karlosb

ok thanks for the feedback eggman good stuff! karlos

Hi Dizi, Do you use outsourcing often? I am curious from a web designers perspective. Karlos

Hi Eggman, Yes I see what your saying, but I did not apply this method originally. The site performs really well under "bmw service leeds", "bmw repair leeds", "bmw servicing leeds" since I applied more keywords. Because the search engine results are so important to my client, I am worried if I start tweaking and reducing the phrases it will drop right down in results (as it did originally, when it originally had reduced keywords etc). Can you give any examples of what you would apply to this site, and still make effective (if not better?). Thanks. Karlos

I see your point here... Working as a freelance web designer myself, I get swamped by numerous junk mail from Indian outsource companies. And I always ask the question: Would the communication, quality, feedback and workmanship be as good as a british developer? Just for the record, I am not saying it would not, but it seriously raises the question in my mind, when I read some of these emails. karlos

thats exactly it! it is hard! but its good fun though!

Oh no! haha! Yeah, I need to fill in my empty days with the shots I have taken, so I'm going to do that tonight. Just checked out your two entries, very nice! Everyone is really friendly on there (as you can see from your comments), just the same as all the great people on this forum! Karlos

Fantastic stuff Nero! Just what I'm looking for! Thanks dude! Karlos

excellent stuff, you will have to let me know what you name is on there (mine is the same as on here).

yeah a friend of mine got me into the site, and I've not looked back since! its really addictive!

Get yourself over to www.blipfoto.com, its a website for creating a daily photo journal, where you take a photo each day and post it in your online account. If you like photography this is an excellent site! And it improves your photography skills, and is a great community for fellow photographers to communicate! I am going to get some more shots done this weekend!

Hi Liquid, I have been pretty busy with work since the start of the new year. I just picked up another project on wednesday and they have launch date of 6/3/08, so my head is kind of wrapped up around this, and 5 other projects! So I do apologise if I appear very quiet on the forums! Hope all is well with yourself?

Any takers?

Hi Guys, At the moment I have a project on the go, which has a pretty tight deadline! I have decided to sort out what will be for me the trickiest part of the website first. I need to get my hands on a good solid PHP script that I can tweak to suit the following "online order form" layout: 1. Mr/Mrs/Miss - fields 2. First Name / Last Name - fields 3. Position held: (Radio buttons for options: Head Teacher / Head of English / Head of Literacy / Teacher). 4. Address - fields 5. Telephone / Email - fields. 6. And a check box with an agreement acceptance paragraph. (To confirm an acceptance of order). 7. "Submit" button. I guess they are pretty standard fields for an order form, but I am after a good quality PHP script that will pick up on any "blank" fields, or incorrectly entered information etc etc. Can anyone steer me in the right direction of have a sample script I can have a copy of? Thanks in advance. Karlos

Well I'll keep you posted when I learn more about Wordpress, as it might suit you more than Joomla? (Like I say, I was really put off by Joomla once I started installing it, and going through the guides for it, so I ended up putting it on hold).

I have found that "word of mouth" recommendations are realistically the best method of getting freelance work so far. I reckon a lot of time/effort/money could be waisted on just advertising. Clients want to use a recommended person to work for them. I guess its like asking your friend/work colleague to recommend a plumber they have used or know of etc. For example, my second client (a photographer wanting a portfolio site), was referred to me from a Home Economist guy I used to work with at my last place of employment (he just passed on my details because I had made him aware of my freelance status). So its worth pursuing all friends and work connections, and network with them big time! Thats my take on it! karlos

I look forward to using wordpress, after a good nights sleep! By the way I want to thank you once again for a PHP Include tip you gave me before xmas, I have used them on everything I have done so far (including some of my earlier projects) they are just great for templating stuff! Cant live without them now!

thanks 2lb, Yeah, I a while ago I initially thought using WP would limit what you could with the design of the site (ie you would be restricted to a WP style template, and I didnt realise you can totally customise it!). I have heard "cubecart" mentioned and recommended before quite a few months back, so thats an option in the future. But WP it is to begin with... then EE .... etc etc

You guys have really got me thinking about keeping with "off the shelf" products such as EE / WP now! Like I mentioned above I am going to start off with WP and then try out the free EE, and take it from there. Thanks bluedreamer!

I certainly plan to do so now! I'm all fired up and ready to go as of tomorrow! I'm glad I put this post on tonight. Its cleared my head a bit, for what goals I need to accomplish!

Thanks for the feedback blue dreamer / Rachael I am going to explore Wordpress for this next project, but I will look into Expression Engine (Light free version) as a secondary option. I tried to have a look at Joomla a while ago and it was just "too confusing" for an introduction into this area of web design. I would really like to learn more advanced PHP/MySQL, as I like to know exactly whats going behind the scenes so you can analyse problems more efficiently. But as you say Rachael, there is a security stability issue to address, if you havent got the experience etc. I have a really good PHP/MySQL book by Larry Ullman published by PeachPit Press, which covers all the main areas of PHP/MySQL (and I am 3-4 chapters into it so I already have reasonable head start). Thinking long term though as far as "out of the box" software goes would Wordpress or Expression Engine be able to handle shopping cart websites and anything more complex of that nature? I guess you would outgrow these systems at that stage? karlos

Hi Guys, I've got a project coming up in the next few weeks for an existing website that requires a re-design, and I have noticed that the existing site has a "news & events" section. Now I assume the client is going to want to keep this section of the site, when I do the re-design, but I have still not got my feet wet with using Database CMS stuff (I've just not got round to it for ages and keep putting it off!). The problem I have is deciding wether to pick up my PHP/MySQL book and absolutely batter it!!! And learn to add a CMS system which would be hand-coded.... Or simply to use Wordpress for now to just sort out this particular task (Wordpress seems like the best option for just a "news & events" section). Now it might seem like the obvious answer would be to use Wordpress, but I am thinking "long-term" skills development here. Learning to do it by hand I could develop more complex systems like shopping-carts, larger information databases etc for more "lucrative" bigger projects in the future. Am I making much sense here? Or am I not seeing the true potential of "off the shelf" packages for large scale projects in the future? (Its just that it all seems like a minefield out there... Joomla / Expression Engine / Mambo etc etc - and in the back of my head something is just saying "learn PHP/MySQL" so you can understand it all clearly!). I already have a bit of a head start with PHP - I use a lot of includes and short bits of php to "glue" pages together with templated php files. Its just database design that scares me!!! Sorry for the ramble!!! What are your thoughts on this? Thanks in advance. Karlos

LOL ! That cat pic is hilarious!

i'd be buying one of those virgin space tickets :-)

Well guys you have certainly put my mind at ease with this form of payment. I just needed a few positive nods. Thanks for the feedback! Karlos

Hi Guys, Just a quick question... A client has asked to pay an invoice via a BACS transfer to my bank account, which would obviously involve supplying my account number and sort code. So far I have just accepted cheques, and this is the first time I have been asked about a BACS transfer instead. I feel a little uneasy handing out my details for this, I am right to be this cautious or do lots of you guys do this for most of your projects? Your input would greatly appreciated! Karlos