Latest Trends

Web Design Trends for 2018

Posted on | by moocow

At Moocow, we pride ourselves on having the most up to date knowledge on the hottest tech trends and web design news. With 2017 over, it’s time to take stock on what we’ve learnt over the past year and get ready for what the new year has in store for the world of web design. Take a look at our advice below and get ahead of the game with essential design tips and trends for 2018.

 

Mobile First

Over the last year we’ve focused a lot on the importance of making sure your website is mobile first. And with m-commerce transforming and developing daily, making sure your site is mobile first is vital for the successful functioning of your business and web page. Mobile transactions are set to rocket in 2018, with a vast majority of orders already being made from mobile devices accessing your website. So if you’re still yet to update your site to mobile first, make this your new year’s resolution. Making sure your mobile site is responsive and easy to use is a top priority, otherwise you risk putting off customers from purchasing online.

 

Bold Colour Palettes

Each new year companies will always find a way to market a product as bigger, better and brighter – and it’s no different for web design. When it comes to planning your website, dare to be different, aim to create a site that’s vibrant, bold and colourful. Be creative but clever, customers don’t want to be left with a headache when shopping from your site. Make it fun and quirky, carefully selecting a colour palette that works with your business and brand. Less is more when it comes to sleek and sophisticated, so stand-out with large typography, geometric fonts and minimalist layouts.

 

Motion Animation & Video Marketing

Video marketing is booming, and incorporating animation or video into your web site design is becoming increasingly popular. People want to look at things they find visually exciting or pleasing and using imagery makes it easier to access information about your company. Whether it’s short video clips, gifs or cinemagraphs, adding animation to your site will no doubt create a surge in audience interaction. Many best-selling websites are adding videos or slideshows to their homepage, a more and more favoured tactic for creating customer interest. Text based gifs make written information more eye catching, promoting brand awareness whilst showing you have a fun side.

 

Voice Search

The concept of voice search is a simple one. It allows users to talk straight to their desktop or mobile device and command search options, the same as typing a request into a search engine, except it’s powered by speech. Voice search is starting to compete with traditional search engines. ‘Virtual assistants’ like Cortana, Siri, and Amazon’s Alexa all use direct speech to access search information.. Although met with mixed responses by some, the popularity of using voice searches is rapidly growing, so it would be foolish to not take certain steps and considerations into whether this could be a beneficial change to the way your website is run. It’s still worth a read up even if it’s perhaps a bit too futuristic for your liking.

 

Personalised Content

Make sure your content represents the mission of your company and targets your audience, not your personal preferences. Write content that your audience can relate to and feels comfortable with and is easy to understand. Reviews and testimonials from clients are a great thing to feature on your website, and is becoming increasingly popular. This helps new customers see that you are a service that is trusted and relied upon. If you’re using images or videos on your site, it can be a good idea to create your own – whether that’s product shots, background images or a look into how your business is run. Not everyone has the skills of a professional photographer and hiring one can be pricey so it’s not the end of the world if you can’t. But try not to make your images too generic and stock like if you want your website to stand out.

Web News: WooCommerce 3.2 Updates

Posted on | by moocow

At Moocow, we pride ourselves on having the most up to date knowledge on the hottest web trends, software and programs. With technology and techniques developing daily, we’ll make sure you’re getting the latest info on what’s happening in the world of web.

 

Many of our clients manage their online business through platforms such as WooCommerce. WooCommerce is an e-commerce plugin, its intentional use is for either small or large businesses to create an online selling platform using WordPress. This Autumn, WooCommerce have been updating their latest version, offering a bunch of improved applications and extensions. Below is a list of current optimisations that have been finalised:

 

  • Improvements for coupon options and management of extensions

  • You can now apply discounts to coupon orders without having to do it manually

  • Alerts are sent for new updates on WooCommerce and other extensions giving you the option to download immediately if using outdated versions

  • An easier “unified shortcode” when itemising various products on your webpages

  • A new filter enabling you to simply browse your extensions and identify which are ‘Active’ on the webpage

 

Although the changes may appear small, they offer some nifty adjustments to help run the platform simply, creating smoother running for both developers and clients.

 

Web News: Twitter Increases Character Limit For Tweets

Posted on | by moocow

At Moocow, we pride ourselves on having the most up to date knowledge on the hottest tech trends and web news. With technology and techniques developing daily, Moocow are continuously working hard to help find new ways to develop your business.

It wasn’t long ago that we were raving about the Tweetstorm feature in one of our recent web news blogs. Despite Twitter leading the way as the most successful social media platform for businesses, we debated it’s one major downfall – the length of posts you are allowed to Tweet. For some users, this has helped simplify things when creating a post – allowing them to Tweet info that is direct and uncomplicated. However for many – the 140 character limit can be particularly frustrating, especially when you feel you’ve got a lot more to say. Jogging your memory at all? Well, Twitter has just released today that you can now send tweets that are 280 characters long, doubling the limit from before.

This feature will be available to almost everyone on Twitter, however tweets in Korean, Chinese or Japanese would not be included as the developers felt the structure of these languages already enabled them to put much more information in one tweet. The Twitter team has already experienced a huge surge in users rushing to take advantage of the new feature this morning with everyone getting excited. Their analytics team have stated that those with tweets posted with a larger number of characters were receiving much higher interest, likes and engagements.

Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

10 Of The Best Tech and Web Design Email Newsletters To Subscribe To

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At Moocow, we pride ourselves on having the most up to date knowledge on the hottest tech trends and web news. With our latest research, we’ve compiled a top ten list of what we believe are some of the best web design email newsletters to subscribe to, packed full of helpful tips, tutorials and freebies to get you going in all areas of design.

If you’re looking to get your hands on the hottest web development, coding and design news, subscribing to these email newsletters will leave your inbox filled with the best info, resources and design inspiration from masters in the world of tech.

The Download – A newsletter that appears daily in your inbox curated by MIT’s Technology Review. It’s one of several of MIT’s technology review and aims to offer a complete low down on what’s going on in the tech world.

Recode Daily – A round-up of the best news and trends relating to both tech and business. Signing up grants you access to articles and podcasts on what’s trending in areas including Commerce, Social media, Enterprise and Mobile and info on any upcoming events.

The Webdesigner Newsletter – Created specifically for developers and designers, the Webdesigner targets those wanting access to handy resources and plenty of free stuff. Top subjects include UI, HTML, Typography and help with design inspiration.

Hacking UI – An extremely useful product design and front-end development newsletter, dishing out articles, podcasts & master classes. Covering everything from VR, UX Photoshop and general web design.

Web Tools Weekly – If you’re searching for the latest info on tools for front-end developers, the Web Tools newsletter will be just the thing for you. This weekly newsletter offers tips and tutorials, and an inside guide to the latest apps, scripts and plug-ins.

Sidebar – Designer, developer and entrepreneur Sacha Greif’s daily newsletter showcasing her 5 favourite design articles, interviews and resources of the day. Helpful info on UX design, image freebies, CSS help, design program guides and general news in the world of web.

wpMail – A free, weekly WordPress Newsletter for general WordPress users with a handful of WordPress news and articles featuring SEO tips, themes and plug-ins.

MasterWP – Another weekly newsletter from WordPress, this time aimed at professionals who are proficient in all things WP. Every Wednesday get your hands on a variety of artciles, apps, tools and extras that will make life easier for WordPress pros.

DevTips – A collection of weekly developer tips from front-end developer and expert Umar Hansa. Those who sign up will get a developer tutorial or tip sent to you as a gif. Great for info on CSS, JavaScript, network issues and UI.

Frontend Focus – A once a week bundle of the best front-end news stories, tips and tutorials. From HTML, CSS, WebGL, Canvas, browser tech and more, the newsletter also includes the latest job vacancies in the tech industry if you’re currently looking for a career or new job as a developer.

 

Auto-Create Code Snippets with Ease Using WordPress Hasty

Posted on | by moocow

At Moocow, we pride ourselves on having the most up to date knowledge on the latest web news. With technology and techniques developing daily, Moocow are continuously working hard to help find new ways to develop your business.

When it comes to WordPress, working with WP code snippets often proves tricky for developers and designers. Having to edit and add code from different programs using copy-paste actions is an infuriating task, whether it’s custom taxonomies you’re using or WP_Query loops.

WordPress have obviously decided to take these issues on board and have created an app that answers all your code snippet prayers. The WP Hasty app is the easiest way to create top-quality custom code for your WordPress sites. It’s super fast, so it saves both time and effort when jumping between projects, and not only that – it’s free.

The app allows you to create code snippets by simply clicking a category button, offering 9 different code generators for frequently used WP snippets. More are set to be released this November.

 

 

All adhere to the correct WP themes and plug-ins coding standards, literally allowing you to just copy and paste the code snippets. The generator interface loads onto a new tab, detailing custom settings for whichever area chosen. Your code output will remain on the page you are already on inside a small text editor interface, so the only work you have to do is copy and paste your codes into the chosen theme for your project.

 

Web Trends: Using Photographic Special Effects

Posted on | by moocow

At MooCow, we pride ourselves on having the most up to date knowledge on the hottest web trends. With technology and techniques developing daily, take a look at what 2018 has in store for the world of web design.

GIFS – annoying or great fun? Most of us are divided on this opinion. However, when used correctly GIFS and other animated photographic techniques can be the perfect way to give your website that wow factor. Cinemagraphs work by combining Hi-Res images with a video that loops a selected part of the image, making it animated. This makes an already eye-popping image even more magical, allowing viewers to see photographs come to life before their very eyes. These short snippets of animation are becoming increasingly popular, with many social media sites adding tools to create your own online, an example being Instagram’s Boomerang which allows you to upload and create a short repeated video clip. Marketing trends for 2018 are set to become more and more visual, with businesses wanting to create backdrops to their sites that entice and excite their audiences. Working hand in hand with the use of parallaxes and animated backgrounds, using cinemagraphs with your website could be just the thing to get your new website of the ground.

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Web News: Google Chrome 61 Launched

Posted on | by moocow

At Moocow, we pride ourselves on having the most up to date knowledge on the latest web news. With technology and techniques developing daily, Moocow are continuously working hard to help find new ways to market your business.

News of the release of Google Chrome 61 came earlier this week, with the new update for browsers being made available over the next few days to weeks. It will be available to any device on supported platforms including macOS, Windows and Linux. The update comes with some fairly important security enhancements so making the move over will no doubt have some significant benefits. Other than this, details on any features have been kept fairly quiet. This is most likely due to the update focusing on bug fixes, security changes and behind the scenes modifications that won’t be majorly visible to day to day users.

A list has been posted showing several of the most important alteration:

  • Add initial set of new default user images.
  • Autoplay policy for HTML5 video: chrome://flags/#autoplay-policy
  • Data Saver site breakdown doesn’t add up to totals on version update. Also, don’t show negative savings.
  • DevTools: Add ‘Save profile’ toolbar button to performance panel.
  • Disable first run for managed profiles.
  • [Extensions] Don’t allow content scripts on the New Tab Page.
  • Enable automatically detected CUPS printers in the print preview dialog.
  • Enable asm.js -> WebAssembly by default.
  • Keep scanned host devices in the cache for longer (from 5 minutes to 2 hours).
  • Move extension unzip/unpack to background thread to prevent the blocking of the main utility thread.
  • On dual-GPU macs, blacklist MSAA for both GPUs if either is Intel.
  • Switch pause/mute buttons’ locations in RTL languages

Web News: Tweetstorm Feature Hidden on Twitter Android App

Posted on | by moocow

Twitter continuously leads the way as a successful social media platform for businesses, but let’s face it – the one major difference between Twitter and other social media sites such as Facebook, is the length of posts you are allowed to Tweet. For some users, this has helped simplify things when creating a post – allowing them to Tweet info that is direct and uncomplicated. However for many – the 140 character limit can be particularly frustrating, especially when you feel you’ve got a lot more to say.

Recently it has come to light that hidden within Twitter’s Android app is a “Tweetstorm” feature, allowing users to post what can be seen as a thread of tweets continuing on from a discussion or theme. To do this you simply need to post a tweet, and then continue to post replies to keep the thread going.

The screenshots depicting the “Tweetstorm” were posted by a Twitter user under the false name of Devesh Logendran. After being tweeted by The Next Web’s Social Media Director Matt Navarra, the images have since gone viral and are now trending across major tech news sites. The pictures show the posts split up as individual tweets posted as a thread, with the end showing a longer “tweet count”.

 

 

So, should Twitter make plans to scrap their current character limit? Does this current restriction put off those new to Twitter? Or do shorter posts help businesses get more direct messages across to their audiences?

Despite being largely talked about across the world of web, Twitter has refused to make a statement on the finding of the feature. So keep your eyes peeled and hopefully in the near future the adjustment will be made usuable on all of Twitter’s mobile platforms. In the meantime, users will have to look to Storm It on Android and iOS to create Tweetstorms of their own.

Tech News: Google’s Getting a New Homepage for the First Time in 20 Years

Posted on | by moocow

At Moocow, we pride ourselves on having the most up to date knowledge on the hottest tech trends and web news. With technology and techniques developing daily, we’ll make sure you’re getting the latest info on what’s happening in the world of web.

Google’s famous search engine was launched in 1997, and since that day its iconic homepage has yet to change – minus a few animation tweaks to the logo when a celebratory holiday pops up. Despite boldly clinging to its design for 20 years, Google has finally announced that it will be giving its home page a brand new makeover, with the launch of a personalised news feed added to the browser version of the original Google search bar. 20 years is a long time to wait to make such a change, which makes this pretty big news for the company. So why now? You might be asking. The change comes after a massive surge in the amount of AI being used to predict search queries which is fast becoming a replacement for traditional search engines, a trend that is expected to continue to rise considerably in the future. According to recent statistics released, 99.9% of Google’s revenue is from the use of “search and video advertising”, and with search engines becoming a dying format, Google needs to up its game to stay ahead of its competitors. Google’s plan is to develop a news feed style homepage similar to how Facebook and other sites operate, with predictions of searches, latest news and what’s trending. So if you’re a Google user, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for some significant upcoming changes.

Web Trends: The Rise of M-Commerce

Posted on | by moocow

At Moocow, we pride ourselves on having the most up to date knowledge on the hottest web and marketing trends. With technology and techniques developing daily, Moocow are continuously working hard to help find new ways to market your business.

When it comes to tech, bigger isn’t always better, and with new developments constantly progressing for smaller devices, mobile is once again leading the way for businesses – making it even more important to make sure your company website is up to date with mobile first. With most of us spending 90% of our time glued to our phone, it’s no wonder more and more transactions are happening from mobile devices. Whether it’s giving Amazon a browse, or shopping for clothes online in time for Spring, more and more people are turning to smartphones to make the transactions they need.

Our previous blogs have mentioned that in the last couple of years, there’s been a giant leap in what we call ‘internet browsing behaviour’, with thousands of people swapping from desktop to mobile technology. Well the same is happening for e-commerce businesses, with m-commerce trends leading the way for changes to how sales transactions are being made. Statistics predict around 50% of business transactions will be mobile in the next 2-3 years. And with options like single-click payments with PayPal One Touch, Apple Pay and Amazon Pay, it’s no wonder people are picking out the easiest options available.

Apps are now being designed with features including Augmented Reality options to view the products you are wanting to buy in your own home or on yourself before purchasing, with some apps even offering ‘smart bot’ personal shoppers helping you to gain a more personalised shopping experience – all added novelties that are exclusive to mobile. Messenger apps have been voted as a more popular choice when it comes to customer queries, with pop up chats and apps being picked over email or phone call to respond to customers quicker. With modifications like these set to become more and more accessible, it’s worth getting ahead of the game and taking a look at what benefits m-commerce can bring to your company.