How Much Will a Website Cost?
Business OwnerWhen thinking about designing your website, the cost will be one of the biggest factors for you to consider. Building a website will definitely require an investment, but exactly how much? Well, it depends. Do you want to build a one-bedroom studio or a two-story mansion? Don’t worry, though. You don’t have to live with […]
What Is the Best Tool to Use for This Website?
FreelancerWhen you dive into a website design project, you can finally let your creativity and expertise shine. However, if you’re like most freelancers, eventually you are going to get stuck as you weigh the tool options for the project. Even worse, you might end up choosing a tool for the project that doesn’t give the […]
How Can I Stop Losing Money on Our Projects?
AgencyNo matter if you have years of experience leading an agency or if you are just starting out, one thing is certain: your business cannot lose money on projects if you plan to be around for years to come. Your agency’s bottom line is crucial to your overall success and if you are paying your […]
My Boss is Unhappy About What I Built: What to Do Next
DeveloperIt’s the worst-case scenario for a hard-working developer like yourself: you’ve spent lots of time and effort building out a specific web page or site for your boss. Now that you’ve put the finishing touches on the project and turned it in, you’re feeling pretty great. That is until you get a follow-up email or […]
How Can We Deliver Every Project On Time?
AgencyWhen your business begins to boom and clients call consistently for your services, it is exciting! After all, a busy client calendar is what your agency has worked for since you started it, and having consistent clients means you can pay your hardworking employees well. However, what happens when you have a long list of […]
How Can I Avoid Cost Overruns?
Business OwnerNo matter if you operate a large organization or a small business, one thing is certain: your bottom line matters. Even the smallest additional cost can negatively affect your bottom line and push back your financial goals. When you begin working on a website project with a freelancer or designer, it’s easy to see cost […]
Can I Fit This Into My Schedule?
FreelancerAs a freelancer, there is a culture of always being “on” and hustling to get that next job lined up. Unfortunately, this can quickly lead to overbooking yourself and running right to creative burnout. Overbooking can also lead to less time spent on the details, which can end up leaving some clients feeling disappointed or […]
Is There a Way to Do Better Estimates or Quotes?
FreelancerAs a freelancer, you can’t just focus on one task of your business. You need to be able to do more than just expertly design a website; you must know how to consult with clients, give them excellent service, bill clients, and manage your time well. Perhaps most importantly, you need to know how to […]
How Can I Avoid Scope Creep?
FreelancerWhen a client calls to ask you to do one more quick edit to a design after they have already approved it, do you quickly answer ‘okay’? What about if a client calls and asks you to add three new features to a design that you weren’t prepared for? Completing one extra task after another […]
I Don’t Understand Technology or Code. How Do I Get What I Need?
Business OwnerPerhaps one of the biggest obstacles or challenges for business owners who are ready to increase their online footprint is the intimidation that goes along with dipping their toe into the website design space. It’s one thing to know that your business needs a new or better website. It’s an entirely different thing to know […]
My Website Isn’t Getting the Results I Wanted for My Business
Business OwnerTo be a successful business nowadays, you need to run more than a busy brick-and-mortar office or storefront. Your online presence, from an engaging website to a personable social media feed, is just as important to generating new sales or gaining new clients. Of course, you already know this, which is why you have put […]
I Didn’t Get Paid Because the Client Argued I Didn’t Deliver What They Wanted
FreelancerYou’ve spent countless hours building a website and putting the finishing touches on your design for your client. When you send out your invoice for services, you’re met with an email or phone call from the client saying they are withholding payment because the completed site doesn’t meet their expectations. It’s perhaps the worst-case scenario […]
I Don’t Have Enough Information to Quote for This Job
FreelancerIt’s exciting to meet with new clients and have the opportunity to bid on a project. There’s something about the energy a new client brings that sparks creativity in most freelancers. However, what do you do when you sit down (or stand up) at your desk to prepare the quote and you realize you don’t […]
How Do I Stop Losing Money on the Work I Do?
FreelancerIt’s a freelancer’s nightmare scenario: losing money on a job. Unfortunately, it happens more frequently than you might think. As a freelancer, you have to learn hard lessons as you build your business. However, you shouldn’t have to continue losing money on jobs you work hard to get. Here’s how to make sure you are […]
When’s the best time to start your business website plan?
PlanningHaving a website plan for your business is the most important way to guarantee your success. So when should you start the planning process? The answer is at the very beginning. That seems pretty obvious, doesn’t it? At the beginning means: Before designers Before developers Before search engine optimizers Before any social or paid marketing […]
Time to stop drinking your bathwater!
NewsWait … what? Who drinks their bathwater? What has this got to do with websites and planning? This topic is as much about marketing as it is about website planning, but before you switch off, all website planning is about marketing. You realise that, right? Over many years I have used this expression, creating much […]
Handling change in a scope
NewsWhat do you do after agreeing on a scope but then realise changes are needed? It would be easy to think that, having invested time into preparing a proper scope for your new website, that everything will run to plan and nothing will change. That is unlikely to happen except possibly on small sites. It’s […]
Shouldn’t my designers be doing this?
PlanningThe website planning process outlined in my book can appear that it’s an all or nothing approach to planning. I indeed think the owners of the web property need to be heavily invested in the planning process and take the lead on a large portion of it. That view comes from many years of watching […]
Why wire framing is so important to the design process
PlanningIn The Complete Website Planning Guide I outline what a wireframe is and the confusion that many people get, particularly on the client side, with wireframes. A wireframe isn’t a prototype or a design; typically it doesn’t use colour or images, and mostly will only use some actual content. When you see a drawing/image, which […]
Plan to delight the users
PlanningThis week I read a blog from Seth Godin called The minimum viable audience which resonated with me and the goals and audience section inside my Planning Guide. He talks about focussing in on the smallest group that could sustain you in your work. And if you could pick them who would you choose. If […]
The Danger Of Scoping After Contract Acceptance
PlanningIdeally creating a scope of works for a web project would be done before entering into a design and development contract for the work. For many clients they want a simplified process, choosing a developer and moving forward in the project. Agencies and developers often are happy to get work in this way and take […]
What comes first, design or content?
PlanningIt’s a question that comes up a lot. What comes first, the content or the design. Getting this right has a big impact on the success of your project and the planning stage of your website is the best time to address it. I discuss what I think is the correct way to handle this […]
Resistance to planning
PlanningWhy do some people like to plan everything while others prefer flying by the seat of their pants? In some industries or circumstances having a plan is critical while in others not necessary at all. Building a house from scratch with out plans is pretty clearly fraught with danger and in most countries not allowed. […]
Why are website goals so important?
NewsHave you every wondered why some websites are cluttered full of content and buttons? You probably find those same sites difficult to use and requiring extra effort to figure out “their system” so you can complete the task you want to do. And then there are the sites that are easy to use and look […]
What are the benefits of building a plan for your website?
PlanningIf you want to avoid the common mistakes that are made when building a new website then the only way to do that is to create a plan before you do anything else. Successful businesses all have plans on key parts of their operations. A business plan, marketing plan, operation plans etc. are all expected […]
