Brain over Website

Think like your clients and users

Facing the ever changing technology and advancements in web design can be overwhelming, but we must think outside of the box when it comes to design. You want you clients to think outside the box, so shouldn't you also think outside the box? There are many ways to accomplish this, but the most important thing that any Web Master can do is "be constantly educated". Think like your users, not like a designer! So what does that mean?

That means that you need to find a way to always stay on the cutting edge for your clients. This means that every day you design you must be open to new ideas, new information, and be willing to change styles.

Constant education doesn't necessary mean going back to college or taking expensive courses to further add to your portfolio of knowledge. Constant education means the "goal of being open to new ways, new ideology, and new ways of doing business better".

With the Internet, free resources are always available.

*Read others blogs, subscribe to those blogs when you find value

*Spend at least one hour a day reading or finding out something new even if it is a small piece of information

*When you find a topic that interest you, find a book on the topic.

*View tutorials on You Tube. Subscribe to those that brings insights.

*Follow people, authors, or even companies that promote a fresh ideology.

Simply put, there are so many resources out there to get the knowledge to think like your clients and users. From coding techniques, to designing, there are many people out there that want to share ideas and information.

Thinking like your clients and users can sometimes be hard.

I was very surprised by this recent article that I read about Neuro Web Design. According to acodez (November 2014), "Recently a research was done in neuroscience that focused into how people, their decision making, and their motives that lead them to take action". After reading this article, I was amazed at how many of thy myths listed in the article I actually do as a user; not a designer- a user. Read this article, I think you will enjoy- Nuero Web Design/

There are six principles listed in this article which I think you will find useful.

A picture that replaces a thousands of words

Gain or loss

Creative speaking

World of like, share, and comment

keeping up the promotions

Each single penny matters

Happy studying!

The essence of knowledge is, having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance. Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC)

Every Customer Wants a Color Palette

I know you have faced this problem- trying to get a color palette together that your clients will like for their products. I personally have used several sites to help me with this part of the project. It seems like a never ending problem trying to get colors that work well together and really pop!

Today, I'm going to talk about a new website that I found that I can only give a full five stars too because it brings it and is brilliant! This site is user friendly enough to even refer your clients to the site. Why not? Why not let your clients pick colors they like? It's their project, so help guide them. A client that is interactive in the design process usually results in a satisfied client.

The site is called Material Design Color Palette and it can be found at http://www.materialpalette.com/. Let's review the site to fully understand the benefits.

1. When you first arrive to the site you are greeted by a palette of many colors. As the user rolls over colors, they are asked to pick two colors.

2. Once you have selected two colors one of two things happen. This site is mobile friendly, so if you are on a mobile device the interaction is a little different. Here is the difference:

Mobile Applications:

a. If you are on a mobile device once you select the two colors a palette preview screen displays. If you scroll to the bottom of your device you will see a link called "Your Palette".

b.When you use the drop down arrow, the screen displays colors that match in that palette.

c.You can share or download the palette. Really nice! All your clients have to do is send it to you!

PC Applications:

a. Once you have selected two colors the screen displays your color palette to the right.

b. You can share or download the palette. Your client can share it or even send it to you!

This awesome creation was done by Matthieu Aussaguel of New Berlin, Germany. If you want to read more about him, he has a site at: http://mynameismatthieu.com/. If you are a JS junkie, let me tell you he has some wonderful other products!

W3C- Yes it Can be Overwhelming

W3C- Yes it can be overwhelming!

As Web Master's it can sometimes get overwhelming with all the changes as we integrate from HTML4 to HTML5. I find myself using elements all the time that will no longer be supported in HTML5.

To help my fellow coders, I thought I would periodically include some some changes so that you can get use to "the new way". Of course, if you just want to dive right in, please feel free to visit http://www.w3.org/TR/html5-diff/#changed-elements to get the scoop! The purpose in this post, is to move you slowly into the new standards so that you will remember them.

1.address- instead of this element use article or body

2. blockquote-instead of this element you now have footer or cite

3.bold- bold has been replaced by strong.

Here is some not to use anymore.

1.basefont

2. big

3. center(What no center!)

4. strike (I bet grammar teachers are happy about this one!)

5. tt

While all the new standards can be overwhelming, if you just learn a couple of new ones every day you will get your coding up to par. Don't forget, you can always make sure your code is valid by using the valid checker on the W3C site!

A Contract is a Must

Why A Contract is a Must

Depending on how you were taught, will depend on what steps you follow in projects or even how you name the steps. We can certainly agree that every project has steps and processes that as designers we must follow.

1. Initiation and Start
2. Planning out the Project (information gathering stage and working out details)
3. Execution and Building
4. Controlling and Managing (I call this the wrapping up stage)
5. Testing and Roll out

So why is it important that any freelance Designer or Web Master follow project management levels and include a contract?

The first reason is this is how you work. You wouldn't test and roll out prior to planning, now would you? The first step is you obtain a new client. You let that client know WIIFM (what's in it for me)and what you can do for them. Once the client has agreed on the project terms, it is time to outline that in a contract.

Giving a client a contract serves many purposes. The contract outlines what they asked for, what you will do for them, explains the scope of the project, and sets standards for you as the designer or Web Master. Here is some important things to include in your contract.

1. Expectations of you as the Designer or Web Master
2. Exceptions of the client (for example returning documentation in a timely manner)
3. Define the project in detail giving exact details
4. Explains the cost of the project
5. Gives examples of extra things that can be included but are not
6. Explains the process of how communication,the project itself, and how roll out will work
7. Details privacy and confidentiality agreements

As Designers and Web Masters we know what happens in most projects. The client will ask for a few extra things and before you know it time allocation to the project goes through the roof. Having a contract is a great way to protect you from adding more and more to the project and not getting paid for your services. How will you design your next project?

SEO

SEO Again and Again

Search Engine Optimization is what every customer wants. I'm sure you have heard the common request "I want to be on top results when people search for my business."

As Web Masters we must be familiar with SEO, how to implement it, how to coach the client, and how to make use of the tools we have. Staying on top of new-bigger things is part of our job. Our clients pay for us to be on the cutting edge of new technology.

Google Analytics, for now, is here to stay. If you haven't invested time to learn Analytics you should. This tool is invaluable for your clients.

If you are looking for a good read on Analytics, try Michael Miller's (2011) book called "Sams Teach Yourself Google Analytics in 10 minutes" to get you started on the topic. It's a quick and great read for a new comer. This book won't rob your pocketbook either, but it will defiantly get you started on the topic.

Keywords and phrases will always be part of your content in my opinion. If you want to make the most out of keywords and phrases, sometimes you have to do the leg work and research, but in the end it will help with marketing a site. A good first stopping point for research is the competitors of your client. Get the good and the bad on what is happening with the competitor's site and build on that to create an even better site.

One of the things I always like to mention is linking. Be careful about linking and remember you always want to link to a site that is in a higher hierarchy than your site. Linking to a lower rated site only gets you lowered in the indexing.

Also remember copyright, copyright, copyright- always get permissions when needed. Believe it or not, most companies are more than willing to give out copyrights for free marketing on your site.

Inspired Magazine (2014), has a great article about what we can expect in 2015. As always, the Web is an ever so changing environment and being ready for the next big thing is part of our responsibility.

Inspired Magazine 
http://insp.re/1s0m5KJ

Helping Your Clients in getting a site that works

Why your website is not working for you...

So you have a website and it's up and running...great! That is the first stage to expanding your marketing to the web. Well, actually maybe expanding; you may be accomplishing very little if you are not using the correct design person or company.

Your next problem is:

1.  "Why is my website not working for my business?”
2. "Come on, I put the time, built a site using a program I got through my hosting company, and published."
3. “So what's the deal?”

Consulting a potential client that they took the cheap route and got cheap consequences is one of the biggest issues that Web Designers and Web Masters face. You won't go to a bargain Doctor for a remedy, so why would you go to a bargain company for a remedy to your marketing issues? Contracting a Web Master is employing someone who is educated in coding such as JavaScript, CSS, and HTML.

There is much more to designing a web portfolio than using a "drop and type" program.

Webmasters call this "WYSIWYG" (what you see is what you get) and in reality, the name fits the acronym.  If you want your website to shine and be part of your marketing, sometimes you just have to devote the money and hire someone who is knowledgeable in back-end coding.

Ok, so what is back-end coding? Back-end coding is what you don't see when you look at a website. It is the code that is used or generated to create your HTML document (your web page). As referred to before, this is coding such as JavaScript, CSS, and HTML.

 It is also the extra code that brands your website great, searchable, and indexed. Hosting companies won't pull out the bells and whistles like a professional Web Designer or Web Master. Generic coding is used when you purchase templates along with generic design. That is the difference and solution to your question "Why your website is not working".

Your Web Master will help you with the following:

•  Analytic
• Indexing
• Meta Tags
• Linking
• W3C Standards
• Keyword/Phrases