Designing an Effective User Interface - Part 2

So last week we looked at some examples of past User Interfaces and found out that in order for a UI to be remotely useable it needs to be simplistic, it's ok to push the boundaries and images work well. Everything lately is moving towards the metro styling with bigger and more easily understandable 'tiles'. Text based instructions and labels are becoming less and less important with interfaces becoming more visual. So the question becomes, what can you do to take advantage of this in your UIs?

The answer is that you need to use things that are familiar to your audience. Smart phones are so prominent in today's society that within the few short years since their introduction there has been some very standard ways of showing different things within the interface. One example of this is the menu button. 

The menu button to the right is the basis for a lot of menus in mobile applications and websites. The three horizontal, parallel lines have become synonymous with "more options" and as such if your interface needs a menu then you should definitely use this. Don't get me wrong, you can change the colours and the size and style it however you like, but if you want people to know that this button means "menu" then don't stray too far.

The next example we'll look at is the "settings" icon. The cog, or two interlocking cogs has been used time and time again. It's used in Android, it's used in iOS, it's used to Google Chrome, it's used in Internet Explorer. Anywhere that has a visual interface to interact with its settings uses an icon similar to this one.

Obviously there are a lot more examples than the two I mentioned but they are the two most prominent and the ones that sprang to mind first. Obviously you don't have to use these when designing an interface, but I would highly recommend it. 

The next point is this, you have to know who your audience is. You have to know how they will react to the interface. You have to know how they will read the interface. Western cultures read from the top left going across and down the page. If your target audience is primarily Western then you should probably put your name/company/logo in the top left where they will see it first. Some cultures read from the centre out. This obviously means you should have a more circular design with the primary information in the centre of the design with the least important stuff on the outside. Other cultures again read from the right, or the bottom. You have to do a little bit of leg work and a little bit of research in order to understand how your intended audience will want to use your UI.

Other than those two things, your UI is completely up to you. Colours, styling, sizes, art style, placement all lends a hand to the understandability and usability of the design. Just remember to get other people to look at it and do tests with lots of different people because it is possible and very likely that you will become too 'involved' with your project and not be able to see its faults.

Designing an Effective User Interface - Part 1

The User Interface (which I will refer to as UI from here on in because I'm a lazy typer) is the way that a user interacts with a system, whether it be a terminal, an Operating System, an application or a website. It is the level of interaction between the human and the machine. There have been numerous success stories of amazingly good user interface designs, and there have been the downright awful...  This week we are going to have a quick look at some past UIs and what we can learn from them. Next week we'll look more at the actual design side.

First off let's take a look at some old school stuff.

This is a terminal interface, every computer in existence has one, Windows users might know it as "Command Prompt", it's a very simple text based interface that can actually do quite a lot when you learn how to use it properly. The thing is, nowadays, this is not used too often. It's main use is debugging and the average user will never ever see it. The main thing to take away from early terminal designs is the method in which users invoke the programs or functions they want to run. All of the commands are very simplistic and obvious (in the well designed ones at least) and it makes things a little bit easier on the user. That's it. That's the key. The user needs things to be easy.

The average user is not going to be the person who wrote the program, they are not going to be computer experts and are not going to know what you meant by your acronym. In order for your UI to be effective and appeal to the widest range of people it needs to be simple and effective, now this is actually pretty obvious isn't it? We're not discovering anything new here so let's look at a few more modern examples.

For years Microsoft had used the exact same UI in every iteration of its flagship software Windows. Then, out of nowhere, came this thing. Windows 8. Initially, everyone hated Windows 8. Admittedly a lot of people still do. But, to be honest the new look is quite capable and functional even with the huge change. Everything functions well together and I haven't had any major dramas with it thus far… But. (As always, there is a "but")The thing is, Windows 8 uses what is called the "Metro style" of UI. Those big pastel coloured buttons and tile like interface all make for what is honestly a very confusing user experience. From Windows XP, Vista and 7, upgrading to Windows 8 promises quite a steep learning curve. When you get it though, It is extremely easy to use, everything is literally "right there". Just type it in from the start menu and chances are it will appear. If not just change your wording slightly.

So what did we learn from Windows? Don't be afraid to break out of the norm. Try something new. If it looks like it will work then do some tests and go for it. There are a million and one ways interact with a machine, you can use the old mouse and keyboard, you can use touch, voice or on newer things you can even use your eyes. The possibilities are limitless.

The last example we'll look at is iOS. The primary thing coming out of Apple lately is its iPhone. In all honesty, I personally am not a fan, the settings and customisation is horrible and the one I had (for a very brief period) was slower than a rock. I will admit however, that's its interface is almost flawless. It is simplistic, easy to navigate and it is obvious what you need to do to progress through its features. As long as you don't want to do much more than read your messages and browse the Internet then the UI is amazing. The whole thing is image based and that is actually the thing to take away from Apples offering. The modern person does not like to read. We are a very visual society now and any information that can't be processed in less than five seconds generally isn't taken in at all. Images make something in the brain click as soon as the user sees them. Which means if you have well designed images then the user will know exactly how to traverse your UI.

That's it for this week. Stay tuned because next week we'll look more into how you can actually make sure your UI will be effective.

In the meantime hit us up on any of the following social medias portals and stay in touch. We'd love to hear your input so swing us a message or just leave a comment below!

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SEO On The Modern Web

Why does any business have a website? To try and increase profits. Drive people to their products or services and increase the businesses potential client base.

The next question is this. How does a website do that if it can’t be found? It’s all well and good to give people the link to your website and get direct traffic that way but that only works with people you have already met and that means that you already have the potential to turn these people into clients. You don’t necessarily need the website (unless of course it is the only front for your business). In order for your business to grow online it needs to be found on Search Engines such as Google.

This is where SEO comes in. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is the process which your website is augmented in the best way for Search Engines to find it. If your website is higher up the list on Google then it is far more likely that potential customers will go to your website. Obviously being first is ideal and nowadays if you aren’t on the first page then you don’t really have a hope of being “the chosen one” by potential customers.

SEO used to be a game. Web Developers would use meta tags to give the site the best keywords that seem to be trending at the time, they would hide different headings and give pictures sneaky ‘alt’ tags, all in the hope that it would increase the all important page ranking. However, as with everything related to the internet, SEO changed very rapidly.

There are a few ways to get your website to first position in Google, the first and easiest? Pay for it. There are companies that will guarantee your place on Search Engines for the small price of a few thousand dollars per month. That being said, as soon as you stop paying? Your site drops back into the depths of page 2 and beyond. Without paying extortionate amounts there are a few things that can increase your page ranking and therefore your website traffic.

Firstly, you need to find out what people would search for. What are people looking for when you want your site to pop up? If you have a plumping business and you just put your website online then you don’t want it appearing when people are looking for electricians. This is where some market research comes in handy. After you know your main keywords you can start with that. Use the keywords within the site, make sure they are part of headings, put them in the alt tags of images. Spam those words (reasonably) throughout your site. But that’s all old techniques, you knew that bit right?

Modern search engines use reliability as a major factor for page rankings. The main thing that determines reliability on the internet is back-links. The amount of other websites that link to your website shows that your site is trustworthy and well established.

The next point (that actually goes hand in hand with the one above) is social media. Make a Facebook page for your business, make an Instagram, make a Twitter account, put your business in all of the local business directories online. Make sure your website link is on each of these pages. This provides some back-links that you desperately need but it also makes your website look more legitimate. Just don’t forget to keep these social medias active. Which brings us to the next point.

You have to keep your website updated. Most search engines analyse how often a website is updated and this has a major influence on your sites ranking. If a website is regularly active it will appear to be more trustworthy and maintained. It will also make sure that the content on the website is up to date and consistent with current trends, which is extremely important and this has a lot of weight in your websites ranking.

The last point is the most difficult. Traffic. You need people to visit your website in order to get higher up on the page listing. If your traffic comes from different sources then it helps more. Try to make sure that the entry points are from a variety of search keywords. It is a bit conflicting but you do need to drive traffic to your website before your website and its page ranking will generate traffic for you.

The main thing is time, you can choose to pay thousands of dollars and get your number one rank straight away or you can use some simple techniques and a little bit of patience to achieve the same result.

Till next time

Alec.

Dedicated Website vs Facebook

Dedicated Website vs Facebook

Social Media in modern society has taken over a lot. It has worked its way into our lives and embedded itself. Facebook has got over 1.3 billion users and is still growing. Twitter is a hub of social activity and even the neglected Google+ has now got its fair share of active users. Social media has become so prominent that it is being used as a platform for marketing and selling, turning everyone into an entrepreneur. The fact that it is so easy to get followers and likes and build up an audience has raised the question for businesses, "Is it worth having a dedicated website?". Although it has to be noted that this question does not only apply to businesses but to everyone who thinks a Facebook page is useful. Is getting a dedicated website and investing time and money into that going to be fruitful when the other option is to just have a Facebook page and direct traffic towards that? Of course it is possible and advisable to have both and link them to ensure and promote traffic to your business or service but many people are deciding to forgo the idea of a dedicated website purely because of the simplicity of social media.

For example, ASIT-Group are currently developing a website for a local band (the link will be supplied when it is completed). Almost all of the members of this band were very hesitant about the idea of a website at first because Facebook is the most prominent form of advertising online. After doing a bit of research and looking around at other bands they finally decided to launch their very own dedicated website for a few different reasons.

1) Professionalism

                Having a Facebook page, a Twitter profile, a Google+ account (and for the more daring of you) a Linked In account is all well and good, but easy. Being able to set up an account on any social media requires little to no knowledge and an email address. As such, every social media platform is slowly, but surely, becoming flooded by spam and people vainly attempting to make a quick dollar. Having an account is a good and effective way of reaching your intended audience quickly, however, having a dedicated website, custom designed for your brand, is a whole new level. It oozes professionalism. It speaks volumes about the seriousness of your endeavor without needing to say anything. If you can hand over a business card that has a "www.thisismywebsite.com" on it, then people will immediately trust you a little bit more and they have that incentive to actually go to the site and become engaged. On the other hand, if you meet a potential client and at the end of the meeting say "Look us up on Facebook"...well...what do you think?

2) Possibilities

                The possibilities of a dedicated website far outweigh anything generic social media platforms can offer. Yes, you can have band profiles and merchandise pages and a myriad of different things with social media. However, a dedicated website offers you that and more. You can have a custom designed space in the cyber world completely dedicated to you and your business. Look up "beautiful websites" on Google and tell me that those websites are not incredible. It is literally a form of art nowadays and having a website that stands out from the crowd will definitely attract a bit of attention.

3) Business

                Selling stuff. That's what you want right? Whether it is physical goods, content, music or something else. The whole point in the end is to either make a name for yourself or to make a bit of cash. Honestly, if you have a well set up store on a dedicated website that people trust then they will buy things. It's as simple as that. Many people try and sell things through the platform that Facebook offer but every social media ever has had security issues and lots of people don't trust it. To be able to tell people that they can buy your goods on your website means they will at least check it out and in the end traffic is traffic.

Don't get the wrong idea. Social Media is amazing. It has opened up the door to incredible possibilities and has almost limitless potential, but don't underestimate the power of a dedicated website. In the end, a combination of the two will prove to be the most effective solution and guarantee the maximum possible audience.

Till next time.

Alec

Part 2 - Improving your network

Welcome to part 2 of our Home Networking blog series, sit back, sip a warm cup of tea, and learn about your network.

We are covering Maximization of networks today, and will be discussing wireless signal strengths, improving network coverage and speeds, prioritizing traffic, and basic tools for parental controls.

Once you have built your network with the appropriate hardware, sometimes our needs will change, or our infrastructure won’t perform how we intend, this is the time to re-evaluate the network.

When trying to improve wireless signal strength around the house, you can take two different approaches, running Ethernet cables or EoP (Ethernet over Power) devices, or wireless repeating / boosting.  The latter of the two will be the easiest to implement but is not without its own disadvantages.
Wireless repeaters will take a wireless signal they are given (from something like your modem/router) and rebroadcast it, already we can see that the wireless repeater will have to be placed somewhere in your house that has decent Wi-Fi coverage, this will be fine for most applications, however if we were trying to cover an adjacent property or another floor in the house, getting a good Wi-Fi signal to repeat may become a bit of a problem, and that is usually when you will start looking at running Ethernet cables, or a EoP solution.
Ethernet cables and EoP allow internet and network traffic to travel through physical cable, thus giving flexibility of placement and greater range than a traditional wireless signal, at the termination point of the Ethernet cables or EoP module, a wireless access point or Router will need to be installed, these could give you more Ethernet ports for things like TV’s, Computers, Game Consoles etc., as well as extending the wireless coverage of your home.

BREAKDOWN

Wi-Fi Range Extenders:

Pros:
                Inexpensive and quick to set up
                Simple solution to boost coverage
                Unobtrusive and applicable to rental properties
                Easy to reposition / remove
                No permanent modifications necessary.


Cons:
                Gaming traffic will have higher latency / ping
                Limited usability due to architecture of the devices
                Reduced network speed when using multiple devices
                Limited range
                Placement is very particular, getting this right is key

Ethernet / EoP + Router / Access Point:

Pros:
                Durable hidden infrastructure, requires little to no maintenance
                Up to Gigabit speeds (depending on cables and hardware used)
                No real increase in latency for gaming applications
                Can be used up to 100m away with standard Ethernet cabling
                Coverage of multiple levels
                Many Ethernet cables can be run for a comprehensive solution

Cons:
                More expensive than range extenders as you are buying multiple devices
                Costly to install
                Not easy to move / reposition
                Setup and configuration is more complicated than range extenders

Now we move on to prioritizing network traffic.  Yes this can be done and should be set up at the time of installation and configuration.  We won’t be going into depth here on Quality of Service rules, or what ports to use, as there are numerous tutorials online for the exact modem / router you will be using.  In short, Quality of Service will prioritize network traffic you specify, for example, I could make sure my emails and attachments always get priority for my work computer, or give priority to a gaming console for that extra boost in reaction time and to reduce lag, how you implement this is up to you and is very much hardware specific.

Limiting what can be viewed at home on your network can be a daunting task when presented with the plethora of hardware and software solutions available on the internet, I will be covering the basics of a software solution provided by openDNS.com. With a solution like openDNS you configure a ‘midway station’ or sorts for your internet traffic, instead of going straight from a website to your computer, you are routing it through a filter.  The great thing about this is that everything is filtered, not just one or two computers.  Phones, tables, laptops, it is all managed externally.
OpenDNS is simple to set up and is designed so a basic computer user can get the ball rolling, setup is immediate and even suggests new sites that you may want to exclude from your family’s browser history.  When openDNS you can even create a custom splash screen, not a generic NOT ALLOWED response, and if your family thinks the filter has a page blocked in error, they can email it to you quickly and easily.  Read more here: http://www.opendns.com/home-internet-security/parental-controls/

Ok, so that’s it from ASIT-Group this week, keep your eyes peeled for our next blog post coming from Alec, another one of our directors.

Till next time,
Alex