As your structure is set right, it will make it easier to style the code, as to an extent you will be letting the natural html elements create the layout of the design when your creating the styles for your mobile site. [More]

As we move further into the digital era, it is evident that almost every business can benefit from having a professionally designed website. In many instances, a website will be the first impression that customers will have of a company, and hence the importance of carefully choosing a web design company. However, choosing between the hundreds of web design agencies can prove to be a challenge, especially when the estimates vary so wildly between one company and the next. To help you with your choice, this article will point at the main elements to look for when selecting a web design agency. 1- Look for a company that can deliver well-rounded service There is no doubt about it: websites must be visually appealing to potential customers, but there is no point in having a very attractive site if it does not work, or if it has technical glitches. A good web design agency must be able to provide outstanding design and equally impressive functionality. 2- Understanding prices Setting up a website from scratch can be costly. However, you should consider the money spent on web design as an investment in the future of your company. To ensure that you are putting the money in the right place, always ask web design companies to show evidence of value. What kind of results have previous customers seen after working with a particular design company? Does the design company have a client portfolio? Is there a testimonials section in their website? The more expensive an estimate is, the more results you should be able to expect. 3- Choose a company that suits all your needs Although almost every business needs a website, not all businesses have the same needs or requirements. What are your priorities? Perhaps you need a website to help you promote your company. In this case, look for a web design company that has experience as an online marketing agency. Maybe you need to focus on e-commerce, in which case a digital marketing agency is a good choice. Or perhaps you already have a website but need to increase the traffic it receives. In that case, ensure that the web design agency of your choice can double up as a SEO agency. The same applies if you need someone to create content for your website, in addition to designing the page. 4- Define your expectations It is important to be clear as to what your expectations are from a professional relationship with a web design agency. Obviously, clear communication is a must, but be specific about how often do you expect the agency to be in touch with you. Also, it is important that you can be updated directly by the designer who will be in charge of your website. Additionally, discuss with the agency what will happen if problems arise. Examine carefully your impressions from the initial meeting: did the company seem professional? Did they understand your business concept and your requirements straight away?  If you want to find out more about EAOM's web design services call us on 01772 331830 and speak to one of our team.

A common challenge that designers / developers are faced with when designing responsive design for mobile devices is the navigation of a website. Heres some helpful advice on how to deal with this [More]

Responsive Web Design for mobile websites. 4 part blog giving hints, tips and advice to put you on the right path to creating a mobile website [More]

When starting a new project different people have different ways of approaching and trying to develop an idea. I prefer to get ideas out on paper, scribbles and annotations to explain my ideas, usually the poor ones are the first to be scribbled down, the ideas that are too obvious. This technique is something I learnt in my college years on the BA honours Graphic Design course (it's more than likely a universal technique) and I remember at first thinking it seemed like a waste of time, wanting to rush ahead to the final idea, I think when creating something that you're excited about you have to try and show some composure and restraint as to not rush it and not do the idea justice. I've always been under the impression that looking in to many design orientated books can lead to a mish mash of ideas, liking elements from several different designs and, without really knowing it, fusing them into one design, the same thing can happen when specifically looking on a certain site for inspiration, you can end up being tainted by 2 or 3 designs and then subconsciously merging them together into something that A) doesn't look or work right or B) you confuse yourself whilst designing because you realise it doesn't look how you imagined. When starting a new design I tend to prefer flicking through sites such as FFFFound or Pintrest for little snippets of inspiration maybe a certain font can generate an idea or the use of certain assets might spark something, of course for things such as layout ideas for web design, I prefer to know all the elements that are required for the layout then I believe it's a case of working out a hierarchy of importance then playing with the elements required in a layout, moving things around and trying to invent different ways of displaying them. Obviously you can't reinvent the wheel, and there's only so many ways to lay elements out, but I think looking to have them display in different ways can ad variety and bring something new to a web site, i.e. JS carousels, there are many different variations available for free these days and many you can manipulate to suit a particular design or for more originality (I came across a carousel recently and wondered how it worked, then realised it was on I already had which had just been tweaked to work differently.) At the end of the day I'm not condemning the referencing of design books et al (I'd be an idiot to even suggest that) I just feel it's easy to become tainted by a design or style, and it's more the subconscious that is influenced and in turn you end up creating a mish mash or styles, flicking through them and looking for those little sparks of inspiration however is certainly my preferred method.

I enjoy collecting interesting and well designed apps & links so I thought I would share the most useful ones i have found from 2011. If you have any you think I might like or any you have found to be useful then feel free to add a comment below and I will be sure to try them out! [More]

Today's free gift is five of our favourite web fonts used in EAOM projects in 2011 [More]

Download our free 12 Days design pack [More]

2011 has been a very productive year, both from my point of view and with EAOM. EAOM is now roughly 6 months old and the team keeps growing, we have produced some nice work in those 6 months and I want to pick out my personal favourite pieces and talk briefly about them. [More]

Web Designer, Lee Demain, looks at the clever use of negative space in Logo design. [More]