Life is busy, busy, busy.
We are all trying to get more done in less time. So in today’s fast-paced world, efficiency is king.
Even though most people are clocked in for eight hours (or usually more!) each day, the vast majority is largely unproductive.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Here at Five by Five are always on the lookout for new, creative ways of getting our web design projects delivered.
Here are five cool online tools used by the team in the past month that has given us more leverage from both time & resources.
1. Fiverr
“Fiverr is the world’s largest freelance services marketplace for businesses to focus on growth & create a successful business at affordable costs.”
They’re a global online marketplace offering tasks and services, beginning at a cost of $5 per job, hence its name. The site is primarily used by freelancers who use Fiverr to offer services to customers (you) on a global scale.
Basically if you need small-medium task completed at an affordable cost, fast – Fiverr will be your new best friend.
Tasks and services range from “I will write an awesome blog article with SEO in mind for your website”, to “I will create animated marketing video for business and sales” with everything in between.
We recently had a client that manufacturers roller shutters. He needed some 2D illustrations done of some technical drawings. For a very small fee he was able to source a CAD drafter which produced the drawings making his new website look a million bucks. Nice!
Find our more at: https://www.fiverr.com
2. UpWork
“Upwork, formerly Elance-oDesk, is a global freelancing platform where businesses and independent professionals connect and collaborate remotely.”
UpWork is similar to Fiverr in theory, however more suited to bigger projects that require a more on one on relationship. Think hiring a copywriter to rewrite your full website content, or hiring a marketing consultant to help you with your company’s marketing strategy for 2020, or maybe you need a new bookkeeper to help get your books in order for EOFY.
Simply post a job ad, review the candidates that apply and voila, a virtual team of professionals at your fingertips and in your budget.
We have been sourcing copywriters for specific web related tasks through this platform.
Find our more at: https://www.upwork.com
3. Canva
“Canva is a simplified graphic-design tool website that uses a drag-and-drop format and provides access to photographs, vector images, graphics, and fonts.”
Think of Photoshoot for dummies but without compromising on great design or flexibility. Canva is an online platform that allows you to upload your logo and visual assets to your account and then the ability to turn your branding into 100’s of different design ideas from blog images to flyers and even social media graphics.
The standard account if free to use, however for a small monthly fee you can unlock all of Canva’s features and also collaborate with your team (connect multiple accounts as a ‘team’) and share designs.
Our user interface designers may be rolling their eyes at this point, but for quick easy graphics you can’t beat this tool.
Find our more at: https://www.canva.com
4. Grammarly
“Grammarly is a free writing app that helps make messages, documents, and posts clear, mistake-free, and effective.”
I don’t know if it is the internet that is making me lazy but my spelling certainly isn’t want it used to be. I rely on this tool to keep me on the straight and narrow when it comes to the English language.
From grammar and spelling to style and tone, Grammarly helps you eliminate errors and find the perfect words to express yourself. Gone are the days where multiple team members need to proofread an important document or the need for a copywriter to review your latest blog post.
Grammarly will suggest corrections while you write on Gmail, Twitter, LinkedIn, and all your other favorite sites. Or you can simply upload a document to your account and use Grammeraly’s AI technology to put the humble spell check to shame.
Find our more at: https://www.grammarly.com
5. Hotjar
“See how visitors are really using your website, collect user feedback and turn more visitors into customers.”
Sure we can guess, and try to iterate. But there is nothing better than seeing a user interact with your website in real time.
Hotjar is a powerful tool that reveals the online behavior and voice of your users. By combining both analysis and feedback tools, Hotjar gives you the ‘big picture’ of how to improve your website’s user experience and performance/conversion rates. No more guesswork here.
Through heatmaps and user recordings, you’ll be able to see what’s working and what needs to be tweaked on your website within minutes.
The standard account is free and comes with most of the main features you’ll need. If you haven’t set up an account yet, do it. Even if you set and forget, the data will be there when you need it.
Find our more at: https://www.hotjar.com
