Killersites Web Design Magazine

The Dubious Advantages of a Web Design Degree

I got a call last week from someone who was considering a three year college program in web design. The whole thing was going to cost him tens of thousands of dollars … and that’s just what you have to pay the school!
He called to ask about my video tutorial courses; he saw that [...]

Smart Web Designers Play to their Strengths

One of the biggest mistakes people make, is trying to develop skills in areas that they suck in. For example, you maybe good at writing HTML and CSS code but in the end, your pages don’t look all that great.

… Let’s face it, some people just don’t have that artistic/designers eye.

Play to your Strengths

Professional Web Designer’s Roadmap

The skills of a professional web designer are constantly changing because the Web is constantly changing.
This fast-paced nature of the Web is considered good by some (because it opens up opportunity) while others hate it because you have to be ready to learn new web design skills regularly.
… Personally, I see it as an [...]

The Universal Principles and the Business of Web Design

It has been a while since I’ve posted on this subject – I’ve been busy working on upgrading the clarity of my videos. You should see the results of that work soon enough.
What are the ‘Universal Principles’ … and how do they apply to the business of web design?
These are some of the principles that [...]

The Journey of a Thousand Miles

There’s a pretty tired cliché used all the time that goes something like this:

The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.

Like all clichés it’s true while at the same time a bit trivial. In the case of building websites, this particular cliché can help teach one of the most important lessons to learn. Let me try to put it in terms of what we do: it’s not how you end a project that gives you success as a web designer/developer; it’s how you begin it.

Web Design in a Recession

I wrote a quick article today on what to expect in the web design business because of the recession we are now in.

I’ve seen this before (in the last recession) and I also see what’s going on now … so I got some answers! I also give you some clues as to how to position yourself so you can actually profit in this environment.

How to Manage your Money

A key part about having a successful web designed business is properly managing your money. This may seem like a boring topic, but it still crucial.

In the following podcast, I walk you through some of my basic rules of money management.

Judging a Person’s Character

In this session of the Business of Web Design, I teach you a few tricks that you can use to get an glimpse into the character of people you deal with.

This may seem like a strange thing to talk about in a business course, but it is actually very important because who you deal with, will have a huge impact on the success or failure of your web design business.

Getting Paid for your Web Design Work

Getting paid is a huge part of a web design business … actually any business!

In this podcast, I go over a bunch of details about how to collect from and bill clients.

… And a bunch of other stuff too.

Managing Lazy Clients

In this session I introduce you to the ‘lazy client’ and then I get into how to manage them.

… Just in case your wondering why you should care, lazy clients can turn into a big pain in the butt and can cost you time and money. Not cool.

The Web Design Contract

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.
Thought the contract is [...]