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One major hurdle that many freelance designers are facing is how they manage their finances. For those, who had the opportunity to be freelance designers for a long period of time, they can attest to the fact that their finances can go down every now and then. Due to the fact that many freelance designers are not able to manage their finances appropriately, it becomes a great obstacle in achieving their set goals. For that reason, I have come up with some budgeting tips to assist a great number of freelance designers as well as other freelancers on how they can control and maintain their budgets. Avoid These Common Freelancer Money Problems Here are some of the common money problems that many freelance designers face …

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A good design brief can make your life as a designer much easier. When it comes to creating a brief, there are several basic parts that should be included. This document should work as a guide for you throughout the entire project. If designed properly you should be able to avoid any potential problems with clients and your work will be much easier because of it. Objectives The first thing that needs to be included in your design brief is what the client actually wants. Do they want a total redesign, or a rework of their existing site? Are the ideas they have solid or vague? Make your clients set specific goals for what they are looking for. Budget and Schedule The budget for a …

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Designers appear to be obsessed with HTML5 and CSS3.  Discussions about them are endless, in blogs all over the internet.  However, is there a limit to how much time we can take away from what we can do right now for our clients? Of course, designers need to learn about and understand all aspects of HTML5 and CSS3, to keep their knowledge current.   The question is whether or not we are neglecting to learn about other areas, as well.  Here we will discuss four other areas that could also use our attention. Strategic Content When was it decided that content was a problem of the client’s?  They should not be expected to know about web writing, when designers are considered to be the experts. The …

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There are hundreds of design related blogs devoted to finding projects, freelance job listings and how to improve your career.  Freelancers read them religiously, in hopes of expanding their businesses and finding more jobs.  However, in the long run, this focus can end up hurting your career. The focus of these websites, is freelancing for short-term.  This is often an epidemic within industry freelancers, not only web designers.  Below is  a checklist to help demonstrate this topic. Freelance Short-term Characteristics •    Determining a value of your work based on a goal that is weekly, or short-term metric. •    Focusing on completing tasks, even though they are time consuming, boring and low-paying. •    Non-existent or very limited long term focus. On the internet, you can find …

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There comes a time in the life of every major designer, when they have to decide if they want to continue working on simple projects, or transition to larger, more complicated jobs.  The fear generally lies in leaving the comfort zone of easy marketing and networking involved with small projects. The thought of making a major pitch to a prominent company seems to overwhelm.  You doubt if your experience and company is big enough to compete.  The six tactics below can help you get in on the ground floor, a contract offer and increase the possibility of gaining a new business relationship. Never Bid Too Low Large companies, have large budgets.  Using a low bid to market yourself does not work when pitching for a …

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A large number of people believe that Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a way of choosing correct keywords when performing internet searches.  However, SEO is actually a method used to gain rankings with the search engines via the use of certain keywords or phrases. SEO is used for a lot of reasons in the marketing industry as well as business.  Without SEO, it would be difficult to find information on the internet, creating a problem for both the searcher and the website owner. Below is a list of 11 blogs specializing in different aspects of SEO.  Once you go through them, you will acquire a new appreciation for SEO. Bruce Clay Inc Is a blog that caters to businesses of all sizes, small, medium and …

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Just about everyone has heard of or seen the monstrosity of a redesign that failed. However, bitterness can also be suffered by small businesses.  This scenario can be averted if existing traffic is taken into consideration in the redesign process. The guide below should help you to stay on track when creating a redesign project to keep older visitors happy.  If you are in the middle of one right now, you should also be able to get help. Redesign Correctly There are a lot of things to consider besides technical elements of your app or website, before you consider making a change to the current design.  Make sure you have an acceptable reason for the change(s), because your existing visitors have certain expectations. Request Current …

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If your business model is based on recurring subscriptions for services and apps, the biggest challenge you will face is getting people to join.  This is where your pricing plan for different types of subscriptions, that involve varying prices and features, plays a main role. The start-up business model of websites on the internet is gravitating towards a recurring subscription-based economy.  Therefore, a competent pricing plan is very important.  Here we will discuss some best practices and tips to create and test pricing plans for your internet based subscriptions for apps and services. Price Plan Testing Testing and gathering data for improving a product is a top priority in the designing of a web-based service or app.  Particularly, since enhancements can be performed at any …

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Using website builders is a great way for non-technical people to create websites because there is no need for code-editing.  Basically, there are two types that available on the internet from web hosting companies. The first one is used for personal websites, using software downloaded to their computer where the site is created offline and published it later.  They can use any web hosting company they choose.  The second one requires users to sign-up with a hosting company.  These websites range from personal to e-commerce sites.  They usually are template based or offer platforms that are flexible. Below are 10 of these companies that allow the creation of free websites. Webs Provides tools that create websites that look very professional, and it takes only minutes.  …

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The internet is now a necessary thing in many people’s lives. Once upon a time no one had ever heard of the internet, yet these days, it seems as though many of us cannot live without it. Since more and more people are becoming comfortable with using the internet, it is important to make applications that can enhance their experience and make online life easier. When you are making a website, once of your primary concerns should be to make it fully function and accessible. What exactly is accessible design? This article will discuss some techniques for making sure that your website is accessible to as many people as possible. Internet accessibility means that people who have a disability are able to use your website. …

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