how to start a web design business
DESCRIPTION
http://robcubbon.com/running-a-web-design-business/TRANSCRIPT
Starting a design business•Equipment
•Knowledgeandability
•Businessplanandobjectives
•Clients
Try,whereverpossible,toutilizetheequipmentandcommunicationinfrastructureyoualreadyhaveratherthanrushingouttothestores.
Computer
WhetheryouareaMacorPCperson,youwillneedafairlydecentcomputerwithlargediscspace,fastprocessorandbagsofRAM.
IfIwasstartingouttodayIwouldbuysomethinglikeanApple iMac 27-inch 3.1GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5foraround$1500/£1100.Witha3.1GHzInteli5dual-coreprocessor,4GBofRAM(maxedoutto16GB)and1TBharddrive.
Software
Inordertodosomedesignwork,you’regoingtohavetogetsomesoftware.There’salotofgreatfreeandopensourcetoolsouttherethatinsomecasesdothejobaswellastheexpensivestuff.But,forgraphics,unfortunately,youprettymuchhavetogettheAdobeCreativeSuiteorCreativeCloud.
The3applicationsIusethemostarePhotoshop,IllustratorandInDesign.DreamweaverisnotessentialforcreatingwebsitesyoucanuseatexteditorandanFTPclient.
Afteryou’vehadafewjobsyoumaywanttopurchaseafontmanagementprogram.IuseSuitcase Fusion 3.
On-site Back-up
Furtherdowntheline,you’llhaveyourharddrivestuffedwithclientwork,softwareandnottomentionyourownpersonalphotosandmovies.Whathappensifsomethingshouldgowrongwiththemachine?Youneedbackupandaportablealternative.
Thecostofexternaldiscskeepsgoingdownanddown.Here’sa1TB(that’s1000GB)Western Digital USB external driveforonly$67.00.
Off-site Back-up
Thereareplentyofoptions:
Google Drive
Dropbox
Amazon S3
Other free tools you can use
•Online image editors.Pixlrisoneofthebest.FotoFlexerisalsoworthatry.
•Open source alternatives to Creative Suite/CloudTherearefree open sources versions of Creative Suite applicationsalthoughtheyarenorealsubstitute.GIMPhasbeenaroundforalongtimeandisagoodPhotoshopsubstitute.PixelmatorisnotfreebutischeapcomparedtoPhotoshop.Inkscape,whichispopularwiththeLinuxcommunity,isafreealternativetoAdobeIllustrator.
•File Sharing.Ifyouwanttodeliverlargefilestoaclientthereareahostoffreeservices,IuseYouSendIt.
•ImagesTherearelotsofplacestogetgreatfree stock photography,stock.xchageandFlickr Creative Commssearcharetwoofmyfavorites.
•Therearelotsofgreatfree vector resourcesbut,insteadofsearchingthroughtheseresources,IfindaGoogleimagesearchfor“freevector”doesthetrick.
•FontsYoucanpickupfreefontsatDaFontandahostofotherplaces.WhatTheFontcanidentifyafontfromanimage.Forfontstouseonline,Google Fontsnowhasacatalogofaround300excellentfontsthatwillworkacrossmostbrowserswithjustalineofcodeintheheadandaCSSdeclaration.
•GridsIfyouliketousegridsinyourwebdesign(orevenifyoudon’t)thencheckout960 Grid SystemwhereyoucandownloadgridtemplatesinHTML&CSS,Photoshop,Illustrator,GIMP,etc.Allthesegridsareforwebsitesthatare960pixelswide.
•Web developer toolsTheseareastandardfareformostwebdesignerswithmanyofususingthesetoolsmanytimesaday:Firebug–awesome
Firefoxadd-onthatwillinspectandchangeHTMLandCSSandhelpyoude-bugJavaScript.TheDeveloperToolsforChromeandInternetExplorer–thesedoaboutthesameasFirebugandarebundledwiththeirrespectivebrowsers.HandyforworkingoutIEhacks.Web Developer add-on for Firefox and Chrome–ultrahandyadd-onthatcandisablestyles,disablebrowserdefaultstyles(handyforcross-browsercompatibility),showalttextforimages,resizewindow,validate,etc.Thelistisendless.
•TheHTML Validatorand,toalesserextent,CSS ValidatorthatcanbereachedwithoneclickusingtheaboveWebDeveloperadd-onareservicesthatmostwebdesignerswilluseallthetime.
•OtheronlineservicesofhugeimportancetothewebdesignerareGoogle Analytics,Google Webmaster ToolsandGoogle Docs.
•Cross browser checksYoucancheckwebsitesacrossdifferentbrowsersatBrowserShotsandAdobe BrowserLab.ViewLikeUsallowsyoutocheckouthowyourwebsitelooksinthemostpopularresolutionformats.
•SpeedInordertoanalyseyourpagespeed,useGoogle’sPageSpeed(trytogetyourscoreupto100)andYahoo!’sY!slow.
•DowntimeUsePingdom‘sfreeservicetobeinstantlyinformedofanydowntimeonyoursitesoyoucancontactyourhostandsortitoutasap!
•ColorColor Scheme Designercanhelpyouchoosecomplimentarycolorsforyourwebsitedesigns.AndAdobe’sexcellentKulerletsyoubrowse,search,andmodifycolorthemesdirectlyinyourbrowser.
•FTP clientFilezillaismyfavorite.
Knowledge and ability
Ofcourse,Ican’tteachyouhowtodesignwebsiteshere.
Youknowhowyoucanhelpyourclients.Thechallengeisgettingtheclientswithneedsrelevanttotheservicesyouoffer.
You’llneedtodevelopanetworkoftrustedfreelancersyoucanworkwithaswellasanabilitytooutsource.
Thisdoesn’tmeanthatyou’llbegettingpeoplefromoDeskorElancetodotheworkforyouwhileyouputyourfeetupandtakeallthecredit.
Have a plan
It’simportanttohave3-monthly, 6-monthly and annual goalsofwhereyou’dliketotakeyourbusiness.
TrytomaketheplansasSMARTaspossible–thatis:
SpecificMeasureableAchievableRealisticTimely
Alliedwithplansiswritingasimplephilosophythatsumsupyourbusiness.WetalkaboutthisintheDealing with Clientslecture.
Starting out
Iamagreatbelieverinjuststarting.
Themostimportantwaytostartiswithyourownwebsitewhichworkstogetclientstocontactyou.Andwe’llstarttalkingaboutthatinthenextlecture.