Recent research shows users aged 3–12 are surfing the web with great proficiency. Designing for children requires a distinct approach, including targeted content, usability and design. It is truly a unique experience to design a kid friendly website in comparison to designing for the mature audience and market.

To design a top of the line website that appeals to kids, start by checking out and considering some of these best practices to get you started:

• Appealing design. Now is the perfect opportunity to use large images, bright colors and animations. Kids like cartoon characters and seeing them moving around, talking to them, or doing something funny. Use attractive, easy to read fonts of 12 or even 14 points.
• Minimal content. Kids are not interested in reading large amounts of text, so be sure to use as few words per page as possible. Moreover, avoid scrolling!
• Easy navigation. Little kids are not so internet and technology – savvy and they do not tolerate navigating from one page to another numerous times. Reduce the number of clicks, include direct links to videos and music, and use images to channel them to different website categories. Multiple and in-depth are strategies to steer clear of for a website dedicated to kids.
• Music and sounds. Music is magic for kids. Unlike adults, kids enjoy listening to a song while they are engaged in a website. Additionally, you could include songs they can replay as long as they wish, or make some characters sing, just remember to keep everything appropriate to the website’s overall theme.
• Videos. Cartoons are perfect for a kids-dedicated website, and due to their seemingly short attention span, kids they may not have the patience to watch more than a few minutes of video, so keep it short and sweet.
• Games. Kids like games, even ones that are educational. They learn through interaction or as a designer, you can use games for getting them to different website zones. Adapt games to appeal to different ages, which means you should conduct some research including a targeted survey before moving to design.
• Parental information. This is the most important aspect when it comes to best practices. It should be an integral part of any kids website. Parents look for safe websites, where the content is actively moderated and where they can easily find a way to communicate with its administrators or owners. Parental support will do wonders to the attractiveness and popularity of your website.

At CodeMyIMAGE we know how important is to be aware of the differences between the way kids use websites and the way adults do. We know kids are looking for fun and entertainment and parents for safe content in any kid friendly site .

In our latest article we provided a short list of mistakes done when designing mobile websites. We have searched the web for articles regarding the mobile environment and other possible websites mistakes you should avoid, and here’s what we have found:

• Check out The 6 Easiest Mistakes Mobile Web Designers Make,which Vail from the Underworld Magazines blog is presenting.
• Try one of the 10 Excellent Applications for Mobile Website Testing before launching your website in the mobile world.
• Analyze some Mobile Usage Statistics to better know your future visitors and to better understand the evolution of mobile environment.
• Read the Three Step Guide to Usability on the Mobile Web , an extensive article on mobile usability best practices.

It is no surprise that the future of media will be Mobile, as it is predicted that the number of mobile web users will outstrip those using laptops or desktop computers by 2015.  In a world where being connected anywhere and at anytime is the norm, can your business afford not to be online? If you want to stay competitive in your business, going mobile is a must.  And another must, is making sure it is done properly.

Here are 7 mistakes to avoid when designing a mobile website:

• Passing off your existing site. If your business is tempted to offer mobile users access to their current website and not create a custom one for the new environment, think again.    Your rich in content, photos and videos, will pose a real challenge to the mobile user.
• Not understanding your users. Keep in mind that a user will either access your mobile site during idle periods of time or are in a crunch for time and are looking for specific information quickly.  Don’t bore them with irrelevant information and make navigation easy.
• Assume all mobile devices are the same. Unfortunately, not all mobile devices are the same, so focus on the type you are designing for.  If you are designing for more than one type of device, be prepared to adjust your application.
• Slow loading. Speed is the most important factor for a satisfying online mobile experience, so keep it simple and minimize “heavy” content which may take additional time to load.
• Ignoring that “size matters”. The device may be small and you may be tempted to size everything for the citizens of Lilliput, but it’s important to remember that real, average sized hands will be using it.  So don’t go small, make it large, then make it larger.
• Making it complicated. Just keep it simple. Don’t offer too much at once, edit your content with only what is necessary.  Remember to make links and navigation easy to use.  Also keep in mind that “perfection is achieved not when there is nothing left to add, but when there’s nothing to take away”.
• Not testing. Creating a prototype and running tests is essential for a successful mobile website. Get feedback and make adjustments, don’t wait for the website to go live in order to identify and discover problems.

At CodeMyIMAGE we know that a mobile device  is not a mini computer and smartphone optimized websites require different design rules. Our professional designers will develop your mobile website keeping in mind your business needs and visitor expectations to deliver a most optimized application and experience.

In our latest article, we provided an extensive checklist for planning a web design project. Today, we bring you more resources on the subject. Enjoy!

Careful planning is the key element to make sure your website design is created the most effectively and in the most efficient manner possible.  Web design planning is your opportunity to define your website’s goals and to create a plan to achieve them.

Here is a checklist of steps you should consider for your web design project planning:

Inception Phase

• Set the website’s main goals;
• Create a user profile list;
• Define your users’ potential objectives when visiting your website;
• Set some basic design features –you may want it to be funny, friendly, technical or business;
• Create a main competitors (and their website address) list;
• Define some key messages you want your visitors to remember;
• Define the technical requirements you may need – such as CMS or mobile integration;
• Set the web development project’s budget and timeframe.

First Steps

• Analyze your competitors websites’ navigation and message;
• Create your website’s map, with content categories hierarchical ordered;
• Define Navigation Elements. Think of main navigation, breadcrumb trails, related links, pagination, footer navigation, and their visual display, like hyperlinked words, tabs and buttons;
• Design wireframes.
• Create multiple design concepts;
• Define the website’s forms with specific fields and validation systems.

Designing Phase

• Define page titles;
• Choose background colors;
• Define graphics styles;
• Set horizontal and vertical rules;
• Define headlines, titles, subtitles and labels style;
• Choose text fonts;
• Define links and visited links colors;
• Display graphics (pictures);
• Define bullet list style;
• Create banners and define their styles;
• Design image gallery.

At CodeMyIMAGE we’ve developed an efficient process for developing small to medium sized web sites. We understand that every project is unique and proper planning is the key to ensure a website design is developed in a step-by-step process to avoid missing elements that would impact design and schedule.  Defining and following a process, which includes considerable client interaction, should result in only minimal changes to your overall plan.