Here’s a list of 21 things that might influence a visitor’s first impression of your website. I’m not sure I agree with some of them and I must say that I disagree with the order they’re presented. Even though they say, “no particular order”, the fact that they’re numbered kinda gives them order, no? There’s no black and white in this world and sure as heck not the net. Case in point: 1 – load time. Sure, we all like our pages to load quickly but what’s more important to you when you’re looking for information? Could it be the information? Are you willing to wait a few extra seconds to find the information you want or do you bail on a site after 2.45 seconds?

I guess it’s not a bad list but don’t take it as gospel.

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I just stumbled onto a blog called Wake Up Later. It’s a site to help freelancers and online entrepeneurs. It looks like they cover a variety of topics and have some free stuff for freelancers, and other stuff free for personal and commercial use. I added them to my RSS reader.

Here’s a recent post about saying, “No” to clients. It’s harder to do than you think, really. Be sure to read the post because they offer explanations and not just my cut down version you see below.

1 ) Can you show me a mock-up to help us choose
     a designer/developer? No.
2 ) Can you give us a discount rate? No.
3 ) Will you register and host my site? No.
4 ) Can you copy this site? No.
5 ) Can I pay for my e-commerce site from my website sales? No.
6 ) I have a great idea. Do you want to…? No.
7 ) Do you have an IM account? No.
8 ) Can I just pay the whole amount when it’s done? No.
9 ) Is there any way you could get this done tonight
     or this weekend? No.
10) Can I be sure you won’t use this work in anything else? No.

10 Absolute “Nos!” for Freelancers

Our buddies over at Smashing Magazine have an article about how wide of a screen you should design for. They closely match what I’ve been telling classes so it comes as no surprise when I say, “This is a decent article.” Be sure to read the whole thing an the comments. A couple of the commenters are smart people. Here’s an exert:

In order to work well, designs have to be optimized for simplicity, transparency and, consequently, optimal user experience. The user experience itself is, however, in many cases just an elegant term employed with false intentions and wrong approaches.

Optimal user experience is rarely achieved by visual design elements, although some stakeholders are strongly convinced that it actually is the case. What actually matters is the fact that the content is accessible and legible — and although visual design can support the content and help to communicate with your target audience in a more effective way, it is not a solid foundation to build a successful web-site upon. (In fact, to compromise stakeholders’ understanding of design solutions is your primary task if you strive to be a professional web-developer.)

(Via Smashing Magazine.)

I just received and email from a pal here at the school about a new position that is opening up. Hurry though – it closes on 12/09.

Provide support for division internal and external publicity including websites, flyers, programs, brochures, invitations, mailing lists and requests. Act as liaison to appropriate college offices for announcements, photography, showcases, business cards and print/graphic production. Assist with division office Human Resources, Office of Instruction, Operations, and front desk coverage and tasks. Assist with meetings, special event logistics, and special projects. Participate on College-wide Web Group and other divisional and college-wide groups as requested.

Read the details here.

According to Gordon, an ARTS173 studnet, the Cadillac Club is the place to be on Sunday, from 4 to 8pm:

Read more…

What’s that you say? You want to build a portfolio but you’re not sure what to put in it or what it should look like? Don’t worry. I’ve got your back. Well, not me but Professional on the Web does. I haven’t looked at the page much so let me know if it’s useful or not by filling in a comment? From the About Us page:

Professional on the Web is a fresh directory where web agencies and freelancers can list their profiles and easily manage showcase of their projects. We manage to keep the directory as focused as possible to get the most number of professionals listed in our directory.

After signing up you can complete your profile using in_place_editors and you can arrange projects and tags by drag&drop (script.aculo.us rules!).

Users can search web professionals by tag and also rate projects instantly. No need to register or sign in.

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The learning never ends. If you’re lucky. It looks like our friends at Adobe want to radically change Photoshop. Here’s a post from one of my favorite blogs, OSNews:

Adobe Systems wants to transform its flagship Photoshop software with an interface customized to the task at hand, a potentially radical revamp for software whose power today is hidden behind hundreds of menu options. A new user interface will help Photoshop become “everything you need, nothing you don’t,” said Photoshop product manager John Nack, describing aspirations for the Photoshop overhaul on his blog Monday. “We must make Photoshop dramatically more configurable,” Nack said. “Presenting the same user experience to a photographer as we do to a radiologist, as to a Web designer, as to a prepress guy, is kind of absurd… With the power of customizability, we can present solutions via task-oriented workspaces,” Nack said.

(Via OSNews.)

I got this in my email late last week and forgot to post it.

Small local web business in need of Part time small web projects help. Flash, HTML, Photoshop, basic webpage design and building knowledge. The more you know the better. Flexible, work from home hours with not particularly great pay, but… good experience. Mac experience a plus. Please tell us what you can do and send your info to: Whizpup@Gmail.com

I got an email from 173 studnet Gordon about a script that will help your install of CS3. From what I’ve heard, you can run into lots of problems while installing CS3. This cleared up Gordon’s problems and maybe it will help you too.

The Adobe CS3Clean Script will help resolve installation problems experienced by users of Adobe Creative Suite software. The script will clean up any beta and pre-release installations. It will also look for and repair registry permissions and remove obsolete registry entries of older Flash Player versions, to ensure successful installation of the shipping versions of Creative Suite 3.

Adobe CS3Clean Script