Business & Tech articles

It’s every business owner’s goal to provide a fantastic experience for every client or customer and ensure that each of them walks away happy. But when you work in a service-based capacity, these aren’t just clients you deal with once. As a web designer, you have to develop a relationship with them as projects could last anywhere from a couple weeks to months, and you need that positive rapport and trust to carry you through the end of the...

It’s going to happen — a design project or website launch will go poorly. What you do in the first hours, days, and weeks after that mistake can shape your future career path. Every designer makes a mistake, which is almost always a disaster to the client. No matter how big or small you think the error is, it is important to handle it with grace and make things right for the client. (This can help salvage the relationship and your reputation.)...

Starting any new business venture is exciting. You’re free from the shackles of corporate life and you’re finally able to control your own schedule, rates, client base, and workflow. Life as a freelance web design professional rocks, doesn’t it? But what happens when you rock it too hard? In other words, you have too much work coming in and not enough time or energy to throw at it without compromising on quality. You want to be a successful...

If you are a web designer/developer who currently bills per hour, I hope I can persuade you to change your pricing method to value-based pricing. In this article, I will discuss both methods in detail and without the fluff so you can get to the nuggets and make an informed decision from there. If you apply the value-based pricing method correctly, you really can earn more, work less, and be a happier freelancer. Billing by the Hour Billing by the...

For years now, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out the best way to go about investing in myself. As an individual focused and working professionally in the tech industry, up-skilling is part of the territory. In fact, it’s so essential to our careers that it’s very much a “survive or die” scenario. Everyday there are new frameworks, syntax, libraries and methodologies being introduced. This very fact requires you to be disciplined,...

In 2016, 34% of the US workforce worked as freelancers, and by 2020, it’s estimated that number will rise to 43%. Freelance opportunities aren’t going anywhere, and more professionals are swapping in their office key cards for a home office. While the idea of sitting around in sweatpants or relaxing on a beach while working sounds like perfection, freelancing isn’t always a walk in the park. From juggling business responsibilities...

An online shop’s shipping methods or rates have a significant impact on decreasing cart abandonment rates and driving up additional sales. Customers are just as attracted by low shipping rates, fast shipping options, and good packaging, as they are enticed by competitive market rates of products. Ecommerce sites that have not yet mastered the complexities of shipping are unable to reach their full sales potential. Many new business...

If you’re like most talented designers, you have an eye for aesthetics. You understand beauty, design, and symmetry at an almost fundamental level. It’s not just a nice-to-have, it’s an essential component that shapes how you see the world. That’s the problem. Most of the people around you, the people you work with, don’t get it. They don’t have an eye for design. They don’t understand the principles of design. Designers Are...

It’s one of the worst parts about being a designer: Being forced to create work you feel is subpar. Work that’s absolutely doomed to fail. Designers go through this every day. This isn’t exclusive to designers, but it’s especially destructive because our work is often devalued by the rest of the team. They devalue our work because they don’t understand what we do. If You’re a Designer You Have a Big Problem Designers are expected...

The freelance economy is a hot topic these days. With more studies coming out confirming the benefits of freelancing and remote work, in addition to an influx of communication tools that make it easier to work from anywhere in the world, there is a whole new workforce forming that is defining the future of work. While it may sound great on paper (wake up when you want, work when you want and go out when you want) in reality, freelancing is challenging...

I am a failure. My side projects have not made me millions. I’ve not been featured on the App Store. I have not won Site Of The Day on Awwwards, I’ve not even had an Honourable Mention. I’m now over the hill and into my 30’s. My best is past me. I’ve failed at life. Or at least that’s how it can feel. Every day you can read articles about 20 somethings “disrupting industries” and making millions or people hitting the big time with a...

I like money. Clients give me money (when everything goes right). Ergo, therefore, and hopefully…clients = money, more clients = more money—I’m actually pretty terrible at math. When you first start out as a freelance designer or even agency, it can be pretty tempting to say “yes” to every single client that comes your way. It’s kind of like, “They have a project and a budget? Let’s do this.” However, as many designers...

“UX design doesn’t work...And it won’t make us money.” Business executives aren’t all that fond of UX design, or even design in general. It’s an incredibly common problem. Too many executives see good design as an inconvenient expense. At a certain point, executives see UX design as an unnecessary cross to bear. A burden they’re expected to tolerate. If another department needs more money in their budget, design departments...

Mass appeal is a myth. I know that goes against what we’d all like to believe, and your eternal optimist inside probably shouts, “Hey! My product is actually for everyone.” But honestly, it’s true; mass appeal is a myth. Don’t panic though… Being niche does not mean fewer paying customers. Focussing in on a niche is a good thing, scratch that, a great thing. The web today is consumer lead. It’s a buyer’s market. With so many...