Archive for category: Random Stories

Original Source: http://inspiredm.com/15-useful-javascript-libraries-enhance-site/

Inspired Magazine
Inspired Magazine – creativity & inspiration daily

Making a great site requires a lot of skills, but you don’t always have to develop everything completely from scratch. To use any of the JavaScript libraries presented in this article, you will need to have at least some existing JavaScript skills, but you also don’t necessarily need to be an expert.

What you do need to be expert with is working out how to blend the libraries into a site to get the most benefit from them. This isn’t really something that can be taught. It’s a skill you can only learn by doing. Once you have mastered the concepts, however, there is no limit to your creativity and what you can achieve with it.

Collected here is our list of the most useful JavaScript libraries available to programmers for site enhancement. You may not see your favorite listed here, but that doesn’t mean it’s not recommended. In fact any JavaScript library that helps you achieve something worthwhile can’t be dismissed.  But with literally millions of libraries to choose from, we have to draw the line somewhere.

1. jQuery

It’s best to start out with the obvious.  You’re almost certainly already using this library in some way, even if you don’t already know it.  Essentially, jQuery lets you do dynamic things to static web pages more easily than other methods, and doesn’t require server-side programming to achieve the results.  This also means that updates can happen more quickly than with server-side alternatives. Many other libraries include jQuery as a dependency, so you’ll probably need to incorporate it into your pages even if you don’t directly access its features.

2. Prototype

This, in a way, could be considered a competitor to jQuery. It’s not necessarily inferior, but it is much less widely adopted. Using prototype and jQuery together can lead to conflicts, unless you take special steps to deal with this problem.  This is why you need to know the dependencies within the other JavaScript libraries you use.

3. Modernizr

This library helps to overcome problems with page rendering on older browsers that don’t fully support HTML5.  While such browsers are becoming more rarely encountered, they are still part of the landscape and having Modernizr can help you deal with the problem in an efficient way.

4. Bootstrap

In just six short years, Bootstrap has achieved enormous proliferation throughout the world of web development. It is solely concerned with UI layout and component integration, but it does this very well. You will need to modify the default settings for just about everything, however, because they’re based on Twitter’s color scheme, which isn’t the most user-friendly of user interfaces.

5. PDF.js

You may know that the PDF format is subject to certain vulnerabilities. To get around this problem, PDF.js was created to render PDF content into the HTML5 Canvas. Obviously this also means it only works in a browser that supports HTML5 and Canvas.

6. JS Charts

An excellent library that provides a simple yet powerful graph generator, so you can create all kinds of professional looking charts for your site without investing too much time and effort. The free version is equally powerful compared to the paid version, but includes a watermark.  Purchasing a license removes this watermark.

7. Chart.js

This is a really good, completely free, unwatermarked alternative to JS Charts.  It is easy to use, well-documented, and can be customized in endless ways. Using it requires a little more JavaScript skill than JS Charts.

8. D3.js

This is a bigger brother to the previous two examples, which are intended for lightweight use.  If you’re crunching data in the big leagues, however, D3 offers you the advanced features that can take your online presentation to the next level. Any kind of data can be visualized and expressed in a staggering number of ways. Just check the examples on the D3 website to see what you’ve been missing out on.

9. bHive

A great graphics framework that is as revolutionary to the HTML5 Canvas as Raphaël was to HTML4. bHive allows you to quickly create SVG graphics, animations, and even to incorporate interactivity which could be used in numerous different ways, such as simple games and education applications.

10. Owl Carousel

While over-use of carousels is not to be encouraged, for those times when you really do need to use one, Owl is one of the most highly recommended carousel plug-ins ever created for jQuery. It’s compatible with both touch screens and pointing devices.  It supports swipe and drag-n-drop. It is fully customizable and is responsive by default.

11. Date.js

Sometimes you need to be able to express date information in different ways to give a site context. The features of Date.js allow you to do just this very thing, using a very straight-forward syntax that couldn’t be easier to learn.

13. Moment.js

Another date formatting and processing library. It’s a little more complex than Date.js but allows you to do certain specific calculations easily (isAfter, isBefore, isSameOrAfter, isSameOrBefore, isBetween, isLeapYear, isDate, and so on). When you don’t need all the overhead that comes with these extra features, use Date.js instead.

13. dateDropper

When you need to display a calendar / datepicker control on your site, dateDropper is the most elegant and simple solution we’ve ever seen (and we’ve seen a lot). It’s also more compatible with mobile interfaces than many of the other solutions out there.

13. Numeral.js

Does for numbers what Date.js does for dates.

14. wForms

A simple but useful library maintained by on the Google Code archive, wForms makes easy work of common tasks related to user input forms. These include input validation, tool tips, and other useful features.

15. sortTable

Sortable tables have been around for almost as long as tables have (data tables, anyway). But with this hand JavaScript library, you can make any table sortable easily just by adding a class to the table when you create it, which is as simple as: <table class=”sortable”>

header image courtesy of Rogie

This post 15 Useful JavaScript Libraries to Enhance Your Site was written by Inspired Mag Team and first appearedon Inspired Magazine.

Original Source: http://inspiredm.com/top-services-build-appealing-website-short-time/

Inspired Magazine
Inspired Magazine – creativity & inspiration daily

Whether you are a business owner willing to establish secure web presence or a user aiming at finding co-thinkers on the web, you will hardly go without a website of your own. It takes time to create a functional and appealing website, but what if you need the one right now and you don’t have time to look for professional web designers? What if your budget is limited to hire the experts, while the need to get a website is still urgent? In this case, you are bound to find out more about website builders. These services have grown in popularity, which is no wonder, taking into account the amount of non-techies struggling with niche competition nowadays.

Advantages of Website Builders

Readymade Templates. Most website builders, as it mentioned by Howard Steele at SuperbWebsiteBuilders.com, come with their own collections of readymade templates and many powerful customization tools that make it easy to edit the template and feel it with the content of your own. These templates are usually divided into thematic categories, which also contributes to the simplicity and speed of the web building process. What’s more, many templates are responsive and adjust to any mobile devices.

No Coding. Successful website building frequently implies the knowledge of HTML basics and coding in general. If you are a newbie, this may be a challenge for you. Website builders are useful tools in this respect. They are easy, convenient and require no coding at all. Just follow the guidelines and enjoy each minute of your web creation process.

Customer Support. Website builders are often created with the needs of newbies in mind. Thus, they frequently come with reliable customer support, which is available any time of the day. This is quite handy, if you face certain problems in the process of creating a website and can’t find answers to your questions.

Top Website Builders to Create a Website in a Short Time
SITE123

This website builder is very easy and allows creating a quality website without any hassle and notable time investment. It comes with a handy WYSIWYG editor, responsive thematic-based pre-designed templates, a rich set of modules, powerful web customization tools and other features that make it possible to create different website types. What’s more, the service now offers a convenient multilanguage tool, which is a must when it comes to creating different website language versions.

uKit

uKit is another cloud WYSIWYG website builder that is a nice choice for building small business websites. The service offers a decent collection of responsive templates, which also fall into thematic categories, customization features, extensive web design functionality as well as nice eCommerce options and an Ecwid plugin that may be used to create online stores. This is one of the best website builders in its niche.

Mobirise

Mobirise is the downloadable software users have to install before getting involved into the web creation process. The system is free, but it implies extra payments for additional features and tools. Mobirise is block-based and users have to choose the required set of blocks needed for their websites. All in all, there are more than 400 readymade blocks here. The system makes it possible to use extra web design features, such as background video integration, parallax effect, hi-res images, Google fonts and what not.

Ucraft

Ucraft is a cloud block-based website builder, which has a nice collection of responsive templates and tools you can use to customize the design of your website. The system has user-friendly interface and even a newbie can cope with the web building tasks when using it. Ucraft is also known for its multilanguage feature that makes it possible to create several language versions of one and the same website.

uCoz

uCoz is a universal website builder that offers a broad range of web design options. It’s not difficult to create a website with this system, but if you expect extensive functionality, you should be ready to master coding skills and HTML basics to launch a website here. uCoz has two types of templates (standard and responsive), several plans (including a free one), lots of modules to choose from, social network synchronization and other features that make it one of the most popular website builders nowadays.

Bottom Line

Many people face the necessity to build quality websites nowadays and lack skills, budget or time to do that. Website builders can become the best solution to the prevailing amount of web building problems, granted that you know how to choose and use these services properly. With so many website builders available out there, the choice of the one that adheres to your needs and requirements most of all can be a challenge. Look through the options reviewed above to make the right choice you won’t regret afterwards.

Disclaimer: this is sponsored post via BuySellAds.

header image courtesy of Himel

This post Top Services to Build an Appealing Website in a Short Time was written by Catalin Zorzini and first appearedon Inspired Magazine.

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CreativeBloq/~3/xWJ-WwS2cz0/make-the-most-of-vectors-with-super-vectorizer-2

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Original Source: https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2017/08/4-ways-to-design-a-perfect-split-screen-homepage/

One screen divided in two.

The split screen technique has long been known in the film industry, with early examples dating back to the silent movies days of the early 20th century, and it is still a popular device in by film and tv today.

A split-screen layout is in use when full-screen elements are divided into two or more vertical parts. A scene from the film “Scott Pilgrim vs the World”

However, this is a relatively new technique for the web design industry. Split screens only became popular around mid-2016 and now we have more and more websites which use this design pattern. There are a few reasons why this design pattern became so popular:

It has a nice aesthetic quality. When executed correctly it can offer users a wonderful viewing experience.
It’s a good choice for responsive frameworks. Split-screen design can be adapted for a variety of screens, even small ones. When it comes to smaller screens, such as mobile displays, the panels can be stacked.
It helps guide navigation. Using simple design techniques, you can draw the user’s attention to a specific part of the screen or encourage them to click.

When Split Screen Works The Best

Split-screen is especially good when you have two things to promote. For example, when a site offers two entirely opposite variations. This approach allows designers to give prominence to both things and allow the user to quickly select between them.

One screen, two messages in Dropbox Guides

When You Should Avoid Split Screen

Split-screen designs don’t expand well as the content grows, therefore it is not recommended to apply them to content-heavy layouts. It’s important to keep the screens simple because complex split screens make the UI look overloaded with information. That’s why split-screen layout would be a perfect fit for minimalist website designs.

How to Decide if Split Screen is Good For You

If you’re considering a split-screen technique for your website, I advise you to ask yourself a few questions:

Is it suitable for your content?
Will there be enough negative space to make the layout work?
Will your users appreciate the layout or it will confuse them?
Will it be OK to split your users’ attention in half?

The most important thing to keep in mind that content is king and split-screen should be a simple way to deliver your message to people.

Design Techniques For Split Screens
1. Pair Vibrant Color and Dramatic Typography

Thanks to Flat and Material Design, vibrant colors and dramatic typography are big trends now. Vibrant colors are visually stimulating and dramatic typography enhances the text content. Simply combine the two and you will create a visually interesting design. Baesman has done this masterfully. They gave equal importance to both elements while, at the same time, allowing the user to choose between them quickly.

Bright colors and interesting typography pairs can add interest

2. Draw User Attention to the CTA Button

Much more than a simple graphic trend, splitting the screen into two distinct parts provides an original way to guide the user through your site. It’s a great option when you want to create a bigger focal point for calls to action. In the example below, you can see how negative space creates a vertical divide to give equal weighting to two different options.

Vertical divide allows emphasis on two different CTAs without favoring either

3. Create Visual Flow Between “Screens”

When split screen represents a single object, it’s important to establish a connection between content containers. One possible way to do that is by using a color. Simply duplicate a distinct color to establish visual flow between two screens. This works particularly well with a brand color or hue with a lot of contrast. Using color it’s possible to communicate a stronger connection between two pieces of content.

Another possible way to create a strong connection is layering a single element such as text copy across screens:

Overlapping text connects two screens

Last but not least you can use a colored overlay for this purpose:

Consider the left part of the screen

4. Use Animation To Encourage Users To Act

Fine animation and interactive effects encourage users to click. Look at the design used for the “Chekhov is Alive” site below. The design begs you to click to find your character.

Conclusion

It takes approximately three seconds for a visitor to make a decision regarding your website. Consequently, your layouts should always be visitor-friendly if you want to reduce bounce rates. Split-screen technique can help you with that. Split-screen designs are a fun, functional, and responsive way to create an engaging design.

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