It's entirely possible you've heard of these 3 websites. If you have, congrats! You may like or dislike them for whatever reasons; different methods for different folks.
From various articles I skimmed this year, I found 3 websites that have become indispensable tools for work and personal use.
These websites relate to:
• Curating images
• Creating infographics and
• Free website services.
Hopefully by this time, bloggers realize how crucial it is to include images in their posts.
Often, it can be challenging to find a quality image that is free and clear to use legally. (Unless you have a good-sized budget to spend on Shutterstock.)
Even if you THINK an image is labeled for re-use (a search option available from Google), that does not mean that it IS legal for you to use. I learned this the hard way. Getty Images has a dedicated staff searching sites for unlicensed images.
Not to worry, there are MANY sites where you can find good quality, free images. Some of these free image websites require time-consuming scrolling if there is no search engine or tags with images.
Website #1 - Pixabay (Free Images - Photos, Vector Graphics, Illustrations)
Easily searchable by type of graphic, orientation and color.
This is where I find nearly all my blog images now - for just about any topic.
Infographics have shown to have a huge impact on whether content is shared. It is much easier to visualize data than to read about it (especially when the average reader has an 8 second attention span).
There are a number of websites that assist with creating Infographics. I go with what I find most user-friendly and the design options.
Website #2 - Easel.ly - (Create and Share Visual Ideas)
It's a fun way to present data and a good practice in editing for the blogger. Trim down your content to the most important points and make the info easier to consume and share.
Perhaps I should have done that for this post?
Landing Pages are known to be a great way to capture lead info. Compel people to visit a web page focused on a single concept, and use one call to action (like a form). Leads fill it out to get access to a report or other info.
I have used Unbounce for this as well as other sites. All have similar features to my new, favorite site.
Website #3 - Instapage (Build Quick and Professional Landing Pages - A/B Testing)
I was using Unbounce for landing pages when I read about Instapage and gave it a shot. VERY user-friendly, clean, wonderful templates to choose from, and excellent customer service (and I've only used the free version). You can upgrade 29$ a month to get rid of the logo, customize CSS, add Javascript, SEO features and more.
It's also a great service for someone who only needs one page for a website. A tech novice can easily use a professional template and edit any components to make it look unique. There are a wide variety of templates for various categories.
Though I use dozens of sites on a daily basis, those 3 were exciting discoveries for me.
Comment below - what web tools have you discovered recently and why do you like them??
And what will we discover in 2015...
Hopefully by this time, bloggers realize how crucial it is to include images in their posts.
Often, it can be challenging to find a quality image that is free and clear to use legally. (Unless you have a good-sized budget to spend on Shutterstock.)
Even if you THINK an image is labeled for re-use (a search option available from Google), that does not mean that it IS legal for you to use. I learned this the hard way. Getty Images has a dedicated staff searching sites for unlicensed images.
Not to worry, there are MANY sites where you can find good quality, free images. Some of these free image websites require time-consuming scrolling if there is no search engine or tags with images.
Website #1 - Pixabay (Free Images - Photos, Vector Graphics, Illustrations)
Easily searchable by type of graphic, orientation and color.
This is where I find nearly all my blog images now - for just about any topic.
Infographics have shown to have a huge impact on whether content is shared. It is much easier to visualize data than to read about it (especially when the average reader has an 8 second attention span).
There are a number of websites that assist with creating Infographics. I go with what I find most user-friendly and the design options.
Website #2 - Easel.ly - (Create and Share Visual Ideas)
It's a fun way to present data and a good practice in editing for the blogger. Trim down your content to the most important points and make the info easier to consume and share.
Perhaps I should have done that for this post?
Landing Pages are known to be a great way to capture lead info. Compel people to visit a web page focused on a single concept, and use one call to action (like a form). Leads fill it out to get access to a report or other info.
I have used Unbounce for this as well as other sites. All have similar features to my new, favorite site.
Website #3 - Instapage (Build Quick and Professional Landing Pages - A/B Testing)
I was using Unbounce for landing pages when I read about Instapage and gave it a shot. VERY user-friendly, clean, wonderful templates to choose from, and excellent customer service (and I've only used the free version). You can upgrade 29$ a month to get rid of the logo, customize CSS, add Javascript, SEO features and more.
It's also a great service for someone who only needs one page for a website. A tech novice can easily use a professional template and edit any components to make it look unique. There are a wide variety of templates for various categories.
Though I use dozens of sites on a daily basis, those 3 were exciting discoveries for me.
Comment below - what web tools have you discovered recently and why do you like them??
And what will we discover in 2015...
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