The 3 types of projects every web designer / developer should include in their portfolio

Are you starting a web design/development business? Ready to take on a few more freelance projects outside of your 9-5? Maybe you've been thinking about the best way to represent your work online?

The wild and wonderful world of freelance web design/development is a rollercoaster of an undertaking. Some days you’ll be thrilled with the projects you’re working on and other days? Not so much.

When you’re first starting out, you won’t have the luxury of being super selective about the type of projects you take on. During this initial stage of your business, a variety of projects will not only build your portfolio, it’ll also strengthen it.

Through hands-on work, you’ll learn how to cater your services to specific client types and along the way, I have no doubt that you’ll identify and refine your ideal client.

Getting experience across several types of projects will make you a better designer and will help you niche down when the time is right.

Once you start taking on projects, you’ll also have to consider the portfolio you present on your website.

Believe it or not, putting together a portfolio that showcases your work involves a surprising amount of strategy. How many pieces should you include? What order should the projects be presented in? You could honestly spend months preparing your portfolio and humming and hawing over the details but at the end of the day, you must take action and put your work out there!

Today’s article will identify the 3 project types that every web designer/developer’s portfolio MUST include - and why.

BusinessCharlotte O'HaraDecember 5, 2016portfolio, ideal client, design projects, development projects, client managementComment

Alternate Logos Explained : Why they need to be part of your brand identity

Brand identity and websites go hand in hand - you'd be hard pressed to find a quality designer/developer who doesn't take your business' brand into account when building your website. That would be madness!

When it comes to branding, right off the bat people think of three things:

But as I'm sure you've come to realize, branding is much more involved than just those three elements. Yes, they are often the pillars of a good brand but they are only a small part of brand identity.

In today's article, we're going to explore the lesser-known Alternate Logo and see how it incorporates into your brand identity. We'll also look at examples of when and why alternate logos are used, and how that relates to your website.

Web Design/DevelopmentCharlotte O'HaraNovember 29, 2016branding, logo, alternate logo, CanvaComment

Understanding the .com bias and what it means for your small business

My friends, did you know that we're currently living in the year 2016? And remember back in January when we were all making jokes about "sweet '16, don't be mean"? Considering how brutal this year has been, it's safe to say that many of us wish we could erase it from memory. But we can't. We're still here.

And at this point, did you know that the internet has bee around for....several decades?! About thirty years, in fact! That's a long time - even older than me and I'm basically geriatric.

On the grand & glorious world wide web today, there are over 1 BILLION websites. 1 billion! That number is insane and totally cool. There really is a place for everyone online.

However, the numbers don't lie - although most websites were/are built on the .com top-level domain (TLD), there simply aren't enough possibilities for every single website to be build on it. Eventually, we will run out of .com options and everything will have been purchased already.

With that came the invention of other TLD options. If you're even a moderate web browser (which I assume you are, you savvy thing), you've probably come across them before : .ca, .net, .org, .co., .xyz, etc.

So now that we've established that while many websites end in .com, not all websites have to. That's good news - right?! Well, hold on a minute.

As much as it pains me to admit it, we need to have an honest discussion about the .com bias and what it means for you - and your business.

Choosing a domain for your business is one of the most important steps of starting a website so it's important to have as much information as you can in order to make the right decision for you.

Tech TipsCharlotte O'HaraNovember 17, 2016domain, domain names, tld, .com, cybersquatting, seoComment

Everything you need to know about Squarespace Analytics

Squarespace is my favourite website platform for many reasons but one of the points that I keep coming back to is just how intuitively the features are laid out. Most people who opt for a Squarespace website are looking for a one-and-done platform and in this area, Squarespace delivers. There's no fiddling with extra plugins or add on features, hardly any code to add or adjust, and almost anything you want to do can be achieved within a few simple clicks through the Squarespace backend.

Analytics are one of the most fun features to play around in with Squarespace, especially for a data nerd like myself. The sky is the limit when it comes to reviewing your website's trends, visitor behaviour and to see what's working and what isn't in your business. Not only does Squarespace provide a veritable goldmine of information, it's layout is beyond simple to use and navigate which is another win in my book.

Today I'm going to walk you through the Squarespace Analytics features and give you an overview of how it's all set up in the backend. As you get more familiar with the analytics, you'll have a better understanding of who your audience is, what they're viewing on your site and what they're most interested in.

squarespace seo checklist

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squarespace seo checklist

DOWNLOAD THE CHECKLIST TODAY!

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