Bad timelines

Confession: My timelines during the majority of 2009 were awful. Most of the time, I relied on a standard 4-week delivery timeframe for web projects that made no sense. Many of these were fairly complex web sites that required intense client interaction. All this done in a month or less? It proved to be unrealistic unless quality was sacrificed.

Resolution: I’ve already implemented a new 10-week base schedule that has more time built in for client interaction, content collection and coding. This schedule is tied together with a standard set of milestones. The new timeframe is already proving to be a success. Prospects don’t scoff at the length and I’m stressing less about meeting deadlines. I hope to continue this trend in 2010 while tweaking the timeline to be more flexible and accurate.

Bizarre priorities

Confession: I’m the type of person who, when confronted with an issue, will try to tackle it right away. It doesn’t matter if the issue is minor. I’ll leap to get it out of my inbox. The problem in doing this is that I sacrifice time that I can spend on more important project activities. While minor issues here and there don’t seem like a lot, they certainly do add up and can drain the life out of you.

Resolution: For 2010, my goal is to implement smarter daily plans that will enable me to focus more attention on higher-paying projects than on minor issues. One way I can accomplish this is by allocating more time to projects during the day. This means shutting everything else out during project time. No email, no phone and no issues. Those can all wait their turn.

Too reactive

Confession: I spent too much of 2009 being reactive. An issue pops up, I deal with it. A milestone becomes late, I work at full capacity to meet it. A client problem surfaces, I haphazardly look for solutions. The problem is that none of this is proactive. Issues, milestones, problems and clients are coming to me instead of me going to them.

Resolution: For the new year, I need to be more proactive. Instead of waiting for a client issue to confront me, I need to check up on the client. I must become more engaged with my milestones and stop procrastinating. Some of the ways I plan on tackling this include more intelligent daily and weekly plans as well as a communication plan for reaching out to clients.

Inconsistent post-project client communication

Confession: Building on my previous confession, I don’t dedicate enough time to clients after a project is complete. Instead, I launch the site, see if the client has any questions and then move on to the next project. Problems or concerns with the site then find their way to me, and I miss out on opportunities to engage the client on other services.

Resolution: I hinted at this in the resolution above, which is a communication plan for clients. Using an organized routine, I can contact and check in with clients I’ve completed work for. This may be an email or a phone call, and while it may generate more work for me, it will help to keep my foot in the client’s door.

Unwillingness to change

Confession: The problem in getting comfortable with the way you work is that you’re unlikely to change. And as much as I hate to admit, my way is probably not the best way. Unfortunately, in being attracted to comfort, I rarely changed my ways or experimented with new ways of working in 2009.

Resolution: I’ve already begun working on this, but for 2010, my plan is to work smarter and become more explorative. I want to try out new work routines to discover what motivates me the most. This could mean a change in the hours I work or the scenery. I also need to try out new tools, software and methods that can help me get more done in less time. Furthermore, I must allow myself to read, explore and learn about new and creative things going on in the world. I’ve already loaded up on some interesting RSS feeds and have a few books I want to digest.

Too available

Confession: I spent too much of 2009 working on projects that frankly were not worth my time. These could be small web site projects or monthly engagements that just didn’t turn a profit after factoring in all the time and headaches to get through them. Instead of being selective, I was accepting of all work and considered any potential source of revenue a golden gift.

Resolution: Thankfully, I’ve started getting into the habit of saying “no.” I know most people preach that you should always be saying “yes,” but that’s only if you don’t value your time. If there’s one thing I learned in economics class it’s opportunity cost. That’s the value of your time if you were doing something else. So if I’m working my tail off on a project that isn’t paying anything, my opportunity cost could be a much more lucrative activity that is very much worth my time. In 2010 I will get smarter about screening prospects to determine whether or not the time investment is worth it. I will further value my time by outsourcing or delegating tasks that I shouldn’t be doing. This will help to free up my time to work on things that matter most to me.

So there you have it. Six defined resolutions for 2010. While I find resolutions to be a little corny, they do have some value in helping to define goals. I hope to take what I’ve written here and implement a plan to put them in action.

What about you? What are you looking to change for 2010?

In many regards, web design has not changed significantly since its founding days in the ’90s. Most sites are created as static presences with text that users can consume and perhaps a contact form that can be used to transmit a simple message. This method of communication has become so branded on the internet that it seems almost routine to set it up for any organization.

That’s not a bad thing. Organizations should communicate with people online. The internet offers the ability to communicate with the most people at the cheapest rates.

However, I think web design is due for some death and transformation. No longer can organizations just idly post content. They must engage. They must reach out to their market and actively communicate with people. They must build a brand online that can be accessed, discussed and followed with ease.

Right now, much of the web is passive. There is little interaction and few ways to connect with most organizations.

Web design as a concept won’t die anytime soon, but the methods that have engulfed it will — they must — and a new breed of communication will emerge. I look forward to it.

I would definitely agree that to maintain your brand you must do good work. That’s obvious. However, I would argue that there is more to it than that.

Branding is the art of setting up a platform for yourself. It consists of everything from how you communicate to the tools you use to communicate with. These are all necessities. You can’t do good work without them.

Sure, you might not need to worry too much about branding if you’re established and have the capacity to make your good work known, but if you’re just getting started, you can’t rely on the “build it and they will come” philosophy. You have to get out there and establish an image for yourself. And whether or not you want to call this personal branding is up to you.

Once you get to the point where you’re known is when you can let others build your brand for you.

Think about it. We’re forced to multitask on multiple issues everyday. Emails are a big contributor to this. Each message represents a new challenge, question, complaint, problem or idea that we have to confront, investigate and address. By removing email from the equation, the day can be made less hectic.

So, push email responding to late at night. My favorite time is from 10pm to 12am. It may sound odd, but here’s my reasoning:

• Value Your Day Time: Responding to emails throughout the day forces us to diminish the quality of our time. It becomes diluted in multiple issues and we really can’t give our full attention to any one thing when it really matters.
• Perception: By responding late at night, people perceive you to be a hard worker. And take it from Benjamin Franklin, this is a good perception. Franklin was known, while working as a young printer, to keep his shop running into the late hours — people noticed.
• Focus: Nighttime has fewer distractions and really gives you the opportunity to dedicate a good hour or two to getting through emails.
• Positive State of Mind: Nighttime is usually less chaotic and puts you into a more relaxed state. This can be beneficial because you’re less likely to respond negatively to emails.
• Avoid Email Chain Reactions: Since no one else is working this late, you can rest assured that you won’t get an immediate response which can tend to set off a chain reaction of emails going back and forth. That can be a real time drain.
• Problem Solved: The brain has a tendency to mull over problems throughout the day. If you’re confronted with a tough email, let it sit in your mind during the day. By night, you’ll have subconsciously organized your thoughts.
• Rest Easy: Nobody likes stress. And stress can cause you to have a bad night’s sleep. What better way to cap off the day than to systematically take care of all the issues sitting in your inbox before hitting the pillow?

This solution has worked for me, but it depends on your mentality. And if you’re not a night person, try doing it early in the morning — it has the same effect.

The web has also led to a saturation of knowledge. With so many open channels, knowledge has become easy to access and consume. The chances that you have the same knowledge has someone else is now greater.

What does this mean?

It means that general knowledge is less valuable. The barriers to information access are thinning out. Is this a bad thing? You can arguably go either way.

On one hand, the old hat "information brokers" are going to die out. People will no longer seek general knowledge experts because they can access the information themselves. This could be bad for some businesses.

On the other hand, it actually enhances business. Businesses must adapt to the ease of knowledge accessibility by focusing on a specific segment of knowledge. It’s called a niche and anyone familiar with marketing knows what that is. But this goes beyond the traditional niche. Businesses need to become true experts in a very narrowly defined field. There are no experts in web design, for example. There are experts in landing page effectiveness, conversion strategy, social media measurement and so forth.

Another benefit of knowledge saturation is that talent is cheaper. Instead of learning a general set of knowledge, you can hire it out at a cost that is less than your time value. And you can easily scale on the concept to build a strong business.

My stance is to be at least superficially knowledgeable in as many things as possible without sacrificing the ability to be super knowledgeable in one or more very specific fields.

Obviously, the premise of the chart above is that the longer a meeting is, the least effective it is. The same goes for meetings that are too short. The reason I did not specify actual time lengths in the chart is that every team operates uniquely. Different teams with different goals produce a need for a unique collaborative environment.

Discovering the ideal meeting length that you and your team can work best with is a continual process of optimizing. You may have to experiment with new ways of managing meetings or measuring meeting outcomes. The truth is, you may never determine what your ideal meeting length is. But striving to optimize is what you should aim to achieve.

For my own personal preference, and as a general guideline, I find meetings are only too short depending on the purpose of the meeting. However, for just about any meeting, time lengths beyond an hour begin to seriously hamper its effectiveness.

As humans, we have a memory buffer that can only hold and process so much information. Once that buffer has been filled, we begin to lose information. I’ve found one hour to be my buffer overload zone.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of everything that is happening in the industry. To make such a list would be too exhaustive. Instead, I boiled my list down to the few items that I think will have an impact on the industry within the next six to 12 months.

I would also impress upon those not in the web design field to skim through this. Many of these trends extend beyond web design into other industries. The web is tying things together. To operate successfully in most fields today, you must have a solid understanding of how the web works. This list could help you direct where you need to improve your own knowledge.

Price Chasers Continue to Get Screwed

Unsurprisingly, there are still a good number of people who get fooled into aiming for the lowest price possible with the expectation of quality work. With the growth of sites like craigslist.org and outsource-havens like Elance, the ability to give chase to the low-ballers is even easier. Sometimes the price chasers get lucky and find the results they’re looking for at rock bottom costs, but most of the time they get screwed. Some price chasers never leave the chase and continue to have sub-quality work delivered over and over again. However, some do break the cycle and run to more reputable firms and freelancers.

Barriers Continue to Shrink

Let’s face it: web design is getting easier and easier to do. Anyone with an ounce of motivation, ability to learn, some time, and a computer with the necessary software can open shop. I’m not saying these people are any good. The point above, though, proves that you don’t have to be good to get clients. As long as the barriers to entry diminish, so will the overall quality of work produced as well as the reputation of the industry. Unfortunately, the price chasers enable this crowd.

Quality More Important Than Ever

Quality is becoming an ever-increasing differentiator for more established web design firms. Established firms usually have the talent, resources, and knowledge to deliver true quality work. As more and more people understand the value of the web, they will look for quality to maximize this value. These clients are not price chasers because they have money and an understanding of value.

Consumers Getting Smart

As computers and technology become more entrenched in society, the level of technical knowledge required to operate on a personal basis will also increase. The ease of access to this knowledge has made efforts to advance technical competence more surmountable. Tools and applications are becoming simpler making them easy to use by average consumers.

Consumers are also becoming more intelligent in regard to the industry. With the spread of industry content through blogs and social networking platforms, consumers can learn about the web design industry and practices.

Features Falling to Benefits

Web design used to be a very feature-driven marketplace. Clients wanted a Flash splash page, cool buttons, a blog, widgets, and so forth. Since the ease of delivering such features has dramatically increased, features no longer have the allure they once had. Instead, people are focusing on value and strategy.

What can a web site do for my organization? How can it improve my ROI? These are where client questions are going to shift toward.

Freelance on the Rise

With the economy hitting record lows and the web design industry experiencing a lowered barrier to entry each year, the number of freelancers will be on the rise. People getting laid off or taking deep pay cuts will look for new sources of income. Since freelance web design is simple to start, many people will see it as an easy way out.

In a crowded marketplace, differentiation is key.

Templates Infecting the Marketplace

Templates have their place in web design, but they are unfortunately increasing in popularity and numbers. New marketplaces such as Envato make the promulgation of such templates rather simple. Web designers can only make money through volume thus increasing their motivation to sell more templates.

The infection of templates in the marketplace may or may not increase. Many consumers are weary of template-based designs. Instead, templates may serve as a great fit for price chasers.

Web 2.0 Going Mainstream

Since consumers are getting smarter, their knowledge of Web 2.0 trends is beginning to take root. Web site integration with social networking applications such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn will increase. Even requests to adopt fads such as light-reflecting buttons and mirror logos will increase.

Web 2.0 is still rather young and has not reached maximum market penetration yet. When it does, certain firms prepared to take on this business will flourish.

Content Management is Essential

Consumers are beginning to understand the power of content. With such an understanding, they want more control over their web site content. Implementation of content management systems, especially WordPress and Drupal, will continue to spread throughout the marketplace. Many web design firms also operate custom content management systems. These will probably decline with the popularity and wider understanding of the aforementioned open source systems. The custom systems that do not die off will rapidly evolve into superior tools.

SEO is King

The mix of smarter consumers and value-driven motivations has translated into a high demand for Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Many consumers are aware of SEO and the need to be recognized in search engines. However, many consumers continue to exhibit a lack of education when it comes to SEO. They will learn.

Flash is Dying

Flash is becoming useless expect in special needs circumstances. Since most applications of Flash are useless, annoying, or SEO-harmful, consumers are beginning to understand that it is an unnecessary cost and burden. Many Flash functions can also be replicated using much easier methods such as jQuery that do not shield content or rely as heavily on compatibility. Flash will either die or transform into something else.

Mobile Design Beginning

With the release of web-driven phones such as the iPhone, many clients will want their web sites to work on such devices. Fortunately, designing for iPhones is relatively easy. And since Flash does not work on the iPhone, this will only contribute to its death or transformation.

Mobile applications are also taking root. New uses will be found on an organization-level, and the development of such applications will become easier. There is still time, though, for designers and developers to learn and understand this new field.

Minimalism Emerging

The days of graphic-heavy web sites are ending. With a huge focus on content, social networking, and users — consumers and clients alike are demanding simpler web sites. Minimalism addresses this demand by offering a web presence that is light on graphics and design, and strong on content.

Yellow Pages Will Fall

Like the old hat newspaper media, the Yellow Pages will also fall. The death spiral has already begun and many advertisers are jumping ship. Heaps of phone books sit outside offices untouched. As advertisers make the conversion to Pay-Per-Click advertising, they will demand improvements to their web presence. Since many of these advertisers are stuck in the past, the learning curve will be significant. In their struggle to understand the web, they will probably become value players instead of price chasers since the Yellow Pages once served as a huge source of business that needs to be replaced.

Measurement is Essential

Since many clients will shift their mindset toward value, measurement is an essential tool in analyzing whether or not that value is paying off. Implementation and understanding of web stat analysis applications such as Google Analytics will continue to increase. These applications will be tied more closely to specific web site activities such as lead generation.

Information Architecture Becoming More Important

With bigger plays on value, information architecture will serve as an important catalyst for doing things right. Strategizing and structuring web presences based on information architecture conventions, documentation, and usability studies will become increasingly important. Only a handful of firms will realize this and be able to offer such value-driven services.

CSS Taking Over

Tables will go away except under specific circumstances such as contact forms or tabular data. CSS makes things easier and it will soon be the only way to design web sites.

Browser compatibility will also become less of a problem as older browsers die off or lose support.

An underlying trend in the web design industry is rapid evolution. Things change at a very fast pace. Within a year, a quarter of the things mentioned in my list may be rendered obsolete. That’s life on the web.

All we can do is learn, adapt, and practice.

The best ideas are born in those critical few moments that you rapid prototype. And over time, those ideas can be melded into something that is truly incredible.

A tool that I use as part of my rapid prototyping process is what I call "bubble frames." It sounds kind of stupid, I know. And it might not be all that unique. It’s really a mesh of things I’ve seen and read. But I thought I’d share it anyway to those who need some inspiration for their own rapid prototyping exercises.

The bubble frame is a watered down version of a wireframe. Instead of constructing exact boxes and labels as a skeleton for the web site, I use quickly drawn circles to represent what types of information will go where. I vary the size of these circles to represent the importance of the information they will contain.

Let me show you a quick example. Click the thumbnail below to enlarge it in a new window.

Very simple. Maybe even a little crude. But the purpose is not to communicate elegance. This is a quick and dirty wireframe that I’ll draw up in mere minutes in order to quickly process multiple thoughts in a short amount of time. While this example is pretty straightforward, you can take this concept and expand it to include much more.