About Jenn Marie
Jenn Marie is a freelance copy writer and internet marketing strategist based out of the Seattle area. A true tech evangelist, Jenn previously helped individuals utilize the full potential of Dell, Microsoft and Amazon products. She now focuses on building authentic online presences for small businesses and entrepreneurs through her company, Jenn Marie Writing & Marketing.
53 articles
Using Personas to Create a Great User Experience
Every website, regardless of its artistic merit, should have an intended audience. For example, a blog might be designed around a particular topic, such as how to use a product or some other specific interest. Whereas a business website may be designed to reach certain customers, or an internal application may serve specific teams. Continue readingMarch 1, 2021•7 min read
Shopify vs WordPress Comparison 2022: Which is Best?
If you’re planning to sell online, you’ll need a website. Having your own website doesn’t just give your business full control of its online presence; It also gives your small… Continue readingDecember 10, 2020•16 min read
Wix vs WordPress Comparison 2022: Which is Best?
Have you wanted a website but were overwhelmed by the costs? It’s understandable why the idea might be daunting. Web designers are not cheap, and a quality website can easily… Continue readingJuly 7, 2020•22 min read
A Guide to Typography Design for the Web
When you’re planning a website, it’s easy to get lost in the details. Between the architecture and the color palette, there’s a lot to think about – especially if usability and the user’s experience is your primary concern. However, you shouldn’t overlook the importance of typography. When done correctly, it can lead to a more immersive experience and improve readability. Plus, with plenty of options to choose from, finding the perfect typography design is easier than ever before Continue readingJanuary 17, 2020•8 min read
6 Mobile Design Trends That Are Taking Over 2020
It’s 2018, and this year it’s all about mobile. This should be no surprise either, as website traffic over mobile phones has increased substantially since 2016. This means every web designer should be paying attention to mobile website design trends because their users are likely using a mobile device. An optimized mobile design is not only good for the user, but it’s also good for the business. Continue readingJanuary 2, 2020•8 min read
Don’t Miss These Top 7 Freelance Websites of 2020
Finding clients, when you’re starting out as a freelancer, is the hardest part of launching your new career. Word-of-mouth and local advertising are always great, but to make the most of your career, you need to use the Internet to your advantage. After establishing your own website and joining all the right social media groups, the next place to turn to is freelance hiring platforms. And you’re in luck! We’ve found some of the best freelance websites for 2019. Continue readingDecember 21, 2019•11 min read
10 Practical, Yet Fun, 2020 Holiday Gift Ideas for Coders
It’s the Holiday season again, and if you’re struggling to find the perfect gift for that coder in your life, you are probably not alone. Finding great gifts for anyone can be a struggle, but when it’s for someone who thinks in binary, it becomes even more complicated. Do not fear, however, because we’ve created a great list of holiday gift ideas for coders. Continue readingDecember 2, 2019•8 min read
Top 20 Help Center Solutions for 2020
Think your website doesn’t need support options? Think again. Every website has a user and every user could potentially need help. Plus, how a website provides that help significantly impacts the user experience. Thankfully, today’s online support options include more than a few help pages. Below are some of the top help center solutions for 2018. Continue readingDecember 1, 2019•9 min read
Creating a Social Media Calendar, the Easy Way
Have you thought about building a social media calendar, but didn’t because you thought it would be too much work? Not only is that a bad idea, but it’s also simply not true. Creating a social media calendar doesn’t have to be hard, especially when you start with a template. Continue readingJuly 3, 2019•8 min read
10 Tools to Optimize WordPress Images for a Better User Experience
No one likes a slow-loading website. Long load times aren’t just horrible for the user experience; they can also negatively impact a website’s SEO. For many WordPress sites, long load times are due to unoptimized images. These pictures, literally, bog down traffic and potential profits. However, large files aren’t the only reason your UX could tank. You also need to choose the right images for conveying your message. Continue readingMay 8, 2019•8 min read
Mood Boards: Don’t Skip This Step in the Web Design Process
Mood boards are to designers what outlines are to writers. They are a way to collect and organize the thoughts and ideas for a design project; from color palettes to typography. Mood boards help designers and stakeholders visualize where a project is going, before it even starts. You can make your mood board physical or digital, either way, using a mood board is ideal for communicating a project’s visual direction and is more effective than a verbal discussion. Continue readingApril 3, 2019•9 min read
Don’t Let Poor Photos Ruin the User Experience
Your website is almost done. You have your design sketched out. The sitemap has been approved. All that’s left to do is add a few pictures… But wait! Before you grab some random stock photo, put some thought into the images you choose. Photos are more than just design; they are a critical part of branding. If you aren’t careful, your pretty pictures can lead to a poor user experience. Continue readingOctober 17, 2018•8 min read
Creating (and Protecting) Your Brand Story
A brand is a powerful asset for any business, and your website is just one piece of the story. Even with the best design, factors outside of your control, such as user reviews, social media, and even other employees can quickly derail even the best branding strategy. This article will explain how to not only create a website that supports a brand story but also how to ensure that the story remains Continue readingOctober 10, 2018•8 min read
How Empathy Maps Can Revitalize Your UX
Is your website failing to impress your users? If so, it might be time to focus on improving your user experience. Typically, that means user research in the form of usability testing, focus groups, and direct-request feedback. But sometimes, that just isn’t enough. While there are many ways to learn about your user, communicating what you’ve learned to everyone on your team can be more of a challenge. Continue readingAugust 15, 2018•8 min read
Microsites: What Are They, and When To Use Them
Microsites are typically small, targeted websites focused on a specific audience or campaign. But sometimes they pop up more than they should across brands and organizations of all industries. See when you should use a microsite, and crucial questions to help you organize the right team and resources. Continue readingJune 19, 2018•7 min read
5 Tips for a Successful Content Migration
Is it time to migrate your content? Don’t fret, the process doesn’t have to be as daunting as it seems. Besides, you were going to need to do it one day. Updates and migrations are a part of website development, and content migrations are critical to both website redesign and maintenance. Migrations are the final piece of the website perfecting puzzle; however, they need to be done correctly; otherwise, your new site may quickly become a user experience nightmare. Continue readingJune 14, 2018•10 min read
Here’s How to Keep Your FAQ Page from Becoming A Graveyard
Are you thinking of including an FAQ page on your next website project? There’s a good chance you are. The frequently asked questions page is a common feature of many websites - regardless of the industry. They serve as a single place for a website user to find answers to all the common questions they might have about your product, services, organization or other relevant topics. They make it easy for website users; but unfortunately, they are seldom executed correctly. Continue readingJune 12, 2018•8 min read
Why a Call-to-Action Will Always Matter
The internet has been around for a while, and during that time there have been many changes in website design. We’ve gone from dancing gif files to flat design 2.0. We’ve lengthened content, minimized word counts, and added videos. One thing that is certain is that the user experience of the world wide web is continually evolving; another is that the call-to-action is a fundamental element of website design. Continue readingJune 8, 2018•8 min read
Microcopy Can Affect Your UX – Here’s How
You may not have heard of microcopy, but you’ve definitely have seen it. Microcopy are those small pieces of text that instruct, direct or inform users. It’s the copy that helps users know what to do, and ultimately significantly impacts a website’s user experience. Microcopy appears everywhere on a website, you’ll see it as error messages, on pop-ups, as email subject lines, and in those call-to-actions that encourage you to add an item to your shopping cart. Continue readingJune 5, 2018•8 min read
The Flat Design 2.0 Revolution
Flat design hasn’t been around very long, but it is already experiencing a bit of a revolution. The first iteration of flat design, known as Flat Design 1.0, exploded onto the web design scene around 2011, with dramatic design principles that challenged what many considered the standard. Now, less than ten years later, designers are seeing a new type of flat design, a more moderate iteration, known as flat design 2.0. Continue readingMay 30, 2018•8 min read
Check Out Some of Our Latest New Features
At Slickplan, we focus on making website creation a breeze, and some of our latest features make that goal even more possible. From Google Analytics integration to multilingual support these new features will take you from concept to website in no time. Gone are the days of multiple tabs – at least when it comes optimizing established website projects. Continue readingMay 3, 2018•5 min read
How to Create Actionable Results with Usability Reporting
Creating a website project with a great user experience is much more than testing and designing. There’s also that critical step in between the two; when you interpret those test results and use them to make highly useful sites. Usability reporting is the process of delivering your test results to other designers, key decision makers and anyone else directly involved in the creation of the final project. Continue readingApril 10, 2018•8 min read
How to Improve User Experience with a Usability Test
A website is as good as it is useful, so how do you plan one that your intended users will love? Creating a highly useful website is strongly tied to improving user experience, and a good user experience is strongly tied to successful websites. Understanding how to use a usability test to create these successful websites is somewhat akin to having a superpower. Continue readingApril 4, 2018•8 min read
10 Everyday Sources of Web Design Inspiration
Before you become overwhelmed with frustration, take a moment to consider these ten sources of web design inspiration. Continue readingMarch 28, 2018•8 min read
XML Sitemaps Still Matter for SEO – Here’s Why
Submitting a website to search engines used to be the sole responsibility of SEO firms that help companies increase their online visibility. Now, anyone can do it by creating an XML sitemap. Continue readingMarch 14, 2018•8 min read
7 Strategies for Freelancers Looking to Sell More Websites
Selling more websites shouldn’t be as hard as it is, but unfortunately, for many freelancers, it’s an unfortunate reality. As with many creatives, the idea of selling might make you uncomfortable – even with the large number of online tools that make the process easier. Continue readingMarch 7, 2018•8 min read
Top 5 Web Analytics Tools Great for UX
Improving the user experience of a web project requires data and lots of it. You need to know what the user wants if you plan to create something that entertains or moves them to action. Great user experience is what separates a high-converting website from a mere website with a lot of visitors. Therefore, improving UX should be at the forefront of every web designer’s brain. Continue readingFebruary 28, 2018•8 min read
Redesign Websites Without the Oversized Coffee Mug
You’ve just been told that your company has decided to redo the website – all of it. For most designers, redesigns are just part of the job, but they aren’t always a welcome part. Unlike new sites, when you redesign existing websites you have the additional steps of auditing the current site, saving what works, identifying what needs to be fixed, and making it all look brand new. Continue readingFebruary 9, 2018•8 min read
How To Plan Large Websites With Less Stress
So, you’ve been asked to build a website, and it’s far from small. At this point, the question isn’t “how will you build it,” it’s “how will you plan it.” Slickplan understands how hard it can be to plan large websites, and thankfully, has many tools to help you do just that. Continue readingFebruary 1, 2018•8 min read
15 of the Best Website Development Blogs to Read
The field of web development is rapidly changing. Thanks to open-source and innovation, as soon as you learn one technology, a new one comes along. Because of this, it can be challenging to stay up to date in the industry. Thankfully, web development blogs make it easy for anyone to stay current with the relevant topics of today. Continue readingJanuary 17, 2018•8 min read
How To Properly Vet A Website Graphic Designer
Nowadays, almost anyone could use a website, which means nearly everyone could use a website graphic designer. However, hiring any type of help is challenging, and design help is even more so. In addition to finding someone that is capable of creating the kind of designs that you are looking for, you also have to find someone that will deliver that quality of work within your time and cost budget. Continue readingJanuary 11, 2018•8 min read
10 Tips for an SEO-Friendly, Easy to Navigate Website
Nowadays, it is easy for many websites to focus solely on search engine optimization, yet ensuring easy navigation on your website is more important than many people realize. To the surprise of some, website navigation and SEO optimization go hand in hand, because easily navigable sites are easier to understand by search engines. Plus, when search engines understand your site's navigation, they are more likely to display it to the qualified end-users searching for your keywords. Continue readingJanuary 9, 2018•8 min read
How to sell website design – 6 tips that don’t require a sales rep
You make websites; and if you also sell web design services, you probably do a good job at it. The problem is, however, being able to make good websites doesn’t always mean you are able to sell your web design services. You’re a designer, not a salesperson after all! Continue readingJanuary 4, 2018•9 min read
Design Better With These UX New Year’s Resolutions
Usability is not a trend, it is a necessity. If you aren’t already ensuring that your digital content is easy to navigate you should start now. It doesn’t have to be hard. There are plenty of UX strategies that make the process of creating user-focused experiences easy. It’s all about knowing what they are and deciding to use them. Continue readingDecember 27, 2017•8 min read
When Should You Use a One Page Website?
What if you could say everything that you needed to say on a single page without the hassle of menus? The one page website makes this a possibility, while also adding native responsiveness, an intense focus on content, and lowered design costs. However, with all great things, there is a cost, and this popular web design trend comes with its drawbacks. Continue readingDecember 20, 2017•8 min read
10 Techniques for Optimizing User Flow on a Website
Is your website underperforming? Before you spend money on more marketing, consider improving the user experience first. User flow optimization is an excellent way to make any site better while maintaining the user as the focus. Before you can discuss how to improve user flow, you must first understand what user flow is. Basically speaking, user flow represents the path taken by a website user to complete a specific task. Continue readingDecember 7, 2017•8 min read
9 User Registration Forms That Fit a Variety of Needs
Think you can’t get creative with a user registration form? Think again. User registration forms come in a variety of flavors, all designed to introduce site visitors to a website, convert them to users, or send them further down a sales funnel. They are literally the front door of many web-based projects and are, therefore, vital to creating an experience the user will love. Continue readingNovember 29, 2017•8 min read
Organize Your Blog Content with Taxonomies
Adding a blog to your website, or maintaining one that is separate from it is much more than merely putting words on a screen. Just like any other website, it… Continue readingNovember 16, 2017•8 min read
How to Lower Your Website Exit Rate
Nowadays, websites much do much more than just look good. They must also perform. One way to measure the performance of a website is with its exit rate. Unfortunately, many people do not know what an exit rate is, or how to lower it. The first thing to understand about the exit rate is that it is not the bounce rate. The bounce rate represents the frequency of times that a user landed on a particular page and left from that same page. Bounce rates potentially denote an unhappy site visitor, someone who landed on a page and had no interest to visit any others. Continue readingNovember 3, 2017•5 min read
14 Information Architecture Books We Love
When it comes to information architecture, there is a vast amount of information on the internet, but it is not always easy to discern which information is worth your time. Unfortunately, there aren’t many online sources that thoroughly teach the ins and outs of web design. Luckily there are some excellent published works that are well worth your time and money. Continue readingAugust 23, 2017•20 min read
3 Best Podcasts for Every Type of Web Designer
Whether it’s a podcast dedicated to website architecture or one focused on branding through web design, you are sure to find something that helps grow your knowledge. It’s also easy to find the perfect one to fit into your life, as podcasts can vary in lengths and frequency. Listen to a 30-minute show on your daily commute, or settle in for a longer episode over an extended lunch. However you choose to listen, you are sure to find something you like. Below are three of the best podcasts for web designers of all types. Continue readingJuly 26, 2017•4 min read
Do you Need to Prep for Information Architecture Design?
So, you are all set. You’ve talked with the client (or yourself), and you have a good sense of what you are going to do. Now is the time to start organizing and diagramming your IA, right? Not so fast – before you begin, there are a few things to keep in mind. When it comes to website design, many people don’t recognize the amount of work that goes into it before you have a finished product. It’s almost like reality television. Sure you are watching it as it unfolds, but did you consider what may have happened before the show aired? Continue readingJuly 17, 2017•3 min read
You Can be Anything but Not Everything
When designing with the user in mind, it can be tempting to try and please everyone at the same time. While it may seem efficient or even practical to meet every possible need, in reality it’s not the best way to approach web design. Instead of going after all potential users, it is much better to have a targeted audience. Let’s discuss why and how. Continue readingJuly 12, 2017•4 min read
Cards: Your Ace In The Hole For A Winning User Experience
When it comes to User Experience, cards are an excellent medium for consolidating and communicating user information. The ability to both customize and re-ordering cards, based on the user's personal preferences and behavior patterns, makes it easy to create a satisfying User Experience (UX) for everyone involved. Many people think of playing cards when you mention the word ‘cards’; but generally speaking, cards have been an information dissemination device for many years. We’ve used business cards and trading cards to quickly share information in an attractive and easy-to-digest way. The cards used in website design are based on the same principle. Continue readingJuly 5, 2017•3 min read
Why Business Goals Are Important to Information Architecture
Why do you need to understand the business for Information Architecture? The first reason is because it helps define the context of a page. Additionally, when you consider business goals, you help support the business, which is designed to support the users. It’s important to remember - there are business goals for every project, and money is often at its root. If you were designing for only want the user wanted and needed, there would be no need for anyone to pay for such products and services. There’d also be a lot fewer websites advertising them. Continue readingJune 28, 2017•4 min read
How To Clean Your Website Of Unnecessary Clutter
You’ve probably heard the saying, ‘less is more’ but have you given any thought to how to apply that truism to your website? Sure, you want to create a well- designed site, but you also need to balance your design with something that will actually serve its purpose. Especially when talking about things such as landing and intro pages there is a thin line between busy and clean. In this blog post, I’ll discuss some ways to not only recognize clutter in your UI, but also stop it in its tracks. Continue readingJune 7, 2017•5 min read
3 Ways to Learn Information Architecture Online
Information architecture wasn’t always a stand-alone function. When the Internet was still young, this responsibility was assigned to the webmaster. Now, as websites become more complex, many web teams need a dedicated individual to manage their site’s structure. The information architect not only thinks about what is on the site but also how the end user will interact with that information. If you are looking to build well-organized, user-friendly websites, understanding information architecture is a definite prerequisite. Thankfully, there are many ways to do so online. Continue readingMay 31, 2017•3 min read
Illustrate Your Ideas with Design Mockups
Whether you have a simple wireframe, an elaborate sketch or a fully polished mockup, it can be easily uploaded into your project. To connect your design to your sitemap, select design mockup from the drop-down page menu. You can upload almost any image file type, including .tiff, .jpeg and .png Continue readingMay 24, 2017•2 min read
It’s Time to Audit Your Information Architecture
Your site is a collection of information built upon a defined Information Architecture, making it easy to navigate through. However, if you don’t know what content you have, it’s hard to put together a useful architecture. Whether you’re creating something from scratch or redesigning an existing site, completing a content audit will help you take stock of all of the information you need before you begin assessing IA. Continue readingMay 18, 2017•4 min read
Want Better Service Quality? Start by Improving the Customer Experience
If a website or mobile app is designed to help users do something -- whether for business, pleasure or information, shouldn’t it, by definition, benefit that user? Most designers are aware of this principle; however they still struggle with utilizing it. Service quality, as a result, has become a relevant measurement of the success of a website or app. Service Quality is heavily based on the customer’s experience. The customer determines whether or not the service they received satisfied their initial expectations. Their experience will be what they base it on. If you want your customers to report better Service Quality, give them the experience they are looking for. Continue readingApril 26, 2017•4 min read
Creating User-Friendly Navigation on a Pageless Website
If you’ve been on any websites the last couple of years, you may have noticed the popularity of pageless websites. It wouldn’t be a surprise, because these endlessly scrolling websites have been called the future of website design. Their pros and cons have been discussed from many points of view, including the technical considerations of page load time, their effect on SEO, and their low-maintenance. User experience, however, is an entirely different consideration. Continue readingApril 14, 2017•5 min read
You’ve Created Your Sitemap, but What About the Content?
For years, the process of planning content involved multiple documents, complicated spreadsheets, and lost emails. Slickplan puts an end to the madness in one simple click. If you aren’t already using our content planning tool, here are some ways to do so. Continue readingMarch 31, 2017•4 min read
Starting a UI Project with the UX in Mind
When designing a user interface, it’s easy to get lost in the process and forget about the end user. Even though the user interface is designed to create a connection between man and machine, many of us instead focus on the machine rather than the man. Continue readingMarch 17, 2017•2 min read