Garyw24

Why would I want to do that you ask? Well I don't want ANY details held in the database. It's really a very simple and valid request, please delete my account. I don't want to go into details in a public forum, and I shouldn't have to explain the reason. Thank you.

How do I delete my account? The email address admin@webdesignerforum.co.uk isn't monitored and there's no option in the profile or settings.

Personally I liked Lynda.com, but in terms of overall learning the best thing is to be much more hands on. Look at websites and study their code, how they do things. There are certainly plenty of free resources on the net. With Lynda.com I liked their Photoshop and InDesign training. Although I also found Photoshop Top Secret invaluable.

The Alienware will crush your kneecaps and burn your trousers. This might interest you, check out ALL the tests: http://www.laptopmag.com/review/laptops/alienware-m14x.aspx?mode=benchmarks and this one basically says bulky, heavy and noisy:, with poor display and a crap keyboard: http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/laptops/alienware-m14x-review-50003540/ As I said the MSI GT 680 is well worth a look with some great reviews all round. The only fault I could mention is I'd like longer battery life, but with a top end laptop like this, battery life isn't going to be great. It comes highly recommended on several sites including: http://hothardware.com/Reviews/MSI-GT680-Gaming-Laptop-Review/?page=7

For me you can either do the job or you can't. You're not going to learn Wordpress inside out in a week or two. And then in the case of this client, far too dodgy for me, you need to consider do you really want to be involved with this company. Doesn't look good on the portfolio when the site and service starts getting bad reviews, or maybe much worse. Outwith this forum, I know three companies who've already turned him down, and the "goalposts" keep changing, he doesn't actually know what he wants and knows nothing about the industry. If you dig a bit deeper it gets much much worse. I always vet my clients (or prospective clients), find out a bit about them and their business. Does anyone else do this??

It's working find for me, but I'd need to take a closer look at your code. What browser (and version) are you using?

I find that over the years I've learned to spot the unlealistic clients and just send a polite "I'm too busy" email. I've had them all. There was even a guy who wanted me to copy a site EXACTLY, it was some kind of national gaming poker web site for pubs, the original creator had got 100K from Dragons Den to set up the original. My guys budget was £250. I did laugh though. One of the problems is that there are too many people accepting pennies for work, and especially people willing to work for nothing. To be honest, most of my decent clients are clients that I've gone out and found, rather than enquiries from unknowns.

FTP Rush supports FXP and it's free: http://www.wftpserver.com/ftprush.htm

We tried out an Alienware last year and were disappointed. Lots of gimmicks, but runs VERY hot, noisy, heavy, bulky, one hour battery life. When it arrived it was full of junk apps and Alienware gimmicks. There were 47 startup programs running, all kinds of stupid monitoring apps, speed apps, Alienware popup logo apps. Ours didn't last a month and we sold it. If you want to play games, get a decent desktop. In terms of a laptop, lots of good ones, we eventually went with an MSI Intel i7. Came across it by accident in Argos and we loved the build, the design, the screen, the keyboard the features etc. We now own three and we love them.

As you say, you want to send out a "personalised" letter, keep it simple, to the point and friendly. Don't make it too formal or it'll just go in the bin. Always try to find out who makes the decision so you can address that person specifically, rather than another "Dear Sir" letter. I think you have to point out the benefits of a web site, but be specific to their type of business. For example if they sell products or services, you can outline the benefits of e-commerce and accepting payments online, as well as creating a whole new marketplace. Use your imagination and be creative, and most of all try to be different. Don't just use any old template of the net, I bet there are probably hundreds of other business using the same one. Perhaps target a specific market, add something unique to your selling, perhaps offer a free on site consultation etc etc. Sell yourself but be honest and be yourself.

I'm not sure you really need the expense of a lawyer. I'm based in the UK, my contract is a simple three page affair, simple, to the point and easy to read and in plain English. It's pretty air tight and keeps both sides happy. I'm sure some expensive picky lawyer could find something wrong with it, but it works perfectly for me and I'm happy with it. I do make alterations to it from time to time depending on the client. Obviously the law in the UK is different to the US, but I'm sure you'll find a bundle of resources out there on the net.

Been lucky that clients have always been quite appreciative. I did have an odd one lately, although it was hard to tell exactly what the issue was as there were language problems. A guy contacted me about doing an animal charity website. The story was that his girlfriend worked at a zoo but her lifelong ambition was to start an animal charity and move to Africa. He wanted the website to start the animal charity and raise the first £50K so he could ask her to marry him and then they could move to Africa. It seemed a bit odd but it all went ahead. I put quite a bit of work into it, sent him updates and he was quite happy, especially with the design. It was nothing groundbreaking but it was fresh, clean, and a good front end. I put an extra bit of work into it and kept within budget. The site went live then I heard nothing for three months. Then I got an email saying it wasn't raising any money (all he had was a Paypal link to his personal account). Then a month later he said he thought it was "a bit unprofessional"...............that stumped me. But year later I've never heard anything from him, his email address just bounces back and his mobile is disconnected. I do really like the out of the blue emails from other designers who've come across your site and obviously have time on their hands to provide you with a detailed critique. I loved the one I got as a Word attachment which was seven pages long. Obviously too much time on their hands. Or the web design companies that contact you offering their web design services, did they not notice that I AM a web designer. Just laugh and move on. Matters of design are often down to personal taste, but you must be doing something right if you're happy with your work and your getting clients. If you're not, surely you realise there's something wrong?

Income Tax and National Insurance is rated and calculated based on where you live, no matter where the payment comes from. So if you're in the UK, you pay tax based on UK rates. Just a note to add, for the first four years of self employment, I did my own books, I have a fairly good knowledge or tax and national insurance etc. Then I got recommended an accountant, his fee was £250 but he clawed back an extra £4K for me as well giving some excellent advice on equipment and vehicle purchase. Six years later he's still my accountant and his fees are at £520 annually, but it's still worth every penny. His advice on not only when and what to buy, costs to consider, and when actually spending money gets you money much more back, he's invaluable to me. I earn a good living, business is profitable, I upgrade equipment every six months and I do what my accountant tells me. I haven't had a tax bill over a grand for six years.

If you're going to be a freelance web designer then motivation is EVERYTHING. You could get a full time job as a designer where you'll have a manager, deadlines and the need for an income to keep you motivated. But if you can't get motivated from the word "Go", it might not be the right career choice. Especially at the beginning where motivation is key. When I started, I couldn't keep away from my work, I was putting in 18 hour days, 7 days a week for the first two years. Even when I didn't have work I was working on ideas and concepts and creating my own websites. If you want a portfolio, you need to create one and that again is motivation. Maybe ask yourself how excited and passionate you are about creating and designing web sites? Maybe you need to find a specific area that you love doing, perhaps it's just the graphic design bit, or perhaps it's just coding or programming etc, rather than the whole process of creating a website from beginning to end.

Unless a client asks for it, I don't think about it. Maybe I should start thinking about it but at the moment I don't. Of course if a client requests a site for mobile users then the work will be quoted for and it'll be done properly. I think you need to educate a client about creating sites for different mediums; web, print, mobile, tablet etc etc. Make them aware that it's extra work. At the moment I rarely get asked.

I'm pretty new here too, is there a thread with a list of good web resources? If not could we start contributing to something?

I just picked up stuff as I went along, downloaded various books, accessed various online sites, but I'm learning all the time. I found the Lynda.com stuff very good. I've collected a massive resource of materials over the years, but of course it goes out of date and you've got to keep on top of technology. You'll know yourself if you're spreading things a bit thin. I love Perl and still do, but rarely use it. Over the years I've picked up PHP, MySQL, Flash, Javascript, Ajax, Python, of course keeping up to date with HTML and CCSS, and read up and practiced regularly on SEO, business practices, concepts and ideas etc etc. I've also studied various CMS, including WordPress, Joomla, ocPortal, Drupal, Typo3 etc. I've made sure that I know these inside out and can pretty much make them do anything I want. There's a definite increasing trend in the use CMS. Also like to keep on top of server technology, in particular for Linux. I keep up to date with Photoshop, InDesign, Flash and Fireworks, occasionally a bit of Dreamweaver if needed. But bear in mind I've been at this now for over ten years, but for me it's never ending, I'm always reading up on stuff, practicing and keeping up to date. I made the choice to go it alone and keep it that way. I have a bit of help from my family who sometimes deal with admin and other tasks. I don't regret it, but you can never rest and sit back, you've got to keep at it and always look at ways of improving you and the business as well as ways of finding new business. That might seem a bit overwhelming but you'll soon adjust. Explore technologies and see what you like. I never really developed a passion for working with anything else, any Windows server based stuff and ASP.NET etc, just not my thing whereas it might really appeal to you. But make sure you find something that excites you, that's what you'll enjoy and pick up most. Don't ever worry about turning work down, it does happen and should happen, don't take work just because you think you need it. And set a fair pricing structure right across the board for clients, and stick to it. I get a lot of requests for a web site with a budget of £100 or £200 etc, be realistic, if you can't do it for that price then don't! Keep your integrity. And finally, it's not going to happen overnight, maybe even not in the first year, but five years down the line you'll be glad you did and that you stuck to your guns. Maybe I'm wrong, but web design is one of things that "everyone" has a go at doing, and the market is saturated, but if you're in it for the professionalism and the longer term, it'll pay off.

Many people may disagree with me here but........... when I started out just over ten years ago, I was essentially a developer, I specialised in Perl writing all kinds of apps. Never dealt with clients direct, always worked for agencies. I had absolutely no graphic skills and couldn't draw a straight line. But over the years I've taught myself and would consider myself an advanced user of Photoshop and Fireworks. Photoshop for me was the "in between" bit I needed to unleash my creative design skills which I could never recreate using pencil and paper. Work at it yourself and work at creating all kinds of images and ideas. I started developing my photography skills and created some amazing stuff just by importing and playing with photos. I'll never be a true graphic designer but Photoshop lets me do whatever I need to do. I'm now a full blown designer/developer and there's really nothing I can't handle, entirely self taught. Learning EVERYTHING in Photoshop is practically a university degree in itself, but you'll be glad you know it. One of the things that turned my skils around was Photoshop Top Secret - http://www.photoshoptopsecret.com/ I also carry a camera all the time and take pics of the strangest stuff; textures, objects etc, and I keep an extensive library really helps my workflow and imagination. And well done for getting your business up and running, starting out as a web designer is one thing, actually making a living from it is another thing entirely.

Lev is such a b****** For condeming you to hell Next time you wander cyberspace Screw up his HTML

Oh Grandma oh my Grandma Computers you dislike But nothing was so soothing As a game of Counterstrike Grandma's somewhere out there In cyberspace I think If you ever find her Please send me the hyperlink

Oh please Lev don't delete her even though she takes up space just move her to your font folder and "voila", a new typeface grandma does look stunning as a new typeface in bold not too bad for 89 even though she's getting old maybe you could FTP her to a server up online I know you want keep her she looks good in your design(s) but please send back my Grandma she's old and frail and smells and she much prefers my laptop a brand she calls "the dells"

The computers' swallowed Grandma Yes, honestly it's true She pressed "Control" and "Enter" And disappeared from view It's devoured her completely The thought just makes me squirm Maybe she's caught a virus Or been eaten by a worm I've searched through the recycle bin And files of every kind I've even used the internet But nothing did I find In desperation I asked Jeeves My searches to refine The reply from him was negative Nothing found online So if inside your inbox My Grandma you should see Please can you "Copy" and "Paste" her In an email back to me

Yeah definitely interesting (trying to keep my brain from imploding too). I vaguely know a couple of guys in based at Stirling University who write marketing software, specifically to analyse and predict trends based on marketing campaigns and questionnaires. I read an article about one they did recently to predict the needs, wants and general expectations of hotel customers. The software is so detailed that it actually creates names and individual/family/business groups of who will visit and when, and what they expect to pay as well as their behaviour during their visit and what to expect. The hotel group I believe are looking to initiate something that will encourage visitors to return as well as spend more at the hotel ie encourage visitors to buy drinks/food, spend on hotel services etc. I've been an amateur programmer in C++ for years but it still makes my brain hurt. Where would you begin with something like this? I do remember an episode of Stargate (show me one good web developer who isn't a geek) where they came across some ancient room with a computer control panel which turned out to play some kind of Sim City type game. Of course they later discovered that in fact the game computer fed all their instructions down into two real villages who saw the game play as law, and carried out their every command. Interesting episode.

If you're going to take the plunge with some kind of CMS (content management system) then WordPress is an excellent place to start. There's a wide range of reference and tuition material on the web and it's actually fun to learn and to get into. WordPress is often considered just a bloggin platform but there's actually no limit on what you can do with it. Based on what you've told us it sounds exactly what you need. If you can't find what you need on the web, let me know, I have a WordPress reference and tutorial disc and I give out to clients. ......just to add, that's not such a bad first attempt. I can remember my first attempt and it was way worse than that!!!

Just out of interest, has anyone every exchanged their web design services for other goods or services and not cash??