Blogging The Blarneystone

I read an interesting article in my July/August 2010 issue of FastCompany.com magazine titled “Blowing the Baton Pass“. The gist of the article was to create a metaphor of the top-notch skill of the US 2008 Olympic relay team’s botched passing of the baton and relating it to business.
It is a great metaphor. The US [...]

This is a heads up for those with a web site as well as fellow designers. A client of mine just got a demand notification from Getty Images that a photo on his web site was one of Getty’s copyrighted photos. The client was told to remove the photo immediately PLUS to pay $1000 settlement [...]

My attorney provided me with a Privacy Policy to put on his web site (see it). I learned from him that the State of Connecticut now requires it. They don’t require that it be put on a web site. They state that it be “publicly displayed”. Then they use the example that “publicly displayed” includes, [...]

For years I have used Quickbooks memorized transactions to send out invoices to my clients. This meant printing, stamping, and mailing out invoices to each of my clients for every renewal. A while back another web designer I trust suggested I look at changing to FreshBooks. Because I had just lost my bookkeeper and wanted [...]

Many people look for the domain name that they want and, finding it is taken, grab something that doesn’t match their image. Here are some suggestions when getting a domain name.

Most importantly, try to find a dot-com name. Yes, they are hard to find but dot-net, dot-biz, dot-anythingelse is going to leave some of your [...]

Included in being a full service web designer is selling domain names. Like offering hosting services (see my blog article on offering hosting services to your clients) you should include domain name sales to your toolbox.
Unlike some other services, there is not much money to be made in domain name management. I sell mine [...]

Last week I discussed what a good gesture it is to rescue an abandoned and orphaned web site. Now most likely if you are reading this, you are a web designer who couldn’t fathom anyone doing such a dastardly deed as abandoning a web site, right? Are you sure?
What would happen to your clients if [...]

I have a bias because I host most of my web design clients. I did it out of desperation. I used to suggest that my clients shop around and get a low price — after all, it is just a place to put files to connect to the Internet, right? Many of my clients would [...]

[photopress:ondeck.jpg,full,alignright]One organization I have a soft spot for is American Lab Rescue. They rescue orphaned Labrador Retrievers and find them good homes (we have welcomed two of the dogs into our home). I can’t understand why anyone would abandon those wonderful dogs.
My point? Some web designers and web hosts do the same thing… to their [...]

I had a fellow web designer ask me how to present a contract to a client during the initial meeting, “while the iron is hot”. Here’s how to do so and when it is appropriate.
While it is true that some jobs need a lot of planning and thinking to come up with a price, [...]