A Freelance Web Designer's Blog

16 Best CMS Content Management Systems for Designers

22. January 2012

There are so many content management systems out there now which is great, but it can also make choosing the right one for your project a little tough. Every web project you get will be different, and so it will likely require a specific CMS. Here is a list of CMS’s both free and paid [...]

FreeAgentCentral Accounting Software for Freelancers: UK alternative to Freshbooks

19. November 2010

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We’ve had the pleasure of trialling FreeAgent, an accounting and invoicing app targeted at freelancers and small businesses. Bookkeeping is a real chore, it takes ages, is horrendously boring – but is a necessary evil. We’d previously been using Freshbooks which is also great, but it’s an American app and thus targeted primarily at the [...]

How Much Should Web Design Cost?

1. June 2010

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There’s a question that I frequently get asked and that is how much will a website cost me? If you search “web design uk” in Google you’ll presented with plenty of sponsered listings titled things like: “web design for only £249″ or cheaper. For small businesses or individuals this’ll no doubt be a pretty tempting [...]

Web Design…For International Markets? Guest Author

7. February 2010

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All web designers understand the need to create visually appealing, easily navigable sites. The design and layout of their sites are the cornerstones of any successful online portal. But the very nature of a website means that it’s instantly accessible by billions of people across the globe, spanning countless languages, cultures and tastes. For this [...]

Usability Nightmares In Web Design: Usability Mistakes to Avoid

18. January 2010

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You can have a delicious looking website, that truly has the wow factor, but if your visitors find it hard to use, navigate or understand then it’s not doing you any good. This is why as web designers we should have it drilled in to us that truly decent web design, and, in fact any [...]

Coding For IE6 Is It Worth It?

12. January 2010

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You’ll find countless arguments and hate aimed at IE6, mostly because it can be a pain in the ass to code for, bad security and really is holding back how some view the web. So just how many people still use this outdated browser? I’ve taken snapshot of 1000 unique visitors here are the results: [...]

12 of Your Clients Favourite Sayings

9. January 2010

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Being a freelancer requires, partly, a mind-reading skill. Depending on the type of client, they’ll usually have designs in their heads and it’s your job to extract this visualisation and get it down into a workable design. It also requires translation skills, yes, I’m talking about those phrases that always tend to crop up when [...]

I’ve been interviewed by Spicy Web Designers!

28. November 2009

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Exciting stuff – the good folks over at Spicy Web Designers decided to interview me and my experience. Feel free to check it out here. A bit about Spicy Web Designers: This website [Spicy Web Designers.com] is dedicated to answering the question “Where are all the good web designers?” and we answer this question by [...]

Call to Action! Generate Leads By Improving Your Buttons!

6. November 2009

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CTA, or call to action in general UX and web design is crucial and sometimes overlooked. With the birth and development of CSS, it is becoming increasingly popular to customise buttons that require action from the user. The countless websites you’ve seen with either ‘Check out my portfolio’ or ‘Read more’ or ‘Buy now!’ [...]

Prestashop SSL Certificate Not Verified Error Solution

27. October 2009

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If you’re using the fantastic prestashop for your online e-commerce projects, you may have run into a few snags with SSL. Depending on your hosting, you should be able to upgrade to a private/dedicated IP and SSL certificate. I personally used JustHost and had no problems doing this, had my own SSL in about 5 [...]