As September comes to an end, it is time to look back our must popular posts of the month.
No. 1: Develop a Store Finder with the Google Maps API, Part 2
The most read September 2010 post was part two of a tutorial mini-series focused on building a store find application.
No. 2: High-Tech Website Design
Computers, peripherals, MP4 players, televisions, game consoles, software and more can be purchased online. In fact, high-tech items were some of the first wares that ecommerce merchants offered, and the sites that sell them can be a source of design inspiration.
In this showcase, we've rounded up 20 examples that can inspire your designs.
No. 3: Adding Static Blocks in Magento Template Files
In Magento, static blocks are short snippets of HTML that can be called from template pages. Static blocks are an excellent way to add sidebar content, manage category banners, or even add content sliders to a site's home page, category pages, or product pages. In this short tutorial, we demonstrated how to add a home page merchandising image using static blocks and Magento version 1.4.1.1.
No. 4: Create an Easy 'Scroll-to' Effect with JavaScript
You can reposition a web page right before the user's eyes with a custom, scroll-to effect. In this tutorial, we demonstrated how to build a custom scroll-to feature, which is useful for ecommerce sites. For example, if one wants to get a lot of customer feedback, it might be a good idea to place a contact form on every page of the site—with a template, of course. In this case, the "contact" link wouldn't open a new page, but rather would reposition the current page so that the contact form was front and center.
No. 5: Add Tool Tips to Your Site Navigation Like the Old Spice Store
The Old Spice online store emphasizes brand. It communicates the venerable cologne-turned-modern-grooming-product's edgy and masculine message in every color, graphic, and word. The site also makes nice use of tool-tip-like graphics to describe the global navigation links, while, conveying the product's essence.
In this brief tutorial, we described how to get a similar navigation tool tip effect using CSS and JavaScript.
No. 6: Develop a Store Finder with the Google Maps API, Part 3
Providing store location information is an important site feature for online purveyors that also sell from brick-and-mortar stores, so taking advantage of Google's powerful Maps JavaScript API is a great way to transform what might have been a static list of addresses into an interactive map application.
This article was part three of a tutorial mini-series created to demonstrate how to use PHP, JavaScript, XML, and other web languages to create a store locator application with the Google Maps API.
No. 7: Design Trust, Draw Inspiration from Banking Site Designs
Ecommerce website design should inspire trust and professionalism. Customers need to feel like the stores they are doing business with will properly manage both their financial and personal information. For ecommerce web designers it can be helpful to look at design examples from other industries that must also convey trustworthiness to its clientele.
In this showcase, we collected screen captures from some of the largest banking website. As we went through the sites, we asked if we would trust this site with all of my financial information.
No. 8: Develop a Store Finder with the Google Maps API, Part 4
Many successful ecommerce businesses also sell through brick-and-mortar stores. Therefore, having location information on a website can help improve cross channel sales in some cases. This tutorial is the fourth in a series on how to build a location-finding web application using the Google Maps API, PHP, JavaScript, Ajax, and, of course, HTML and CSS.
No. 9: Create Custom Vector Buttons in Adobe Illustrator
Buttons are one of the most common elements found on web pages today. They are used to attract attention to specific links or to direct user actions. In this video tutorial, Drew Coffin will show you how to create a stylish vector button using Adobe Illustrator CS4.
No. 10: Quick Tips & Shortcuts: Manipulating Anchor Points in Adobe Illustrator
The two tools that some professional graphic designers use the most in Adobe Illustrator are the Pen tool and the Direct Selection tool. And in this post Drew Coffin has a few tips and tricks for using these tools.
Related Articles
- August 2010: Our Ten Most Read Posts
- July 2010 Top Ten: Our Most Read Posts
- The Top Ten Ecommerce Developer Articles for June 2010
