Business of Web Design
July 23, 2008
The ‘Business of Web Design‘ is an audio book/podcast series that teaches you to start and build a home based web design business.
I am still currently in the process of fleshing out all the details, but I do have a lot down on paper.
That said, I am very close to being ready to record the first (of many) sessions and I expect to have something out this week.
You can learn more about in the killersites.com magazine
Thanks,
Stefan Mischook
www.killersites.com
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July 15, 2008
This article is targeted at web designers and business owners who are considering an investment in social networking.
Let me just first say, that I have invested in it personally, where I created a video sharing system to help distribute my own content.
… I had other ideas beyond that, but I soon discovered that:
1. It would require a huge investment (millions) in capitol to just get it off the ground.
2. That most user contributed videos are just terrible. I deleted most of them.
You can read the rest in the magazine.
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June 17, 2008
It is rare that I go into anything off topic, as I promised in one of my earliest post – there will be no discussions about what my cat is up to.
That said, I am compelled to comment on a couple things that the recent death of Tim Russert, has brought to the fore.
Issue number one: Where societies spend their money.
Mr. Russert apparently died of a heart attack … the way you are most likely to die. From the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute:
Each year, about 1.1 million people in the United States have heart attacks, and almost half of them die. CAD, which often results in a heart attack, is the leading killer of both men and women in the United States.
Given that so many people die from heart attacks, I was wondering how much money is spent on researching ALL disease.
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May 8, 2008
One of the Web’s most popular places to get an idea of a web site’s traffic is Alexa.com.
There is one major problem though: Alexa is not accurate at all.
Alexa gets a lot of it’s traffic data from its’ Alexa toolbar and other nebulous source they don’t identify. So that leads me to think that they still get most of their data from the toolbar.
Sounds OK, except for one glaring problem – who uses the Alexa toolbar?
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May 5, 2008
One question that is put to me from time to time is:
“… how can you budget the amount of time it will take to build a website?”
This can be a tricky thing because there are so many factors involved:
- How fast do you work?
- Is your client going to be really picky and ask for many revisions?
- Are you likely to come across time consuming bugs?
Ultimately, you will have to learn how fast it takes YOU … to build a website.
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January 14, 2008
A common question I get from people, is whether it makes sense to go to college to learn web design?
I’ve talked about the web design profession in other articles. Yet, as you will see in the following email I recently got, I haven’t dealt with all the issues regarding web design and education:
Hi Stefan,
Anyway, I am interested in web design. I am in the middle of trying to figure out whether I should go to my local community colleges for courses in HTML, photoshop, Dreamweaver, etc … or an actual art school for graphic art/ web design. Of course cost is a factor.
I am a mother of two, and my work schedule needs to be flexible. I am very creative and have a great eye for design.
My question is, which course of action you recommend? How much education is necessary? Is a degree necessary, if so, what type? associate, bachelors, certificate?
What are the salary potentials in web design working for yourself and for outside companies (I have research outside company positions advertising 40k – 50k, is that realistic?)
I’m not young, (a youthful 44) and I really need to do something in the form of a career for myself, other than taking care of everyone else.
Thank you so much for your time-
Sandy
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January 9, 2008
The web design business process is what happens between the web designer and the client they are serving.
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The following article targets two groups of people:
- Web designers who want to get into the business of web design.
- People who are looking to higher a web designer and want to get a better idea of the process – at a high level.
When first approached by someone looking to get a web site built, the first thing you need to do is figure some details about the website. Things like:
- Features/functionality; do they need e-commerce, a blog, password protected pages etc.
- Scale: how big will the website be? How many pages?
- Purpose of the site: will it be a branding site? Will they need to be found by the search engines or will the site be more about serving an established client base?
These basic questions can have a big impact on how you build the site, the budget and the skills you will need as a web designer/consultant to complete the job.
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January 5, 2008
A few days ago, I got this email that is all about starting a web design business, so I thought I would answer it here because I think a lot of people might find it interesting.
I need your opinion. I was looking to quote a friend a price for a small, simple, informational website. No more then 10 pages at the most. Possibly holding scedules for his football team too (which would need to be updated).
I know he wants a deal from me. Also, design is my weak point. How would i properly word the idea of using a website template? If i go and get a template from somewhere, it would be ethically correct to tell him since he could come across the same design someday. How would i go about doing that without him thinking- well i can go get a template and i don’t need you! Then I’ve lost a job!
Let me know your ideas.
Thanks,
Tim
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November 13, 2007
Someone recently wrote to me where they were concerned about the future of web design as a profession. I’ve summarized the question as follows:
Given the rampant spread of website templates and point-and-click site builder tools (that more and more web hosts are offering) can web designers realistically expect to continue to make a good living building web sites for small business using traditional (from scratch) web design methods?
The answer to this question (and to find out clues on how to move forward) all we need to do is to look to web design’s past.
But before we go on, there is also something else to consider:
Web designers also have to deal with the reality that there are lots of kids out there willing to use pirated copies of Dreamweaver and Photoshop, to build a website for a fraction of what professionals have to charge.
Since (I’m guessing) most web design professionals don’t live with their parents anymore, it’s hard for them to compete with teenage nerds who just need XBox money.
How about the quality of the web design work – doesn’t that have an affect on who people will choose to build their website?
… Unfortunately, sometimes quality (for short sighted business owners) doesn’t fit into the equation. That said, there is good news for professional web designers. Read on …
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November 10, 2007
Every once and a while I use a question put to me, as the basis for an article. This time, we have Richard asking whether web design (as a profession,) will have bright future.
The email:
Thank you for having courses that make it easier for the average laymen to comprehend the basics which will allow the complex material to sink in. I have a question though.
I am in my fifties, have done many different things in my life, and I am looking for something as a career change to take me into my second half of life and into retirement. What do you think the opportunities are going to be in the future in this type of industry taking into consideration the advancements in technology?
In other words, where do you see a web page developer or designer 5, 10, 15 years from now. Thank you for your time and consideration in my attempts to make an educated decision about my future.
Sincerely,
Richard Sherban
Hi Richard,
I think the future is good for web design and development. That said, I would like point out a few things:
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