Web design does not have to be limited to a typical grid structured layout. It sometimes feels like we are locked in an endless cycle of header, content, sidebar and footer. That is it. It would be great if we could to tear away from convention sometimes and also force ourselves to break some usability rules. Just imagine what we could create. In today’s post we have for you a selection of sites that do exactly as described above: They [...]

Every six months or we do like to take a look at some of the greatest and freshest jQuery plugins from within that time. Each time we do this the jQuery community never ever fails to let you down. Constantly releasing plugins that are not only useful and problem solving, but also releasing plugins that can aid you with new technologies like HTML5 and CSS3. Hope you enjoy this selection. You might also like: 50 jQuery Plugins for Form Functionality, [...]

Ready-made HTML5 templates are currently one of the most sought after resources within the web design community. They not only offer a quick and easy-to-edit solution for building modern websites, they also offer a fantastic route to explore and understand HTML5s syntax. All of the themes below are free and all have been coded with HTML5. Enjoy them :) You might also like… 10 Essential Guides, Resources and Tools for Getting Started with HTML → 10 HTML5-Ready Blank, Bare-Bones and [...]

There’s a lot to be learned by looking at before and after shots of a website’s redesign. You get to see what the designer or design team has learned about design since the last rendition, where they’ve identified problems and areas of the design that could be improved. The site’s look and feel is brought up to date with trends, and often more timeless improvements are made, such as base typography enhancements. Examining these changes can help you take advantage [...]

In the past, web design has impressed us with their shiny gradients, smooth expressions and simple and bold colors. But the use of textures, within the design, has never really reached the popular heights. At least, until now. Mainstream web design has started to use more and more textures within the layout design. Albeit, with lots of subtlety. Mixing modern and simplistic layouts with an ageless and light texture to carefully highlight and enhance certain areas of the design, has [...]

The amount of options, directions, and aesthetic approaches you can choose from simply deciding which textures to use in your web design is mind boggling. Texture is one of the most versatile elements of web design being used currently, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t be experimenting with texture in your designs. Sure, not every design benefits from even the most subtle texture, but you might be surprised how much texture can bring a design to life. What Is Texture? [...]

I do, and throughout this post I’ll try to explain why you do too. So what exactly are wireframes? Wireframes are visual representations of your websites structure, a blueprint to help establish hierarchy. They are usually limited to shapes, forms and text, and they rarely use any colour. The primary function of any wireframe is to show your client how their site will be structured. Pure information, no bells, and no whistles… a blueprint. When I started designing websites, I [...]

Mobile web browsing has been growing exponentially in the past few years. From around 5% in 2007, to about 30% today. In 2014, the amount of people that access the mobile internet is expected to overtake desktop users. As designers, we’re going to have to think about the mobile users that access the sites we make. In other words, we have to start designing not only for desktop users, but for mobile users. Fingers Are Bigger Than Mice! Exactly what [...]

As a web designer looking for freelance work, you are probably well aware of the importance of having a web presence and online portfolio to display your work and snag new potential clients. But when you’re designing your portfolio website, you may find yourself struggling. Unlike a client’s website design where your client tells you what to include, you may feel a little overwhelmed at creating a website dedicated to you and your company. Sometimes, when designing websites and writing [...]

This is our weekly selection of our favorite web designs from the past week, thanks to everybody for their recommendations. Feel free to comment and let us know what you think.

The most popular topic of discussion at the moment, amongst web designers anyway, is undoubtedly responsive web design. This is in response to the popularity, over the past couple of years, of visitors opting to use a mobile device of some sort (Android, iPhone, iPad..) to access their favorite web sites. Just to give you a quick overview, responsive web design allows you to offer a specific and optimised screen size layout that is based on whatever device (mobile, tablet…) [...]

This is our weekly selection of our favorite web designs from the past week, thanks to everybody for their recommendations. Feel free to comment and let us know what you think.

Many web pages knowadays are using fluid layouts. While these are very useful, they do have some minuses. Imagine trying to read a fluid layout on your phone – It’s impossible. The sidebar would be maybe 50px wide, and the main layout would be maybe 250px. Another problem is with really wide screens – the layout fills up almost the whole screen, which results in a horrible reading experience. Today, I’ll show you how to take the best of two [...]