Author: djbrensinger Page 35 of 50

How much should you charge?

On February 23, 2013

Whether you are an independent consultant or a web development agency, you need to figure out how much to charge for your services. At a recent Milwaukee Web414 Meetup, Rob Martin talked about how to figure out what to charge? He suggested to not use fixed pricing. Some projects are easier and less complicated than others. If you under estimate a project, it could cost you both money and reputation. While working with his wife in her company, they developed this formula. Rob called it the CRV Model. CRV stands for Complexity, Risk and Value. When considering a project, you need to consider how complex is the project, what are the risks and the value.

The goals of using the model are:

“Pursue the right work. Avoid the wrong work. Mitigate risk. Charge according to value.” – Rob Martin

The CRV Model

The CRV Model requires math. Not simple math either. It is a scary looking mathematical formula.

CRV Model created by Rob Martin (version2beta)

In order to calculate a price, you have to consider overhead, complexity, risk, value, estimate in days and materials. Each one of these factors can affect the price of the project. It can help you to spot projects that you should stay away from. Rob Martin broke down the model and described each part and provided examples on how to use this formula. You can see the detailed break down in his slides on the CRV Model. He also made a CRV Factor Calculator. You can use this calculator to help figure out what to charge.

Have you found a better formula for figuring out what to charge you clients?

WordPress Tips from Milwaukee Meetup

By djbrensinger

On February 5, 2013

In Design, Programming, Web Development

At the Milwaukee WordPress Meetup, we discussed tools and tips for managing and enhancing your sites.

Managing WordPress

Every web site requires maintenance. WordPress is no exception. The following tools will help you maintain your WordPress site.

When you manage multiple WordPress sites, it can be time-consuming to update each one. ManageWP helps you to manage your sites easily. You can choose a pricing plan that fits your needs.
Not all Plugins work for your site. When you delete them, they may leave tables in your WordPress installation. You can use Plugins Garbage Collector to clean up the extra tables.
You may have some options in Plugins that you don’t use. Options Optimizer lets you turn off unused options.
Sometimes WordPress sites load slowly. One cause may be a plugin. You can use Plugin Performance Profiler to tell you how efficient your plugins are. Not all plugins run as well as you need them to. If you have a problem, you can use Plugin Performance Profiler to determine the troublemaker.
To speed up a WordPress site, use WordPress caching. Plugins like WP SuperCache or W3 Total Cache.

What about SPAM?

Unfortunately, you need to deal with SPAM. In WordPress, you have a couple of options. You can:

Turn off comments. No comments means no SPAM.
Use a Plugin called Disqus to manage comments and discussions on your site.
Use FaceBook comments. The comments appear on your Fan Page.

Security

WordPress continues to fix bugs, security issues and add new features. An out of date WordPress site can be open to getting hacked. We discussed two things that you can do to help make your sites more secure:

Keep WordPress, Plugins and Themes up to date. You can use Automatic Updater to help keep your site up to date.
Be careful when selecting themes or Plugins. Some Plugins or themes may hide malicious code. You can scan your WordPress site for malicious code by using free or paid tools.

Themes

WordPress has many options for themes. You can create your own or use themes built by others.

Avoid searching Google for free theme. Get themes from trusted sites like Theme Forest, WordPress.org, WooThemes or Elegant Themes.
If you want to use a theme framework, you can start with WooThemes, Pagelines, Genesis or Thesis.
When you decide that you want to create your own theme, you can use a starter theme like Underscores, Bones, ToolBox or Skeleton.

Learning More about WordPress

When you want to learn more, where do you go? You have many options for yourself and your clients. You may want to look at:

YouTube Tutorials
You can go to sites like WordPress TV, WPBeginner, WP101, WPCandy, Stackoverflow, WordPress Codex, WP Tuts-Plus and more.
For your clients, you could install WP101 Plugin. It cost $19 per month for each client. They can learn directly in their WordPress Dashboard.

Create an image map without flash

By djbrensinger

On January 28, 2013

In Programming, Web Development

An image map is an image with specific clickable areas. You may create a map where you can click on city names or even states that goes to specific pages or displays additional information. The simplest way to create an image map is to use HTML. You can use a tool like Dreamweaver to define the coordinates of each clickable area.

An image map with special effects requires more than HTML. In the past, you could achieve certain effects with flash. Now, you can use jQuery to build what you needed to use Flash for. The jQuery plugin called ImageMapster helps you to make HTML images without Flash. It works on modern web browsers and mobile devices. With ImageMapster, you can highlight and select areas on your map, create special effects, show floating tool tips and more.

Using Imagemapster

To use Imagemapster, you need to do the following:

Download the jQuery plugin and include it in your page.
Create an image map and add to your page.
Apply the Imagemapster code.
Add the special effects that you want to include.
Write additional code to include additional functionality.
Test your image map.

Imagemapster has demos and documentation that provides more details on how to use this plugin.

5 Design Articles to Start The New Year With

By djbrensinger

On January 20, 2013

In Design, Programming, Web Development

Computer with code As you start 2013, you can begin by making the perfect portfolio, charging for your expertise, plan out your next huge web project and learning new design tips and patterns.

Web Designers and Developers need a portfolio that shows what you can do. You can focus on niche projects or display the range of your abilities. If you need a portfolio or looking to freshen yours up, look at Make the Perfect Portfolio.
So You’re Going to Start a New Huge Web Project helps you to think about including mobile in your design and using version control. Every web project is different but you’ll need to look at things like design, code, content and your CMS.
Developers can learn how make their projects look better by learning about these 5 design tips. By using these 5 tips, you can take your design from ugly to better looking. A better looking design can encourage more people to use your web site or app.
When you start your next development project, you can use these Design Patterns For The Web to help you build a better user experience. Not every Design Pattern works for every project. These Design Patterns give you tools to make better decisions for your next project.
You meet a new client and they ask for a Request For Proposal. You work very hard on it. Then, they tell you that they like your proposal but going to have someone else do it. In How To Reframe the RFP and Charge For Your Creative Expertise, you’ll learn how to get clients to pay for your expertise.

Building a Business with WordPress

By djbrensinger

On December 30, 2012

In Design, Web Development

On 1stWebDesigner.com, I found the first in a video series on building a freelance business with WordPress. Spence, the “Evil Genius” from LabZip, explains how he got into WordPress and why he thinks it is a great tool for freelancers to use to build their own businesses. He doesn’t focus on web designers or developers. He believes that anyone can use and modify WordPress to suit their business.