin, Germany. Each piece from this series kind of reminds you of the era of ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’, it’s hard to deny anything else. Everything is there, the style, colors, quotes and more. Quite lovely if you ask me. After reading Ju’s project blurb, you can’t help to share the same views on the daily challenge that aren’t related to client or work per se. It’s a good challenge to tackle something different each day without any prospectus, real creativity to push its boundaries. Props to Ju!

 

About Ju Schnee

Ju is an illustrator based in Berlin, Germany; living in such a colorful city. It’s no surprises how she gets her inspiration from, make sure to follow her work on Behance.

Personal Site
Behance


5 Pitfalls of User-Generated Content (And How to Avoid Them)

Original Source: https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2020/02/5-pitfalls-of-user-generated-content-and-how-to-avoid-them/

It brings with it a host of benefits. UGC can greatly increase engagement with websites, as well as shareability and authenticity. Of course, along with benefits are a host of pitfalls, from having to take the time to moderate content, to establishing an engaged community to submit the content in the first place. It’s important to know the pitfalls of user generated content and how they can be avoided. With a clear strategy, and contingency plan in place, it can end up being a very successful and profitable way of driving engagement to a website.

Here are the pitfalls of user-generated content and how to fix them.

1. It Needs To Be Moderated

In an ideal world, all user generated content would stick to the rules and adhere to the site’s standards. Sadly, that’s not the case. Users will upload whatever they like, from inappropriate sites, to offensive words, or totally irrelevant content.

How To Avoid It

Ensure you build in features where content can be moderated. For example, review companies such as TripAdvisor rely on pre-moderation. This means that all reviews which are submitted are sent through a screening process before being put live for everyone to see. This can take a couple of days to sift through depending on the levels of content which has been uploaded, but ensures the site holds its reputation and doesn’t post offensive, random or meaningless content.

You can also implement functions for the UX of a site which means users can report content themselves. This is the system many large companies such as Facebook and Instagram have built in. The pros of this is that content is available instantly for other users to see and engage with but means unwanted content can also get through.

2. People Use It For Their Own Personal Gain

Once user generated content begins to roll in, it can soon increase the site’s popularity, raise the share count, and have numerous benefits. And this will be something others will latch onto. Users can submit their own content for personal gain, rather than that of the site. For example, a competitor could be promoting a service or running a competition and pretend to be a random user to publicise and promote their own products or services.

How To Avoid It

This comes under careful moderation again, but instead of just looking out for offensive or inappropriate content, you look at the context of what has been submitted and whether it’s for personal gain of the contributor. It’s worth adding in code so that any links submitted, automatically default to “no-follow.” Otherwise you’ll have people uploading content purely for a backlink to their own site. Also check the links they are submitting, where they are pointing to and if they are promoting, selling or advertising anything. You can build in a script that picks up certain keywords and blocks them from appearing or flags up certain comments. This can be a useful feature to easily filter through the genuine and the spam content.

3. You Need An Engaged Community To Continuously Generate New Content

It can take a while for a community to become engaged and known enough to submit content. Many companies rely on user generated content as part of their marketing strategy, yet don’t account for the initial time taken to gather loyal readers and contributors. With no users, there will be no user-submitted content. Simple, but true.

How To Avoid It

Get people to know the company and build a loyal following before requesting content. If those wanting to submit something stumble across your site and see it is under-developed, you have hardly any social media followers and no presence, they won’t see the worth in submitting anything. Build a solid base and learn what motivates people to want to submit content and get them excited about joining part of your community. Users want to have their work, ideas and submissions featured on an aesthetically pleasing site that has been well-designed and feels premium. Ensure plenty of thought has gone into the design process of the look of the site, as well as making the user journey to actually submit the content an easy one. People that find the process easy and rewarding will be likely to return and recommend it to others.

4. Copyright Infringement

With an in-house content creation team, submissions usually have to go through a process before they reach publication. They will be checked, assets confirmed as royalty-free and they will have a knowledge of what you can and what you can’t do. By allowing users to submit content you can be opening yourself to a myriad of copyright infringements on everything from duplicate content to image usage.

How To Avoid It

To avoid receiving a hefty copyright infringement lawsuit in your inbox, it’s important you put certain steps into place. With user generated content there are many questions about who is liable for third-party content if it turns out to be false, improper or harmful; unless you make it clear initially, the blame could fall on the website owner. Ensure you have a contract and guidelines in place that stipulates any content users submit is their own responsibility and they are liable should any issues arise. Make guidelines that states images should be royalty-free and available for re-use before they submit them.

5. Unverified Sources Can Damage Website Credibility

When users are free to submit whatever content they like, there is bound to be a fair amount of fake news. You can never really know who every person who submits something is, nor where they are getting their facts and statements from. Negative comments or sources can damage a brand, particularly when other users have no way of knowing if the contributor is trustworthy or not. After all, “If it’s on the internet, it must be true…”

How To Avoid It

Many sites have come across issues with this, with popular social media sites having many users create fake profiles of companies or celebrities. This can be very damaging to a brand and is why it is an idea to have verified users. Twitter and Instagram are known by the well-recognised blue tick which ensures other users know exactly who is posting content. Other sites such as Waze and TripAdvisor award badges to those who are loyal and regular contributors. Not only does this give an incentive to continually contribute, but other users (and moderators) know they are more trustworthy and less likely to post spam or malicious content that could damage the reputation of a site.

 

Featured image via Unsplash.

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Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CreativeBloq/~3/7VKuOKBIL50/grand-oak

The world, it seems, can never have enough Pokémon games. Ever since 1996, Nintendo's been pumping them out on a regular basis; not only have there been far too many standard Pokémon titles over the years for us to count, there have also been assorted spin-off games and mobile apps. That's a lot of Pokémon.

A brand new title, Pokémon Home, has just launched on Nintendo Switch (and also on iOS and Android), and it's already got people talking. This one isn't a game; it's more of a cloud service that enables you to move and trade your Pokémon from various games, but that's not what's got Pokémon fans excited.

Pokémon Fusion revival inspires fan art frenzy

No, the real talking point surrounding Pokémon Home is about an unlikely piece of character design relating to series stalwart, Professor Oak. Oak, we're sure you all know, is a sensible-looking, mild-mannered Pokémon Professor and former trainer who gives you your first starter Pokémon in many of the games. In Pokémon Home, however, there's a new character: Grand Oak. And he's causing quite a buzz.

Professor Oak and Grand Oak

Professor Oak and Grand Oak; spot the difference

While Professor Oak is the sort of person you'd definitely find in the kitchen at parties, Grand Oak is nowhere near as retiring. A self-styled great Pokémon researcher, he looks like Professor Oak might if he had a life-changing experience on holiday in Ibiza and then spent the next six months partying hard and finding himself, man.

Gone are the sensible haircut and lab coat; Grand Oak rocks a pair of killer green shades, a soul patch and the sort of mullet that hasn't been seen in the wild since the late 1980s. The kind of mullet that Pat Sharp or Andre Agassi could only aspire to.

There's no arguing that Grand Oak looks like he means business, and he's definitely on a mission. Within the Pokémon Home story he's the creator of this online system, and he's determined to create the ultimate Pokédex by cataloguing all the Pokémon uploaded to Home. And with his resemblance to one of the 20th century's great scientific minds, who's going to argue?

We just hope his attention doesn't wander. It's not that we doubt his abilities; it just looks like he might have other things on his mind at the moment.

But, you know, as long as he's happy then that's just fine by us.

If you want to hang with Grand Oak then head for the Pokémon Home site. And if you haven't got a Nintendo Switch yet, see today's best deals below.

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