Helping You Rock Out Your Site Like A Rockstar!

On occasion I look at websites as a request from other web designers. I am far from perfect myself, but I like to think at least my choice in colors are either:

1. Not clashy and farfetched to put together
2. Do not hurt anyone’s eyes

Now, when I look at a website and my eyeballs want to bleed because the text or some images were too bright, I think that the web designer is:

1. Colorblind
2. Still discovering color combinations
3. Totally clueless

When using color on a website, especially bright colors, it is important to take the time to carefully choose what colors your site will have and if you are not sure if colors go together, get a second or third opinion. You must consider that some of your users may have eye problems where some colors may wreak havoc on their sight. Here are 7 bright color combinations I recommend avoiding in web design. They are merely color palettes as I did not want to embarrass anyone who might be using them. However, I have seen these used together. I apologize if your eyes bleed on a few of these.

Are there other bright color combinations that you might suggest avoiding?

Some of this is slight a tongue-in-cheek type post. It comes after having dealt with clients who have expected more than what was agreed upon a project.

So, here is my Freelancers Creed:

1. A freelancer can accept or refuse business, or recommend projects to a colleague.
2. A freelancer is not free.
3. A freelancer is not to be associated with the word “cheap”. (Well, unless the work was bad.)
4. A freelancer is to make deadlines unless project is changed for necessary reasons.
5. A freelancer can design sites in their home and in their pajamas, or less. (I do not care what anyone wears, nor want to know about that. However, I hope cam chats with clients will at least have a decent shirt on. )
6. A freelancer should be honest about their services and be up front if a project has become more than they can handle or outside their knowledge to complete.
7. A freelancer should always put their best foot forward.
8. A freelancer is not to be confused a marketer or social media consultant (unless the freelancer offers those services and charges.)
8. A freelancer does not have to have a sense of humor, unless it is a joke site.
9. A freelancer has the right to ask pay for work as half up front and half at the finish.
10. A freelancer must make sure all project details are discussed, agreed, and somewhere whether in an actual contract or in some type of format to prevent any misunderstandings.
11. A freelancer should be friendly enough to work with people, even if their work space looks like a dark dungeon. (If it takes coffee to make things pleasant – drink it!)

Ah, I thought I would cut it off there. Anyone have any other’s to add?

In the past, I have been known to say 800×600, but remember the days when there were smaller resolutions. There are still people out there with much smaller resolutions, whether with the small netbooks, or older computers.

I have been designing for 1024×768 and above, even though my own computer screen is suited best for 1280x1024resolution. I believe the best resolution is not to think in particularly size, but how you code your site. Of course, you would not want people to do too much left-to-right scrolling. Some layouts if coded for larger resolutions might be distorted in smaller resolution. Example: the sidebar might be shifted under or above the content.

You can code to have your layouts more liquid and flexible with percentage of your visitor’s browser window’s size, rather than fixed widths.

Most of the time, I usually design for resolutions based on several things:
1. What resolution makes up the larger percentage of the users?
2. Does the client request optimizing for a certain resolution?

W3Schools.com did a Browser Display Statistics that included display resolutions over the past 10 years. Based on there stats, users are seeking higher resolutions than 1024×768 and 1024×768 resolution users have dropped.

What do you think is the best resolution for web designing and why?

Here are some things I have found to work the past few years to become better as a freelance web designer.

1. Connect with others in your niche. You can learn and teach. Also, you never know when a colleague might think of you for a client they might not be able to complete a project. In return, you can do the same. This way you become someone well-respected and people will want to work with you.

2. Make sure to make you are charging fair rates and make sure your client knows what duties will be performed for that price. Charge what you are worth. Any less and you might not be taken seriously. A regular job pays hourly. Obviously you can charge clients hourly or based on project. Time and effort are very important. If you are not charging what you should, then your project could end up several ways:
- your client expects more services than originally agreed and will not pay for them because they assumed you would do it.
- you may start feeling like you got the worse end of the business

You should never feel that way and your client might feel the effects. Have it down in writing somewhere, a contract of some sort whether paper, online document, or even via email.

3. Always be open and looking for opportunities. There are hundreds of sites opening each day and someone designed them. It could have been you. However, due to lack of knowledge on where to go, you might know. Well, it is not just online you can find opportunities, but in your own communities. If your local area has a newspaper, consider taking out an ad. The classifieds might be a nice place to start and then you can progress to ads on other parts of the paper.

Also, if you run across a site with a good idea, but could use a revamp, approach the site owner and ask them if they would be interested. Mention what you can do, and please be polite. Some site owners actually have designed their first websites with limited knowledge, so do not knock them down with your web design savviness. It might scare or insult them.

4. Keep up in the knowledge of your field. The Internet has changed many times. What code use to be valid is no longer valid. What designs that were popular 10 years ago, might not be sought after today. Whether by taking actual classes or seeking out tutorials online, you would be helping yourself get ahead in your field. And, falling back to #1, with those people you met in the web design community, if you do not know something, ask. There are people out there that are well-connected and generous enough to share their knowledge with you.

5. Turning away clients is not an option. Yes, you have become busy, but instead of turning them away, refer them to someone you trust that can do just as great, if not better job than you can. The person might be able to return the favor, especially if you might become light on projects in the future. Also, that client you referred – if they are pleased with who you referred, they might do more business in the future with you or be nice to toss your name as a referral.

What other suggestions might you have for freelance web designers looking to become more advanced in their career?

What is a 404 page? It is a page that tells your visitors when they go to a specific page that it no longer exists.

Using a custom page for this is a benefit, especially to search engines like Google. The search engines index websites and all of their pages, including the 404 page.

One way is to redirect, but this is not highly encourageable. You could make a redirect, but the search engine (ex. Google) would index the page and your site when searched could read “Page not found” instead of your homepage. In doing this procedure, you could accidentally have the search engine alter the indexing by removing non-existent pages. So, in other words, that same re-direct could get your homepage de-indexed by accident.

The other way, is the custom page. You can do this through your content management (ex. CMS software like WordPress) or your regular html pages. Instead of just posting “404, page not found” or “you have reached this page out of error”, here are some suggestions:

1. Make your page informative. You can add “Sorry, this page does not exist”, but do not stop there. Add a way to contact you whether it be an email address posted or a contact form.
2. Add a few special links to the page that might interest your visitors. Four or five links might be nice.
3. Conform your page to match your site. A plain 404 is an annoyance to deal with already and having little information will make the visitor give up and go elsewhere.
4. Make sure to add your sidebar/ navigation to the page. It is as usefull as the special interest links and widens the possibilities that your visitor will stay and surf your site.
5. Verify that your 404 page actually returns a 404 error. You can do this by using Google Webmaster Tools.

If you freelance, you may have done the job bidding sites. For example, if you list that you work $20 per hour, then do not bid for a job any less what you are worth. However, in the same breath, do not overcharge.

If you are conducting business with a client, remember to get the agreement on some type of contract whether a digital email, or an actual signed paper by both parties. It is also important to work out a payment method whether you require a non-refundable deposit, barter in exchange for a service, or require immediate payment at the end of the contract. Also, always try to get credit for your work. That text or small graphic defining that you completed the project is proof that you did that website and could help lead to more jobs.

Here are some guidelines to consider when pricing your work:

1. What does the job entail? What kind of graphics and design work needs to be done?

2. How much time will it take for you to complete a project? Sometimes knowing ahead of time how many pages that you need to design and how much time it takes can allow you to give a quick price.

3. Does the client need the project done within a certain time? In this case, make sure you can meet the scheduled agreement before agreeing and consider how many hours you will probably designate to complete that project on time.

4. What is your experience? Can you code in php, html, xhtml? Can you design on several graphic programs? The more experience you have, you are entitled to price your projects to reflect your talent. Also, compare to other web designers. You can look online and find out pricing to determine what you should be charging for your work.

5. Are you asked to possibly be the site maintainer after the large project. Ideally, you should be paid by the hour. Remember to get this down in your original contract. You can phrase it like: “Site Maintenance done outside the contract will be done on an hourly fee basis.”

In the end, it is your work, so be honest, knowledgeable, and overall, proud. If you are, then your clients will probably even recommend you to others for more work.

What other ways do you decide what to charge clients?

As a web and graphic designer, there are a few options to choose in creating a portfolio, a tangible printed version, and an online version. A tangible version, like a printed copy would include quality prints of your best work as a visual example. An online version, is where you can create a website to place your work.

A website is the most popular of the two and allows your potential client a way to privately view your work and give references of what they like of your work that you can incorporate into their project. Your portfolio should be the best of your work, not everything. Of course, you might get the urge to archive your work, but with time, some of your past work may not be considered the best.

Here are some things you should consider when creating your own portfolio:

1. Invest in your own webhosting space for your portfolio. Do not use a free host. You will have more control over your material and you will be able to harness the tools you need to give your portfolio the look you want. In a way, even freelancing, you are conducting a business and you should invest some to put forth your best effort.

2. Quality Images. If you make logos or banners, show your best. Be critical of your past and current work, and display those that will shows your talent.

3. Screenshots of websites you designed are great and even better, a list of websites too. Even if you only did minor work, list the job and the site.

4. If you offer other abilities like Search Engine Optimization, Marketing, or if you write articles, show examples or explanations of these talents.

5. Organize your portfolio so it is easy to get around. Do not stick everything together as it will look cluttered.

6. It is optional to post your resume, but post it with care, omitting information you do not want directly visible to the public. Your portfolio should speak for itself, but if you have gone to school, or have been employed in a related company to your skills, at least be prepared to offer the option of sharing an official resume.

Any other tips you might recommend? Are there actually any free services that might be good for design portfolios? Despite the first tip, I am unaware of any free sources that have yet to impress me as a place to recommend.

Sitemaps are important because they allow the search engines like Google and Yahoo! to index your entire site and leave it available for other internet users to find. A sitemap is defined:

A site map (or sitemap) is a representation of the architecture of a web site. It can be either a document in any form used as a planning tool for web design, or a web page that lists the pages on a web site, typically organized in hierarchical fashion.
From Wikipedia. Original definition by Peter Morville, Information Architecture on the World Wide Web, Feb 1998, pp:58

A sitemap allows search engines to crawl your site more efficiently and index fresh material from any website. If a webmaster has move or deleted material, the search engine would recognize and change the search engine results to reflect the website change. Although having a sitemap eliminates most of the work that a webmasters takes in submitting a website to search, it does not totally eradicate the effort.
Sitemaps accepted by search engines are general coded in XML format, not HTML. However, a webmaster may create a sitemap structure with HTML for their visitors. For WordPress users, this can be easily done with the installation of Dagon Design Sitemap Generator. (Of course there are plenty of other sitemap plugins too.) Currently, the Dagon Design Sitemap Generator plugin is not an accepted sitemap, however, there is a great plugin that Google recognizes, which is the Google XML Sitemaps plug-in. Once one or both of the plug-ins mentioned have been installed, it is best to go to Google Webmaster Tools to inform them where to find the sitemap.

Sitemaps are not another new fad as they have been around for years. It was not until 2006, that search engine moguls like Google, Yahoo!, and MSN got together to create the guidelines behind a proper sitemap. Since then, sitemaps have been used as a vital technique for search engine optimization. Why? Well, as said earlier in the article, a sitemap would tell the search engine how fresh the content of a page is on any website and post it so internet users can find information they need. Sitemaps would recognize new material and direct crawlers to the information for indexing.

Outside Related Links:

• Sitemaps XML format – Sitemaps.org
• Major Search Engines Unite to Support a Common Mechanism for Website Submission

Do you have a sitemap for your site? Any other benefits you can think of when having a sitemap for your site?