To understand the importance of search engine optimization, you need to consider just two facts. First, click-through rates on the first results page of a Google or Bing search fall from 30% (position one) to less than 2% (position ten). Secondly, only one in twenty searches leads to the second page of results. It’s immediately…

It’s safe to say 2017 wasn’t a good year for cybersecurity. From high-profile hacks at Verizon and Equifax to spying accusations and cryptocurrency theft, public confidence in the privacy and sanctity of online information took a battering. Tor for the Win Our growing distrust of online service providers did, however, benefit the Tor browser, whose…

If a picture tells a thousand words, effective website photography clearly provides a powerful way to make a point or tell a story. Modern audiences have limited attention spans and little enthusiasm for long slabs of text. Well-chosen graphics don’t just break up web pages by adding color and character, they also speak volumes about…

Fonts have been a crucial component of written communications since the 15th century. Many Microsoft Word and Google Docs typefaces were historically used by printing presses, before being reinterpreted in digital form for today’s word processing packages. Throughout the generations we have come to associate fonts with certain characteristics. From gender and personality to tone…

Unless your career involves database development or human psychology, you may not have heard of schema. However, schema markups can be of real value for corporate websites, so it’s worth getting to grips with this intriguing (if technical) concept… What does schema mean? In computing terms, schema describes a representation of a plan or theory….

Technology dates faster than fashion, and websites are no exception to this. That slick new portal you commissioned back in 2010 may seem as outdated today as the iPhone 4 or Windows 7 – both launched as this decade began. And any brand whose site hasn’t been revised since the 2000s has to accept its…

Web design and programming has come a long way in a relatively short space of time. However, the rapid pace of development means that older websites are increasingly being rendered obsolete – if they’re rendered at all. From Flash to interstitials, these are the design and coding elements that should be removed immediately if they’re…

Type “mobile SEO website” into Google, and almost six million results will be returned. That’s indicative of how significant not just search engine optimization has become in recent years, but mobile-specific SEO. Achieving the coveted first-page results position is the dream of every marketing manager and web developer, despite the enduring mystery surrounding the algorithms…

Launching a new website is an exciting event, but it’s easy to lose focus during the design and construction process. Larger companies may have different departments arguing over functionality and key priorities, while entrepreneurs often get swept away by irrelevant or superfluous ideas put forward by design agencies and well-meaning associates. To achieve the best…

Web design is no longer just about creative vision: it concerns keeping Google happy for those precious rankings while simultaneously creating a memorable user experience. So what determines a great-looking site? The web design trends of 2017 are building on last year’s, namely continuing the focus on responsive design, which now demands direct user interfaces…