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UX

UI by Ty

September 18, 2017 By Ty Cahill

The user interface (UI) is a key ingredient of the user experience (UX) of your website. UI by Ty is a collection of UI elements for use in WordPress and other websites, all based on industry best practices and focusing on simplicity and easy of use.

Why Google Wants Your Website Mobile-Friendly

April 6, 2015 By Ty Cahill

Approximately 518 words, estimated read time: 2 minutes

On February 26, 2015, Google announced they will be expanding their use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. The Internet quickly filled with headlines like these:

  • “Google to start penalizing non-mobile blogs on April 21″
  • “Google to Businesses: You Have Until April 21st to Get Mobile Friendly“
  • “Is Your Website Optimized For Mobile? You Have Until April 21 To Get It Done”
  • “Mobile-Friendly Sites to Rank Better on Google Starting April 21″

Many people who build websites (not necessarily “web professionals”) quickly jumped on the bandwagon to tell businesses that the sky is falling and it’s time to redesign their websites to be mobile-friendly. Some are preaching responsive web design, while others will sell you a second, mobile version of your website. Regardless, they’re happy to sell you a quick fix to your mobile problem. But just how serious is all this?

Before we go any further, please go read the official announcement from Google for yourself. It’s a short, quick read (approximately 339 words, estimated read time: 1½ minutes). I’ll wait for you…

Okay, now let’s get down to the facts.

Google has always had the mission to provide quality, relevant search results. If you’re searching for a local plumber, Google wants to give you a list of local plumbers. Starting April 21, if you’re searching for a local plumber on your mobile phone, Google wants to make your life a bit easier by showing you search results that are optimized for your phone. Google has hundreds of “signals” used to weed out garbage websites from the quality, legitimate ones. Mobile-friendliness has been one of those signals for a long time, but now Google is expanding the use of that signal for searches that take place on mobile devices.

“Starting April 21, we will be expanding our use of mobile-friendliness as a ranking signal. This change will affect mobile searches in all languages worldwide and will have a significant impact in our search results. Consequently, users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.”

Nowhere does Google say they’ll be penalizing websites that are not mobile-friendly. And nowhere does Google say your mobile-friendly website will rank higher–they don’t make those promises. Google makes it very clear what they’re doing: “…users will find it easier to get relevant, high quality search results that are optimized for their devices.” They even provide links to tools that help website owners get their websites mobile-friendly.

So this announcement isn’t really a big deal?

Well, it’s extremely rare for Google to announce changes to their algorithm in advance, and their announcement is telling us it will have “a significant impact” for search results on mobile devices. With many websites seeing over 30% of their visitors arriving on mobile devices, it just makes sense to have a site that works well for mobile devices. But remember, a mobile-friendly website does not guarantee good ranking on Google or any other search engine. Understand what’s really happening and make smart, strategic decisions about how to improve your website. And always partner with a reputable web professional who has the experience and understanding of what’s really happening.

Website Mockup Tools

January 26, 2015 By Ty Cahill

Balsamiq Mockups
a rapid wireframing tool that helps you Work Faster & Smarter. It reproduces the experience of sketching on a whiteboard, but using a computer. Making mockups is fast. You’ll generate more ideas, so you can throw out the bad ones and discover the best solutions.
Desktop: $79; Web Subscription: $12/mo.
http://balsamiq.com/

InVision
Quickly transform your designs into beautiful, fully interactive prototypes complete with gestures, transitions & animations for web, iOS & Android.
Free for a single project. Paid accounts start at $15/mo.
http://www.invisionapp.com/

UXPin
Inspired UX Design is tough with uninspired user experience design tools. That’s why UXPin is handcrafted to be robust and elegant.
Starting at $15/mo.
https://www.uxpin.com/

Mockingbird
An online tool that makes it easy for you to create, link together, preview, and share mockups of your websit or application. More polished appearance than Balsamiq’s rough sketch.
Starts at $9/mo for two active projects.
https://gomockingbird.com/

MockFlow WireframePro
A web-based tool to design and collaborate user interface blueprints for websites and apps. Its helps to visualize the website’s interface, navigation and structure in short time.
Free for one project. Starts at $14/mo. for paid accounts.
http://mockflow.com/

OmniGraffle
For creating precise, beautiful graphics. Like website wireframes, an electrical system design, a family tree, or mapping out software classes. For artists, designers, casual data-mappers, and everyone in-between.
Mac starting at $99.99. iPad $49.99.
http://www.omnigroup.com/omniGraffle/

Gliffy
Create professional-quality flowcharts, Org charts, UML diagrams, Network diagrams,
Wireframes, Technical drawings and more. Gliffy works directly in your browser!
Free.
https://www.gliffy.com/

Pen and Paper
Yes. An actual pen, and some real made-from-wood paper. It’s often fast and easy to get your ideas down on paper first and refine them in software later. :-)

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