Data visualization involves the conversion of data or information into a graphical form so that users can understand the trends and ideas contained in the information. Various methods that can be used to convert data into a visual form have existed for years now. The number of data visualization tools and libraries has even gone up over the past five years.
There are so many eCommerce themes out there that you may feel dizzy while searching for the right one. Upon multiple clients’ requests, TemplateMonster revealed their most popular designs for online stores to narrow down your search to only tried and tested solutions. In their roundup, you can find the best WordPress eCommerce themes for a wide range of niches. They include cars, clothes, electronics, food, cosmetics, flowers, medical equipment, cookware, books, and many others. Even if there is no theme related to your specific field, you can adapt any of them to it thanks to their full customizability.
Integrated with WooCommerce, the themes are supplied with all the essential functionalities to turn your store into a powerful, money-making machine. Here they are.
Responsive Design. These Bootstrap-powered themes are fully responsive and, therefore, suitable for mobile commerce. Not only can responsive design provide an equally optimal experience for users of different devices, but also make your store Google-friendlier.
Sticky Navigation. Being fixed to the header, the menu bar gives a constant access to product categories, wherever the visitor is on the page.
Dropdown Cart. Thanks to this feature, there’s no need to proceed to a new page each time customers want to check all the items in the cart.
Rich Multimedia. You can fill your store with podcasts and videos to show your items in action. With a video product presentation, it’s possible to boost customer engagement.
Product Showcase. What can provide a successful product presentation is a slider, carousel, badges, ratings, easy-to-the-eye palette, and much more. If you need to add some awesome graphics you can use free vectors download search engine.
Customer Interaction. The best WordPress eCommerce themes by TM are supplied with tools to let you interact with customers. A contact form enables visitors to send you an email, newsletter form allows them to subscribe for your store updates, and online chat ensures real-time communication.
Google Map. It allows you to display the location of your store and its branches on an interactive map with a zoom-in effect.
Advanced Animation. These themes utilize advanced animation effects for different purposes. For example, parallax scrolling makes static pages more dynamic, whereas lazy loading minimizes their load times.
WPML-Ready. This is what you need to build a multilingual store and, therefore, sell products on a global scale. The people you reach, the more sales you can make.
Free Lifetime Support. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the team of professional consultants at virtually any time, 24/7. Consultation is always free, whether a day or a year has passed since you purchased your theme.
Keep in mind that these are the major features of the best WordPress eCommerce themes by TM. Each of them has its own zest to make your store unique, powerful and profitable. Go to MonsterPost and choose a proven solution for your eCommerce project. After you bought your site template, it’s time to choose the right hosting for your site, check out this hosting feature comparison chart.
It may be a challenge to keep up with web design trends, as they come and go with lightening speed. On the web, you can find loads of content related to this topic. Different bloggers mention different trends and call the same trends in different ways, that’s why you’ll have to do some research to figure things out. But there’s also an alternative, less time-consuming solution. Go to the Monster post with an all-inclusive collection of 60+ web design trends of 2016. Based on the in-depth analysis of 70+ resources, it can be your one-stop place to get all the necessary info about this topic.
To let you find the necessary aspect faster, this tremendous roundup is divided into 9 categories. Check them out below.
Layout. This category contains layout-related trends including split screens, blocks grid, card layouts, vintage style, material design, geometric shapes, no header / footer, and much more.
Imagery. Here, you can learn about wise use of visuals, namely single images, natural stock photography, full-screen background video, vibrant custom illustrations and iconography.
Animation. Want to make your website pages livelier and more engaging? Find out how 3D and video backgrounds, cinemagraphs, micro experiences, and other trends can help you.
Scrolling. In this category, you can choose techniques to optimize your page scrolling. To name some of them, it’s worthwhile to mention long scroll, parallax, and scrolljacking.
Usability. Running a user-friendly site is a must for customer retention. Learn how to take advantage from responsive design, proliferation of UI patterns, passive aggressive pop-ups, live product previews, automated task runners, and more.
Loading. There are also a few tricks to accelerate page loading, e.g. lazy load, preloaders, and “blur up” method.
Designer’s Toolkit. Do you wonder what tools are widely used in2016 besides Photoshop? The roundup has a separate category for them. They include Sketch app, collaboration tools, browser-based prototyping tools, etc.
Coding. Learn how coding will revolutionize in 2016. Among the major points of this category, there are CSS shapes, server-side JavaScript, native JS mobile apps, Sass & SCSS mixins, and others.
Futuristic Forecast. The last category has a curious forecast about wearables and augmented vision gadgets.
Such a thought-out categorization makes it easier to explore 60+ web design trends to follow in 2016. Visit the Monster post to learn about each of them in detail and choose the most suitable ones to upgrade your resource. Keep in mind that running a trendy site will help you stay a step ahead of your competitors.
Every web developer and designer needs tools and resources to advance in his work. While a lot of them require payment, there are also freebies out there. And, what’s cool, they don’t yield to paid alternatives. TemplateMonster compiled a set of 480+ free website development tools that can give you a kick-start or help you go on with your current project. In addition to web development, you can find solutions for many other purposes, from graphic design to marketing and self-training. For easier search, the tools are divided into 7 groups, some of which are also subdivided into narrower categories. Here they are.
Goodies for Web & Graphic Designers. This group contains tools to deal with color schemes, icons, typography, branding, UI, photos, etc.
Coding & Web Development. Here, you can find CSS grid systems, jQuery plugins, issue trackers, scrolling libraries, and many other free website development tools to facilitate your work.
Web Design Galleries & Inspiration. Get inspiration from resources with the best minimalist designs, landing pages, current trends, eCommerce projects, card-style layouts, and much more.
IT Business. In this group, you can access invoice generators, legal docs, digital signature makers, project name generators, and other services that can solve different business issues.
Marketing. To promote your startup, you can choose from A/B testing, SEO and analytics tools, email services, blog running tools, topic generators, image editors, etc.
Learning. Look through a large collection of resources to learn multiple topics online, particularly coding, marketing, startup launch, UI, UX, design, and many other things.
Work & Efficiency. Find out how to boost the efficiency of your workflow. Self-discipline, background music for concentration, do not disturb, remote work, – these are the categories of this group.
As you can see, this huge roundup has solutions for almost any purpose you may have to succeed with your project. Go to the Monster post to get a free access to all of 480+ free website development tools.
Custom logo designers set so high prices for their services that many startups can’t afford them. You can certainly try to draw a logo from scratch yourself, but you’ll need to master Photoshop first and borrow creativity somewhere. Fortunately, there is also a third alternative – online logo creator tools that allow you to craft a design right in the browser at no cost. The whole process is truly easy-breezy and fast. Just choose a symbol, type some words, customize them a little, and your logo is ready. You can complete it even during your lunch break.
To help you choose the right solution, TemplateMonster compiled a roundup of 15 free logo creator tools. Each of them is presented with a brief checklist of its major features, more detailed description and even examples of the logos you can design with its help.
Custom Symbols. Thanks to these elements, you don’t need to draw anything from scratch. Just choose a pre-designed symbol and customize it. The choice of custom symbols is quite wide – you can experiment with different shapes (circular, square, triangular, etc) and styles (minimalist, abstract, cartoon, etc).
Industry Categorization. To find the necessary solution in a huge amount of symbols faster, you can filter them by industries. There are multiple fields to choose from, particularly animals, clothes, erotic, legal, fitness, security, travel, and many others.
Styling Options. In terms of customization, it’s possible to edit different facets of both text and symbols, from colors and fonts to size and position. Depending on the free logo creator, you can also apply special effects to your logo such as drop shadows, glowing, reflection, etc.
Mockup Preview. A logo is a versatile element that is used not only on the site, but also business cards, T-shirts, etc. Thanks to the mockup preview feature, you can make sure that your logo design looks equally well in different environments.
Available Formats. It’s possible to download the logo design you create in JPEG, AI, EPS, PDF, PNG, SVG, and GIF. Keep in mind that different tools support different formats.
In addition to the free logo creator, you can also find some tips to follow when working on your logo design. For example, you will learn how to make it creative, choose the right colors and fonts, etc. Keep in mind that a logo is what makes your brand distinctive among competitors, that’s why you must focus on its design with due diligence. Checkwhat you need to design logos like a pro in the Monster post.
Are you searching for the plugins that would make your WordPress blog user-friendlier and more functional? Take an exclusive opportunity to consult the experts. The team of TemplateMonster got in touch with owners of popular WordPress blogs to find out what plugins are installed in their admin panels. While some of them decided to keep that info in secret, 14 bloggers revealed the functionalities of their resources. As a result, TM compiled a list of 98 of the best WordPress plugins 2016.
The blogs that gave an insight into their back-ends include CodeinWP, FlyWheel, ShoutMeLoud, TorqueMag, WebAppers, WinningWP, WPBeginner, WPDailyThemes, WPKube, WPLift, WPMayor, WPMU Dev Blog, WPSuperstars, and WPTavern. In addition to them, MonsterPost also unveiled the plugins installed in its dashboard. For easier browsing through the list of 98 best WordPress plugins 2016, it is divided into two groups. Each group is also subdivided into categories by purposes. Here they are.
As you can see, the choice of the best WordPress plugins 2016 is really wide and embraces multiple purposes. What makes them especially cool is that they’ve been approved by the top bloggers. It means you can use only tried and tested solutions on your blog. So, proceed to the TemplateMonster post with the top WP plugins and choose. Good luck!
Not long ago, Magento developers released the second version of their platform to optimize the experience of both online merchants and shoppers. Magento 2 utilizes cutting-edge technologies that include PHP 5.5.x, Apache 2.2, MySQL5.6, HTML5, CSS3, CSS Pre-processor, PSR Compliance, Magento performance toolkit, and Magento UI Library. Along with a new version of the platform, a new default theme was released, i.e. Luma. Let’s find out what features of the updated platform empower Magento Luma theme in its core.
Full Page Caching. With its help, the average time of page loading will decrease to 1-2 seconds. To compare, it takes 5-10 seconds for non-cached files to load.
More Streamlined Checkout. When existing customers log out, there’s no need to remember their passwords. Magento 2 comes without an option of choosing the credit card type, as it can identify it automatically, based on the first digit. For example, 3 is for Amex, 4 is for Visa, 5 is for MasterCard, etc.
“App” File Structure. The new structure type makes it easier to access all the layouts, templates, JS and CSS files. Thus, you can customize your site without changing its functionality.
Multi-Shopping Experience. When more than 100 customers are placing an order simultaneously, there’s no table locking. Thanks to an opportunity to compare and review a lot of items, Magento 2 provides a multi-shopping experience within a single transaction.
Visual Design Editor. This tool can let you edit containers and blocks without the need to have any special skills in coding.
While Luma is a good choice for your store, TemplateMonster released a free alternative with a more thought-out design dubbed F2. Here is a comparative review of Magento Luma theme vs F2 theme, where you can find out all the differences between their home, category, and single product pages. Here are the main points you can learn:
These and other things are revealed in the detailed comparison of Magento Luma theme and F2 freebie by TemplateMonster. Don’t hesitate to read the review to find out what your Magento-powered store needs to ensure a user-friendlier experience.
Once popular in the hipster subculture, the vintage style has found its way to both graphic and web design spheres. Vintage doesn’t mean outdated and dull. This style is often used by designers today, as it can influence viewers psychologically. It’s believed to impart an echo of the good old days to the artwork and, therefore, stir up nostalgic feelings. The trend is notable for heavy use of rough paper, wood, expressive typography, etc. If you feel like trying any of these things in your next project, we’d like to share a cool roundup with 200 vintage freebies with you.
The roundup consists of 9 categories that embrace different types of items. Check them out one by one below, please.
40 Logo Templates. Here, you can find solutions for multiple topics, e.g. animals, food, barbershop, and camping, to name a few. You can use them as logos, product labels, etc. These fully editable and scalable items are available in different formats (PSD, Al, EPS), shapes, colors, and come with free fonts.
40 Mockups. This set has vintage solutions to show off your work in different environments. They include various stationary items, devices, documents, business cards, flyers, CD covers, hanging wall signs, smart watches and other wearables.
15 Icon Sets. These pixel-perfect items are meant for various purposes, particularly website and app design, Infographics, eCommerce, social media, etc. Icons from this category depict vintage vehicles, devices, arrows, beards, moustaches, glasses, hipster elements, etc.
45 Fonts. Feel free to an old-fashioned touch to your site typography with these 45 vintage freebies.
15 Textures. Using these free vintage textures, you can add a retro or worn-out look to your artworks. Textures of aged wood, halftone patterns, vintage post card scans, dust and starburst textures, – these and many other freebies are waiting for you.
15 Vectors. This set gives a free access to vintage vector elements. They portray mountains, forest, travel, camping, barbeque, vehicles, marine world, and much more.
10 Brushes. Look through free vintage brushes depicting nautical objects, crowns, genuine stamps, fingerprints, architectural monuments of the Old World, etc.
10 Photoshop Actions. With the help of these free filters, you can add various retro effects to your imagery.
10 Text Effects. With these vintage effects, you can create volumetric outlined letters, diagonal text patterns, plain striped shadows, metallic glows, halftone shadows, strokes, etc.
Are you impressed? Then, go to the roundup of 200 vintage freebies and choose the necessary elements for your artworks.
Important! Before using any of these vintage freebies, read license terms carefully. While the majority of mockups can be used both for personal and commercial purposes, some fonts require authors’ attribution or contacting them directly to get their consent on commercial use.
A lot of web design companies release ready-made themes under the GPL license. This type of license allows you to use them on unlimited sites and even resell as your own designs. Not long ago, TemplateMonster also started developing 100% GPL WordPress themes that cost $45. It is much less than the price of single-site WP themes available in the TM inventory. To celebrate this landmark, the company has released a bundle of 5 GPL WordPress themes. It costs $75, but you can also buy it for only $45 from March 29 to April 8. Isn’t it awesome to get five GPL themes for the price of one?
Let’s find out more about the themes from the bundle. To make the right decision, check out their main features in a brief overview below.
WordPress Live Customizer
These GPL WordPress themes are integrated with WP Customizer. It will let you adapt the default design to your personal needs in less than an hour. What’s cool about this intuitive tool is a possibility to preview all the changes live, without waiting for the page to reload. Not only does it provide comfort, but also helps save time.
While tweaking the layout, you can set up your website’s logo and Favicon, show or hide its tagline, add or remove a top search bar, etc. To add a unique feel to your resource, you can change the color of various elements, from links and buttons to headings and backgrounds. In terms of typography customization, it’s also possible to adjust the font size, line height, letter spacing, etc.
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Want to build an online store that will engage more clientele and generate revenue, but don’t have any knowledge of web development? Well, in case you didn’t know, there’s plenty of ready-made solutions waiting for you to cast a glance upon! All it takes is to review a selection of the Top 10 Premium eCommerce Templates created for multiple online commerce engines such as Magento, PrestaShop, VirtueMart, Zen Cart, OpenCart etc. Just take a closer look at these professional eCommerce templates and choose the items that will fit your business concept perfectly!
Ketty is one of the best Magento themes for building a fashion clothes and apparel online store. This Clothing Store Magento Theme has numerous features such as Megamenu, grid based content layout, retina ready images and modern typography to highlight the best offers in your online store. Fully responsive design, SEO-friendly features and cross-browser compatibility will help your business venture to create a solid online presence with minimum effort!
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