10 Months of No Development + A Surprising Report

Monday, October 12th 2015 Business, Thoughts

As I’ve mentioned a few times, at the beginning of 2015 I decided to drop development from the services I provide. Out of everything to do with the building of a website, development was what I disliked the most – or well, the only thing I disliked. It stressed me out, it made projects go on far longer than they should, and if I’m completely honest about it – I wasn’t the best at it.

I’ve seen other designers and developers struggling with the choice to make the change was well – either in the direction of dropping design, or dropping development. My opinion? It’s well worth it. There were a lot of things to take into consideration when making that leap and I understand completely the hesitance behind it:

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Why A $50 Site Costs More Than A $900 Site

Monday, March 23rd 2015 Thoughts

I know you’re reading that title and thinking, “I passed Kindergarten so… no, $900 is definitely more than $50.” And technically you’re right, kind of.

When it comes to your website though, like many other things, being cheap can cost you more in the long run. In specific terms directly related to design and development, it’s becoming a rising trend to think “Why should I pay $900 when I can pay $50 for the same thing?” Especially when you have every Jane, Josie, and June charging $50 and claiming that they’re “expert designers” and “WordPress gurus”.  Words however, are just words, and anyone with a keyboard can write them.

People are starting to think about design as this thing that anybody can do, something a Stay At Home Mom does in between her children napping, which there’s nothing wrong with. There is a BIG difference though between that SAHM who is earning a little bit of cash on the side doing something she likes doing, and someone who has gone to school, spent most of their life studying and practicing their craft and is trying to make a living doing it.

When you think about the phrase, “Why should I pay $900 when I can pay $50 for the same thing?” Think about it in relation to something else…

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The Easiest Way to Get Me to Leave Your Site

Tuesday, February 17th 2015 Thoughts

I’ve noticed, and I know others have as well, a trend lately. Now this trend is mystifying to me because it uses something that has long been a bane of existence for internet users.

Popups.

When did these be acceptable things? I remember a few years back all of the ‘things to NEVER do on your site’ included ‘popups,’ but for some reason it’s become a rising trend to trade in the integrity of your site/business for subscribers. Yes, these popups are ‘nicer’ than the ones that create whole new windows. And yes, from a marketing standpoint, they usually work for their intended purpose. Another yes, I said integrity.

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Knowing Your Worth + Pricing Your Services

Thursday, January 29th 2015 Thoughts

I started designing when I was eleven, and if anyone told me that 17 18 years later I’d be running a business from all of that late-night-not-sleeping-for-days work, I probably would have looked at you like you belonged in an asylum. I did it because I loved it, and so when it came to the point that I started charging my prices were really low. I didn’t really see the value in what I was doing, or the service that I was providing, but I wish someone had told me. The endless people who paid $40k+ tuitions to learn what I had taught myself, the people who go to work at 9-5 jobs (or for themselves) making a living doing… exactly what I was doing as a nerdy teenager in between gaming sessions with my sister and my dad. So when it came time for me to price myself… it wasn’t pretty.

I was doing something I loved, something I taught myself, not something I trained for, or went to school for – what was the real value in that?

In truth, even now, after I raised my prices at the beginning of the year – I’m still underpricing myself. In reality most designers who do the same thing I do charge upwards of $2k+ more. While I plan on slowly increasing my prices just a bit more so that it puts me in a more comfortable position with what I’m earning, there are a ton of things to keep in mind when I get around to doing so.

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