There is a common assumption among those who do not work in a technical field that because an individual is qualified to do one type of technical work, they are qualified to do it all.
Everyone hears it at some point. The dreaded phrase “well you work on computers so you must know…”.
“So, you work on computers so you must know about web design.”
Or conversely:
“You build websites so how do I fix X on my computer?”
I’m not entirely sure how this mindset came about. When you think about it, do you go to a proctologist if you have skin problems? Of course not! You see the dermatologist.
Well, I’ve finally done it. After refusing to make that move for years, I’ve finally created flat rate packages for web design.
I had avoided this for for so long because I felt that frequently, fixed rate packages weren’t fair to both the client and the designer. The client could be paying for more time than is being worked, or the designer could end up doing more work than they are getting paid for.
I’ve also avoided pricing plans for years because, generally speaking, they often tend to be convoluted and confusing.
However, over the past decade, I’ve watched people flinch whether I quote $25 or $75 an hour. When people hear the hourly rate, they think “gosh that’s a lot”, not realizing how much they get with that.
And of course, these days people like packages that show them exactly what they get. People like being able to point at something and just say “give me that one”. Read the rest of the article here…
Vance (the author) says, “According to a new analysis, one out of five Web users still decides to leave the digital equivalent of a key under the doormat: they choose a simple, easily guessed password like “abc123,” “iloveyou” or even “password” to protect their data.”
This doesn’t surprise me at all. In the years I’ve spent in this industry, I’ve seen many very weak passwords. As a web designer, some clients will authorize me to set up their site and create email accounts for them. This means they’ll give me the password they want used. Often, I’ve had to go back to them with a new password since their chosen one was too weak for the system to accept. Even the client’s alternative password, though finally accepted by the server, are still often far too weak to be secure. Read the rest of the article here…
After helping 5 people through this process in the past few months, I realize it is time to make a post on the subject.
Let’s face it: Facebook has a confusing interface. It’s easy to get lost on their site. And they don’t seem to have an obvious way to create Business/Fan Pages if you are already logged into your account. Actually, I’ve only found the Fan page to create these by going through their Help section. (And from here on, we’re just going to call the Business Page what many refer to them as: Fan Pages. They are the same thing.)
And then there are two types of Facebook accounts for businesses and non-profits: Groups and Fan pages.
Some people don’t have the time to work on improving their sites search engine rankings and attracting more customers, so they hire me.
Some people don’t have the money to hire me but have the time and want to do it themselves.
Assuming your website code is already optimized for search engines, I’ve got a few steps you can take to help draw traffic to your site. A lot of this information is Google-specific, since that is what I am most asked about. However, much of this can apply to other search engines too. Here are 10 things you can do to drive traffic to your site. Read the rest of the article here…
For website owners of all levels of technical expertise. Primarily focusing on the less technical aspects of web design, website ownership, e-business, and more.
Good for those that don’t work in the tech field, or those that do but don’t have a background in these specific areas.
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