Professional Web Design & Web Development

Q. Describe the most common types of jobs you do for your clients.

A. Small websites for small/new businesses. They average 4 or 5 pages with nothing fancy. That's what I encourage.

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. Find the provider that offers the best customer service. Often times the quality of work comes along with it.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. I would want to know the average prices, what's too little and what's too much. I'd want to know about the detail and planning that goes into a project.

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. Can we work out a different price based on what I do and don't need? Do you perform the service or is it sent out of the US? Can you help me figure out what I do need and what I don't need to save time and money?

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. The purpose of their site. Their local or relevant competitors and their websites. If they need help writing content. If they will need to update the site often. A few websites with designs they like and don't like.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. Communicating with new people and making connections. It helps both parties. Businesses grow by spreading their name. Through both clients, friends and chambers of commerce, everyone benefits.

Q. What questions do customers most commonly ask you? What's your answer?

A. How much will it cost and how long will it take? My answers are:
It depends on how many bells and whistles you want. I work to get someone what they need without letting them go over-the-top and pay too much.
You will be surprised on how quickly a website can be made. What delays the project is the time it takes to get content onto the pages. If you don't have content on your own, I can help you publish the right text.

Q. What do you wish customers knew about you or your profession?

A. I wish they new it isn't all point-and-click. There is a lot of effort put into a quality website that has to do with your business specifically, so copy/paste doesn't always get the job done.

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. I was really young when I wrote my first HTML. It got addictive, very quickly. I taught a lot to myself and permanently infused my interest through high school, in addition to college classes. And here I am. The decision was easy.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. Of course. Design and scripting languages are always evolving. HTML5 is starting to appear more in more, in addition to CSS3. PHP updates frequently. It's important to know what's new, what's old and what neat tricks can be done now that couldn't before.

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. I'd say one of the latest big developments would be the growing of HTML5. It's doing a bunch of tricks that I wish existed before and it's going to refine the industry to separate those who are dedicated to this and those that might be goofing off.

Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?

A. Get ready to need your social skills just as much as you know your design and scripting skills. Just because you could style a fancy page means nothing if you can't express why different parts are important or unimportant. You will be speaking, mostly, to people who have no idea what you do, but they probably know what they want. You've got to link the two.