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TylerW

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Everything posted by TylerW

  1. I really like the new firefox so far. It seems much lighter and quicker than before, and more stable too. The overall design, logo, ui etc was really brought up a notch as well, which builds their perceived value/quality in the browser market. Really happy Firefox seems alive and well. Love chrome too but wouldn't want an all-chrome world!
  2. Hey Web Designers, What does the label "web designer" even mean to you as we head into 2018? Would you consider yourself primarly as: a visual designer focused on presentation & how things look? or maybe a UX designer? overall web strategy designer? online marketer? business consultant? general creator and builder of all things "web"? The further I progress in my own journey, the more all-encompassing I consider this term to be. Some declare "Web Design Is Dead", but I'm excited about this field and the future it holds. The Key, IMO, is to expand our definition of what it means to be a "Web Designer". Because web design is nolonger just web design. It's now Designing for the Web in the fullest sense. It's seeing the web as a comprehensive environment/reality, and being aware of every ingredient that goes into it, from A to Z, and how each piece can fit together to achieve a specific purpose or goal. When designing and building a site for a client, are you simply putting that final layer on top of ALL THE OTHER STUFF that sits underneath? Or are you going deeper and working directly with the content, sales copy, marketing strategy, higher level business strategy etc? How important are you to the growth & success of your client's business? I believe that if we want to survive and thrive in the coming years, we must see ourselves as serious Web Professionals (as Stef has mentioned), and position ourselves to be on equal footing with our clients as trusted business advisors / consultants. How do you see yourself as a web designer right at this moment? Are you planning to expand your scope of work and your definition of what it means to be a "Web Designer"? I'm really curious to see how others view themselves, their role in projects, and their ultimate value to the client. Cheers All. Tyler.
  3. When doing a site refresh we do something like this: Audit Existing Site 1) Audit current sitemap & site architecture (urls, links, titles etc) to be sure we don't create any dead end links or stupidly remove any high performing pages, or that we redirect things appropriately (although we try to keep existing structure in place as much as possible to keep external bookmarks or links flowing in and maintain continuity of seo performance). 2) Audit the current website copy (WORDS are a huge part of web design which many new designers tend to overlook). Collect all the website copy together into buckets, or at least get a solid idea of what is where, so you can quickly analyze it and re-arrange, delete, or plan for new copy as needed. Strategize New Site 3) Strategize the new site design (if you're working with clients you need to do this based on client's business goals). Build a new sitemap, figure out what the function of each page is, what copy we will need (look at the old copy and decide what to scrap and what to keep, and what new copy we need), figure out what additional assets we might need as far as photography, videos, or technology we might need, plan out any advanced functionality, conversion funnels, etc. etc. Basically we create a blueprint of the new site and everythign we plan to do, while looking back at the old site and deciding what to keep and what to throw in the trash bin. 4) Create and/or gather all of the stuff we need to build the new site. Ie giving the client homework to create the copy we need, getting photography done, etc. 5) Finally the fun part. Design & Build the site. *** Careful if you are messing with DNS & Hosting setup. You gotta know what you are doing here or you can mess up email systems and other behind the scenes tech. Good luck man!
  4. Nice. Keep us updated, looking forward to seeing what you come up with.
  5. Testing my status update

  6. Hey domdag, looking good man! Really nice work Here are some quick thoughts on my first impressions, more from a marketing angle than the dev/design side: *apologies in advance that I can't leave you more detailed feedback right this second! Your site gives off a great trust vibe. You look professional and the impression I get is that you have your $#it together and you're a competent individual. The track picture and clear association with your almamatar is a nice touch. It's effective! So all around, well done on the key piece of establishing trust. One thing I see lacking is copy that's more focused on your visitor. So far everything is about you, but consider adding some copy that directly addresses the ideal person you hope to influence with your portfolio. Who is your ideal client? What problems, challenges, or needs might they have that you can help them with? What is it like to work with you and what added value do you bring to the table? Why should they hire you? Answering those kind of questions can help you create strong copy that has the potential to connect with a potential client (assuming that's the purpose of your portfolio). Example: Even if you don't have all those answers figured out yet, you could say something like: "When working on a project with a developer, communication and reliability are key. A cornerstone to my approach is to map out a clear project plan with my client and communicate at every step of the way so that they always know where their project stands. I aim to give clients the peace of mind that comes from knowing their project is on schedule and everything is on track, so they can remain focused on their business." Remember. People are always asking themselves "What's in it for me?" (beyond the obvious of "I'll get an app/site developed"). Which is where benefits focused copy comes in. Fire up a google search on Benefits Focused Copy and an hour of reading should have you well on your way. Hope that helps man! Tyler.
  7. As Stef mentioned, you'll defintely want to get set up in webmaster tools / search console. Make sure you submit your site map and keep an eye on the crawl & index status for your site over the next week or so. You can also use an advanced search operator to see how many pages google currently has indexed, then manually flip through the results as needed: Head over to google and do a search for site:mywebsite.com ... ie: List of google advanced operators: Reference 1 from google & Reference 2 (more comprehensive) from a 3rd party site.
  8. Nice intro Logan. Sounds like we have a lot in common. I like your comment: "Creating real value for people is what gets me out of bed every morning!" I couldnt' agree more. It's pretty cool to have the skills and knowledge to help people grow their businesses and contribute to their success, especially when connected to local businesses and seeing the tangible effect it can have on peoples lives. Looking forward to seeing you around the forums! T.
  9. Cheers Stef, +1 for anything business related.
  10. Hello All, It would be great to see who's kicking around the forums and get some introductions going. Seems like a good way to get things rolling Starting with myself... I'm Tyler. I'm in Vancouver BC Canada and I'm currently working as a freelance web designer and marketer, mostly with local businesses. Everything I have learned so far has been on a need to nerd basis (as Stef would say). I still have a lot to learn, but I get by ok. On any given day I might be working on web development, design, seo, ppc campaigns, content marketing, or anything really. I love it all, but have considered whether or not I should be more narrowly focused. We'll see! I also do some affiliate marketing and have built and flipped a few sites of my own. I stumbled onto Stef's youtube a few months ago and became an instant fan, some of his vlogs on business, contracts, and clients have been very helpful. So when he announced that he was re-launching the forum, I was like: I have a feeling this will be a great community. With that said, who else is out there? Introduce yourself...
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