I have been in the position with clients where they say: “Why do we need a slider, it just takes up space I would rather have information where the slider would be”. After this post hopefully it will be clear that a slider is not just a bunch of images or content, but an essential part of anyone’s website.

We all want websites that are as intuitive to use as possible. To do this we need to understand what those users are really coming to the website for to most effectively meet the goals of the website. Once you have determined what these areas of the website are, you need to create a fluid and intuitive way of gesturing the user to look at it. This is where sliders come into it.

A slider is not used to its full potential if it is not linking to a page on your website. They are not meant to just look good and nothing else, they are there to prompt a user to click on them. We have already determined that the user should go to a particular page, and now we need to “advertise” that page to increase the chances of a user ending up there. The word “advertising” and web design often is met with some reservation, but essentially slides in a slider are advertisements for particular areas of your website that you believe needs to be seen.

Here are some benefits of using a slider on your website:

• Alleviates the need for paragraphs of writing to get a point across
• Increases exposure of important areas on a website
• Offers visually pleasing graphics with purpose
• Adds to the overall design appeal of a website
• Gives opportunity to add unrelated information to a page that would otherwise be seen as obtrusive if it was included in the text

Users have become accustomed to seeing sliders, and often click on them if it catches their eye. So if you decide to use a slider on your website remember to make it eye catching, contains minimal text and that it is clickable and contains a link.

Here are a few cool examples of sliders used exceptionally well, adding to the design of the website and serving a purpose

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It is not only to alleviate some hair pulling moments that this should be done, but most importantly it is for the users themselves. Older browsers do not have the functionality newer browsers do. In a world where technology is increasing at a fast pace, the same goes for web design techniques. Newer coding languages such as HTML5 and CSS3, which add a massive amount of possibilities for websites going forward. HTML5 and CSS3 have been around for a few years now, but the trend is to stick to the basics because many out of date browsers do not have the capabilities to render these.

This puts the web designer at a disadvantage as we want to offer the latest and coolest effects for our clients, but a percentage of their users will never be exposed to these because they do not update their browsers.

All hope is not lost though, there are WordPress plugins which can help give a little nudge in the right direction to prompt users to update their browsers. On this website I use a plugin called Browser Rejector. The plugin detects what browser a user is viewing your website with and should it be an out of date browser it will prompt them with a pop-up window urging, begging them to update their browser. Well not in such a dramatic way, but the plugin also give one the opportunity to customise your message to users.

The plugin has various options such as selecting what browser versions to include in the “block” list and an option to let a user hide the pop-up should they wish to continue to the website in any case.

Here is what my Browser Rejector out of date browser message looks like (click to enlarge).

If you are intending to do the same on your WordPress website, I recommend this plugin, as I have tried a few others, many of which are faulty.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, I would love to hear what you think

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In any case, when technology sped up and started offering us cell phones that were GPRS/3G enabled we started using them to surf the internet more and more. This changed the way web designers were developing their websites, all of a sudden they had to take into account the mobile user and their needs. Traditional websites just did not cut it on a mobile device, and the “mobi website” was born.

A web designer had to create, not only one website for computers, but also develop for mobile devices, and the many different screen sizes that came with it. Tedious to say the least, by doubling the work needing to be done. One common trend in mobi sites is that the experience differs from the experience one would receive from viewing the same website on a computer for instance. Granted the experience is simplified to focus on what a user on a mobile device would really need, like the essentials.

But why do we need to sacrifice the experience across different devices? Surely we can offer the same experience one would get from viewing a website on different devices with different screen sizes?

This is where responsive web design kicked down the door and made his (or her) entrance! Making it more possible to offer the same experience to all user; this really is where responsive web design shines.

So, what is a responsive website?
Simply put; it is a website that dynamically adjusts its dimensions according to the size of screen it is being viewed on (viewports). Instead of using set pixel widths it will use percentages applied to different elements. Through Media Queries the website recognises that the size of the viewport has changed, and it needs to adjust accordingly.

Web developers no longer have to slave away at creating various versions of a website to satisfy the different users we have visiting a website anymore. Now it is possible through clever code and responsive design to create one experience throughout different devices.

The web is an ever changing beauty, and we all have to adapt to its seasons. Responsive web design has shaken up the way we design, plan, execute and style websites. I for one am quite happy about it all.

I shall leave you with a Info-graphic that explains Responsive Web Design quite nicely:

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I am going to address 4 plugins I add to all of the websites I create (among others of course). Lets cover some essentials one should consider when building a website to add light into why these plugins are so important.

Search engine optimisation

A website can look and function better than any other website out there, but if it is not optimised for search engines then it might as well not even exist. WordPress is already well optimised, but it does need an extra boost in the SEO department.

There are various SEO plugins out there, and many function well or similar to the next. But in my opinion, there is one clear winner in the SEO plugin department…

WordPess SEO by Yoast

The plugin is free, has a host of options and is easy to use for the most beginner WordPress user. Often various plugins are needed for carrying out certain functions like indexing your website with search engines and integrating Facebook OpenGraph into your website (which is needed for Facebook to index your pages to share and like correctly). This is incorporated into one plugin

At Yoast, they are the SEO experts for a reason, they keep up-to-date with the latest SEO trends and that translates in their plugin offering. For a plugin to have over 4.5 million downloads, they must be doing something right.

If you want to download their plugin, head over to the WordPress plugin repository and get your copy.

Caching

Have you ever been asked to clear your browser cache by someone when a website is not loading correctly? Or changes have been made to a website but you cant see them? Put simply, a caching plugin is meant to help improve user experience by increasing server performance, reduce loading time and more.

Sometimes if we have too much going on in our head it is hard to think. Well this is the same for a website. There are thousands of working parts, and every now and then it is good to clear the clutter for a website to be able to function at its full potential again.

There are dozens of caching WordPress plugins, some modify certain files on your domain that can be tricky to sort out if you uninstall the plugin (lets not go into that now).

W3 Total Cache is one of the best caching plugins out at the moment. It is not just a plugin, it’s a complete framework. W3 Total Cache aims at making your job easy by not having to dive head first into a realm which requires quite particular skills. It is easy to use and provides great guidance as how to best use all the various caching options they offer. You will never have to worry about caching issues again with W3 Total Cache.

Contact forms & Subsriptions

Every website needs a contact form of some sorts. Depending on what you intend using your website for it is often the case one needs more functionality out of a contact form. For instance on my website I have quotation request form that has a variety of different types of fields. It is also required that somewhere on a website subscription signup forms are needed.

What does one need out of a contact form plugin? I have a few important factors I take into account regarding this question.

• A wide range of functionality and options
• Ease of use and intuitive design
• Eye catching and appealing contact forms
• Conditional fields
• Email subscription list integration

Now there are various contact form plugins which cover some of these points. But there are not many which cover all of them.

Gravity Forms is by far the most versatile contact form plugin on offer today. All my forms on my website are created using Gravity Forms and the versatility of the plugin is amazing. Mailing lists are of great importance, and no-one wants to receive a email for a new subscriber, and manually add it to your mailing list. Gravity Forms integrates seamlessly without any effort into your MailChimp subscribers list. If you are not sure what MailChimp is, do have a look, its a great platform. Gravity Forms does however come at a price, unlike various other plugins out there. It is a premium plugin, but rightfully so.

Social Media Sharing

As we know, it is a prerequisite these days that Social Media is integrated into ones website. It is a great way to increase traffic to a website, gain exposure and start conversations. There are so many plugins out there that are added to WordPress websites to share posts and pages, gain likes or followers, etc etc. It really gives me a headache when I look for the next best Social Media plugin. Whatever your preference, style or intention is, there is a Social Media plugin out there for you. But I am going to talk about one of my favorite ones.

If you are looking for a clean, sleek and “less frills” kind of plugin, Sociable is for you. I am using it on my website right now, have a look below my post to check it out.

There are two options of use; skyscraper or classic mode. Skyscraper adds a floating panel of social media sharing tools to the side of your website. Classic adds social sharing icons to your posts, and pages should you wish. You can decide through the options in the backend on different design and functionality, how big or small you want your icons and more. No coding is required and a WordPress beginner would find it easy and pleasing to use.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed the article and will go on to find plugins which you swear by like I do. If you did, please share and like the article. Let me know in the comments of other plugins you feel should make the list.

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