There’s a misconception out there that every web designers’ the same. This is such a bad assumption. Just because some people call themselves web designers doesn’t mean they know how to design a good website. A professional web designer will know what fonts to use, how big the headers need to be, what colors to use and what not to use and how much text to put on a page before the reader pops a blood vessel in their eye. I say talented web designers need to stick together and join forces to fight against bad websites. So many times I see a business owner decide to go with someone who calls themselves a marketing company or a web designer that has poor taste. They think if they pay money for these services, that means they’re going to get a great site. I know I seem pessimistic and harsh, but I’m getting tired of hearing the same old stories. I say to you business owners do your research! Find out who’s working on your site and I don’t mean just the company you’re going with. I mean the actual designer. How much experience does he or she have? Did he or she ever take art lessons. Make sure you convey what you want on your site. Get down to the details. Remember, it’s your money, you’re business.

This entry is to inform the business owners who are seeking for a designer and the designers seeking clients.  With the exchange of files and creation of original artwork, both parties involved should be fully aware of the rights and terms of a contract and business relationship they commit to.  This is to avoid any legal issues that may come up down the road. Very important: Always have a contract! Do not ever go into an agreement on a handshake or verbal communication. You need EVERYTHING in writing to protect both parties.

According to Wikipedia’s definition, Intellectual Property is defined as “a number of distinct types of legal monopolies over creations of the mind, both artistic and commercial, and the corresponding fields of law.^[1] Under intellectual property law, owners are granted certain exclusive rights to a variety of intangible assets, such as musical, literary, and artistic works; discoveries and inventions; and words, phrases, symbols, and designs. Common types of intellectual property include copyrights, trademarks, patents, industrial design rights and trade secrets in some jurisdictions.” Basically, unless you own the rights to something, you can’t use it. Any client can obtain the rights through a legal contract or agreement between the designer and himself/ herself. If there’s no contract or agreement signed stating transfer of rights, the designer is assumed all rights of the originals. You can find this information in the Graphic Artist Guild Handbook Pricing & Ethical Guidelines 12th Edition under the Legal Rights and Issues chapter.

Moving on, now that you generally understand what intellectual property is, let’s talk about the contract or agreement. Any professional designer should present one to his/her client. It shows credibility and it protects everyone’s interests. The agreement should focus on the transfer of rights for whatever service(s) is being provided. It should specifically state where it’s being transferred to, to whom, how long, when, etc. Make sure this section is very thorough to avoid any questions later on. There should also be a milestones section. What are the expectations of both parties. Are there any deposits? When can the client expect a final version? It’s basically a schedule of the whole project from beginning to end. Next, itemize every cost and billable expenses. This will avoid any questions pertaining to why it costs this amount. Finally, always make sure you have proper terms such as in the event of termination of the project, billable expenses schedule…cover all avenues just in case. If the client raises questions and is offended by all the legal terms, simply explain to him/ her that it’s to protect each others rights and that it is a standard business practice. Honestly, if anyone is questioning the purpose of a contract or agreement, this should send a red flag not to do business with them.

Lastly, remember to always settle any outstanding expenses before any files are exchanged. Simply put…you get what you pay for.

There many elements you need to remember when designing your website. Sure there are millions of websites out there, but are they good? Do they look nice? Can you navigate easily throughout the site? Here are some good tips to keep in mind:

1. Keep your text legible, but don’t make it huge. A good size font is 10px to 14px at the most. Sometimes search engines look at huge text as spam.

2. Use nice size buttons. Don’t use flashy huge buttons. It can tend to cheapen your website.

3. Focus on your main message. Don’t start listing a bunch of text just to fill spaces. Search engines hate lots of text and so do your readers.

4. Don’t bury your information. Use the 3-click method. It should usually take at the most 3 clicks for your readers to reach what they want to read about. Also, make sure your navigation is consistent and easy to find.

5. Carry same colors throughout your website. Keep a consistency going. It will bring all your pages together and give your website branding.

6. Use short, but capturing headers for your sections of text. Bring the reader in.

7. Make sure you use a nice background image that doesn’t interfere with your text or your images. Nothing more tacky than having some ugly distracting tiled background that takes the focus off of your content.

8. Have your links colors coordinate with the rest of your website. Also, don’t use “click here” for your links. Search engines hate that. Use the description of your content to create a link.

9. Make sure your colors you use on your images, website pages and text are web safe colors (hex colors). When making your images in photoshop, use RGB not CMYK.

10. Don’t use a lot of flash. A whole site built on flash can hurt your search engine visibility. Use it tastefully…maybe one element on your index page, but that’s it.

I hope some of these tips were helpful. You can find great books on website design everywhere or do a search.