Why outsource development to Web Design & Development Company?

A great idea doesn’t materialize by itself but requires dedication, effort, and relevant skills to flesh it out into reality. You might’ve read up info on developing websites, even built a few pages in the past or worked with website builders to roll out impressive-looking sites. The desire to often avoid incumbent costs leads many great ideas down the path of destruction. True, if your skills are exceptionally superior, you can go ahead and take development up on yourself. On the other hand, if you’re a newbie and are still testing the waters, the end results will fall way off the mark.

Why you can't go wrong with building your eCommerce site on Magento?

Retailers from across the globe are keen on grabbing a slice of the trillion-dollar industry that makes up the eCommerce realm. To build a sustainable online presence, it’s pivotal to set up a functional, high-performance store on the right platform. With eCommerce platforms like Shopify, OsCommerce, Magento, Zen Cart, Volusion and more to choose from, retailers are confounded by the number of choices. So, what’s the best? The answer: Magento. Read on to know why.

Over a quarter of all eCommerce websites run on Magento, making the platform a highly attractive option. Right from providing extreme scalability to extensive customization, Magento scores high on all aspects.

Reasons that will convince you into building your store on Magento:

What characteristics differentiate a great web designer from the rest? Find out

Your website represents the face of your brand in the online realm. As such, its visual appeal matters as much as what your brand signifies. In other words, presentation is key to putting your business out there. With design forming a crucial part of your site, it’s imperative that you’ve got the right web designers on board. The market is flooded with options and discerning the great from the not-so-great requires extensive research on your part.

 So, how do you get started? We’ve compiled a list of eight qualities that you should watch out for.

#1: Industry Trend Awareness

You don’t want to be stuck with someone still trapped in the 90’s. You need someone who stays updated on the latest trends and incorporates them into practice.

#2: Ability to Adapt

Your business could be anything – a coffee shop or an MNC. The designer should be able to change his style to suit your tastes and needs.

#3: Be an excellent communicator

This is key, because if your designer doesn’t communicate well, he understands too little and eventually, the results are far off the mark.

#4: Passion is everything

Believe it or not, passion is a valuable trait that distinguishes the best from the rest. There’s a huge difference in the quality of work done by someone who enjoys designing than by someone who considers it a chore.

 #5: Open to criticism

A great designer thrives on making his good work, better and construes criticism positively. Your designer should be open to suggestions and make modifications as needed.

#6: Must know development

Sure, it’s a diverse area, regardless, it’s important for designers to have an understanding of development to better aid the design process.

#7: Knack of perceiving user expectations

At the end of the day, the product is going to be used by your customers. Give them something they want instead of something your designer wants. It is important to keep user expectations in mind while designing.

#8: Function over form

Incorporating function into the design can be quite tricky, as sometimes the best-looking design isn’t always the best performing one. An expert knows how blend form and function well.

Cross off these qualities from your checklist, and we’re sure you’ll be able to find someone worthy. If you’re still struggling to find good web designers, here’s a suggestion: choose Openwave. The US-based company has a large team of highly creative designers you can hire.

Top 5 benefits of hiring Magento website development services

For retailers looking to foray into the online space, Magento earns the top spot when it comes to building their eCommerce store on. With a host of features, extensions, themes, and functionalities being offered, this fact comes as no surprise. However, did you know there’s more to the platform than what meets the eye? Exploring the platform’s complete potential and building a robust, fast-loading and highly functional store takes skill and an advanced level of development knowledge. That’s why opting for Magento website development services is the right decision. 

If you’re still having second thoughts, here are five benefits that will convince you into hiring professionals:

#1: Takes away your mental stress

Magento is huge, with limitless possibilities. Getting to know the platform’s ins and outs is tedious, if not stressful. Handing over the development work to a company will relieve you of the burden and will leave room for you to focus on other business development activities.

#2: Start from level one and not level zero

Since Magento already includes a set of generic functionalities, bringing it all together and customizing it is all that’s needed. Unlike website development, there’s no need to develop from level zero, which leaves ample ground for developers to deploy an efficient store in minimal time.

#3: Minimize risk, maximize gains

You might consider learning the know-how of Magento on your own and building the store. After all, how hard can it be? Let us tell you this: for a novice, the platform is very tough to master. While there’s nothing wrong in making an attempt, you could end up wasting a lot of time and resources on something useless. Seek professional help for risk-free, profitable results.

#4: Built with the best

Magento development services allow you to tap into the expertise of the developers and incorporate the best practices in the store. For instance, as opposed to using the default checkout, a developer can include a one-page custom checkout. From customizing themes to integrating payment solutions, you’re assured of receiving the best.

#5: Cost-saving

Sure, development services don’t come for free, and you’ll have to shell out a substantial sum to get your store built. Compare that to the cost of maintenance or the losses you’ll incur in case your website breaks down – and you’ll find that the initial expenditure is next to nothing.

With over a quarter of a million retailers using Magento to power up their online stores, you should too. Take the right step by hiring a professional developer from a renowned Magento Development company in the US.

The 6 worst mistakes in web design – and how to avoid them

Common Web Design blunders you should never commit

Despite investing a lot of time, money and effort in building websites, the results can sometimes be disappointing. The influx of visitors you expected just isn’t happening, and those who do come are quick to leave the site. While you may blame it on the content, or the marketing strategy, however, an often overlooked parameter is DESIGN. Yes, you read that right! Often, designers go overboard and incorporate elements that can turn away your site visitors.  From hard-to-read supposedly stylish font to excessive animations, there’s just so much you can get wrong with your site’s design.

Here’s our pick of the most frequently committed web design blunders and ways you can avoid them:

#1: Using too many fonts

You might be tempted to use 5-6 different fonts, but when it all comes together; it clutters up your web pages.

Solution: Stick to two or three fonts and ensure that they are easy to read.

#2: Overdoing CTAs

It’s recommended that every website should contain clean, concise Call-to-Action buttons, but stuffing them everywhere will not have the desired results

Solution: Make one clear request, to prompt users into completing the action.

#3: A soundtrack with no start/stop button

Music is a great way to grab user attention – or is it? If the music starts blaring automatically as soon as the visitor lands on your page, it could send the visitor away at once.

Solution: If you’re incorporating music, give visitors an option to ‘play.' Do not force it on them. Also, make sure there’s a ‘pause/stop’ button.

#4: Using unflattering images

Images are meant to complement your site, not downgrade it. Using free images or unprofessionally clicked images will only lower the site’s appeal

Solution: Avoid free stock images and opt for premium ones instead. Better yet, hire a professional photographer to click great pictures relevant to your brand.

#5: Forcing visitors to scroll right

Don’t make your website too wide, as most visitors are used to scrolling up/down on websites and do not usually scroll horizontally.

Solution: Use only vertical scrolling on your site

#6: Propping interactive media all over

Interactive messages with fonts, light boxes etc are excellent means of getting the message across to your visitors but use it too much, and you’ll end up distracting your visitors.

Solution: Moderation is key. Use interactive elements only to highlight the vital content.

If you’re a newbie into the web space or own an existing website with a poor design, you need to hire professional web designers to incorporate the best design practices into your site. Openwave is a global IT company, with 20 years of excellence in the field of web design. Consult with an expert Web Designer in the US today!

4 Crucial Things a Website Needs for Visibility

The web is now heavier and more crowded than ever. With more and more people building websites and blogs, it is crucial that you adopt some crucial skills to rise above the crowd. In this article, we’re going to be exploring some of the major principles that we think you need to get your website a better position on the web.

Reviews/testimonials from satisfied clients

Showcasing the delight of previous customers who have used your service is a good method of selling it to new customers. Positive testimonials are proven to hike sales. They help you build trust with new customers, and compel people to place faith in your product. Flashing quotes of joy from customers can do the trick, as well as placing grand reviews that you had procured. To add a more personalized touch, you could incorporate video driven testimonials, giving an engaging, stronger message of encouragement.

Search engine marketing techniques

SEO tactics are the bedrock upon which online visibility is built. Search engine optimization helps to drive your website higher in the search engine ranking. This is critical for having better exposure online, and thereby drawing more visitors to it. There are numerous techniques to this process, and you need to master them if you want to survive online.

Mobile optimization

The rise of smartphones has transformed the way content on the web is consumed. A vast volume of traffic to the web comes from mobiles rather than computers. As a result, it is important to model your web presence so as to allow mobile users to have a good experience as well. Successful websites of the day take on a mobile-first approach to expand their influence, allowing smartphone users to access their content. Your website needs to be optimized with respect to numerous platforms, allowing the content to adjust itself to the maximal extent on multiple screens and devices.

A blog page

Most websites of the day integrate a blog page into their main website, providing informative content for their users. This is a way of showing customers that you are dedicated, thereby bridging trust with them.

If you need professional help with web design and development, then Openwave offers just the right tools. We have a robust twenty-year experience, and can help you best understand the web and operate successfully within it.

4 Magento Design Trends that will up the Style-quotient of your Store this Year

Magento has provided a successful platform for hundreds of thousands of businesses that have created a solid presence online. While scores of businesses continue to host websites online to draw customers, only a limited minority manage to convert their web-reach into revenue. To entice the average web-dweller of the day, websites require not merely quality content but eye-catching layouts and a powerful, compelling aura..

While the design themes offered by Magento span a vast number, these are the latest design formats that the online world loves:

Scenic images

Breath-taking natural environments and scenic images have an almost immediate effect with audiences from all backgrounds. Images of lush, green forests, towering canyons and cloud-gorged skies imbue a peaceful air upon your website and would score you a good impression with your customers.

Background videos/images

Experts have proven that a successful online presence goes hand-in-hand with a vivid visual experience. Adding videos/images to your website enhances user experience, and adds richness to the content experience for the average viewer. Top websites use videos to conjure a suitable mood for their web presence, giving audience a more immersive experience. 

The grid/card style layout

This gives the site an outline consisting of small, neatly arranged boxes that imparts a more naturally attractive appearance. It is considered a more simple design style, although bringing an easier navigation and user-friendliness to the visitor. 

Animations

The use of simple animated effects adds a touch of creativity to the content. Some examples of such animations include hidden content that slides out from beneath head bars, and icons that enlarge when the mouse moves over them. Such effects are sure to whip up the attention of your viewer. 

These are just a few of an ever-changing web design themes that spawn across the online world, moving in and out of the trend over time. Unlike the physical world, the digital space gifts you the ability to bring your content to life with a generous array of outlines, themes and effects that are sure to ramp up your store’s appeal. 

To build a Magento store that makes use of the best design practices, you need to hire seasoned web designers. Openwave comes with years of experience in web-design and development. Our experts can build you a smart, attractive and guest-friendly website on the Magento platform that suits your needs.