Writing an essay may come easy to some people but it can also be a real challenge to others. Most often students starting from the elementary grades up to high school and college are required to write good essays and it gets more difficult through time. It can be an individual assignment, a part of an exam or a requirement for college applicants.

Not all students, however, know that essays come in different types. Basically, there are four major types – narrative, descriptive, expository and persuasive. More →

20 Most Beautiful Apps of 2016

Everyone wants an app, and everyone wants their app to be the best out there. How could you not, when 91 percent of adults have their phones within arm’s reach 24 hours a day, seven days a week? And 2016 predictions are highly promising. There’s no underestimating the importance of a top notch app if you want to reach the largest crowd possible.

But knowing what makes a truly beautiful app is hard to pin down. If you have the resources, you can hire a top mobile app designer or put a great team in place, but not everyone has that luxury. If you are looking for inspiration to give your mobile app designer, or if you are a designer yourself, looking at examples of other beautifully designed apps can often provide great inspiration.

The following list, in alphabetical order, names the most beautiful apps of 2015 so far. Use them as inspiration, a source of jealousy, or a way to find specific features you might want to add to your own app.

1. Acorns

Acorns is a new app that manages your small-scale investing for you, by investing your spare change.

Not only will it make your investment life easier, but it’s easy on the eyes as well. The type is simple, and the graphs are beautifully integrated.

2. Airbnb

Beautiful and functional, the newest version of Airbnb’s app is one for the books.

We love what they’re doing with the color scheme, and the app makes it super easy to flip through pictures of a place without having to navigate to a new page.

3. Clear

There are numerous to-do list apps out there, but none are as easy-on-the-eyes as Clear. Look at that color gradient! You’ll accomplish your entire to-do list, just as an excuse to open the app.

4. Dropbox

The Dropbox app wins in the “use of negative space” category. You’ll never feel overwhelmed by the layout, even if the work files you are trying to sync are particularly overwhelming themselves.

5. Elevate

Elevate is a brain training program designed to improve focus, speaking ability, processing speed, memory/math skills, and more.

The color scheme works particularly well with the nature of the app, and different types of games are separated by colors that are beautifully chosen.

6. Google

What doesn’t Google do right? They seem to know what users want, and they hit the nail on the head every single time. The Google app is no different.

7. Hopper

Hopper is a flight tracking app that will tell you the best time to book that ticket for your next trip to Tahiti.

The app features a beautiful, simple splash screen, fun playful graphics, and a color-coded calendar that will help you determine when to buy.

8. Instagram

Instagram knows aesthetics, and that much is obvious based on the updates to the latest version of their apps.

They’ve added a bunch of new features (like trending places) and integrated them seamlessly into the existing design.

9. Keep

Keep takes the headache out of shopping by organizing top sellers into a beautiful layout.

As a plus, it will also send you alerts when items you’re interested in go on sale! It functions similarly to Pinterest, but you can actually buy things.

10. Manual

Manual is for all you kids out there who learned photography on a real camera, without all these fancy automatic settings.

If you’re into things like ISO, aperture, and setting your own white balance, this is the app for you. The app functions intuitively, and you’ll regain your control with all the ease of an automatic camera in no time.

11. Monument Valley

If you haven’t heard of Monument Valley, you should go download ASAP. Even if you’re not into games, this is one to try for it’s sheer beauty.

The graphics are superbly done, and who doesn’t want to spend their time manipulating impossible architecture to guide a silent princess through a stunningly beautiful world?

12. Paper

Paper is a story app by Facebook that kind of flopped, but you cannot deny that the design is beautiful.

You can browse stories to your heart’s content, and with a simple tilt of your phone, you can explore high-resolution photos too.

13. Pocket

Pocket allows users to save articles and videos for later viewing. It also organizes various articles into a singular layout, so you’re not giving your brain a headache by forcing it to adjust to a variety of fonts and color schemes.

14. Sleep Cycle

If you want more details on the kind of sleep you’re getting, you should check out Sleep Cycle.

The app will track your sleep if you place it on the corner of your mattress and present its findings through a series of beautiful graphs. It’s also the prettiest alarm clock we’ve ever seen.

15. Starbucks

Corporate apps can be gimmicky, but the Starbucks app avoids that pitfall.

You can browse different drinks and recipes, pay from the app, and see how your awards are building up by checking the number of gold stars filling your latte cup.

16. Taasky

Taasky is another to-do list app that makes the list for its sleek design and easy user interface. If you prefer subtle color, this is the to-do list app for you.

17. Two Dots

Two Dots is a simple game that will get you addicted pretty quickly.

The purpose is clear, the graphics are beautiful, and you’ll rarely be overwhelmed by the simple clusters on colored dots (unless you’ve been stuck on level 217 for three days).

18. VSCO Cam

For the avid photo editors out their, VSCO Cam is the go-to mobile editing app. Editing functions are easy to implement, and the sharing aspect of the app is beautifully designed as well.

19. Yahoo Weather

Who needs to check the regular weather app when you can actually see the weather in your location through Yahoo Weather.

That’s right, you simply open up your phone, and the app visualizes the weather in your city for you. The pictures are beautiful, and the text overlay is superbly done.

20. 1010!

This Tetris-like game is made even more beautiful with its lighter colors and use of white space. 1010! will have you addicted right from the get-go.

Is there another app that should be on this list? Leave a comment below.

There’s no doubt that blogs are very beneficial to businesses today. They are useful in promoting a company’s products, services and events and sharing valuable information that can make people’s lives easier.

But it’s more than just creating a blog for your company as there are various factors to consider to make the site successful. These include content, images, links, plugins and other tools. More →

Links play a vital role in a blog. Their presence, particularly in a blog post, means the publisher or writer acknowledges their source and showing to readers that they are using authority sites as references.

Another purpose of these links is to direct readers to sites where they can get more information about the topic they are reading. Keep in mind that blog posts should not be too long to keep your visitors glued to your write-up and as such, these links are a great help. More →

Blogging can be done in a variety of ways today. Apart from simply typing your posts and including images, you can now create a video blog also known as a vlog or an audio version called the podcast.

Simply reading text online is a different experience than hearing a human voice speak. The impact provided by audio is greater than pure text. But there’s also a strategy on how to capture attention right from the start. More →