One of my big selling points about why I want to build a client’s website in WordPress is because it is so easy to use. The last thing I want is to have the client be dissatisfied with the website I gave them because they find don’t find WordPress to be that way. That makes me look bad, and dissatisfied customers generally don’t lead to repeat business or give out referrals to others.

Here are the things that I do to make it easier for my clients to use WordPress.

Customize the login screen

There are a number of reasons as to why you should customize the WordPress login screen, which I covered in a separate article on the topic. But the main one that applies here is the sense of familiarity that you can give a client from the very first moment that they go to manage their content. And since first impressions are everything, not only is it a nice touch on your part as the designer, it’s a potentially invaluable change you should make.

De-Clutter the dashboard

In WordPress 2.7, when you first log in you’ll see the administrative dashboard with all the options for what is displayed on the screen. Fortunately, you can customize what will appear, which is a nice feature that came along in this version of WordPress. Just click on the “Screen Options” tab in the top right corner of the page to make your choices.

Most users who aren’t technically savvy don’t care about such things as WordPress development blog updates, the latest plugins, etc., so you can safely remove them from the dashboard. The goal is to set up the dashboard so that when the client logs in, they’re not overwhelmed with unnecessary information (which might make them intimidated about using WordPress), but rather will see a clean dashboard with only the information they need to see on it.

Create separate users

If multiple people within your client’s business or organization are going to post content, then you’ll need to set up multiple user accounts so that each person can post content on their own. Make sure to select their user level accordingly so that they can only do what they’re supposed to; for a good explanation of the different user levels, read through the page on the topic in the WordPress codex.

The other reason you’ll want to do this is to separate the purely technical and administrative functions (managing plugins, overall site settings, etc.) from the purely content-related. What you’ll end up with is the default admin log-in, which could be used by whomever is managing the website as a whole, and then the separate user log-ins.

Just don’t forget to give a list with all of the user ID’ s and passwords to the client, so that they can distribute them accordingly.

Advise them of updates/upgrades

Working with WordPress means that there will occasionally be the need to upgrade something on their website – either a plugin or the actual version of WordPress itself. Although upgrades aren’t necessarily a bad thing, from a client’s perspective they might get nervous that what they’ve grown accustomed to doing will change.

The release of WordPress 2.7 is a perfect example, especially since it brought such a dramatic change to the administrative experience from previous versions of WordPress. When there are major changes that will be taking place, it’s a good idea to let them know ahead of time so that they’re aware of what’s going on and what, if anything, will change. (You don’t necessarily have to do this for every time a plugin needs upgrading.)

There is a business benefit to this as well. Keeping them updated after you turn the website over to them shows that you’re not just dropping it in their lap and running. Doing so gives them the impression that you’re thinking about them as your client even if you’re not working directly with them at the moment – a sentiment that might go a long way in the future.

Install the proper plugins

If there are any plugins that you know of that will make it easier for them to do something they need to on the administrative side, make sure to install those in addition to the plugins that function only on the actual website. The WordPress Database Backup is a great example; installing it and showing them how to use it could save tons of headaches later on.

Teach them to use it

This is the probably the most essential thing you can do when turning over a WordPress website to a client. Making the transition to a content management system can seem overwhelming at first, especially for those people who aren’t technically savvy or have never done it before.

You need to do everything you can to help ease your client into it and to show them how easy it is to use. Make sure that you show them (and by them, I mean anyone who will be using WordPress) everything that they’ll need to know in order to use WordPress as they intend to. I prefer to do this in-person if possible, since it’s much easier to teach something on the computer to someone when you can see it with them as they do.

While you should always be there if your client has questions, you might also want to provide them with some online resources that they can turn to for answers in addition to turning to you. That way, they won’t always have to come to you for answers to simple questions, but at the same time, they’ll know that if they can’t easily find the answer to something, you’re there for them to turn to.

Just make sure that you build this teaching time into your overall price quote, and that the client knows that it is as much a service that you’re being compensated for as the actual website is.

Thoughts?

If you build WordPress websites often for clients, what are some of your suggestions for how to make it as easy as possible for them to use? Share your ideas with everyone by leaving a comment below!

The best way to sum up these changes is by saying that they let you better communicate with your fans and non-fans alike. You’ll see what I mean when I go into more detail about what’s new. So without further ado, here are some of the biggest changes that have been made, and how they can benefit your marketing on Facebook.

Change #1: The improved wall is more prominent

Before these changes took place, Facebook pages used to look like the old version of a profile, where everything was on one page. You had to scroll down to see everything; on my old Facebook page, the wall was much further down the page and difficult to see.

Now, the wall is the first thing that people will see when they visit my page, and I think that will be a big benefit. Why? Because as someone who writes new content quite often, it will make it easier for people what I’m creating.

A great example of this is my RSS feed, which I currently import onto the Facebook page through an application. I write on this blog at least once a week, so with the greater prominence on the page, people who are fans of my Facebook page but who aren’t subscribed to my blog are now going to be more likely to see what I’m writing.

Other things relating to this change that I like include:

• Status updates – I can now give people a status update about what’s going on with my business, although this does seem very Twitter-ish in nature. As a business owner though, this might be a great place to do some informal polling by asking people some questions for them to comment on.
• Shared links, photos, etc. – I can use this as another way to keep people updated on what I might be reading or find interesting. It might also be used to share resources with fans that they might benefit from. Again, very Twitter-ish in nature.
• Comments on RSS feed updates – I’m sure people could do this in the past, but I might just not have noticed it. In any case, it’s another way for people to interact with what you’re writing. Does it really make a difference if someone comments to your post directly on your blog or on Facebook?

Change #2: Tabbed content makes for easier browsing

It’s almost counterintuitive that spreading your content out over a few tabs will get it more visibility than having it all on one page, but I think it is definitely a change for the better – much as was the case when this format first appeared for profiles. And the nice thing about these tabs is that people will see them right away, since they’re at the top of the page in a very noticeable location.

Why are these tabs an improvement over the old page format? In most cases, you don’t want to make people scroll down too much on a website to find the information they’re looking for, because they generally won’t. On the previous page format all you could do was hope that people scrolled down to see your content. But with the placement of these new tabs, it makes it easier for them to find your content.

This change leads me right into…

Change #3: Multiple landing page options

Now that Facebook pages have a tabbed layout, you end up getting unique URL’s for each tab. Why is this a good thing? Because you can now send people directly to specific information on your Facebook page, rather than sending them to the page as a whole and hoping they find the information..

As another added benefit, while your fans will see your page’s wall as the default when they visit, you can edit the settings to specify what you want non-fans to visit when they visit your page. This might be useful if you want to have, say, your Extended Information set as the first thing that people see. I’m personally debating whether I want non-fans to see the “Boxes” tab as the first thing they see – since it’s on this tab that I have reviews from former clients – or if they should be directed right to my wall.

Change is good, but…

Overall, I think the ways that these changes make the pages more dynamic is a good thing. But at the same time, with them there also come a few points you should be aware of:

• Keep your content fresh – Because people see the wall tab as first, you want to make sure that you post new content here on a regular basis. Otherwise, it will start getting stale quickly – and if people don’t think your page is worth becoming a fan of or visiting, then they’ll stop coming to it.
• Make guidelines for status updates – If you’re a small business owner, you might want to consider setting yourself some guidelines about what should and shouldn’t be posted in these updates, as well as how often you want to make a status update here. Again, you want to keep things fresh, but you also don’t want to write something inappropriate.
• Set permissions – Because fans can now share something on the wall, you need to monitor what gets posted there carefully and set your permissions accordingly.

Thoughts?

You can see all of this in action on Addicott Web’s Facebook page. Facebook has also published a document detailing all of the changes that might be worth reading even if you’re a veteran user of them. If you’re new at using Facebook pages, then I would definitely recommend reading through it.

Now some questions for you. If you have a Facebook page of your own for your business, what do you think of some of these changes? Are they an improvement and you plan to take advantage of them, or do you wish you could stay with the old page format? Share your thoughts by using the comment form below!

My business is almost entirely dependent on word-of-mouth referrals, so making sure that as many my friends and contacts as possible know about Addicott Web is crucial. The vast majority of my social network is on Facebook already, so it’s the perfect way for me to reach a broad audience.

What are the two approaches?

There are two tools that Facebook offers that can be used to market your business: groups and pages.

The differences between groups and pages are subtle, and average Facebook users probably don’t notice how they are different. In fact, I didn’t realize the difference myself, even after I started looking into which to use – which is how I ended up creating a group before I realized the error of my ways and created a page instead.

So why did I ultimately decide to use a Facebook page instead of a group? Simply put, because pages offer more flexibility to post such things as:

• Customer reviews of my work
• Recent blog posts through the RSS application
• Connections to pages of my clients

But groups can have their benefits too – just not for my purposes. Here is a quick table that summarizes the differences between the two tools:

Facebook Groups

Facebook groups can be created for just about anything. They are typically used as gathering places for people who share a common interest, support a common cause, or participated in some program or event together.

Why might you want to use a group to market your business?

• Administration – As the group administrator, you can easily send messages to group members, making it easier to communicate with them about your business.
• Familiarity – Facebook pages are relatively new, only having debuted in the last year or so, but groups have been around since the start. Because of that, people are a lot more familiar with groups and how to join and use them than they are with pages.

But there can be some drawbacks to using a group, such as:

• Not widely accessible – Groups are only visible to Facebook members, so someone who’s doing a search on Facebook won’t be able to see it unless they have a profile and are logged in.
• No extra applications – You can’t extra features to Facebook groups – what you see is what you get, which is generally the bare-bones stuff such as discussion boards, a wall, photo gallery, and basic administrative features.
• Need to visit regularly – If you post a message to the group’s wall, you won’t see if or when someone responded to what you wrote unless you go back and visit often. This can be a big drawback if you want to facilitate a flowing conversation.
• Less visibility on people’s profiles – When you join a group, it gets added to a long list of the other groups that you’re already a member of – and one that isn’t bulleted and lists the groups in no particular order to boot. If someone has a lot of groups that they’re a member of, it’s not easy to find yours amongst everything else.

Facebook Pages

As I detailed in another post on this topic, pages were created to allow people to connect with brands or famous artists. Pages can be created by anyone for any group, person, or business, although generally only an official representative of that business or person is allowed to maintain a page for that group or individual.

One of the biggest differences from a group is that you don’t become a “member” like you do of a group; rather, you are a “fan” of the page.

There are a lot more benefits to using a page versus using a group, such as:

• Are widely accessible – Pages can be seen and found on the wider Internet to people who aren’t members of Facebook, so you do gain wider exposure in that sense. But even so, you have to be a member of Facebook to interact with the group.
• Applications are available – As the page administrator, you can add applications to your page, similar to the way you can add applications to your Facebook profile. For example, on Addicott Web’s Facebook page, I’ve added an application that imports my RSS feed from my blog and displays my new posts whenever I post something to my blog.
• Tracking – Facebook has provided page administrators a tool that lets them know how many visitors that they’re getting.
• Better visibility – On your profile page, groups are displayed at the bottom with an image associated with that group next to it. The presentation and use of an image means that you get better visibility on their profile, making it easier for them (and others) to find your page.
• Actions are documented – If a fan of your page takes action on it, such as writing on your wall or posting a video, their actions will be documented on the news feeds of their personal pages. Their friends will see the news feeds and if curious, check out your page – giving you more exposure.

There are still a few drawbacks though, including:

• No mass invitations – If you want to invite people to become fans of your page, you can’t send invitations to large groups of people like can with a group. I’ve encountered this problem myself and it is quite frustrating.
• Less familiarity – Longtime Facebook users might still be less familiar with pages than they are with groups. In general though I think this is becoming less of a concern, so I wouldn’t factor this into your decision between the two.
• Messages might get less attention – As the page administrator you can send an update to your fans, but they might not notice it. Rather than appearing in their inbox, it gets displayed on the side of a user’s homepage – a less prominent spot that is unlikely to grab their attention.

Thoughts?

So now that you know the difference between Facebook groups and pages, which would you use to promote your business, or that of a business or organization you work for or with?

If you’re a small business owner and already use a Facebook group or page to market yourself, which approach do you use and why? Is it working for you?

Share your thoughts with everyone on both of these questions and more by filling out the comment form below!

Visitors might not notice the impact that using the right colors can have (although they might if the colors break the mold, so to speak), but trust me when I say that they will definitely notice when the wrong ones are used.

Choosing colors for a website is more than just a matter of personal preference – the choices really do matter. There is a good deal of psychology that goes into making color choices that convey the right message about your business or organization.

I’m not saying that web designers should over-analyze their color choices. But they do need to keep in mind that this aspect of design can have a big impact on the website as a whole. Web designers want to make the right recommendations to a client because ultimately, you want to give them the best website possible.

To show you what I mean by all this, I’d like to look at the meanings that colors have, before giving you examples of what types of websites those colors are most often found on.

Warm Colors

Warm colors in their pure shades tend to have an exciting and energetic effect on the viewer. But when used alone they can over-stimulate, so they are often mixed with cool or neutral colors to balance this.

Red

Red is the color of fire and blood, and symbolizes strong and intense emotions such as war, danger, strength, power, determination, passion, desire, and love.

• Dark reds – willpower, rage, tenseness, vigor, anger, leadership, courage, yearning, malice, and wrath
• Light reds – joy, sexuality, passion, sensitivity, and love
• Pinks – romance, love, friendship, femininity, passivity, emotional healing, peace, calm, affection, emotional maturity, caring, and nurturing

A lot of political organizations use darker reds on their websites, while sports teams use varying shades of reds. Charitable organizations and those websites targeted towards women use pinks.

Orange

Orange is an energetic color and symbolizes emotions such as joy, sunshine, enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation.

• Dark oranges – deceit and distrust
• Red-orange – desire, pleasure, domination, aggression, and thirst for action
• Bright orange – health, activity, wellness, and youth
• Light orange – relaxing, sophisticated, and calming
• Gold – prestige, illumination, wisdom, wealth, happiness, humor, meaning, attainment, concentration, and high quality

Orange is also found on a lot of sports team websites because of its energetic meanings. It’s also used on websites relating to food and nutrition, as well as those targeted towards young kids and teens. Some of its lighter shades are used on hotel, spa, and travel websites to symbolize relaxation and the calming qualities of those destinations, while gold is often used by financial and academic institutions.

Yellow

Yellow is the color of sunshine and most often symbolizes joy, happiness, intellect, and energy.

• Dark yellow – caution, decay, sickness, and jealousy
• Light yellow – intellect, freshness, and joy

Because it is the most difficult color on the eyes, yellow is only used for very specific purposes and is not a color seen frequently as a dominant color. It is often used on websites to promote children’s products and health and wellness, as well as more whimsical websites.

Cool Colors

Cool colors tend to have a calming effect on the viewer, which is why they are the most common colors found on websites. Web designers need to be careful not to overuse them, because when they’re used alone, these colors can have a cold or impersonal feel.

Green

Green is the color of nature and symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, fertility, stability, endurance, and safety.

• Dark green – ambition, greed, jealousy, money, finance, heaviness, prestige, and masculinity
• Yellow-green – sickness, cowardice, discord, and jealousy
• Bright green - health, wellness, and excitement
• Aqua – emotional healing and protection
• Olive green – peace, military, nature

Green is often used to indicate safety when advertising drugs and medical products. And since it is directly related to nature, all of its shades can be used to promote natural or environmentally-friendly products and organizations. Dark green is found on websites related to the money and finance.

Blue

Blue is the color of the sky and sea, so it symbolizes depth, stability, trust, loyalty, wisdom, confidence, intelligence, faith, truth, heaven, tranquility, calmness, and sincerity.

• Dark blue – knowledge, power, integrity, seriousness, masculinity, and expertise
• Light blue – health, healing, tranquility, understanding, and softness

Blue can be used across a large variety of websites. It’s a preferred color for corporate America, so you’ll find it a lot on big company websites. The communications and web industries use medium shades of blue because it can seem high-tech, especially when combined with shades of gray. It can also be found on websites related to cleanliness (water purification filters, cleaning liquids, vodka), air and sky (airlines, airports, air conditioners), and water and sea (sea voyages, mineral water).

Lighter shades of blue are often used to promote health and wellness, travel, and relaxation, while darker shades are often used by political and patriotic organizations, legal firms, and sports teams.

Purple

Purple symbolizes royalty, power, nobility, luxury, ambition, wealth, extravagance, wisdom, dignity, independence, creativity, and mystery.

• Light purple – romance, nostalgia, and femininity
• Medium purple (violet) – meditation, creativity, concentration, quietness, beauty, inspiration, artistry, music, chivalry, excellence, ethereal, sensuality, responsibility, and sacrifice
• Dark purple – gloom, sadness, frustration, royalty, and richness

Purple is more often associated with websites geared towards women and even children’s products. Its lighter shades can be used by spas geared towards women, as well as health and wellness websites. Academic institutions will often use medium shades of purple because of its many qualities related to intellectual thought and achievement.

Neutral Colors

Neutral colors are great to mix with cool or warm colors, and are often used to tone down the more overpowering characteristics of those colors.

Gray

Grey symbolizes security, reliability, intelligence, staid, modesty, dignity, maturity, solid, conservative, practical, old age, sadness, boring, practicality, professional, sophisticated, durability, quality, quiet, conservativeness, gloominess, and sadness.

• Silver – glamorous, distinguishment, high-tech, industrial, graceful aging, intuition, dreams, communication, sleekness, and modernity

Grays and silvers are some of the most common colors used on websites because they symbolize such a broad range of emotions. They are safe colors, and when used in combination with other colors, can create a high-tech and modern look. Silver also works well when combined with gold and white to promote a feeling of control and power, so it’s not surprising that it would be used by websites that are legal or finance related.

Black

Black symbolizes many different emotions, such as protection, power, sexuality, sophistication, formality, elegance, classy, wealth, mystery, fear, evil, depth, style, modern, space, high quality, dramatic, authority, prestige, grief, reliability, classic, strength, and serious.

You’ll see black on a wide range of websites, particularly those that want to convey a sense of luxury, sophistication, and elegance – car companies and professional products, for example. Music-related websites also feature a lot of black, since it can be seen as cutting-edge and particularly attractive to a youth market.

Brown

Brown is a comforting color and symbolizes a wide range of emotions, such as friendships, earth, hearth, home, outdoors, reliability, credibility, comfort, endurance, stability, simplicity, longevity, intimacy, tranquility, masculine, nurturing, contentment, strength, passivity, fertility, generosity, practicality, and hard work.

• Beiges and Tans – sophistication and neatness
• Copper – passion, money goals, professional growth, business productivity, and career moves
• Dark browns – sophistication, richness, robustness, and nature

Brown is found on a variety of websites. Men find brown particularly appealing, so darker shades are used on websites for sophisticated and professional products. Lighter browns are often used to connote neatness and openness, while medium browns can be used on websites relating to nature, food, and agricultural products.

“Dying” It All Together

Now that you know how colors can influence the message being conveyed by a website, I hope you have a better sense that what web designers do is a much more involved process than it seems. There is a great deal of psychology that goes into designing a great website, and the color choices are just one example of that.

Because the topic of color is so broad, I’ve decided to break up my thoughts on it across multiple posts. Next up: the role that color contrast can have on website usability.

Please keep in mind that I’m not trying to brag here about anything I’ve accomplished. I’m writing this to give me a chance to reflect, but also to give people the sense that anything is possible when you work hard and put your mind to it.

That was then…

When I started Addicott Web, I had only designed very basic websites before, and it had been a few years since I had created those, so my knowledge of how to create a website using modern techniques was lacking. For the most part my experience until then had been maintaining and working with websites that other people had created.

At the time, I didn’t know whether this new business would make it or not. But I had a sense deep down that I could do this – although admittedly, my confidence at the time was still a little shaky.

Want a brief snapshot of where Addicott Web was when I first started it? I didn’t:

• Have many clients, let alone a portfolio – Back then I was still primarily known for the site maintenance work that I was doing for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. I had only begun to talk to CityPAC about their website, who would ultimately become my first client.
• Have much of a website – Addicott Web’s first website was very basic and used mostly stock images and text that no one really read anyways. I remember spending so much time pouring through the content on it too, trying to fine-tune everything. It had almost no focus on usability or SEO, but it was better than nothing, and at least it gave me something to refer people to.
• Know what anything about blogs – Starting a blog was the furthest thing on my mind a year ago, so I definitely had no idea about how to write for blogs, how to promote your blog, or that I had a particular voice for how I wrote.
• Know how to communicate and interact with clients – I had no formal documents or processes set up for how to work with clients, and was doing everything on the fly. As an example, I was still using invoices that I typed out in Microsoft Word each month, and e-mailed from my personal Yahoo! account.

What a difference a year makes…

Initial learning curves are always steep, and mine was definitely no exception to that rule. Although I feel that I’ve learned and grown a lot as a web designer and a businessman, with only one year of business under my belt, I know that I’m only in the middle of that curve and still have a lot to learn.

It’s taken a lot of work to have come this far. I try to learn as much as I can about anything and everything related to web design and being in business for yourself from wherever I could. And it’s beginning to pay off. I’m feeling more and more accustomed to these concepts from seeing them so often – to the point where I can now talk and write about them with confidence, and in the case of how to interact with clients, actually implement them with my own clients.

Amongst everything I’ve accomplished and learned, I now have:

• A good-sized portfolio – I’ve worked on 8 different websites in 2008, which includes all the projects in my portfolio, as well as Addicott Web’s website and one other that is launching imminently. This gives me quite a selection of work to show prospective clients, and reassures them that they are hiring someone who other people have worked with successfully.
• Standardized ways to communicate with clients – I’ve created a whole range of materials to help me work with clients easier, more efficiently, and more professionally. I use Freshbooks for my invoicing, and I have web design questionnaires, letterhead, CD labels, envelopes, form letters, contracts, and much more all ready to go when I need to use it. And of course, all of them are nicely branded with the Addicott logo and contact information.
• A website that I’m proud of – I went through two intermediate designs before I finally settled on the current one. That was back in July, and since then, I’m really comfortable with it overall. I don’t foresee making major changes any time soon, other than slight usability or SEO-friendly modifications here and there.
• Started a successful blog – It took me a while to find my voice and focus in on specific topics that I could write about and provide useful information on. I’m also still learning such things as how to write a blog post, how often to write, etc., but those will always be a work in progress. I did have a few bright notes to the year – three of my blog posts got a ton of attention, which is definitely helping me to get the Addicott Web name out there even more.

Most importantly of all, over the past year I’ve finally found my sense of purpose and direction. I now know that this is my profession, and that based on how this year has gone, I can be successful at this. I’m hoping I’ll be successful enough so that I can turn Addicott Web into my full-time job, which is my long-term goal for the business.

Knowing both of those things is what continually fuels my confidence that I am offering a unique service to people. This is essential in everything that I do, from marketing to client interactions to actual design implementation.

Looking to the Future

Where do I want to be a year from now?

I want to have learned new things. I want to have written even more about the topics I do. I want to have helped even more clients make great websites for their business or organization. And most importantly, I want to look back and say that I have gone even further down this path towards making Addicott Web successful and towards being in business for myself.

I hope that you’re able to do the same things – either personally or professionally, or both – and that your 2009 is just as successful as well.

Happy new year!

What is my goal in doing this? Simply put, it’s just another way to help people – either in my network, or on Facebook in general (since pages will display in global search results within Facebook) – find out more information about my business, which in turn might hopefully lead to new clients and new projects.

What Is a Facebook Page?

For those who aren’t familiar with pages on Facebook, the help section on the topic describes pages like this:

“Facebook created Pages when we noticed that people were trying to connect with brands and famous artists in ways that didn’t quite work on Facebook. We created Pages to offer you a way to accurately represent on Facebook what’s important to you in real life. Facebook Pages help you discover new artists, businesses, and brands as well as connect with those you already love. Not only can you connect with your favorite artists and businesses, but now you also can show your friends what you care about and recommend by adding Pages to your personal profile. Please note that only the official representative of an artist or business is allowed to maintain a Page for that figure.”

How to Create a Facebook Page

It was actually somewhat confusing trying to find information on how to go about creating a page. I ended up doing a Google search about it – since Google has the answer for everything – where I found the right page right away. (For those of you who would like to create a Facebook page of your own, you can visit their “Create a Page” tool.)

When you create a page, there are all sorts of fields, widgets, and applications that you can use. Here are the ones that I think are the most important:

• Information – You can enter in basic information in this area, but there is also an application called “Extended Information” that allows you to fill in much more detailed information. I have yet to do this on my page, but I’m planning on doing it. The “Information” field as is doesn’t give you much room to work with, and I’d like to be able to put some more information about Addicott Web for people to see it.
• Photos – This was particularly useful for me because it is basically serving as a portfolio of my work. I posted screenshots of the websites that I’ve designed, and copied the details about each project into the caption for the photo.
• Notes – This section is useful as well because I can import my RSS feed into it, so that any blog posts that I write are automatically updated here as well. Again – it’s just another opportunity to read what I’m writing, comment on it, and get exposure to Addicott Web.

I’ve also left some of the other standard areas up on the page, such as the Discussion Board, Reviews, etc. A number of my clients are in my network on Facebook, so I hope that these areas will come in handy either when working with them, or to help continue our relationship once the project is complete.

Here is what Addicott Web’s Facebook page looks like:

Do You Have a Facebook Page?

So now that I’ve shown you how I’m promoting my business on Facebook, if you have a business, would you create a page as well? Or do you already have one, and have any insights or tips for improvement that you would like to share? Use the comments form below to share them!

Today I came across a comprehensive list of resources to help you improve how you work with your clients. It was put together by Christian over at the Smiley Cat web design blog, and since I thought it was such a great list, I wanted to share it with my readers. The list has a ton of great links on a variety of useful topics, such as:

• Understanding clients
• Communicating with clients
• The client relationship
• Your process
• Dealing with difficult clients
• Getting paid
• Legal stuff
• And more…

You can view the full list here.

What I don’t want is for people to have the impression that I’m just some guy who knows how to use a computer. Rather, I want them to think that they’re hiring someone with professional knowledge and skills that will meet their specific needs.

I’ve been reading a lot on this topic ever since I started Addicott Web. Some of my favorite blogs (such as Freelance Switch, Freelance Folder, Sitepoint) have some excellent resources and postings about the subject – written by more seasoned freelancers than myself – that have been very informative.

So why am I bringing this up now?

The topic has been on my mind these last two weeks, since it’s been during this time that I’ve been wrapping up my work with Etgar 36 on their new website. I wanted to use the opportunity with this client to try doing some new things that I haven’t done before. Now that I’ve done them, I felt that they were worth sharing.

The things that I did are what you would call small touches (or others would call attention to detail), but the important thing is that overall, they can contribute to a greater sense of professionalism in my clients’ minds.

Online Tools

Client Feedback

One of the new things that I just began to do with Etgar 36, and plan to continue doing in the future, is to send a brief questionnaire to the client once the project is complete. And by brief, I mean it – no more than 5 questions. Keeping it short helps ensure that the client will actually take the time to complete it.

What do I ask? For starters, I ask them to rate some broad items such as my professionalism, expertise, responsiveness to their ideas/concerns, etc. I also ask a few open-ended questions, such as what they liked about working with us and what they think we could improve on.

And to get a real sense of how satisfied the client was, I also ask them if they would refer me to someone else, and if they would hire me again. Needless to say, if they answer yes to both questions, they’re quite happy.

I used Survey Monkey to create this feedback form. It’s a great tool that allows you to create and manage surveys, and analyze the responses that you get to them.

Invoice Management

I’ve been using Freshbooks as my financial management system for awhile now. So while it’s not anything new that I just started to do, it’s still worth mentioning here. I use Freshbooks for a variety of purposes, such as:

• Creating and managing invoices
• Time tracking
• Running financial reports
• Expense tracking

It’s a much more efficient system to use than creating invoices by hand, which is what I used to do before I started using it. It’s more professional as well; clients receive my invoices by e-mail through the system, and get sent payment confirmations when I record payment. They can also log-in and view all of their past payments, invoices, and more.

Documentation

Logo Usage

It’s important to me that my clients get the sense that they’re working with Addicott Web and not just me. So on every piece of official documentation that they see, I make sure to include the Addicott Web logo and use the same fonts as those used on this website.

What do I count as official documentation?

• Letterhead
• Help guides
• Invoices/Estimates
• Mailing labels

As an example, I’m currently sending out some closing materials for the Etgar 36 project. To make them look more professional, I took a quick trip to Office Depot yesterday and stocked up on some mailing labels and large envelopes. The goal is to not scrawl the client’s name and address on the outside of the envelope, but rather print up some nice labels that had my logo and return address on it, along with the client’s mailing information neatly printed on it. It just looks so much nicer and more professional that way.

Of course, after I had sealed the envelopes I realized I hadn’t made any nice labels for the CDs that I had enclosed, which contained all of the files I used to build their new website. But that is something for me to improve on for the next client.

Thoughts?

What are some of the small things that you do to help convey a more professional impression to your clients? Share them with us by filling out our comment form below.

The short answers I’ve given to those who have asked are that it:

• Gives the impression that I actually know what I’m talking about
• Helps me gain exposure to others within the design community, which will hopefully help me attract new business

The folks over at Vandelay Design wrote something on this topic earlier this year, which sums up perfectly how blogging can enhance business for web designers. They include the two points that I mentioned above, but their list also includes some of the other benefits as well.

To summarize what they wrote, there are ten reasons why designers should blog:

• Increased exposure
• Improved name recognition
• The learning experience
• Networking
• Helps customers find you
• Improved site content for search engines
• Improved communication skills
• Demonstrate your knowledge
• Potential promotion when needed
• Variety of work

You can read the full post here if you’re interested in reading more of an explanation on each point.

So now that I’ve helped answer your question, let me pose two questions to give you an opportunity to add to the conversation. Are there other benefits to blogging that aren’t mentioned above that should be? Do you think blogging would benefit people in other industries in the same way as it does for web designers?

Right away I thought, wow, that’s exactly what I’ve been looking for – I would love to attend!

From their schedule I saw that there are all sorts of interesting sessions on topics such as “Secrets of a Successful Soloprenuer,” “How to Get Clients to Fall in Love with You (and Be Loyal Forever),” “How to Find the Time to Build Your Freelance Business”, and more.

Not only are the topics presented very relevant to this business, but the networking opportunities would have been great to have as well.

And the most appealing part about the conference was that it is being held in my own back yard, right here in downtown Chicago.

But alas, unfortunately I won’t be able to attend. Turns out that the conference will be taking place the week in August that I’ll be out of town on vacation.

(I can’t exactly complain though – a week’s vacation in California has been something I’ve been looking forward to since last year.)

So for now, I’ll have to settle for taking advantage of their resources page, where I found a lot of materials, links, and resources that will be beneficial to me.

And, I will definitely be keeping my fingers crossed that the conference is a big success and will be held again in years to come so that I can attend!