Musings and insider articles from a web designer
In a nutshell a content management system (CMS) manages the creation and modification of your websites content. It's provides a user interface that allows a you, even with limited expertise, to add, modify, and delete content from your website.
I find wireframes really useful to get the requirements of the site clear in my head and as a way to visually discuss layouts with clients before spending time on the design visuals. Wireframes are a time saver. I've never needed to completely re-do a design since I made wireframes part of my process; me and the client are already on the same page.
I live in a small two bed terrace house in South London. Lucky I was able to claim the second room as a dedicated workspace for my freelance web design business. It's taken 18 months since moving in to the property to get it to my liking but as I work from home everyday I felt it was so important to have a space I was happy in, after all I spend more time in this room than any other in the house.
Making the decision to quit your steady paying day job and go freelance is one of the most important life decisions to make. Thankfully there are plenty of resources offering guidance. I stated reading up on freelancing a good six months before making the jump. Here is a list of the resources which helped me, and have been guiding me ever since.
I backed, and later received the Slate – Mobile AirDesk via a Kickstarter project. From a freelancing point of view, time-to-time I enjoy working from other areas of my house, than just my office. This is especially true first thing in the morning where I like to be in a room where I can enjoy the morning sunshine pouring in, which unfortunately my office doesn’t get being a north facing room. I saw the Slate as an opportunity to be able to work anywhere in comfort. The limitation with using a laptop on your lap is you can’t use it with the mouse, I know that’s what the trackpad is for, sometimes you just need the precision of a mouse to be more productive.
This very site was my first built using Sass (Update: now my previous site). In this post I’m going to share how I got started using Sass, and what features I felt most comfortable implementing as a newbie.
Having recently gone freelance and launched my new website I needed some new business cards. I ordered these lovely Luxe business cards from Moo.com. The quality of these are really quite remarkable, at 600gsm you’d be forgiven for thinking there were three stuck together. Moo.com allow you to upload up to ten different designs for the reverse. So I tried out a few colour options. With the Luxe range you get to select one of three colour options for the center, creating a streak running through every card. I went with the red. However, if I’m lucky enough to need to order more I think I’d go with the black. The red is quite a bit darker than I was expecting, and it doesn’t stand out as much as I would have liked. I’ve not handed many of these out so far, but the people who have been on the receiving end have commented on how lovely they are. I believe when it comes to business cards you need to buy good quality to help you make that positive first impression, and these really do help you on your way. Find out more about Luxe Buisness Cards from Moo Even the packaging is something quite special!
Six weeks ago I went freelance full-time. I left my agency role and moved from Bournemouth to London. One of the first tasks I set myself was to create a new portfolio website (this site). I had an existing (but slightly neglected) site which I hadn't done much to since it launched 18 months ago. I felt that with so many other changes in my life it was a good time to start fresh. I took the opportunity to use some new tools, which have been on my 'to learn' list for far longer than I'd like to admit. This is a major part of the freelance 'dream' for me. Being a freelancer gives me the opportunity to refine my workflow and experiment with the tools that best suit how I want to work going forward.
I specialise in creating websites for great individuals and small-medium sized businesses, helping them to market their product or services successfully on the web.
What I Do