melissajean

I was searching for freelance design contracts and I found the following resources to help those of you in search of them.. http://www.sessions.edu/career_center/desi...lates/index.asp http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/graphicdes...ractsforms.html http://www.zenfulcreations.com/resources/w...gn_contract.htm TO Eskymo: I guess you must be busy, but if you have time, would you post your contract template here or pm me it. Thanks.

I know I started the thread "Design Contracts" but I would like to start this one to discuss whether design contracts should be signed "electronically" or strictly on paper. There are a lot of sites that have you accept an agreement before you proceed to sign up with their services (example email, web hosting, forums, etc.). Should it be the same with design contracts?

When it comes to photos, I usually go to a stock photography site and search down the photos that look like what I want. In all the websites I've designed, I have a hard time using the photos that I've taken as my camera is not the greatest. My question for you is... do you use your own photos or ones from a photography site like Stock Exchange? I would like to invest in a good digital camera, but is it really worth it if I'm not going to even use the photos I take?

I'd have to agree. Whenever I shop online I shop with the big store brands because I feel much more confident that I'll get the product and also get it for a low/fair price. I think a lot of people are scared of identity theft and feel like there is a greater chance that something might go wrong (like not receiving product, again identity theft, damaged product, or the product isn't what it says it is, etc.).

I don't know what is wrong exactly but I just ran your site through w3c's html validator and you have 61 errors. Maybe if you fix some or all it might work. It's surprising how one very small mistake can mess up an entire website. Hope this helps you. Here's the validator: http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=www.phuzzbox.com I think your site looks great, by the way. Too bad IE is having its issues. Oh one thing to keep in mind, those percentages of people using IE, that applies world wide, so if you are expecting users in places like Holland, India, and Africa, etc., then I would be concerned. If you want to you can get a free counter from statcounter.com which will let you see where your visitors are coming from and what browser they use. If it was me, and if I couldn't fix it, I'd just put a notice that it is not viewable with IE.

I agree, it is recommended to do that, if you have a lot of prepared information, but its always a good idea to keep content updated on a regular basis. With my chaotic life and bad memory, I hardly have time to get much written, so it doesn't really affect me any, at least right now because I'm always finding something I want to add or change to my site (it's like a never-ending project).

If you are designing a site for someone else, what do you ask them to make sure you get the right design idea? (Besides what color theme and how many pages) When you're designing something for yourself it is easier to figure out than trying to figure out someone else's vision of it. Everyone has their own ideas and style, makes it difficult to always know what they want, when you're not a mind reader.

I have been debating whether I should start studying PHP or ASP. If there's not real difference, I will probably go with PHP, unless someone has a reason not to?

I've never written a blog before and I don't know much about them. What do you write about and how long should it be? Can you recommend a site that will explain how to write a successful blog?

Is anyone else having trouble downloading and installing the yahoo software? I have internet through AT&T and Yahoo, so they sent me a CD to install the software. When I first got it, I was able to install it, but after I did the computer would stall at the Windows XP loading screen, so I had been leaving the computer on when I managed to get it past the screen (by going through safe mode and loading it to a previous state). Anyway, I eventually got tired of that since when the power would go out I'd have to struggle with it or whenever it required a restart. So, I ended up uninstalling the Yahoo software. The computer works fine now, but I can't get the software to install on the computer. I've tried to use the CD installation and it just turns white when it comes to actually installing it, so I tried to download it off their website, but as soon as it starts, the browser window closes and the download disappears. I have contacted Yahoo's tech support and did everything they said but still no luck. Some good came out of it as I started using FireFox and am very happy with it. but.. All the trouble with Yahoo makes me wonder why the computer keeps doing that.. is this its way of protecting itself? is the Yahoo software really a virus? what's wrong with it?

When you freelance, do you use a contract? I figure its a must have with any business for protection, but where do you get one? Can you write one yourself or do you have to use a lawyer?

Hey, thanks for the link Ben, I was looking for that, I had found the site the other day and forgot where I found it. Anyway, I agree, it is much better than "text here text here text here" stuff used for templates and demos, it looks so much more like actual content than gibberish.

Oh, thank you for all your opinions!! I was playing around with Photoshop and I came up with this layout. Oh, I'm going to put an image of one of my current projects in the polaroid. I know I still need to add some color still, but anyway, I wanted to see what you all thought before I put too much time into it.

Yeah, that's right destiny star. If you're getting quite a bit of traffic, a forum might not be a bad idea, it will get people to stay longer on your site, gain new members, and yes, updated content - which helps with search engines and thus, get more traffic.

I'm wanting to become a freelancer, apart from how to get started, how do you get clients? I'm hoping those of you with experience can help lead me in the right direction. Where do you find clients? I know I have heard of sites where you can make bids on projects people want done, but is that really effective? There is so much competition that I feel like I would be run over. What did you do to find your clients?