Why Choose NorthView Digital Among Web Design Companies in Maine
When it comes to finding the best web design companies in Maine, the options are many, but NorthView Digital is your best choice. With a commitment to excellence, a proven track record in mobile-optimized websites, and affordable rates, NorthView Digital is a go-to choice for businesses looking to create a powerful online presence.
Maine Web Design Services
Does your business need a website or do you already have one that’s in need of an update? Look no further. We can build you a new, mobile and SEO optimized website at an affordable rate.
Why should I use Website Management Services?
Hiring a website management company can offer several benefits, particularly if you want to ensure the efficient and effective operation of your website while focusing on other aspects of your business.
3 Principles of Good Web Design
The Big 3
Let’s first talk about what people typically consider important aspects of web design. Things like typography, color and imagery. These are all very important to remember when creating your website but shouldn’t be taking up a large portion of your time. The following are what I consider the 3 most important principles to good web design:
Functionality
Give yourself the proper time to analyze your website from top to bottom. Visualize your concept then form a structure of what you think will be your website’s most important pages. In technical terms this is called a sitemap; a diagram of every page on your website. Operating without a sitemap is like swinging with your eyes closed. Using it as a guide will ensure you are staying within established boundaries while maintaining efficient production.
Now that you’ve laid the structure, the ongoing process of functionality begins. Prepare yourself to treat functionality as a focal point in everything you do. From content/image optimization, to technical SEO – Your website needs to be a well-rounded operation. The structure and functionality of your website play a large role in user experience and customer conversion. This goes beyond design principles and extends into the back end to involve your site speed. A well put together website communicates your commitment to your business and providing customers with a good experience. They will reward you for it.
Consistency
Consistency is a core principle of good design and does a lot more for a visitor than you might think. In support of user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design, consistency in a website will promote familiarity, heighten the perception of the user and establish a connection with brand identity. As a developer or designer, its your job to promote consistency in everything you do to support your ability to reuse components, patterns and generate new landscapes.
A website without consistency will feel unprofessional and could have some harmful side effects on your user. An immediate effect might be the loss of trust in your brand. After all, first impressions are lasting impressions and your website is a direct representation of your business.
Communication
When a visitor comes to your website they are searching for some form of information or content. The information you are providing needs to be clear and concise with as little fluff or unnecessary information possible. Think about your experience when you visit a website – you’re there for a reason and want to retrieve the information you are looking for fast and easy. Communication is also about making use of media such as images, videos and infographics. In the end, if you aren’t able to communicate quickly and efficiently to your visitor, they will simply go somewhere else.
Bootstrap 4
An Easy To Use Mobile First Front-End Framework Solution
With so many different languages to write code in these days, how do you know which is best for you? It’s simple… you choose the most efficient and compatible framework. Insert bootstrap; an open source front end framework for fast web development.
Bootstrap provides tons of tools to create websites and application UI’s and gives all types of classes for margin and padding, typography, and component classes – which are basically like pre-made templates for things like alerts, progress bars etc. Also included are built-in Javascript widgets and plugins supported by an easy to use ‘mobile first’ responsive grid system. Now here’s catch… to do what you can with Bootstrap from scratch with pure HTML and CSS you are looking at a significant time investment. Bootstrap makes it easy.
The undisputed advantages of Bootstrap are what set the language apart as one of the most efficient front-end frameworks on the web.
- Browser Compatibility, this is a huge one. Your own custom CSS may not look right in all browsers, but Bootstrap has basically been tailored to be completely compatible on all modern browsers.
- Good for devs that lack design/UI skills. Maybe your a back-end server side programmer and not the best with creating user interfaces and design, stuff like that. Bootstrap is the perfect fit for that.
- Responsive layouts. Responsive by nature so you don’t have to write a bunch of media queries. you can simply use the grid and you have a responsive website.
Grid System
One of the most important parts of bootstrap framework is the grid system. The grid system really allows us to really align things easily on an application or website and allow it to be automatically responsive. We can set different column sizes for different screen sizes or widths. The grid system is particularly effective because it allows you to create a grid inside of a grid to format a layout of any size.
Bootstrap 4 Evolution
The entire architecture of Bootstrap 4 has been changed as it now uses flexbox (grid system) and has now implemented the XL class for extra large screen sizes which are sizes 1,200 px and up. Since wide screen monitors are becoming popular this is a nice addition to the framework. Bootstrap 4 has also introduced cards which have basically replaced panels and wells in version 3. they can be formatted in all kinds of ways so that you can display your content inside of cards.