The relationship between a web designer and their client is similar to that of an auto mechanic and their customer

They both require the same level of trust in order for the business relationship to be successful.

EPIPHANY

One day while I was visiting my local auto mechanic to have a strange noise in my vehicle looked at, I started to think about the correlation between my business relationship with him and how it was similar to the relationships I have with my web clients. Both are based on honesty, trust, experience and knowledge. When I call my mechanic to report an issue with my vehicle, I trust that he is going to know how to fix it and also not try to rip me off by selling (or fixing) something that’s not necessary.

This is exactly the same thing that happens when one of my web clients contact me about an issue or question they are having with one of their web sites. They trust me to fix the issue and rely on my experience to pinpoint the problem. More importantly, they trust me that I will not overcharge them and fix what needs to be fixed.

SCENARIOS

Sure, there may be times when what a client may think is a minor little issue with their site ends up being something more but this is where the trust relationship comes into play. As long as you advise your client in advance about what’s causing the issue and how much time/money it may take to fix, there are no surprises for either party. Just as most of us are not experts when it comes to fixing an automobile, most clients are not going to know much about the ins and outs of what makes a web site tick.

Think of it this way, you can take your vehicle in for minor repairs and be told by the mechanic that you need a new “jiggerlooper” and it’s going to cost you $XXX.00. You probably don’t know the difference between a “jiggerlooper” and a “melometer” so you tell him to go ahead and fix it but in the back of your mind, you’re wondering if that was really necessary.

Web designers have a similar power over their clients when it comes to fixing issues with their sites. Don’t make a simple WordPress plugin update become a complete overhaul for your client. Be honest and they will appreciate it. Not only that but they will let others know about what you did (good or bad) and this can go a long way in increasing or decreasing your business. Which would you rather have?

Word of mouth advertising can go a long way – both good and bad!

This article is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to being a professional freelance web designer but hopefully it helps answer a few questions for those of you thinking about getting into the industry. It’s a great career to be in with lots of challenges and rewards but it’s not for everybody so do your research and make sure you know what you are getting into.

Studio 544 has been in business since 1998 and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The president, Mark Lewandowski has over 20 years of marketing and copywriting experience to go along with his web expertise. Many of Studio 544’s clients have worked with other web design companies and web designers who have promised things they could not deliver.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark Lewandowski is a freelance web designer at Studio 544 in Hutchinson, MN specializing in setting up websites for small businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations.

Have a web design project in mind? Call Studio 544 today to get started. (320) 587-5544

The post Web Designer and Client Relationships appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.

Whether it comes to dealing with clients and their web sites or the day-to-day tasks that come with the territory. I wanted to share some of those things in this post.

BE PATIENT

When starting out on your own as a freelance web designer or graphic designer, most of us already have some type of customer base in mind to get us off the ground but don’t expect to be rolling in money right away. Just like any business venture, you should be prepared by having a solid business plan, proper equipment and software and working capital. I have talked with many other freelancers over the years and most of them say the same thing when it comes to business – the “feast or famine” rule of thumb.

It seems like when one client calls needing something, three more will call at the same time and vice versa. The feast swings are great for business but they can also be very stressful so you will need to learn how to deal with deadlines and keeping your clients happy and informed about the progress of their projects. The famine swings can be more stressful as you begin to wonder where did everybody go? These are good times to take advantage of to sharpen your technical skills and figure out how you might be able to bring back fresh business.

ADVERTISING

In the beginning, you will need to let prospective customers know that you exist and are offering the services they need. This is where advertising comes in. Many freelancers will find that advertising expenses can quickly eat up their expense budgets so it’s always wise to make sure your marketing dollars are being spent properly. Once your business is listed in any type of traditional medium (phone book, radio, printable menu, signage, etc.), be prepared for the “vultures” to start calling asking you to advertise with them.

I’ve heard it all both personally and from my customers. The best one was from a client who had actually considered advertising in the men’s urinals at a nationally known fitness club! Talk about pissing your money away!! The key here is to be smart and know your target audience. Experiment with different forms of advertising and see what works and what doesn’t.

LEARN

In a perfect world, we would all know exactly what needs to be done in every situation regarding our business before things happen. In reality, you are going to be faced with lots of ups and downs with your business from difficult clients to faulty hardware and more. Just know that you are not alone and what today might seem like a catastrophe with a project could turn out to be a great learning tool for you to use when dealing with future projects and clients.

The life of a freelance web designer can be very challenging and rewarding!

This article is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to being a professional freelance web designer but hopefully it helps answer a few questions for those of you thinking about getting into the industry. It’s a great career to be in with lots of challenges and rewards but it’s not for everybody so do your research and make sure you know what you are getting into.

Studio 544 has been in business since 1998 and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The president, Mark Lewandowski has over 20 years of marketing and copywriting experience to go along with his web expertise. Many of Studio 544’s clients have worked with other web design companies and web designers who have promised things they could not deliver.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark Lewandowski is a freelance web designer at Studio 544 in Hutchinson, MN specializing in setting up websites for small businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations.

Have a web design project in mind? Call Studio 544 today to get started. (320) 587-5544

The post Challenges Of A Freelance Web Designer appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.

Purchasing a domain is also typically the least expensive piece of the online marketing pie. There are a ton of reputable domain registration (registrars) companies out there and for the most part, a .com domain will run you about $10-15/annually. Of course, there are always add-ons to consider like domain privacy and some hosting companies will actually offer to waive the cost of your domain registration if you host your website through them.

This article is going to discuss the importance of owning your own domain name.

Over the nearly 20 years I have been working with web clients at Studio 544, there have been several occasions when I have run into a situation involving a new client who has worked with a previous web company in setting up their site only to find out that the web company purchased the domain for the client and is the actual owner of it. This can lead to some sticky (and expensive) situations trying to get the previous registrant to release the domain to the rightful owner.

To put it simply, if you don’t own your own domain and run into a conflict or issue with your current web designer or web company that results in you wanting to switch to a different designer or company, you will be at the mercy of the previous company to release the domain to you.

There are a number of very important reasons why you need to own your own domain and here are just some of them:

• Most domains are renewed annually. If you don’t have access to your registrar account, you will be at the mercy of the previous registrant to renew the domain for you and risk the chance of not only having your site go down but also losing your domain altogether.

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• If you want to switch hosting companies, you will need access to your registrar account in order for you to point the nameservers over to your new hosting company.

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• If you want to keep your domain registration information private, you will need access to your registrar account and find out if this option can be added to your domain. Nearly all registrars offer this option. Some charge an additional fee while others include the privacy for free.

Luckily most web designers and web companies out there are ethical and adhere to professional standards and will (albeit many reluctantly) relinquish a domain they may have registered on your behalf back to you but unfortunately this is not always the case. I have heard of horror stories from clients where they were told if they wanted to own their own domain, they would need to pay an outrageous fee to purchase it back from the person or company who initially registered it for them.

Studio 544 feels very strongly about ensuring our client domains are owned by our clients!

Not only is this the right thing to do but also makes it easier to make changes such as hosting and other domain-related functions much easier and less stressful for both you and the company you choose to work with in the future.

Studio 544 has been in business since 1998 and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The president, Mark Lewandowski has over 20 years of marketing and copywriting experience to go along with his web expertise. Many of Studio 544’s clients have worked with other web design companies and web designers who have promised things they could not deliver.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark Lewandowski is a freelance web designer at Studio 544 in Hutchinson, MN specializing in setting up websites for small businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations.

Have a web design project in mind? Call Studio 544 today to get started.(320) 587-5544

The post Owning Your Own Domain Name appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.

A few months ago, I received a call from a person claiming to be searching for some “Christian web designers” to work on some of his agency’s client projects – one of them being a talent-based reality show. I should point out that although Studio 544 does not specifically advertise services as “Christian”, I thought it sounded like an interesting proposition so I listened to the gentleman’s sales pitch and so the adventure began!

Over the period of the next few weeks, information was shared and contract negotiations discussed. The gentleman informed me on several occasions that he had enough work to keep me busy on a full-time basis and at one point he mentioned the possibility of doing up to 4 sites per day once I got familiar with his system. Yes, you read that correctly. 4 SITES PER DAY!!

Needless to say, I thought this sounded a bit enthusiastic on his part but I went along with it knowing that if I could even produce 2-4 small sites per week, it would be a nice revenue stream for my company. After days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months, a contract was finally ironed about between us. I say “contract” in the loosest terms as much of the wording was irrelevant to the actual work being contracted.

And this is when the craziness started! Without going into too much detail, I just want to point out that as a freelance designer, you need to be careful about the types of companies and projects that you deal with. What I find most reprehensible is how people will use the concept of “Christian” to not only take advantage of people but use it as a marketing gimmick to make themselves look like something they are really not. While I cannot confirm that this individual has used this same technique to scam other freelance web designers, the odds are pretty good that Studio 544 was not his first victim.

Does it sound too good to be true?

Having been in the web design business for over 20 years, I have learned how to research the companies and people who contact me to work on their projects before any contracts are signed. In this case, one of the main factors that I looked at was the other company’s BBB rating. Apparently an “A+” rating can sometimes just mean that nobody has bothered to report the company for unethical business practices.

Needless to say, that was the case with this particular company and the contract that took so long to iron out, was never honored by the other company. When it came time to getting paid for work done, a list of medical ailments longer than Noah’s Ark was used as excuses why payment had not been made.

Protect yourself by following some of these tips when dealing with an unknown client:

• How long have they been in business?
• Are they responsive to your questions or do they tend to offer a lot of excuses?
• What is their BBB rating?
• Google their business to see if there are any complaints or scammer comments related to their business or organization
• Ask for references of people or clients they have worked with

In conclusion, I always like to point to the old adage that “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Freelance web designers beware! Do your due diligence and if you get a strange call from a stranger looking for a “Christian web designer” that sounds too good to be true, say a prayer and run the other way!

Studio 544 has been in business since 1998 and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau. The president, Mark Lewandowski has over 20 years of marketing and copywriting experience to go along with his web expertise. Many of Studio 544’s clients have worked with other web design companies and web designers who have promised things they could not deliver.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Mark Lewandowski is a freelance web designer at Studio 544 in Hutchinson, MN specializing in setting up websites for small businesses, individuals and nonprofit organizations.

Have a web design project in mind? Call Studio 544 today to get started. (320) 587-5544

The post Christian Web Designers Beware! appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.

• Twin Cities Polish Festival
• Veterans On the Water
• Heart of Minnesota Animal Shelter

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One of the most important aspects about a nonprofit is their reputation so you want to be sure whoever you hire to create your organization’s web site shares the same type of high reputation you have (or want) to achieve. Do your research! [/wow_boxsh]
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When shopping around for a web designer, make sure to check not only their portfolio but also their testimonials and if necessary, get references. There’s nothing wrong with asking a company for references. After all, in the end, your organization’s website will have an immediate impact on your nonprofit’s image. That can be either good or bad depending on how the site looks and functions.
Here are some other things to look for when choosing a web designer for your nonprofit organization:
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• How long have they been in business?
• Are they responsive to your questions?
• What is their BBB rating?
• How comfortable are you talking with them?
• Are they pushy and promising you the moon or do they listen to what you have to say and make suggestions to fit within your budget constraints?

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The post Does Your Nonprofit Need A Website? appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.

• Updraft Plus – This is a free plugin that I frequently use. It’s simple to install, configure and use. Updraft Plus allows you to backup only certain parts of your WordPress site or all of it. I recommend downloading a copy your backup files to either your own computer, external hard drive or uploading it to a cloud based storage solution such as Dropbox. It’s added security and peace of mind that you will be tapping yourself on the back for doing if you ever are in need of restoring your site. You can set a backup schedule to automate the process or choose to do it manually through Updraft Plus. If you need additional features, there is also a premium version of the plugin that you can purchase but in most cases, I have found the free plugin to do the trick.

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• Backup Buddy – This is a paid backup tool for WordPress sites. It works similar to Updraft Plus and is easy to install and configure through WordPress. One big perk of Backup Buddy is that they provide 1GB of storage space with Stash.

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• Duplicator – This is a free WordPress plugin that Studio 544 uses on a regular basis. It basically clones your entire WordPress site and saves it in one mammoth compressed file. Installation is simple but it’s a bit trickier to restore a backup using Duplicator than it is with either Updraft Plus or Backup Buddy. You will need to create a new database and user if transferring a cloned site from one server or domain to another but it’s well worth the extra setup time knowing you have a fully duplicated (cloned) copy of your site.

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With all of the cloud based storage solutions out there now and the cost of external hard drives on the market becoming more and more affordable, there’s no reason why your business or organization should not be backing up your WordPress sites properly. [highlight]Think of a WordPress backup system as an insurance policy for your business[/highlight] and just imagine what would happen if your site was compromised at some point and needed to be restored back to a point before it became infected.

The post Backing Up WordPress Sites appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.

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• More than 20 percent of Google searches are now being performed on some sort of mobile device.
• In 2012 over half of all local searches were done on a mobile device.
• 25 percent of Internet users only access the internet via a mobile device in the United States.
• 25.85 percent of all emails are opened on mobile phones, with another 10.16 percent being opened on tablets.
• In 2014 mobile Internet usage is expected to overtake desktop usage.
• Out of the 4 billion mobile phones in the world, 1.08 billion are smartphones and 3.05 are SMS enabled.

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Contact Mark Lewandowski at Studio 544 in Hutchinson, MN today to find out what would be involved in converting your existing web site into a responsive web site.
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The post Looking for a responsive web site? appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.

If your band is looking to take your group’s web site to the next level or just create an online presence, contact Studio 544 today for more information.

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The post Michael Maher Band Hires Studio 544 appeared first on Studio 544 Web Design.

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