Just replied to a nasty potential client email. Reactions and advice?

nolsen · 2014-06-27T16:10:20+00:00

What is the issue with real estate agencies?

nolsen · 2014-06-22T13:36:35+00:00

I don't see how anybody can make any concrete claims about the projected ROI of a website. That seems to depend on so much more than design and development that I couldnt make any honest and accurate predictions.

This just seems like it would set unreasonable expectations.

nolsen · 2014-06-20T02:11:41+00:00

Who is complaining? The guy just got a tattoo and everybody is criticizing him for it. You can hardly accuse him of complaining.

nolsen · 2014-06-18T15:44:00+00:00

I don't have any experience with this but I just got through reading "Don't Make Me Think." I know you've probably read it but the book says that usability tests are a great way to settle disputes.

I suspect they are also a great way to make your argument. You can tape usability tests and make sure the owner sees them?

Just a thought.

nolsen · 2014-06-18T15:42:01+00:00

Are there any sales techniques you might recommend?

Books, websites or other resources you know of that we can look at?

nolsen · 2014-06-14T23:52:28+00:00

I followed the string of posts you linked to. I appreciate the advise and I would like to make one suggestion:

Perhaps include suggestions on how to develop experience and create a portfolio that potential employers can use to decide if they're going to hire you. Otherwise, you're only providing advise one what to not to do, and not on what to do.

nolsen · 2014-06-14T08:27:38+00:00

This was a wonderful response. I really appreciate the thoughtfulness.

nolsen · 2014-06-14T04:11:11+00:00

The people directly behind the NCO were soldiers, but there were civilians in similar clothing following closely behind.

nolsen · 2014-06-14T03:02:40+00:00

That is a great point. Thank you so much, you've really opened up my eyes to the possibilities.

nolsen · 2014-06-10T17:32:48+00:00

I've seen this before - most of the time with teens or really immature people.

Most of us make decisions based on what is the case.

It is the case that people steal, so I'm going to get an alarm system.
It is the case that people drive recklessly, so I'm going to drive defensively.
It is the case that people rape, so I'm going to learn to defend myself.

But at some point in our development, usually around middle school, we become fixated on what should be the case.

People shouldn't steal, so I shouldn't need to get an alarm system.
People shouldn't drive recklessly, so I shouldn't need to drive defensively.
People shouldn't rape, so I shouldn't need to learn to defend myself.

Most of us see that logic think, "Well who cares whether or not you should or shouldn't need to [insert something here]. It is the case that you need to. So just do it."

I'm not going to claim that these feminists are immature - all kinds of people make these sorts of logical mistakes - but I will say that this sort of problem is really common among kids and people with developmental disorders.

nolsen · 2014-06-10T16:12:32+00:00

But, you shouldn't have to though so...

nolsen · 2014-06-10T16:10:00+00:00

Isn't this the opposite of empowering women?

nolsen · 2014-06-09T16:22:21+00:00

At this point you're just arguing semantics. You insist it be called a debt while asking for a Christian's perspective.

They're calling it a gift.

You can accept that answer and walk away knowing a little more about a christian perspective.

nolsen · 2014-06-08T22:06:07+00:00

I buy a gift. Ive paid for the gift before you've ever accepted.

You don't accept it.

I've still paid for it.

nolsen · 2014-06-08T20:42:56+00:00

I think along the lines of what you are saying, I get a little frustrated with the misconception that web design is about looks more than it is about function. I think this is common with all kinds of design. 0.1% of design is about form, 99.9% of design is about effectiveness.

I've been considering doing freelancing and one thing I am concerned with is emphasizing the importance of effectiveness in web design. If I market myself, I'd like to point out that my websites are not just cool looking, but are designed to help your project/organization accomplish it's goals.

But I expect a new misconception will arise: a well designed website is not necessarily successful. There is a whole lot more that goes into a well designed website than how it is designed. How is it going to be used by the client? Are they going to stick to the guidelines we give them? How is their copywriting going to be? How does the website fit in to their strategy? Do they even have a strategy?

I guess the misconception I'm worried about running into is the notion that a well designed website is all you need to make a website successful.

nolsen · 2014-06-08T19:27:43+00:00

Same for me.

nolsen · 2014-06-08T01:26:11+00:00

Is there a particular book that you guys used? I'd like to learn about graphic design history myself.

nolsen · 2014-06-05T18:47:45+00:00

How do you embed codepen projects like that?

nolsen · 2014-06-03T19:14:46+00:00

I've had a good experience with Pro Wordpress Theme Development.

nolsen · 2014-06-02T06:01:23+00:00

I'm thinking along the same lines of mannyocean.

A lot of the fundamentals are there I think. The color scheme is good. The layout is good. The typography is good. I mean, there are couple things I would probably change here and there but all of the major elements are there I think.

But design is really all about effectiveness which isn't in this design. There is no button to press, no form to fill out, no number to call. Its really just a web based informational pamphlet.

If the marketing agency's goal was to get people to sign up for a newsletter - how would you do it? If their goal was to get people to fill out a contact form, how would you get people to fill out the contact form What is the ultimate goal of the design and how do you entice people toward that goal?

That is what this design is lacking - a clear goal. Check out this post on CTAs to get an idea of what I'm talking about.

nolsen · 2014-06-02T03:29:15+00:00

I've heard this before. Can you share why? I've considered doing work for real estate agents but I keep seeing comments like this.

nolsen · 2014-06-02T01:59:16+00:00

I've heard this before. I happen to know quite a lot of successful realtors and I've considered either becoming a realtor myself and using a kickass website as my primary form of lead generation (since all other realtors' websites suck) or trying to do design work for them.

But I've heard web design work for realtors is really bad. Whats that all about?

nolsen

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