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Every week heralds the announcement of yet another handful of web startups, filling a new niche or competing with established services—but all too often they are never heard from again. Marketing expert Dave Goldenberg is here to tell us what the problem is…and it has nothing to do with sprouts.
It might seem like a good idea when you’re sat in the audience, but once you land your first speaking gig at a web conference it can seem a daunting concept. Why would anyone want to listen to what you have to say—and do you actually have anything worth saying in the first place! Branding expert Lea Alcantara shares what she has learned about putting together the perfect presentation.
Does your business take responsibility for its impact on the environment or the local community? And does it do enough for your employees? John Reeve, co-founder of Santa Barbara design and development shop Pelago, shares the tips and advice that can help make your business whiter than white when it comes to being green.
If you’re anything like me, your hard drive is probably littered with unfinished redesigns of your personal portfolio site. As professional designers, we can often be our own worst client—which is why I’m very pleased to welcome FreelanceSwitch’s Collis Ta’eed to set out some sensible ground rules to consider when approaching that portfolio project.
Opera’s legal shenanigans caused no small amount of hand-wringing last month—to the extent that we almost forgot that there was a browser at the center of it all. Firefox might get all the anti-Microsoft press, but when was the last time you had to fix a layout in Opera? Never? Read on to find out what the world’s oldest browser company has in store for us codemonkeys this year.
Just what happens when four of the smartest guys around join forces to create a new web-design powerhouse? And why do they care so much about their mileage? Digital Web sat down with Steve Smith, Jonathan Snook, Dan Rubin, and Bryan Veloso—now collectively known as Sidebar Creative—to find out the answers
It’s the sticky moment in any negotiation with a potential new client—no matter how great your proposal, you’re still going to have to deliver The Quote. But how do you arrive at that magic figure, taking into account the unpredictability of developing for the next generation of the web? Andy Budd, no stranger to client work, takes a look at a new way to cost out your projects.
Products. Services. Chances are, your business website is shilling at least one of them. In Web Design and Marketing Solutions for Business Websites, Kevin Potts reveals some important ways to connect what you’re selling with the people who want to buy it. Check out this exclusive excerpt from his chapter on products and services.
Designers, information architects, project managers, bloggers—most of us love to add skills to our repertoire. But if our main expertise isn’t programming, we sometimes feel a bit intimidated at the thought of venturing into somewhat more technical areas. Digital Web staff member, writer, and designer Jessica Neuman Beck scouts out the territory of forum set-up for us and points the way to making the process perfectly simple.
The online store is the bread-and-butter of many freelancers and web agencies—but very few have the resources or skills to build their own eCommerce system from scratch. The sensible option is to turn to the professionals, but with the dazzling (or sometimes not-so-dazzling) array of options available, how do you choose the package or company that is right for you? Shannon Watters tells us the key things to keep in mind when shopping for a shop.
Andy Budd is one of the most well-known faces in modern web design. A successful author, speaker, and trainer, he can now list event-organizer among his accomplishments—the one-day d.Construct conference that he founded is currently gearing up for its third year. Digital Web’s Managing Editor, Matthew Pennell, caught up with him to chat about running a successful agency, conference fatigue, and whether there is enough work to go around.
Maybe you’ve approached a website design with the burning desire to do something that’s altogether different. Perhaps you’ve attempted to build a site, CMS, or hot new app that meets management’s vague goals to somehow turn our current thinking upside-down. Or, could be you’ve considered a new IA project and thought, “there must be a new way to approach this.” If so, then you’ve wrangled with the concept of innovation. Few understand innovation—its challenges, and how to harness our abilities to pull it off successfully—as well as Scott Berkun, author of the respected Art of Project Management, does. His new book, The Myths of Innovation, attempts to take a fresh look at the subject. Did he succeed? Read Digital Web staffer Tiff Fehr’s review to find out.
Innovation is both a buzz word and an elusive goal these days for many companies and web professionals. After writing her review of
Scott Berkun’s new book The Myths of Innovation, DW staff member Tiff Fehr decided to dig a little deeper by asking him these five pertinent questions.
Thinking of breaking the chains that keep you bound to the company desk? Imagining a beautiful life of freedom and riches? New Digital Web author, bon vivant, podcaster—and, possibly, sociopath—Matthew Jordan describes the agonies and ecstasies of his escape from captivity and journey toward world domination.
Spend any time in the business sections of web design forums and you’ll hear countless freelancers complaining about client trouble. “He won’t pay up.” “They changed the requirements after we started work.” “Who owns the copyright on my code?” All are legitimate business concerns, but enough to make your head hurt if all you want to do is design websites. In his column ‘The Business End,’ Nick Gould tells you how to address these problems and enjoy a more professional relationship with your clients—and it all comes down to why you need to bother with web design contracts.
If there’s one thing those of us in the web-standards world have in common, it’s a passion for what we do. We argue endlessly about the best way to do, well, everything. In the final analysis, though, we have clients, budgets, and deadlines constraining our decisions. Garrett Dimon looks at creating a web team that knows how to find that sweet spot between harsh realities and our desire for perfection.
Websites don’t exist in isolation, of course—the competition is always just a click or two away. How can you make sure yours is the site that wins the hearts, minds, or dollars of visitors? An insightful, detailed competitive analysis can make the difference between a site that delivers or one that sits unused. In Part Two of the excerpt from his book Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning, IA and user experience expert Dan Brown continues to show us how to create an effective analysis.
In the fourth and final part of his series on start-up companies, Dirk Knemeyer, of Involution Studios, hands us the keys to sustainable success: sales, service, and management. This is Dirk’s last piece for his outstanding Innovating the Web Experience column. For nearly two years, his insightful columns have enlightened us and stimulated lively conversations about the web.
User-experience consultant and information architect Dan Brown gives us the scoop this week on performing a competitive analysis. Excerpted from his new book, Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning, the first section of chapter five explains the analysis as a series of conceptual layers—with plenty of images to make our choices clear. The remainder of the chapter—not excerpted here—digs deeper and demonstrates how to use the analysis within a project. Communicating Design covers competitive analysis and nine other key documents for web design, including wireframes, site maps, personas, and usability reports.
A brave new way to learn, share, and collaborate, or a disorganized free-for-all? If you’ve been to BarCamp or a BrainJam, you already know. If not, let Jonathan Follett guide you through Unconferences, the latest low-cost way to exchange ideas with fellow web professionals.
Most of us learned to make Web sites mired in “view source” code, through careful self study, and from those generous souls who share their tips and techniques through tutorials. If you're one of the lucky ones, you already know of the inimitable Veerle Pieters. A Web uber-talent, she's been helping others with her in-depth Web design tutorials for years. If you haven't been introduced, join our own managing editor Carolyn Wood as she and Veerle talk about process, working with clients, and of course, how to pronounce Veerle correctly.
You’re a designer, not an accountant, right? Unfortunately, running your own business involves dealing with finances as well as fonts. This week, Business End Columnist Nick Gould offers a crash course on making COGS (cost of goods sold) part of your financial toolkit.
In part three of the four-part building a start-up company series, Dirk Knemeyer dives into setting up your base and hiring the right folks. Focus on needs, not wants or coolness.
Time for the fun stuff! OK, not quite yet. This week, Dirk Knemeyer covers the side of business creative folks tend to find the least exciting—legal, financial and human resources. It’s the second part in his four-part in-depth look at starting your own technology, software or Web design business.
Want to break those corporate-world shackles? Do you dream of enjoying your job? Start with five essential planning steps, and learn how to get from here to there in part one of a three-parter on building your own start-up tech company.
Stop blindly following the letter of the Web writing law. Gurus touting liberal copy chopping don’t realize you, the high-quality Web craftsperson, know your audience well. Shake out those corporate-language cobwebs and stir up your spirit with an old-time Web writing revival!
Good application design starts with a carefully staffed team. Dirk Knemeyer says it can be done in or outside the big corporation, but rarely is—even some smaller firms structure their teams poorly and deliver mediocre applications and epic invoices. Get six tips on setting the stage for excellent application design from an interaction design insider.
With all the documentation we’ve accumulated on the benefits of creating sites the disabled can use, why is it still so hard to sell accessibility to clients? Find out what clients don’t want to hear, and ensure accessibility is planned for early in the game.
Want to make the most out of every request for proposal (RFP)? Avoid sticky situations like budget confusion, cloudy expectations and doing spec work for all the wrong reasons. If you can’t hash it out over lunch, at least answer the RFP right. Nick Gould walks us through four areas of "engagement tension."
If you’re a small (or one-person) shop, the many approaches to planning a Web site can be dizzying. Wouldn’t it be nice to have some guidelines to make design decisions easier? Karen Morrill-McClure guides you through creating a site design plan by outlining business and user needs and defining goals.
There is a often a gap between business and user goals. D. Keith Robinson talks about why this is and how we can bridge that gap for more successful Web designs.
A look at Ad:Tech Chicago reveals how corporations are embracing user experience as a driver of revenue.
Andy Budd explores the many risks involved in Web development and offers
some excellent techniques to identify and manage risk for the benefit of Web
designers and their clients.
Brandon Olejniczak returns to explore the ideas of taking online products and services and marketing them offline via traditional media.
In “Brand Value and the User Experience,” Kelly Goto defines four guiding principles that should be a part of any usability or user experience specialist's toolkit.
Contributing author Dirk Knemeyer is back to help web professionals better prepare for the future, this time with an exploration into Brand Experience.
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