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Web Development Tools Essentials for any Web Developer
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Web Development Tools Essentials for any Web Developer

by Adrian Ababei on May 04 2016

Web development can be a real hassle without any help from tools, friends or services. That’s why we’ve set up a list of web development tools that can save you many hours of work.

Shrinktheweb

Shrinktheweb.com helps web developers take automatic screenshots from the server they’re working on through server-side languages and complete plugin integration. With as little as 10 bucks a month you’ll get custom size captures, full length captures and the private label service which lets you add your own logo as the placeholder – you’ll be able to use the image for marketing purposes.

Muffingroup

The BeTheme is a Muffin theme that gets your WordPress website up and going in a matter of minutes, thanks to its lightning fast drag and drop builder which offers plenty of possibilities. The theme also offers a layouts generator which can provide you with unlimited layouts for customizable pages – you can pick between different skins, grids, layouts, headers and logos. Muffingroup is one of the best web development tools out there – it offers over 200 shortcodes which you can use for your pages, a custom font uploader and plenty of template pages for help pages, gallery pages, about us pages and features pages.

 

Simbla, One of the Must-Have Web Development Tools

Simbla is a powerful site-building platform with plenty of features. It’s one of the simplest web development tools available on the market today – it features a drag and drop system which can help you build code free websites in just a couple of minutes. Thanks to Bootstrap3, all websites built in Simbla are mobile responsive.

Flyzoo.co

Flyzoo is another interesting web development tool – you’ll be able to create embeddable group chats which you can use for different pages or layouts. All you have to do is log in to Flyzoo, click on setup, group chats and then get embedding code – you’re ready to go! Just copy the code into your page and adjust its height and width accordingly. Group chats are a great way for web developers to improve user engagement.

Iconfinder for web developers

Brand icons can be difficult to create but even so, icons are an important aspect of marketing as well as web development. Iconfinder can help you get in touch with a professional icon creator. Fill out a design brief, some specific details, target audience and other data about your brand or website and you’ll soon start receiving price quotes from designers.

Themify

Themify is another quick web development tool. You’ll start by importing a layout, replacing images and text and that’s it! Themify only works for WordPress though, for other more complex projects you’ll need to use other tools.

Pidoco.com for web development

Pidoco is an online prototyping tool and a real time saver any web developer. You’ll have over 400 elements in the library to play with and plenty of communication features such as sharing, commenting and so on. With Pidoco just about anyone can participate in critical design decisions by seeing the prototype in action.

Optinmonster

Optinmonster is an essential lead generation tool which you can use for your projects. Over 275.000 websites use Optinmonster with its built-in analytics, page level targeting, A/B testing, exit intent technology and the drag and drop builder. Building mobile responsive forms takes just a couple of minutes with Optinmonster, making it one of the most useful web development tools.

actiTIME

ActiTIME is a great time tracking solution for a small web development team. Users are able to track the time spent on various tasks, record business trips and days off. Team leaders can create projects, assign them and keep track of the project’s costs and deadlines.

Thesquid.ink

Squid Ink is another web development tool worth mentioning – it offers a huge library of over 2000 icons, divided into three types: solid, line and flat. There are many different formats and categories so you’re sure you’ll find the right icons for your web development project.

 

Bowtie

Database driven websites can have security risks and require constant maintenance to boot. Bowtie offers a faster and cleaner solution which includes all the features required to share and publish content with ease. Web developers can also have access to version control through git.

 

48hourslogo.com

One of the most popular web development tools is the 48hourslogo platform – you’ll get a beautiful looking logo for a reasonable price and in just two days.

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The Ultimate Guide to Canadian Web Accessibility Laws

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By making your site accessible, you are opening the door for a wider range of visitors, which may lead to increased traffic, engagement, and conversion rates. More customers. Web accessibility is all about meeting a wide variety of customer needs, and it can grow your customer base in the long run.  Improved SEO rankings. Some practices to make your site more accessible include writing relevant, concise content, adding ALT-text to images, or selecting simplistic layout designs. Also, these practices are good for SEO, as they increase your SERP ratings and your website's visibility.  Faster page loading speed. By working on your website's accessibility, you also improve your page loading time and the overall user experience.    Conclusion Keeping up with the evolving web accessibility laws in Canada is a must. The next step is to become proactive on your accessibility journey by designing and optimizing your web apps and sites to comply with the rules and regulations of WCAG. This will not only keep you away from lawsuits and penalties, but it will also boost your brand reputation and your business outcomes.  If you need a hand in building websites and web apps that are compliant with the latest Canadian accessibility laws, we are happy to help with proactive Drupal support for your development projects. Check out our Drupal Website Accessibility services and let's discuss how you can embrace an inclusive mindset that supports all your customers.    Photo credit: Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash. ... Read more
Raluca Olariu / Jul 22'2021
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How to Create Accessible Content More Easily

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  Web accessibility heavily relies on developers and designers. They are responsible for building code and specific design patterns to make a website accessible for people with disabilities.  Another way to enhance a site's accessibility is through content. Creating accessible content is paramount when it comes to making a website accessible to screen reader users or visitors that use assistive technologies.  Content editors can give a piece of writing accessibility by: writing relevant, concise, descriptive text links creating easily scannable headings adding alternative texts to every non-text element of the content writing meaningful copy   Regardless of the scope of your website, as a content editor, your mission is to create and optimize every piece of writing on your site with accessibility in mind. This also means putting yourself into the shoes of your audience and thinking from their perspective. 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Accessible content is comprehensive, concise, and includes meaningful structural elements. Robust. A piece of content is considered robust when it can be easily scanned and interpreted by assistive technologies.    How to create accessible content 1. Use specific link texts. And try to avoid link text like "Click here" as they're not suitable in terms of accessibility. Meaningful link texts convey and clearly describe what the URL is about, making it easier for people who use screen readers to interact with the content.  When using link texts, try to: Avoid raw URLs  Include specific keywords Be short and concise Make sure the link text fits naturally into the content Mention the type and size of files  in case of downloadable links   2. Write clear and simple content.  Using concise language for your website's content benefits multiple groups of visitors, such as: Users with cognitive disabilities Non-native English speakers Screen reader users Busy people who want to quickly go through your copy Depending on the professional level of your content's target audience, you should either avoid or explain technical terms and acronyms. Also, focus on using an active voice that clearly states your ideas and avoid long sentences and idioms.    3. Provide transcripts and captions.  While captions appear on the screen as written text, transcripts are the textual version of the video or audio content provided in a separate document.  Transcripts and captions make websites more accessible for users who: Have hearing issues Have low English skills Can't listen to the content due to environmental reasons Transcripts and captions can be provided for all video and audio content, or they can be done by request. Either way, they are great ways to improve a website's accessibility.    4. Add relevant, appropriately formatted headlines.  People with disabilities that use assistive software need scannable content that allows them to quickly find relevant information instead of wasting time going through the entire chunk of text. Structuring and styling your content in a scannable manner can also enhance your SEO efforts and improves your SERP visibility.   Design your headings with accessibility in mind, and ensure that you use them as structural elements of the content and define its hierarchy. The accessible text needs to provide readers the ability to quickly navigate between the most important sections, and headings are the tool for allowing this.    5. Use ALT text for images.  Whether you have complex images or just decorative images on your site, make them accessible by providing precise and concise ALT descriptions. Screen readers can't interpret non-text content elements, so images without ALT text are useless for screen reader users.  Like headlines, alternate descriptions highly improve your SEO rankings and visibility.  Make sure you use ALT text wisely by: Keeping your description short (under 125 characters) Avoiding images with text like graphs or diagrams    6. Write clear, to-the-point website instructions. Web accessibility is all about easier interactions with digital platforms. People want web experiences that require as few resources as possible on their part. And for online visitors with disabilities, this is more than a demand; it is a necessity.  Therefore, web instructions, error messages, or data formats must be easy to understand, so they can be considered accessible.  Part of creating accessible web content includes paying attention to how you write basic text like website instructions.   Web accessibility is here to stay. Implementing web accessibility into the core of your digital platform is a must. As web accessibility laws are getting more restrictive, brands start to think of making their websites accessible to support the future of their businesses. In an increasingly populated digital landscape, the mindset has to evolve in order to meet the complex needs of a variety of internet users. Companies that don't keep up with these trends will fall behind, and those who take web accessibility seriously will be on the winning side.  As we've seen, accessible content creation is not rocket science and will improve your website in multiple ways. Making your content accessible should be a priority and an essential part of your editorial workflow.  A few practices to remember for optimizing your content are: Always use ALT text for images Provide captions and transcripts for audio and video content Properly structure and format headings   If you need help to make your website more accessible, check out Optasy's Drupal Website Accessibility services. We'll offer our best support for helping you adopt an accessibility-first mindset to your website.    Photo credit: Nick Morrison on Unsplash.   ... Read more
Raluca Olariu / Jul 20'2021

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