The business card is NOT dead.

This small marketing token, which used to be the main networking tool for businesses and conference-goers has since been considered ancient. However, the art of handing out an eye-catching business card in order to draw new business or start communication with a colleague is alive and well.

We knew that a unique, beautiful and tactile experience in our business card was an absolute must for CINQ.

The card (pictured above) is a combination of letterpress and blind embossing and has a rigid strength. This mixture of design and texture provides the user with an enjoyable reading and tactile experience.

Simply put, the card leaves a memorable impression after we have long since left.

With this, the CINQ business card has received numerous attention from design publications, large and small. Here are a few…

• HOW Magazine’s “14 Cool Business Card Designs”
  http://www.howdesign.com/design-creativity/projects-profiles/cool-creative-business-card-designs/
• Neenah Paper’s “The Beauty of Letterpress” Gallery
  http://thebeautyofletterpress.com/gallery/cinq-partners-business-card/
• Paperspecs Gallery Feature
  http://www.paperspecs.com/21841/cinq-business-card/
• Pinterest “Stellar Business Cards” Board
  http://pinterest.com/howbrand/stellar-business-cards/
• Card Gala – Business Card Inspiration
  http://cardgala.com/gallery/cinq-partners/
• Must Be Printed – Print Design Inspiration
  http://mustbeprinted.com/post/33149279891/cinq-partners
• Design Your Way – “Letterpress Business Cards Ideas To Help You With Designing And Printing Your Own”
  http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/letterpress-business-cards-ideas-to-help-you-in-designing-and-printing-your-own/
• Vandelay Design’s “33 Letterpress Business Cards for Inspiration”
  http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/marketing/letterpress-business-cards/

This is just a sampling of the sites that have featured CINQ’s business card as a source of inspiration. But, more important to us are the tons of clients and colleagues that provide positive response to receiving, viewing and holding our card.

So, don’t assume that, in these days of websites and social media, that face-to-face networking and the art of the business card is dead.

( Thanks to The Mandate Press for a great job on our cards. )

We are “sweetening the pot” a bit. We will also be giving away one of these awesome Joe D. Zyner coffee mugs via a random drawing when we hit 200 followers/fans. On the mug is Joe’s creative take on how he prefers his morning coffee.

Also, look for new JDZ comics on a new and improved website coming very soon.

Visit the old Joe D Zyner website.

Win a CINQ Monogram T-Shirt!

To celebrate the upcoming launch of our new CINQ Apparel site, we are giving away 2 of our our first-run, uber-sweet CINQ Monogram tees. This pre-shrunk cotton, tagless…..BLAH BLAH BLAH. It’s a sweet heather gray tee in lime green featuring a large CINQ monogram logo on the chest and small CINQ logo on the back.

So, How Do I Win One?

It’s pretty simple. We are giving away 2 t-shirts. One on our Facebook page, and one on our Twitter account.

1. Go “Like” CINQ on Facebook
We will give away 1 CINQ Monogram t-shirt to a random fan when our page reaches 250 fans.

• Like CINQ Partners on Facebook

1. Follow CINQ on Twitter
We will give away 1 CINQ Monogram t-shirt to a random follower when our account reaches 250 followers.

• Follow CINQ Partners on Twitter

Connect with us on both Facebook and Twitter and you double your chances of winning. You’re also connecting with three crazy awesome designers….and that is prize enough, am I right?

What Are You Waiting For?

• Like CINQ Partners on Facebook
• Follow CINQ Partners on Twitter

You can also sign up for e-mail updates from CINQ Apparel, including our official launch date and upcoming t-shirt designs

Get a Shirt. Send Us a Pic!

When you win your CINQ Monogram t-shirt. Show it off! Take a picture of you in your sweet tee, post it to Instagram and tag with #cinqapparel.

You could be on our site! See some of the pics already posted below.

So, I’ve been at it over 6 months now. Here are five things I have learned of myself that may help you.

1. Get Up Early and Get It Done

It’s tempting for a designer, especially one that works from home, to sleep in with the understanding that you will work later into the day.

Sure thing, chief. Keep telling yourself that.

An e-mail to a client at 6:30 a.m. looks much better on you than one at 11 p.m.

Kids, family responsibilities, meetings, errands and other unexpected “time-killers” will ultimately slice your day up like a tomato. Take control of your day by waking up early and knocking out a few important or difficult tasks.

Respond to e-mails. Finish that proposal. Send out invoices. Write or read a blog post.

Taking control of these tasks early not only frees up your limited time during the day for actual design, it also shows a commitment and professionalism as a business owner. An e-mail to a client at 6:30 a.m. looks much better on you than one at 11 p.m.

2. Treat a Home Office Like a Real Office (a.k.a. “Dress the Part”)

photo credit: Paul Mayne via photopin cc

Since you’re already up at 6 a.m., go ahead and shower and put on a nice polo. Make yourself a cup of coffee or tea and have breakfast. Then, go into your home office just like it was 25 miles away and get ready for a productive day of work.

It’s easy to get sucked into the comfort of being at home. But, you are still a business owner and/or employee. Treat your business with professionalism and care. Now, does this mean that the occasional pajama day or “around the house” task will not take hold of your day? Absolutely not. Take advantage of having a home office and the comforts it allows you. However, you also do not want those same comforts to harm your professional attitude or work.

3. Promote, Promote, Promote

As a freelance designer and business partner for over 15 years now, I have always had the  good fortune of having enough business, whether through referrals or word of mouth, to keep me consistently busy. I was also afforded the option of turning down work as necessary.

However, as a full-time business owner, you need to understand the importance of promotion and marketing. Referral business runs dry, but bills still have to be paid. And, no amount of planning for the dreaded “feast or famine” cycle will prepare you for the day when you have little or no work.

Admittedly, I got consumed in my work for the first few months and everything was great. In fact, that work kept me more than busy full-time. However, I was not giving enough consideration to six months in the future. I had always counted on referral business. And, while that referral business continues to come in (mostly because I do good work and take care of my wonderful clients), I now see that this alone is not enough.

If you have any ideas about growing your freelance business into a larger agency, or even making the transition to a brick-and-mortar setup for just yourself, please make promotion a priority from day one.

4. Get Out! (Also Known as Reasons 2b and 3b)

My family and I live in a wonderful quiet area away from the city…a new school down the street, a golf course and great neighbors. However, this great area also comes with a feeling of isolation, which can be a “killer” to any home-based business owner. These ideas are also helpful for any home-based business within the city as well.

There’s only so many times you can make water cooler chat with the dog. Trust me.

photo credit: visualpanic via photopin cc

You can send out hundreds of e-mails and answer a ton of phone calls every day. You can participate in video chats, Skype calls or conferences. However, as a business owner, there are few things more important than getting out and “pressing the flesh.”

Ask clients, friends or colleagues to lunch. Attend local networking events. Join a civic organization or volunteer with local charities. Getting out of the office is not only a great way to promote yourself and your business (a.k.a. 3b), but it’s also imperative to continuing those personal relationships you may have lost by working from home (a.k.a. 2b).

There’s only so many times you can make water cooler chat with the dog. Trust me.

5. Enjoy It

The most important idea I can share with you is this….enjoy the wonderful opportunity you have been given. Take a day off. Play a round of golf. Go work at a coffee shop. Eat school lunch with your children. But, only in moderation. You still have a business to run!

If I find myself in the office working at 6 a.m., I usually try to make time in the afternoon to work out, take care of a few errands or work around the house. Does this happen everyday? Absolutely not. Sometimes a business affords you these opportunities and sometimes you may work from dawn to dusk and after.

Caution! I am NOT saying that you should turn free time into daily naps or couch potato sessions with Dr. Phil or The Price is Right. These exercises in futility will quickly affect your professional attitude for the worse. Make positive decisions that benefit you personally or professionally.

Conclusion

I hope these lessons that I have learned motivate you to possibly “take the leap” as I did. I also hope they can be used as a guide to skyrocket your home-based business to great heights starting on day 1. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get back to work!

They help to positively promote your business and communicate to your visitors. We also believe that they should be a unique, custom promotion for your business.

We also use the WordPress content management system as a base for all of our client sites. It is open-source, scalable and a great way to allow businesses to gain control of their content.

With the ease of WordPress also comes the ease of templating/theming. For anywhere from free to $100, anyone can download and install a professional website theme on their WordPress site. These are great for some small businesses, blogs and other websites. They can make you look good fast. However, there is a certainty that your website will not only have similarities to many other sites on the Web, but look nearly identical.

Does your business want a “quick fix” that looks like everyone else? Or do you want a custom, unique look? Here is a quick, 5-step process to find out if your website is using a WordPress theme.

Please note that these steps are only for websites that use the WordPress content management system

Step 1 - View the Website Code

We’re going to go ahead and get the scary part out of the way first. Let’s go look at some code!

Browse to your website home page using your favorite Web browser. Now, we are going to use the VIEW SOURCE command in your browser. Instructions for many popular browsers are below.

Internet Explorer 7, 8 and 9

In Microsoft Internet Explorer (7,8 and 9), locate and click the VIEW Menu at the top of the screen.

Then choose VIEW SOURCE.

You may also right-click on your webpage and choose VIEW SOURCE.

Safari

In Apple Safari, locate and click the VIEW Menu at the top of the screen.

Then choose VIEW SOURCE.

Keyboard shortcut for this function is:

• Mac: Command-Shift-U
• PC: Control-Shift-U

You may also right-click on your webpage and choose VIEW SOURCE.

Chrome

In Google Chrome, locate the “Customize and control Chrome” icon in the top-right of the browser window (looks like a wrench).

Click this icon and choose TOOLS.

Choose VIEW SOURCE.

Keyboard shortcut for this function is:

• Mac: Command-Shift-U
• PC: Control-Shift-U

You may also right-click on your webpage and choose VIEW PAGE SOURCE.

Firefox

In Mozilla Firefox, locate and click the TOOLS Menu at the top of the screen.

Then choose WEB DEVELOPER and VIEW PAGE SOURCE.

Keyboard shortcut for this function is:

• Mac: Command-U
• PC: Control-U

You may also right-click on your webpage and choose VIEW PAGE SOURCE.

Step 2 – Locate template/theme code

WordPress stylesheet – Click for larger

With the WordPress framework, it’s pretty easy to locate any theme or template files. We’re going to look in the <head> of the code and find the stylesheet file.

You’ll notice that the stylesheet link in this reference (our own website) is /themes/CINQ/styles.css.

With this, the name of the theme being used on this website is called CINQ. Now, considering that this is not only the name of the website you are viewing, but also the company that designed it, you have a pretty good idea that this site has a custom-designed, unique theme.

WordPress stylesheet from purchased theme – Click for larger

Now, let’s look at an example that uses a purchased theme.

Similar to above, we found a stylesheet link in the code of a to-be-unnamed website. As you can see, the theme has a different name (Office), one that matches neither the website or the company in question.

Step 3 – Search for Theme Origin

Search results from Google

OK. Now that we know what theme our WordPress site is using, we’re still not sure if the theme has been altered enough to be considered unique or not. So, let’s go search for the origin of the theme.

• Go to Google and search for WORDPRESS THEME (name of your theme).

Replace (name of your theme) with the name of the theme from your website’s code.

Within the results, you should see links to one or multiple theme design shops, such as Theme Forest, Template Monster, Elegant Themes and Themify.

Note: These shops do great work and develop beautiful themes. This is not a “theme designer” bashing post. We are only teaching businesses how to identify if their website is unique or “out of the box.”

If you find a search result that discusses your specific theme name, click on it.

Step 4 – Review the Demo or Screenshots of Theme

Now that you have identified your site’s theme and located it’s origin/designer, we need to review the theme for any differences/likenesses.

• Look for any links for LIVE DEMO or SCREENSHOTS.

These will allow you to view the working theme and identify similarities or differences in your website. Many designers that don’t have extensive programming experience choose to begin a client’s website with a theme such as this, mainly for the enhancements, plugins and complex site structure. They then overhaul the design to suit their client. This allows a designer to focus more on the “look” of the site and less on attempting to develop necessary functionality from scratch.

So, your design, while using this specific theme, may look entirely different. You can then know that your website is unique to your business.

However, if you review the theme demo and realize that your website is nearly identical, you then know that your website may be very similar to many other websites across the Internet, possibly even some within your own market or industry.

Step 5 – Review Your Findings

Step 5 is completely up to you. You may be happy with your site, regardless of whether it is using a purchased theme or is completely original. The purpose of this post is to inform you, based on personal experiences from several of our clients. These clients agreed to originally-designed websites for their businesses, only to find out later that they were given themed sites that had been sold to other businesses in their industry as well.

So, now you know. And knowing is half the battle.

What is spec?

First we need to understand what spec work is.  According the site NO!SPEC, “spec work has become the short form for any work done on a speculative basis.” In other words, any requested work for which a fair and reasonable fee or compensation for time has not been agreed upon, preferably in writing. An example would be when a designer is asked to provide a sample composition of a defined project without a written agreement for compensation of their time and work.

What’s so wrong with that you ask?

It gives us the impression that those requesting design on spec view our time as worthless, to have no perceived value other than free promotion for their own gain. Often with the risk of having our ideas and solutions retooled with no compensation or credit for our efforts.

Andy Rutledge, a successful designer in Texas states,

“Spec work does not make a professional name for the designer or firm that participates in this unethical practice. Rather, it solidifies a reputation for being perceived as a valueless provider.”

Overall, the impact this practice has on our profession is detrimental in that business owners get the impression that graphic design is a cheap and easy commodity. The service the design profession provides is, in fact, just the opposite.

Every problem is unique

Professional graphic design is about creating strategic solutions to specific problems, not cliché concepts based on a short brief that has little or no content relevant to the client’s business.  The value of design lays in the ideas and solutions generated to solve specific problems.

Approaches to problems need to be thoroughly researched and evaluated before a tangible concept can be born. Without a comprehensive understanding of the business or the content, any design presented at that point is mere decoration, being convenient stand-ins for real ideas and genuine skill. Presenting real ideas and well thought out concepts is what the true professional gets paid for. So to ask for design samples done on spec is asking for work to be presented without compensation.

What about the promise of fame?

We are tenured design professionals with years of proven successful results behind us. Doing work on spec isn’t going to launch us into fame because we did it for XYZ Company for free. In fact, we view doing this type of work as having the opposite effect. The perception that our time and effort have no actual value is not where we want to be. With this type of fame, there is no fortune, just a mired reputation.

What about pro bono?

Pro Bono work is based on a formal agreement between the designer and the client. Most projects involve a firm belief or desire on the part of the designer to volunteer services to non-profits, churches, and other social programs that offer outcomes that the designer is passionate about.

In these cases, projects are approached in the same professional manner as if they were paying clients. Even with these projects, there is some form of equity for the designer or firm that participate in the practice of pro bono work.

So what’s the best approach?

An effective way to decide if you want to work with a specific designer or firm is to take the following steps:

1. Look at their portfolio. Does their work represent the type of solutions that would align well with your business’ objectives? Is the work professionally executed and communicate well, or is it just trendy decoration?
2. Set up a meeting. This is a great time to get to know the personality and thought processes of the professional to determine if they would be a good fit for the project. How well do they take criticism? Be aware of their mannerisms like eye contact and how well they articulate ideas.
3. Ask for references. Testaments from past clients can offer great insight concerning the process and obstacles that may have come up during their project and how they were dealt with in a professional manner.

Conclusion

Please remember that graphic design is a practiced discipline based on years of formal training and the professional development of creative talent to help others communicate their messages effectively. Viewing designers as fellow business owners can make it easier to see that our time too, has significant value in the market place.

For more about the graphic design profession and the opinions of other professionals concerning spec work, please visit NO!SPEC, the American Institute of Graphic Artists (AIGA), the Graphic Artist’s Guild (GAG), and the Design Management Institute (DMI).

After church on Sunday, my family and I decided to go for a bite to eat…..our restaurant of choice shall remain nameless. Let’s just say that it is a sit down restaurant that still considers itself a “fast food” establishment.

After one hour and many failed attempts at reasonable service, we finally finished our meal, paid and left. We left what I would consider a very meager tip….unfortunately one that was well deserved. As I hurriedly walked out with my son to the car, embarrassed about leaving such a paltry tip to our server, I quickly realized that I should not be ashamed by our gesture of discontent.

This restaurant earned every penny….and we’re talking PENNIES….of that tip. Customer service has been lost on today’s society.

And, the more I thought about it, I also realized that terrible service is the same whether you’re talking PANCAKES or PRINT DESIGN. It’s just as important in the design industry as it is in the food service industry….any industry for that matter.

Here are a few similarities based on my less than positive breakfast experience…

It Takes a Team to Deliver Good Customer Service

While we fully believe that our negative restaurant experience was due completely to the actions of our less-than-enthusiastic server, it really does take an entire team to deliver great customer service.

We watched for 10-15 minutes as our food sat in the kitchen window and our server talked on his phone. The timely, hard work of the kitchen staff was being wasted by the slow, careless actions of our server. This example also translates well to our industry.

A designer can spend countless hours perfecting an emotionally-charged, eye-catching design. However, if the product is not relayed to the client in a timely manner, whether through poor communication, printing/programming issues or untimely scheduling, that “perfect” design quickly loses its luster. A design is only as successful as it is functional. And, a design that gets to your client after an agreed upon deadline, no matter how beautiful, is a failure.

Late work is as disappointing to your clients as cold pancakes to a hungry 5 year-old.

Trust is an Important Part of Good Customer Service

As you put the care of your rumbling stomach in the hands of a restaurant, so do our clients put the care of their program in the hands of a design/marketing agency. If you don’t trust them to take care of your needs/requests, you are much less likely to give them your business.

This is why services like Yelp, OpenTable, TripAdvisor and local restaurant reviews are so popular. People want to know if they can trust a certain restaurant to satisfy their needs, and they rely on other customer experiences to help them decide.

The same goes for our industry. Testimonials and referrals are physical proof of good customer service and a professional product. They help to reassure the client that a particular agency can be trusted with their business.

One bad review for a restaurant, communicated appropriately, can deter tons of business. So too, a bad client experience communicated across an industry can single-handedly kill any service business.

So, bad client relations/service can harm your business just like one sleepy, disinterested server can deter future restaurant customers.

They Lost Our Business

On this cool Sunday morning, we made a decision to not frequent this particular restaurant for a period of time. Unfortunately, we had also had a fairly recent bad experience with this restaurant previously.

They lost our business.

So, whether you are a server at a restaurant or a large agency owner, you are responsible in some part for good customer service. Whether its PANCAKES or PRINT DESIGN, don’t let your actions lead to unhappy customers or loss of business.

Just Plain Good Design

Target has always been at the forefront of great product and advertising design. And, the 2011 Holiday Book is no exception. It is a great mix of bold headlines, generous white space and pleasing images. They don’t try to shove as many products as they can “in your face” to try and make an extra buck…or save on printing costs.

But, it’s the little details that make this book stand out.

Why Has No One Ever Thought of This?

The checkbox. Such a simple item, but never implemented until now.

For years, kids have circled their favorite items in the toy books. These circles tend to be difficult to see by parents, often leading to certain toys being left unnoticed. Target has made use of the basic checkbox to ensure that every “must have” toy has it’s spotlight in the eyes of parents. So simple….but so effective.

My son immediately took a marker and started coloring in the checkboxes of his favorite toys. He can easily mark which toy he would like, and we can make sure that we choose the right toy(s), not some “Polly Pees A-Lot Doll” just because a circled item was mistaken for another. Holiday mixup avoided.

The Coupon

Another small detail that makes the Target book so effective, especially to parents, is the link between toys and available coupons.

Beside of many toys is a notice that the toy has an available coupon. So, no more paying $25 for a toy that little Timmy’s mom paid $18 for last week. And, in today’s economy, who can’t use that extra money after the holidays?

Another small, but smart detail.

The Dotted Lines

The last detail that makes the Target stand out from the rest, is the dotted line.

Target has not only given each toy ample white space, but also handy guide lines for cutting them out. And, while many kids and parents may resort to the old “fold and tear” method, this gives the obsessive-compulsive parent like me the option to neatly cut out individual toy selections from the book.

This use of white space and guide lines can also help solve confusion, similar to the problem of items being circled in error mentioned above.

Conclusion

While many people may see these additions to the 2011 Target Holiday Toy Book as minor, designers understand that the little details are what separate successful from average campaigns. I applaud Target, and the firm behind their campaign, for taking the time to develop a truly successful publication. Your efforts are appreciated by this OCD designer and parent.

It’s easy to sign up for a Google Analytics account, add the tracking code to your website and wait for the hits to come in. But, hit counts aren’t the whole story on how effective your website is or what trends your users are following. And, sometimes the vast array of Google Analytics options can be a bit intimidating. Here are 5 things to focus on.

1. What is the Function of Your Site?

Before you can dive into Google Analytics, looking for metrics to tell you if your site is effective or not, you first need to decide what is the function of your site. Are you looking to….

• Direct users to a certain page on your site, such as a portfolio, blog post or contact page
  If your goal is to get users to a certain page, you now know to check your analytics for visits to certain URLs, incoming links to those URLs and average time spent on those specific pages.
• Direct users to outgoing links
  If your goal is to point users to outgoing links (ex. a blog post about “10 great website examples”), you now know to check the frequency of certain outgoing links as well as bounce rate for that page.
• Generate revenue from ads
  If your goal is to generate revenue from ads on your site, you now know to check for visits to pages that contain ads, clicks to those ads (especially Google AdWords), page bounce rate and any campaigns you may have set up.
• All or none of the above
  If your site is a mix of the above functions…or none of them at all…you can still get great information by using the following tips to gauge the metrics of your site in Google Analytics.

OK. Now, let’s look at some examples…

2. New/Returning Visitors

One of the most telling statistics of your site is the new/returning visitors relationship.

This is helpful in that it not only tells how many visits your site is getting, but how many of them are new visitors, returning visitors, and how many pages on your site that they browse to in a single visit.

In the example above (click screenshot for larger image), the site is generating over 40% traffic from returning visitors. If you have a blog site or are trying to generate revenue from ads, returning visitors is a wonderful thing. It means that your content is memorable or useful to your users.

However, it is also a call to action to ensure that your content is updated and timely. Keep an eye on the relationship between new/returning visitors. If those percentages start to widen, you are losing your audience.

Moreover, returning visitors may not be the best thing for your site. We’ll see how in a second.

3. Pages Per Visit, Time on Site and Bounce Rate

Also illustrated in the screenshot above are a couple of interesting statistics.

Time on Site shows the average amount of time that any user spends on your site before “bouncing” or leaving. This statistic can go either way. If you are a blogger, an average Time on Site of just over 1 minute can be a bad thing. It likely means that your users are disinterested in your content or distracted by an outbound link or ad. These users may not return to your site in the future. But, look on the bright side, you may have received a payment if they clicked-through to an ad.

If you are a business or offer a service, a short Time on Site may not be such a bad thing. If they are called to act on your site, whether to contact you through email/phone, or connect with you on Facebook/Twitter, a short Time on Site value may mean that your users are quickly deciding to find out more about your business. With the short attention span of today’s user, that may be not so bad a statistic after all.

Pages Per Visit and Bounce Rate are also good illustrations of the effectiveness of your content, but can be misleading. If the average page per visit is low (1.76 pages on the above example), your users are either disinterested in your content or know exactly where they are looking. Further research into pages by new/returning users would help solve that question.

Bounce Rate will usually coincide closely with Pages Per Visit. Bounce Rate illustrates the percentage of users who leave your site after a single page visit. If your Bounce Rate is high, your Pages Per Visit will be low. However, as mentioned above, these statistics can be misleading based on the function of your site and intent of your audience.

4. Traffic Sources/Referring Sites

Traffic Sources and Referring Sites can be great metrics to the effectiveness of your site.

A Referring Site is one that links to your site from theirs. As you see in the screenshot above, many of the Referring Sites (under Top Traffic Sources) are search engines, as is typically the case. You can drill down, though, and see if any other sites are linking to your site, to what pages and from where. This is telling as referrals are a great way to spread your content and help your site rank higher in search engines.

There is no greater promoter of your site’s content than another site or user. If users are not being referred to your site, you either do not have interesting/timely content or you are not promoting your site well.

The Direct referring site means that a user has bookmarked a link to your site, typed it in their browser or received a link in an e-mail. These users can be a mix of new and returning visitors.

5. Campaigns

Campaigns are a great way to track the effectiveness of online advertising, e-mail newsletters, social media marketing, etc…

Campaigns allow you to specify certain modifiers to append/add to a link’s URL in order to track very specific statistics.

You can add modifiers to any URL for…

• Source (Facebook, Monthly newsletter, Other website)
• Medium (E-mail, Ad, Online)
• Campaign (September newsletter, Specific blog post, Holiday ad)
• Others

This is where Campaigns are helpful. Now, you can not only track visits to a certain page and from where, but why they are visiting your site.

For example, let’s say your business is offering a special on your site’s home page for the holidays, and you are doing an online ad campaign to promote it. These campaign modifiers will help you to identify those who are visiting your site by clicking these specific online ads, distinguishing between users visiting your site randomly or through a non-campaign related link. This helps you see how many visits you are generating from your ads, what sites are generating the most traffic to your site and any other analytics you may want to check. This way, you have a better idea if your ad campaign has been a success and if your ad money was well spent.

Any Other Suggestions?

These are just a few ways to help measure the effectiveness of your site using analytics. Do you have other great tips? Share them here.

Web Designer as Developer

Now, I know the term “developer” is considered by many a designer to be a four-letter word. However, is it possible to truly be a successful Web Designer without having at least basic knowledge of some programming languages, such as Javascript, PHP, etc…?

Now, I preface this by making the divide between “programming language” and “markup.” As most Web Designers will attest, HTML, XHTML and CSS are “markup” languages. They are purely for structure and front-end development. A “programming language” is one that is designed to either dynamically display or edit content on a website. Therefore, a Web Designer must really only know markup at minimum in order to process the basics of their work. However, as I said above, at least a basic knowledge of some programming languages is essential in today’s web design world.

Content Management Systems

The best example of Web Designer as Developer is in the use of a content management system (CMS), such as WordPress, Drupal, etc…

These systems have brought many functions of Web development to the average Web Designer, making it much easier to add dynamic content to basic websites easily. Also, WordPress templates can be downloaded and installed with ease. Lastly, they have made it much easier for a Web Designer to “hand off” administration of the website to the client…which we’ll talk more about shortly. So, a complete website CAN be designed/developed using a CMS such as WordPress without touching code or knowing PHP (the language that WordPress is built on). However, I have yet to run into any website where at least some minor tweaks to PHP code did not have to be made.

So, as a Web Designer, do you know the basics of PHP? Have you been able to design a complete website in WordPress without using PHP?

 <?php echo "Didn't think so."; ?>

Javascript/jQuery Libraries

If you design websites, you have no doubt been asked to add rotating slideshows and other dynamic content at some point in time. And, the easiest way to add this type of functionality to a site with minimal effort (and code) is by using a Javascript library such as jQuery. Now, as we mentioned above, it is possible to add these to a WordPress or Drupal driven site with very little thought of code using a downloaded plugin or module. However, rarely do these plugins/modules come “out of the box” the way you need them or allow for editable settings that fit your needs as well. So, you are going to need to familiarize yourself with the basic syntax of jQuery in order to fully customize your slideshow, photo gallery, etc… to meet the front end needs of your website.

$(document).ready(function () {
$("must:know('jQuery')").css("display", "correctly");
});

Web Designer as Writer

As a creative, there are some things I am deathly afraid of professionally….numbers and writing. However, I have learned over the years that semi-professional writing/grammar skills are a necessity in web design.

Do you take content directly from a client, copy and paste into a webpage, save and forget about it? Doubtful. As we discussed above, many CMS editors have built-in spell and grammar check functionality. So, it’s hard to avoid those little “red/green squiggly lines” underneath mis-spelled words and fragmented lines. And, with enough practice, any Web Designer begins to catch and edit these content errors without aide of the “red squiggly lines.”

Taking Client Content in Your Own Hands

One of the biggest headaches in website design is getting good content from the client. As it is difficult for you as a business person to promote yourself, it is also equally as difficult for your client to easily promote themselves in their website content. They either send way too much or way too little content. So, many times, it is up to you as the Web Designer to “fill in the gaps.” Therefore, at least some basic writing skills are essential in helping your client better articulate their vision.

Web Designer as Content Editor

Dates, Times, Etc…

Do you keep a consistent format/style on your pertinent site information?

• Dates, Times?
• Phone Numbers?
• Addresses?

Are these bits of information consistent across the entire site? Do you follow a certain formatting style such as AP Style, APA Style?

Now, I know the thought of writing styles and rules may lull you to sleep. However, correct, consistent formatting of information is essential in helping your client look professional.

Also, Web Designers need to know basic usage rules of characters such as:

• Apostrophes
• Commas
• Semicolons
• En and Em Dashes
  (Great post about en and em dash usage)

…and don’t forget about correct usage of HTML characters in your content.

Conclusion

To conclude, there’s much more to becoming a Web Designer than making great comps in Photoshop and marking up a website in Dreamweaver, Coda, etc…

Programming and written content are both equally important to the success of a website. If done correctly, they can enhance a great design as well as ruin it if overlooked.

Therefore, a little time spent learning the basics of programming languages and writing/content styles will go a long way in developing a professional web presence for your client.