Paypal is a very familiar service that most Web citizens know well. But is Paypal the way to go if you want to process credit cards on your website?

Short answer: yes.

… But it ain’t perfect.

(more…)

Hi,

In this session of the Business of Web Design, I go over what you need to have in a typical web design contract.

There are important elements that you must include to avoid problems down the road, things like:

- Payment terms.
- Delivery dates.
- Project specifics: how many pages, functionality etc.

… and a whole lot more.

Check it out: Writing Web Design Contracts.

Thanks,

Stefan Mischook

www.killersites.com
www.killerphp.com

I’m very busy with things (video games, movies etc …) so it is not uncommon for me to outsource some programming work these days.

Side note: I have to tell you, as an old-school web nerd who likes code, it was really hard at first to let go and let others do the work. Fortunately, it’s getting easier with every project!

Anyway, I do have my assistants here at killersites.com, who by the way, are a tremendous help. Nonetheless, sometimes I get outside help for whatever reasons.

Crazy quotes from Java nerds

I decided recently that I wanted to contribute back to an open source project that I have used in the past … by throwing the people involved in that project, some work. I also agreed to release the additions/modifications back to the community.

Anyway …

The modifications I wanted were relatively simple – a couple of filters, some rearranging of the UI etc ..

So I get back the quote for this project. I want to mention that I could do it myself in say two days – and my Java skills are rusty! The point is, this was not a big project.

… And yet in the quote, we had a project manager budgeted in and crazy time devoted to testing. For example:

For a button that took the user to a screen/view that already existed … just a button: 8 hrs of testing!

??

Now we all know that Java guys love to over engineer, but this is crazy! When will Java nerds learn that you don’t need an aircraft carrier to move a rocking chair.

Stefan Mischook

www.killersites.com

Hi,

The following session answers a common question that has been put to me many times:

What hardware and software do you need to run a web design business? Do you need to upgrade to ‘industrial strength’ tools?

I also touch on a few other things that I know many of you will find interesting.

You can listen to the latest Business of Web Design podcast in the killersites.com magazine.

Thanks,

Stefan Mischook

www.killersites.com

Hi,

I just uploaded the very first session of the Business of Web Design course/audio-book.

The first session is the introduction to the course, where I go over some of the specifics of what I’m going to cover … along with a few other things.

Introduction to the Business of Web Design audio book.

Please post comments, questions, criticisms and even praise for what your hear.

-

I have many other session/chapters already recorded and they should be out very soon … I just have to do the final edits.

Thanks,

Stefan Mischook

www.killersites.com