“Will you build my website in exchange for equity?” Every developer I have ever met has been asked this question before. Some hear it several times a month. Some developers already work for funded startups, where the hopes are the company goes public, and they are on the ground floor of stock options. With the […]
“Will You Build My Site For Equity?”
Dealing With Client Change Orders
Change orders are something that every web agency must deal with. For those who don’t know what they are, change orders are modifications or additions to an existing project. Many web agencies also consider ongoing fixes, page additions or small addendum to a website as change orders. Everyone has a different policy regarding change orders. […]
Social Proof: Why We Want It, Why It Works
Every day, we are tasked with making decisions. When we are in doubt about what to decide, we look for factors to act as decision shortcuts. Social proof is one one of these “decision heuristics”. Social proof gives your customers confidence in your brand. It is one of the most effective psychological tools in your […]
WordPress Developers: Labels Don’t Matter, Results Do
Ever since Tom McFarlin wrote his mini-series on WordPress developers vs implementers, and what distinguishes the two, this has been a hot topic inside the WordPress community. Ultimately, this is an internal issue inside the WordPress ecosystem. Clients are often the ones who suffer, because they aren’t aware of what they should be looking for […]
Best Practices For Call To Action Buttons
Call to action buttons are exactly what they sound like — buttons on forms that entice your customers to take action. CTAs are usually succinct messages like Subscribe on an email newsletter sign-up, or Buy Now on an online shopping cart. Here are some very simple best practices for these calls-to-action that allow you get […]
Web Development Projects Require Overcommunication
It was early in my web development career. The client had emailed me, “What is going on with our website?” I knew I had failed to handle this project correctly. It was a mistake I vowed never to make again. Web design is seen as a process where the client and designer meet and discuss […]
Details Matter
The last 5 to 10 % of a project is always to finish but it’s important to make that final push. This is what separates the “just OK” projects from the truly exceptional ones. While small details are not always perceived by casual visitors, but when they are out of alignment, it sends a subconscious […]
Get Your Web Developer Involved From The Beginning
Every day, there are thousands of businesses preparing to launch. Almost every single one of them will need a website to market their offerings to the world. But, many business owners will try to skip one of the most important steps in this process, which is hiring a web developer. There are a few reasons […]
Do Image Sliders Work For Web Conversions?
Sliders and image carousels are a ubiquitous feature on millions of websites. However numerous studies suggest that image carousels are ineffective at conversions. A 2013 Notre Dame study showed only 1% of participants clicked on auto-forwarding slides, and of those that did click, 84% clicked the first slide. This means the chance of any subsequent […]
2014 Year In Review
It’s that time of year again — when everyone reflects on the year that was, and makes plans for the year ahead. This is my own 2014 in review. Writing Stats I wrote a total of 96 articles for 5 websites this year, up from 56 articles in 2013. 78 articles were published on this […]