Archive for May, 2011

The benefits of a freelancer in the current climate

By On May 16, 2011 In Web Development With 1 Comment Permanent Link to The benefits of a freelancer in the current climatePermalink

First and foremost, as with anything, you get your good freelancers and your bad freelancers – as you do with companies. This is true with anything – not just web development and web design.

I am a freelance web developer in Newcastle upon Tyne and have been for 5 years. Over the last two/three years I have seen companies start to use freelance (or temporary) employees to compliment their full-time staff.

With the current financial climate, this has ensured that; come the end of the project a company is not committed to paying the freelancers’ wages if a new project does not surface.

This change, however, has seen smaller core teams which does introduce a problem; losing the ‘in-house’ experience in key areas could effect the quality and speed of delivery for projects. Every threat does present an opportunity though; an opportunity to bring in different types of people. It’s like a football team, keep the core of the team intact and bring in new signings to compliment them. So what does a freelancer bring to you and your company?

Network. A freelancer worth his/her salt has a network of people of which they can rely on. I have various graphic designers, fellow developers and other business people that can contribute to projects I undertake. They know me personally and we have a trust between one another. For a company, hiring one freelancer could actually mean you are getting the experience and expertise of three or four.

Handshake

Temporary. If you need a freelancer for one job, you pay them for that bit of work; if no future work comes in for the rest of the year then you have no commitment to pay them thus reducing your overheads.

Different skills. If you don’t have certain specialist skills in your company then it may be better to hire someone rather than train your staff and then give them 3 months on the job training to get ready for a project. There’s also an opportunity for your current employees to learn some of the skills used by the freelancer.

Different perspective/experience. It’s likely that a freelancer has worked for different companies before and therefore has a wide range of experience. They can offer differetn perpestcives and might be able to forsee possible risks to projects, of which in IT can be a big time/money saver.

Flexibility. Companies usually offer a 9-5 service which means if you call at 5.05pm then the likelihood is you’re going to have to wait until the next day; sometimes this isn’t ideal. Freelancers, at the least the ones I follow on Twitter,  work all around the clock and on weekends.

Have you or your company thought about hiring a freelancer before? Does anyone have any experiences with them, good or bad? I would love to hear your thoughts below.

How do clients prefer to edit their website?

By On May 6, 2011 In Content Management, Web Development, WordPress With 7 Comments Permanent Link to How do clients prefer to edit their website?Permalink

Content Management Systems such as WordPress enable clients to be able to update websites and handle their own content.

WordPress itself also offers functionality to directly edit the website by clicking on the text they want to change. This means if they are browsing over their website and want to make a quick change then they can click it and a WYSIWYG editor will popup on the page. Change the word/sentence and you’re done.

Compare that to logging into the administration area and finding the correct page and then editing it and pressing ‘save’. It’s not a huge overhead but it’s extra steps to change maybe just one word and people are always looking to save time.

The front-end editing only allows you to make text changes and does not let you change any other details of the page – so if you wanted anything more you would have to go into the administration area.

So which one do you think (or know) clients would choose? Or would they prefer not to touch the content at all and pay a monthly retainer for somebody else to do it?

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Note: The front-end editing isn’t in the core installation of WordPress but can easily be added by using the Front End Editor plugin.

How Clients can reduce the cost of their website

By On May 6, 2011 In Content Management, Web Design, Web Development With Comments Off Permanent Link to How Clients can reduce the cost of their websitePermalink

A client normally has a vague idea in their head of what their requirements are and it’s my job to take it further and turn their ideas into websites.

I can safely say that I’ve never had a client come to me that knows 100% what they want and when the project ends we’ve stuck to the same criteria and it’s EXACTLY as planned. Things change throughout the duration of the project – it’s just something you have to accept. This may take extra man hours or extra hardware to accommodate the changes and I try to identify these changes as soon as possible to save any big shocks.

To reduce any risk and it’s also worth doing some research and preparation prior to starting the project – especially if you’re on a budget. You might not even know where to start so here’s a few tips to get you going:

  1. The name. I picked the name Stomp before I even started making the website. That meant then I could register the domain name (http://www.stomptheweb.co.uk) and get all the hardware issues out of the way before the project starts. It also means there’s a space for me to develop your website on so you can keep track of the project.
  2. A sitemap. I always ask clients to produce a sitemap so I can review it and then design the structure of the site. Do you want an about page? A contact page? A blog? Simply listing what you want in bullet point fashion and having a quick chat about it can save lots of time (and money) during development as it enables the developer (me) to have a clear direction of where I am and where I need to be in terms of the finished article.
  3. Colour scheme. Having a basic colour scheme is important as although you can theoretically change it at any stage it’s good to get a feel for the site nice and early.
  4. Preparation. If you have a logo, images or even content then providing this up front again gives the developer a sense of what the site is about. The more the developer/designer knows about the business/community that you’re building a site for then the more he or she can represent your business truly through the web. As websites are now the first point of contact for a lot of clients this is of ever increasing importance.
  5. 3rd party services. Social media such as Twitter and Facebook play an important part on the web – especially for communities and businesses. There are of course hundreds and thousands of 3rd party services which can give you something for free and it’s important to know which ones they are and how you can exploit them.
  6. One step at a time. My advice to you if you are creating a brand new website is to keep it simple at first. You don’t want to have a hundred pages of which you only update a few. It’s important that you include any necessary items and to identify things you may want in the future – rather than wanting it all right now. That way you can concentrate on the core of your website and if it’s successful then add the remaining features. Creating a website in two or three phases is no alien concept but it’s one that clients rarely use. It may mean down the line you might not want the functionality or at the very least you can stagger your payments – ideal for those on a budget.

It’s likely I’ll redirect my clients to this page in the future – but feel free to send your clients to this page as it might help them to save money and you, the developer – time.

Is your site optimised for search engines (SEO)?

By On May 2, 2011 In Search Engine Optimisation With 3 Comments Permanent Link to Is your site optimised for search engines (SEO)?Permalink

I was recently dealing with a relative’s website where the company who had made it for him had told him that it had been optimised for search engines. I had a quick check over the site and found out that in fact not the slightest effort had gone into it.

When I talk about Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) I am not talking necessarily getting a website to number one in the rankings, although that is the end goal.

What I am talking about is providing the best possible framework for Google to find your website. I see this fit into three categories.

Schematics. Ensuring that the meta tags (the information that is not displayed but describes your website) such as the <title> tag and the meta description and keywords are correct. Also <h> tags are used correctly and XHTML guidelines are adhered to. This should be done by the developer during the project and the client really should have no exposure to this, it should just be done.

Framework. When defining the website make sure that the page structure is correct. Ensure it is well thought out and don’t just have pages (or functionality) for the sake of it. This approach can also save you money during the build but having a clear and concise structure gives you the perfect building block to start with. Additional elements such as a site map should also be supplied. This is something that the developer and the client can agree beforehand – so the onus is originally on the client but the developer should help guide them through the process, probably having done many websites before.

Accessibility. The site should be accessible to both users and to the search engines. Page caching if using a Content Management System and optimised images will ensure the site is quick and increases the chances of people browse all of your site and then coming back for more. Google also credits sites which have fast loading speeds. This is developers territory and if they are dealing with advanced technology they should also know how to optimise it. One of the most important things following a launch of a site is to submit your site to the search engines – otherwise they won’t know you’re there!

Content. The website should have well presented, relevant information about their product/service. This is the only non-mechanical nature to a website and the whole point of the website in the first place – to get your message across. The designer/developer is responsible for good typography and layout but the content – well that is solely down to the client. Whether it’s the text on the home page or a blog article then the client must ensure it represents their company in the best possible way. If you, as the client, is not happy with that task then it’s the role of a copywriter, not a web developer to produce your content.

So – there’s my main focus when optimising for search engines. I have tried to avoid to go into the nitty gritty of it as I do on a project by project basis but hopefully it’s a useful overview.