5 awesome JavaScript APIs

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CreativeBloq/~3/o10Wm2sXjKE/5-awesome-javascript-apis

There are plenty of great JavaScript APIs around right now. Here we've picked five for you to explore in your web projects. Combine them with our pick of the best HTML APIs to help enhance your sites' user experience.

01. Intersection Observer
Status: Working draftRead more: W3C summary

This JavaScript API can be used to understand the visibility and position of DOM elements (known as 'targets') relative to a containing element (the 'root'). Use it to fire a callback whenever an element enters and exits a certain area. This API is best for lazy loading or infinite scroll effects.

02. Reporting Observer
Read more: W3C summary

Part of the Reporting API, Reporting Observers observe some types of reports from JavaScript. Use them to get notified when the browser has to intervene – for example, if it has to provide a fallback for a slow-loading font.

03. OffscreenCanvas
Read more: Google Developers summary

Drawing to a <canvas> is an expensive task for a browser. This new API enables you to render graphics off the main thread, without hitting the DOM.

04. Internationalisation API
Read more: MDN web docs

Known by the namespace Intl, the ECMAScript Internationalization API provides language-sensitive string comparison, number formatting, and date and time formatting. Use it to avoid sending heavy libraries and show dates, numbers and strings in a format that makes sense in the user’s location.

05. CSS Paint API
Read more: Google Developers summary

The CSS Paint API – also known as CSS Custom Paint – enables you to programmatically generate an image whenever a CSS property expects one. Use JavaScript to generate dynamic backgrounds, borders and image masks and apply them in CSS without a heavy performance hit. This API is about to be enabled by default in Chrome Stable.

This article originally appeared in Web Designer magazine. Buy issue 280, or subscribe now.

Read more:

A coder's guide to APIsGet started with the Web Audio API7 hot web trends for 2019

5 Ways to Design for Large Viewports

Original Source: https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2019/01/5-ways-to-design-for-large-viewports/

Web designers have typically always been big-picture people, in that they like having really big screens in front of them. It’s convenient, and it makes you feel very professional. At this point in my life, I don’t think I could go back to having just one monitor, either. And yet, I find that many websites don’t live up to the potential promised by big darned screens, or even that presented by phones with HD resolutions.

This is because we live in a mobile-first world, with mobile-first people. They go to far off and exotic places like “outside”, so they have to carry their screens around with them. Outside people pretty much pay our bills—whether directly or indirectly—and we have to make websites they can actually use on those small screens.

That is all well and good, and it’s not going to change any time soon. But big screens aren’t going anywhere, either. People still work in offices, at home, and in coffee shops with laptops and desktops. People still have “the family computer” at home. PC gamers exist, and they’re buying some of the biggest screens, right alongside photographers and videographers.

These people are often left with experiences designed for mid-range to small screens. This likely doesn’t break the experience for them, but why shouldn’t they have an experience tailored to their needs? Besides, what is all that extra screen space there for, if not to play with it? Here are a few ways to take advantage of the bigger screens, along with some examples:

1. Literal Big Pictures

One of the most common ways people try to use up the empty space is to put pictures in it. We’ve all seen the ten-trillion websites (I may be exaggerating) that use some stock photo as a background, particularly in the “hero” section on the home page. This is everywhere. You’ve done it, most likely, and God knows I’ve done it.

It is not altogether the worst way to go about it, and it’s not the best. While image compression is getting better and better, those images will still hit you in the bandwidth, caching or no caching. If you want to save you and your CDN some trouble, go with SVG. I know, I keep saying this, but it really works, and it works wonders. See bebold for a picture-perfect (heh) example of how to use simple SVG imagery to fill up some space while keeping the bandwidth and rendering costs light.

2. Scaling the Layout

So we all know how responsive design works, right? Well, it’s gotten a lot easier with CSS Grid. I’ve been experimenting with it for personal projects, and goddamn but it truly changes everything. Those Magazine-type layouts that front-end developers have been trying to make work for decades? They’re easy now. Easy. Go read a tutorial already.

With all that time you have left over, why not see what you can do when you let the central wrapping div go wider than 1,200 pixels? It could be fun. For an absolutely gorgeous (if somewhat bandwidth-heavy) example, see Seedlip.

3. Responsive Type

But hey, sometimes you don’t want to bother so much with pictures. Maybe you just want big darned text. We’ve had various iterations on the responsive layout for years, though. What has been harder is scaling our typography up and down by screen resolution in a way that seems natural and fluid. Sure, you can do it with a few dozen media queries (or like two, if you’re lazy like me), but the CSS calc function has us covered if we want to do it the easy way.

Sure, Chris Coyier has been writing about this since 2012, but the browser support hasn’t always been up to par. I quite like the technique used by Mike Foskett’s Fluid-responsive font-size calculator, which allows you to specify a maximum font-size, and can calculate everything in rems and ems, if that’s the way you want to go.

For an example of the technique in action see any article on CSS-Tricks.

4. Just put More Stuff on the Screen

As an avowed minimalist, I’m not a huge fan of just bombarding the user with information in general. However, there are times when this is exactly what they want and need. The clearest use cases for this approach are in dashboard-style user interfaces, and plain old e-commerce. In either of these cases, if you’re not using the maximum potential space for functionality and/or products, you’re actually slowing the user down when they may not want to be slowed down.

Most dashboard designers are already, well…on board. However, I’m seeing more and more ecommerce site templates trying to cram products into small areas on big screens, and that makes little sense to me.

Example: I dunno… Amazon? I’m not going to link that. They’re going to get our traffic eventually in any case. Actually, the aforementioned Seedlip works very well for this section, too.

Now where I object to this approach is on news sites, and generally they seem to agree with me. Although some are still using up the full screen, they make the content big enough that there’s not too much in the viewport at any one time, encouraging you to scroll down and really pick and choose your articles. Sure, they do it to display more ads, but this might be one of the few times ads have actually helped to improve an experience. Kind of.

5. Video

And lastly, a real no-brainer. I’m not actually sure anyone’s doing this one wrong. Still… if you’re going to use video extensively on your site anyway, and you’re not too fussed about bandwidth, go big. It’s video, that’s what it’s for. If nothing else, at least give people the option to watch your videos in full-screen mode. For examples of this tip in action, see just about any filmmaker’s site. Here’s one: +Ring.

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Source

p img {display:inline-block; margin-right:10px;}
.alignleft {float:left;}
p.showcase {clear:both;}
body#browserfriendly p, body#podcast p, div#emailbody p{margin:0;}

Finally write your screenplay with this software

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/CreativeBloq/~3/pccTQZV2l6A/finally-write-your-screenplay-with-this-software

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Best JavaScript Frameworks, Libraries and Tools to Use in 2019

Original Source: https://www.sitepoint.com/top-javascript-frameworks-libraries-tools-use/

It seems there are more JavaScript frameworks, libraries, and tools than there are developers. As of May 2017, a quick search on GitHub reveals more than 1.1 million JavaScript projects. There are 500 thousand usable packages on npmjs.org with almost 10 billion downloads every month.

This article endeavors to explain the basics and rudimentary differences between the most popular client-side JavaScript frameworks, libraries, and tools. Whether they are “best” for you is another question. Choose something and stick with it for a while. Just be aware your favorite option will be superseded by something “better” no matter what you select!

Please accept the following terms and conditions before reading this article…!

The JavaScript landscape changes on a daily basis. This article will be out of date the moment it’s published!
By “best” I mean “the most popular general-purpose projects”. All are free/open source but the list may not include your favorites.
Discontinued projects such as YUI are not included even though they may still have high use across the web.
Only client-side projects are referenced. Some can work server-side but the list does not include pure server-based frameworks such as Express.js or Hapi.
Information about each project is intentionally brief to provide an overview for further research.
Each project provides a usage popularity indicator but statistics are notoriously difficult to collate and can be misleading.
I’m biased. You’re biased. Everyone else is biased! I haven’t tried every tool here and will declare my favorites but you should make your own assessment based on your requirements.
Neither I nor SitePoint are liable for any disastrous decisions you make!

Tricky Terminology

The terms “framework”, “library” and “tool” can mean different things to different people at different times depending on the context. The general definitions used here:

Libraries

A library is an organized collection of useful functionality. A typical library could include functions to handle strings, dates, HTML DOM elements, events, cookies, animations, network requests, and more. Each function returns values to the calling application which can be implemented however you choose. Think of it like a selection of car components: you’re free to use any to help construct a working vehicle but you must build the engine yourself.

Libraries normally provide a higher level of abstraction which smooths over implementation details and inconsistencies. For example, Ajax normally relies on the XMLHttpRequest API but this requires several lines of code and there are subtle differences across browsers. A library may provide a simpler ajax() function so you’re free to concentrate on higher-level business logic.

A library could cut development time by 20% because you don’t have to worry about the finer details. The downsides:

a bug within a library can be difficult to locate and fix
there’s no guarantee the development team will release a patch quickly
a patch could change the API and incur significant changes to your code.

Frameworks

A framework is an application skeleton. It requires you to approach software design in a specific way and insert your own logic at certain points. Functionality such as events, storage, and data binding are normally provided for you. Using the car analogy, a framework provides a working chassis, body, and engine. You can add, remove or tinker with some components presuming the vehicle remains operational.

A framework normally provides a higher level of abstraction than a library and will help you rapidly build the first 80% of your project. The downsides:

the last 20% can be tough going if your application moves beyond the confines of the framework
framework updates can be difficult – if not impossible
core framework code and concepts rarely age well. Developers will always discover a better way to do the same thing.

Tools

A tool aids development but is not an integral part of your project. Tools include build systems, compilers, transpilers, code minifiers, image compressors, deployment mechanisms and more.

Tools should provide an easier development process. For example, many coders prefer Sass to CSS because it provides code separation, nesting, render-time variables, loops, and functions. Browsers do not understand Sass/SCSS syntax so the code must be compiled to CSS using an appropriate tool before testing and deployment.

Don’t Label Me!

The distinction between libraries, frameworks, and tools is rarely clear. A framework could include a library. A library may implement framework-like methods. Tools could be essential for either. I’ve attempted to label each project but the scope can vary.

If this sounds too complicated, you could consider coding vanilla JavaScript. That’s fine, but you will inevitably write your own library and/or framework code which must be maintained. JavaScript itself is an abstraction on a tower of browser and OS abstractions!

JavaScript Frameworks and Libraries

Projects in order of popularity…

jQuery

jQuery

type
library

website
jquery.com

repository
github.com/jquery/jquery

current version
3.2.1

developer
jQuery team

launch date
August 2006

typical size
30kb min

typical use
general purpose

usage
72.4% of all websites

jQuery remains the most-used JavaScript library ever created and is distributed with WordPress, ASP.NET and several other frameworks. It revolutionized client-side development by introducing CSS selector to DOM node retrieval plus chaining to apply event handlers, animations, and Ajax calls.

jQuery has fallen from favor in recent years but remains a viable option for projects which require a sprinkling of JavaScript functionality.

Pros:

small distribution size
shallow learning curve, considerable online help
concise syntax
easy to extend

Cons:

adds a speed overhead to native APIs
less essential now that browser compatibility has improved
usage has flat-lined
some industry backlash against unnecessary use.

React

React

type
library

website
facebook.github.io/react/

repository
github.com/facebook/react

current version
15.5.4

developer
Facebook and contributors

launch date
March 2013

typical size
21kb min

typical use
single-page applications

usage
low

Perhaps the most-talked about library of the past year, React claims to be a JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It focuses on the “View” part of Model-View-Controller (MVC) development and makes it easy to create UI components which retain state. It was one of the first libraries to implement a virtual DOM; the in-memory structure computes the differences and updates the page efficiently.

React usage appears low in statistics perhaps because it’s used in applications rather than websites. Almost 38% of developers claim to be using the library.

Pros:

small, efficient, fast and flexible
simple component model
good documentation and online resources
server-side rendering is possible
currently popular and experiencing rapid growth

Cons:

new concepts and syntaxes to learn
build tools are essential
can require other libraries or frameworks to provide the model and controller aspects
can be incompatible with code and other libraries which modify the DOM

Learn more about React with our Premium course, React the ES6 Way

The post Best JavaScript Frameworks, Libraries and Tools to Use in 2019 appeared first on SitePoint.

Xbox Game Pass: Dive Into 100+ Hit Games for One Low Monthly Price

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Designrfix/~3/V7SMBbDIXhI/xbox-game-pass-subscription

What is Xbox Game Pass? Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service from Microsoft for use with its Xbox One games console. Described by many as the Netfilx of video games, it gives you access to more than 200 games on your Xbox One, including highly-anticipated Xbox exclusives for one low monthy fee. It is […]

The post Xbox Game Pass: Dive Into 100+ Hit Games for One Low Monthly Price appeared first on designrfix.com.

9 Free Open Source Flipping Clocks Using CSS and JavaScript

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/1stwebdesigner/~3/JTvdjcdi4hc/

The classic flip-style clock was a staple for years and it’s just one more thing the digital era made obsolete – although not quite forgotten.

We can find a bunch of cool clock designs in PSD form, but it’s more difficult to find working flip-style clocks in code. So I went on a mission to find some awesome examples online.

This gallery features 9 totally free flipping clock designs with a variety of styles and coding techniques.

Whether you want to build something like this for practice or add a working clock onto your page, these snippets are sure to help.

Flip Clock & Countdown

See the Pen Flip Clock & Countdown by Shaw (@shshaw) on CodePen.

So here’s a really interesting project that features a flipping countdown running in pure JS.

There is a bit of CSS for styling but the entire animation setup and the structure all runs on JavaScript. Even the HTML gets embedded through JavaScript.

But there’s also a lot to learn from this pen if you study the code carefully. You’ll find some great snippets to reuse and this makes a nice base for experimenting in JavaScript.

React Flip Clock

See the Pen React Flip Clock by Libor Gabrhel (@Libor_G) on CodePen.

Frontend developers love React for its power and massive community.

With it, you can build lighting-fast web applications and this clock design is just one example.

Developer Libor Gabrhel created this as a small project for testing React. It works so smoothly and the design is exquisite.

Note that while the JS is a bit complex, I also think this would make a great learning project for someone who’s just starting to learn React.

FlipDown.js Example

See the Pen FlipDown.js Example by Peter Butcher (@PButcher) on CodePen.

Developer Peter Butcher created this neat experiment using a simple custom plugin called FlipDown.js.

This runs on vanilla JavaScript – so it has no dependencies. It’s also a really easy plugin to edit, tinker with and expand with your own features.

I can’t say that this flipping animation is perfect because I did spot a few laggy jumps.

But for a really simple plugin I’m definitely impressed.

Pomodoro Timer

See the Pen Pomodoro Timer by Yoong Ti Lee (@yoongtilee) on CodePen.

There aren’t enough adjectives in the world to describe the awesomeness of this timer app.

It’s built around the Pomodoro Technique and it runs natively right in your web browser. You basically set the timer and click “start”. From there, a flipping clock animation counts down until your first break.

You can even alter the total break time and the total work session time.

Plus, the UI design is phenomenal and it’s cleverly designed to across the board.

Countdown Clock

See the Pen Countdown Clock by nir (@nirlodsn) on CodePen.

So maybe you don’t like basic JavaScript for your projects. Maybe you’re more of a jQuery person who prefers working with plugins. No problem.

Have a look at this jQuery script featuring a very basic countdown clock. I noticed the animation styles are incredibly smooth and easy on the eyes regardless of web browser.

Each flipping effect almost looks like a native 3D transform because the items that flip really feel like they’re moving. It takes some effort to get that just right.

If you want a clean, smooth clock effect for your homepage or landing page then definitely keep this snippet in mind.

Flipping Clock

See the Pen Flipping Clock by Harsha Bhat (@harshabhat86) on CodePen.

Okay, so this example doesn’t exactly fit the mold of a “flipping” clock.

But I do think that this pen looks awesome and it captures the spirit of a flipping clock animation.

Developer Harsha Bhat created this effect using Haml, Sass and some clean vanilla JavaScript.

It’s funny how all the free web frameworks in the world still can’t touch plain JavaScript.

I liken this effect to a minimalist design technique that can work with clean, simple websites. Try it out if you’re working on a project that would mesh nicely with this style.

Pure CSS

See the Pen 3D Flip Clock Counter in Pure CSS (Rebound) by Jerry Low (@jerrylow) on CodePen.

Moving away from JavaScript, you might be looking for a pure CSS3 alternative. In that case be sure to save this pen since it’s the best one I could find.

CSS3 has a long way to go in the animation department and I don’t think it’ll ever catch up to JavaScript.

But you can produce some really nice effects with pure CSS code if you know what you’re doing.

I really like this snippet as a starting point for a flipping clock. The animation doesn’t feel as 3D as you’d expect, but it does give the same illusion of natural motion – which is crucial for this kind of feature.

Lighter Design

See the Pen Flip Clock by Ed Hicks (@blucube) on CodePen.

Most of the flipping clock designs you’ll find online feature black squares with lighter text. But this design is different.

Developer Ed Hicks created this lighter flipping clock as an alternate design running on CSS and JS code. It’s actually a fairly complex project, but the JS is simplified since it runs on top of jQuery.

Anyone looking to add a lighter styled clock on their site will surely enjoy digging around in this code snippet.

Clock in Vue.js

See the Pen Flip clock & countdown, Vue by Shaw (@shshaw) on CodePen.

One thing I like about this Vue-powered clock is that all the digits are combined into single squares.

On most clocks you’ll find that the seconds and minutes all have their own blocks for each digit.

This clock looks a whole lot smoother in my opinion. Not to mention that it’s a great practice piece to study if you’re just starting to learn Vue.js.

You’ll notice that this list has a ton of variety in coding styles and many don’t even use frameworks. If you’d like to see more of what’s out there, you can find many other examples if you spend some time digging around CodePen.


How Much Should You Get Paid To Build Websites In 2019?

Original Source: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2019/01/costs-building-websites-2019/

How Much Should You Get Paid To Build Websites In 2019?

How Much Should You Get Paid To Build Websites In 2019?

Suzanne Scacca

2019-01-03T13:50:00+01:00
2019-01-03T20:20:24+00:00

(This is a sponsored post.) When a business owner is in need of a new website, one of the first answers they’re going to go in search of is: “How much should I pay for a website?”

Most of the articles they’ll find tell business owners that there are a few contributing factors when it comes to pricing:

Type of website (e.g. personal blog, small business website, booming e-commerce shop)
Size of website
Complexity of website

And some say that pricing should differ based on who builds your website (i.e. web designer vs. design agency).

The problem with this answer is that it teaches business owners to think about a website in terms of hours and manpower put into it. As you already know, this leaves many website clients focused on:

“How much work are you gonna do for me?”

Instead of:

“What will be the outcome of this investment?”

As you go out into the world, trying to reverse this faulty logic and convince customers to pay a fair wage for your web design services, you should do some calculations of your own. I’m going to provide you with a number of ways to set your prices and get paid well to create a website in 2019.

Different Ways To Get Paid To Build Websites

There are a few different ways you can get paid to build websites:

Charge an hourly rate
Charge a flat rate
Charge a monthly rate.

There are pros and cons to each option. Let’s review what they are before we take a look at how to come up with a numerical value.

1. Charge An Hourly Rate

In this scenario, you set a value to each hour of work you put in. Then, when the project is done, you bill the client for total hours worked. Sources like Upwork put average hourly freelance rates between $15 and $75 an hour.

Here’s what you need to know about setting an hourly rate that works in both your favor and the client’s:

Client-Friendly (Pro)

As I explained above, many clients expect this form of payment. You put X amount of hours into designing their website and, in exchange, they’ll pay you for every hour worked.

Just remember to employ a time tracker, so you can later provide evidence of how much time was spent on the project (in case they ask for it).

The dashboard of the AND CO time trackerAn example of the in-app time tracker from AND CO.

AND CO has a great in-app time tracker that you can also add as a browser extension. What’s especially nice about this is that it integrates with your contract and invoicing software, so you can manage most of your financial relationship with clients in the same place.

Easy to Calculate (Pro)

For many new web designers, charging an hourly rate is an attractive prospect. Since you might not know how long a project will take — especially if it’s a kind you’ve never designed before — you still have an idea of what sort of hourly rate you want to charge.

If you don’t, I’d suggest using this web design calculator from BeeWits:

The dashboard of the AND CO time trackerBeeWits provides a simple design calculator tool to help you determine an hourly

Input the estimated hours for each part of the website you’re contracted to do. Then apply what you think your hourly rate should be.

Take a look at the total. If it looks like a worthy value, commit to it and provide that to your clients.

You can adjust your hourly rate as you take on more projects and get a better sense for how long it actually takes. This is what Nela Dunato did:

“I charged per-project rates and logged my working hours so I knew what my hourly rate was on each project. At the end of the project I’d compare my actual hourly rate with my desired hourly rate and if it ended up lower I knew that I’d need to charge more on the next project of similar scope.”

Secure Your Income (Pro)

Web designers have the unfortunate luck of running into clients that want to squeeze as much free work out of them as possible. However, when you agree to an hourly rate with a client, it’s very difficult for them to work their way around it.

Lisa Webster told SkillCrush:

“I’ve worked with too many entrepreneurs who keep adding changes that affect the entire design. This can result in hours of extra work that wouldn’t have been anticipated if you charged them per project.”

So, in a sense, an hourly rate does seem like a smart choice if you have clients trying to get the biggest bang for their buck — all at your expense. (I’ll talk a bit more about this below.)

Micro-Managing Clients (Con)

Although there are clear benefits to charging an hourly rate, there is a tradeoff which I hinted at earlier. In other words:

When clients associate a website with the hourly work put into it, they fail to see the value of it.

In turn, this puts a lot of pressure on you in the wrong way.

For instance, you’ll find that clients become super cognizant of the time you’re spending on something. When they see that beautiful mockup you’ve created for them, one of the first things they’ll ask is:

“How much time did you spend on this?”

This detracts from having more meaningful conversations that they’d otherwise initiate if they weren’t so focused on what you’re billing them.

Then, there are the inevitable interruptions that arise when you have to stop working to respond to clients who want to know what their total bill is to date. Worse, they might go the route of doubting how truthful you’re being:

“My nephew built a website for his team and he said it only took 8 hours. Why am I paying you for 50 hours if he can do it in a fifth of the time?”

You also might encounter clients who decide to cherry-pick what’s included in their website. Rather than allow you to develop a website from start to finish, you’ll end up committing to fractions of the website work which will lead to a disjointed experience on the frontend when the design conflicts with the copy and the SEO was dropped from the scope completely. (You get the idea.)

Earning Potential Cap (Con)

You have to be very careful about the hourly rate you charge for a website. While you might be okay with profit margins that come from a $30/hour rate… is it sustainable?

Think about it like this: You’re trying to be mindful of your clients. You know they need websites. You know they’re probably strapped for cash. And you don’t want to scare anyone away with high rates. So you compromise. $30 an hour will still net you a good chunk of change.

That said, when your business model is contingent on how much work you put into a website, that limits your earning potential. Let’s say you’re willing to work 50 hours a week and are able to bill clients for about 40 of it (the rest of the time is spent on business management).

40 hours × $30/hour = $1,200/week

That’s it. That is all the money you will ever be able to make.

If you choose to automate your workflows with software to free up time to work on more projects simultaneously, that reduces the number of billable hours you can charge. Automation just doesn’t work with this business model.

That said, I do think this is a viable option for new web designers. Until you have made a name for yourself, have an impressive portfolio to show off as well as clients who’ve given you rave reviews, it’ll be difficult to charge clients any other way. Just be careful with how much you set that hourly rate for.

2. Charge A Flat Rate

In this scenario, you charge a single flat rate for web design. You can also create a tier of web design packages that allow you to charge varying flat fees based on website type.

WebsiteSetup estimates these rates to be:

Between $1,000 and $3,000 for solo freelancers.
Between $10,000 and $15,000 for full-scale design agencies.

Here’s what you need to know to find your perfect flat rate:

Focus On Value (Pro)

The clear differentiator between charging website clients per hour and charging a flat rate is the mindset — both for you and the client. Instead of obsessing over how many hours went into the building of a website, both of you remain focused on the ultimate value of the product.

Because the client has a clearer understanding that they’re paying for the outcome, you can charge more as well.

Study Web Development breaks this logic down nicely:

“[I]f the business sells an average of ten 3D printers at an average of $2,000 each per month… and after calculating that I could potentially increase sales by 30% month after month, it then equals an extra three sales per month (or $6,000).”

In other words, your rate must reflect the true value of the website to the client.

That’s not to say you would charge $6,000 (in this specific case) and call it a day. You should think about what sort of ROI they’re going to get. Decide on a flat rate that reflects that and commit to it.

Faster Sales Process (Pro)

You’re not just a web designer. You’re also in charge of finding prospects and convincing them to become clients.

When you charge clients an hourly rate, you could certainly publish it to your website. But it leaves the matter open-ended, right? You might be able to say your web design services go for $100/hour… but they’re still going to want an idea of the invoice they can expect at the end.

Drawing up custom quotes for prospective clients takes time — time away from makes sales and designing websites. Rather than get wrapped up in the quoting process where prospects take their time looking over the numbers and question why certain parts of it would take so long (and whether they’re needed), a flat rate simplifies all of this.

Here is an example from Connective Web Design:

A screenshot of the conntective pricing website pricing calculator, where you can select between pre-designed WordPress templates, custom designs, high-end custom designs, and moreConnective Web Design simplifies pricing with flat rates

As you can see here, website types are explained in the most basic of terms (the ones that matter most to clients) and then a clear value is assigned to them. Clients also have the option to add more to the website, if they feel it’s necessary.

For those of you who are nervous about publishing your rates online, that’s okay. You don’t have to.

You can still charge flat rates — and the same ones for certain website types — even if it’s not publicly available. Just create a pricing sheet that you can send to prospects that inquire about your services.

Efficiency (Pro)

Because you’re not tied to the expectation that you’ll put in a certain number of hours in exchange for X amount of dollars, you can utilize more efficient ways of designing websites.

To start, you can templatize your workflow. You can do this with everything from communications you send to clients (e.g. contracts and emails) to the baseline frameworks you build websites from (like sitemaps and wireframes).

Smashing Magazine is an example of a source that provides templates and design kits that ease the amount of work designers have to do from-scratch:

A screenshot of the smashing Freebie sectionSmashing Magazine offers free design templates and sets for designers to use.

Basically, anything that doesn’t require creativity and is repetitive in nature can be turned into a template.

You should also look for ways to offload menial and ill-fitting tasks. Anything that would be better handled by software should be automated. Anything else that doesn’t belong on your plate (maybe copywriting, QA and so on) should be outsourced to a team member or a third-party provider.

There are a number of benefits to this:

You’ll maximize your efforts and be able to boost profit margins as you spend less money but accomplish more.
You’ll enjoy the work you do because you won’t be tied down to tasks that don’t belong on your plate. Your happiness will have a direct impact on the quality of work you produce.
As you delegate tasks to others and automate with software, you can multiply your efforts and take on more website projects simultaneously. Which means more money for you!

It Takes Time (Con)

Charging a flat rate to build websites is the best way to run and scale a design business. That said, it will be difficult to convince clients to pay that much if you don’t have enough experience behind you and proof to back it up.

Unlike hourly rates that are great for newer designers, this approach is one you probably can’t jump into right away.

That said, if you’re bringing extensive experience with you from a well-known design agency or another business and can demonstrate that you have the skills to meet client expectations, go for it. Just be aware that you’re more likely to face pushback if your business isn’t ready for it.

Scope Creep (Con)

Inevitably, you’re going to encounter clients that want you to do more without them having to pay for it. Some of them will be more blatant than others, asking how much you’re willing to give away in order to earn or retain their business.

Then, there are others who try a subtler approach.

“I really love Version 3 [of the design], but was wondering if you could add a live chat button to the bottom corner real quick. I saw another website that had it and I thought it looked great. Our customers would love it!”

That request, in and of itself, is not a problem. What is a problem is how you handle it.

If you have no contract in place, seemingly small changes like these can add up and eat away at your profit margins. Without a contract that limits how many revision requests are allowed or what exactly you’re to build, clients can technically ask for whatever they want and you’d have no recourse for charging more.

Now, let’s say you do have a contract in place. The terms of that agreement lay out what you are obligated to do. However, it’s an issue when you agree to make “small” changes that exceed those terms that it becomes an issue.

Even though the client has made it seem easy enough to add a button to the design, that button actually has to function on the website… which means they’re asking for much more than a design tweak. You now have to find a live chat platform, pay for it, integrate it with the site and make sure the button works properly.

Give a client an inch and they’ll run a mile with it. So, always make sure you have a strict contract in place and be willing to enforce those terms when clients try to push the limits of it.

3. Charge A Monthly Rate

In this scenario, you charge a flat rate, but it’s for a recurring web design service; not just a one-off build. The pros and cons of this are essentially the same as charging a flat, one-time fee.

The key difference is that this allows you to retain clients over the long-term — which is fantastic for creating a steady stream of predictable revenue for your business.

In terms of why you would do this, consider the following:

There are DIY website solutions like Wix and Weebly that appear to make the process of building one’s own site easy and cheap.

Then, there are traditional content management systems like WordPress that are more and more going the way of the user-friendly page builder, hoping to appeal to a larger set of users.

A screenshot of WordPress’ new Gutenberg editorWordPress has recently implemented a more user-friendly page builder.

It’s already hard enough trying to convince clients that they need to hire a professional designer and to pay them a fair wage to build a website. Now, page builder tools are telling them that they really don’t need you.

That said, if you become an end-to-end website provider, you can not only charge a flat rate for your design services, you can do so month after month. It would simply require a shift in mindset from you, an adjustment to your branding and advertising, as well as some additional services.

In terms of how you would do this, consider offering a total solution so they don’t have to go anywhere else. The added convenience of entrusting all website-related matters to one professional could be the tipping point between you and the other options.

Think about rounding out your offering with:

Domain and web hosting management
SSL installation
CDN implementation
Premium theme licensing
Premium plugins licensing
Third-party storage services
Website maintenance
Marketing and SEO

You would also want ongoing web design edits and annual design audits to be a part of your ongoing service

Just as you would do with flat-rate design services, you could outsource items above that aren’t in your wheelhouse to others. Then, add a markup to the price when you sell the website package to the client. You’re still making money without having to increase your workload.

As you might imagine, this option for getting paid is for the experienced designer who has everything else in order and is in a position to comfortably shift their offering to one of greater value.

How To Decide How Much To Charge For Websites

Finally, we come to the valuation of your web design services.

Ask yourself the following in order to determine your best rate:

What kinds of websites are you capable of building?

Put them into buckets:

Small blogs,
Small- to medium-sized company websites,
Small- to medium-sized digital e-commerce stores,
Large e-commerce stores with physical and digital products,
Large e-commerce stores with brick-and-mortar presences,
Membership sites,
And so on.

Choose no more than three types to build. Then, break down how many pages as well as the key features you will need to build. This should tell you how much work is involved in creating a website of this nature. You can determine basic timelines and “manpower” based on this.

Who is your target client?

This is a slightly different question as it forces you to ask yourself who exactly you want to work for. This might mean defining a business by its size or it might mean choosing a niche industry to work in.

Either way, figure out who you want to build sites for and make sure they can afford your rates. (Check the competition’s rates to get an idea for what price range they’re willing to pay in.) If they can’t afford what you want to charge, they might be better off with the DIY approach and you should look for a new pool to play in.

How will these websites convert?

This is where the value question comes into play. In other words, what will your clients expect these websites to do for them:

Subscribe readers?
Schedule demos with prospective customers?
Sell goods?
Gain members?
Make money through advertising?
Something else?

You might not know exactly how much of a boost in conversions a new website will lead to, but you can estimate how much each new conversion is worth to them.

These three questions help you determine how much you should get paid to build websites. But there’s one more thing to think about:

“What do you have to spend to make this happen?”

You’re providing a valuable service here, but you’re not doing it all on your own, from a 10-year-old computer and in a rent-free apartment.

You have bills to pay that enable you to run your business in a way that leads to the top results you bring to clients. As such, you have to factor in your costs when determining the cost of your services.

The Bottom Line

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what monetary value you want to sign to your web design rates. However, if you want to remain competitive within the space, make sure to charge within one of the estimated ranges mentioned earlier — at least, to start. Then, as your business grows, you can steadily raise your prices in line with the increasing value of the websites you build.

Smashing Editorial
(ms, ra, il)

10 Ways to Contribute to The Open Source Community

Original Source: https://www.hongkiat.com/blog/open-source-community-give-back/

Open source software has helped accelerated the development of information technology, generating opportunities never seen before. Just think about startups and small businesses using free CMS such…

Visit hongkiat.com for full content.

The Witches’ Guide to Design

Original Source: https://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2019/01/the-witches-guide-to-design/

No, no. I didn’t go researching modern-day witchcraft or anything like I did with Taoism. No, I’m taking web design lessons from a set of entirely fictional witches who live on a flat, circular world which rests on the back of four elephants, who in turn stand on the back of the Great A’Tuin, a turtle that swims through space.

It’s called the Discworld, and it is the subject of forty-one of the best darned books I’ve ever read in my life. The witches of the kingdom of Lancre are the protagonists of several of these books. They’re a cross between village doctors, local magistrates, and (on relatively rare occasions) magical troubleshooters.

If they were designers, they’d be the scariest and probably the best designers in the business. Here’s what I’ve learned from them:

[Note: All illustrations are by Paul Kidby.]

Trust Yourself

If you want to change the world around you, you first have to know who you are. And then, you have to have absolute confidence in who you are, knowing both your capabilities and your limits. Esmeralda Weatherwax defines this trait. It is her nearly unshakable confidence and her will, which make her the most powerful witch known. Officially, the witches don’t have leaders, and Granny Weatherwax is the leader that they definitely don’t have.

Designers, of course, have to learn how to be wrong, and then deal with it. Granny does, too. The problem is, if you get too used to thinking you’re wrong all the time, it can become a hard habit to break. You can’t do your best work by second-guessing yourself at every turn. You have to see if you’re actually right or wrong first, and go from there.

Granny trusts her knowledge and experience, and when she is proven wrong, she trusts the new knowledge and experience. Eventually.

Enjoy Yourself

What’s the point of any of this if you can’t enjoy yourself? Looking after a whole community isn’t easy, but Gytha “Nanny” Ogg finds the time to eat and drink rather heavily, dance whenever she feels like it, and sing loudly enough to send her entire village literally running for cover. She’s been married three times, has fifteen children, and still she checks under her bed for strange men at night because “you never know your luck”. She takes full advantage of everything she can get from being the village witch, and matriarch to half the people in the village besides.

In learning about (and selling) the importance of our work as designers, it’s easy to get lost in all of the grand ideas. We’re trying to make sites that are accessible, usable, beautiful, and hopefully profitable, and each of these is almost a discipline unto itself. It’s worth taking the time to just sit there and marvel at all the cool stuff the web can do, and enjoy being a part of it.

People Want Magic…

The witches of the Discworld very rarely use “actual” magic, beyond their flying brooms. They can. Granny Weatherwax in particular is terrifyingly powerful. Mostly, though, they practice a generalist sort of medicine, and a whole lot of what they call “Headology”. People are always coming and asking for magical solutions to things that can be fixed by far more practical means. Headology is mostly a means of making people think something magical is going on, leaving the witches free to do what’s necessary in peace.

For most users, everything we do seems magical. The very act of making a static web page seems mystical to them, especially if you do it with [gasp] a text editor. And the simple truth is that like the villagers in Lancre, they don’t want that illusion broken most of the time. They want something to magically fix their problem. If you can help them to solve their problems, but make it feel like them was magic, you’ve got a winning formula.

… But People Have to Work Things Out For Themselves

The younger witches often ask questions like, “But why can’t we just use magic to solve all of these problems?” The answer, of course, is that magic can cause as many problems as it solves. Magic is a blunt instrument, and most situations with people need something more like a scalpel, a screwdriver, or even a small paintbrush.

Ask any therapist. Lasting change comes when you guide people to the solutions, and let them do the rest. Trying to force your solutions on them basically always backfires. For example, I could point at the many ways algorithms are going horribly wrong in the world of social media. You can do your best as a designer to make things easier for your users, but you can’t do everything for them, and you shouldn’t try.

Know When to Go For Help

Over the course of the books, there are a few witches in training, including Magrat Garlick, Agnes Knitt, and Tiffany Aching. While they all have amazing story arcs that I just don’t have space for in this article, there was one thing they all had to learn: when to ask for help. The witches of Lancre are fiercely independent, and they are mostly expected to handle problems—even the big ones—for themselves, but occasionally they run into problems too big for any one witch.

Designers are going to run into those sorts of problems a lot more often, frankly. There’s so much to learn out there, and it’s rare that any one designer will come up with perfect solutions all on their own. Everything we do is built on the work of thousands who came before, and keeping all of that in one head just isn’t going to happen. You have to stand on your own as a designer, and take responsibility for what you build, but you can’t do everything alone.

When in doubt, try to get at least two outside opinions. Remember: you need three witches for a coven; two witches is just an argument.

 

Featured image via DepositPhotos.

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A Look Back at 2018: Round-up of Codrops Resources

Original Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tympanus/~3/mxJogBVSnlI/

2018

It has become a little tradition at Codrops to share a summary of all our resources in the end of the year. 2018 was really an exciting year for the web and we are stoked to be part of an ever-changing and inspiring community of creatives who don’t hesitate to push the boundaries, to make bold design statements and use new, experimental technologies. We hope you had a wonderful, creative and fulfilling 2018!

Come and join us for a look at our yearly round-up.

A big big thank you to all our fantastic readers, supporters, contributors and sponsors! Have a wonderful new year full of positivity, health and love! Let’s make good stuff!

With love,
Pedro, Manoela & little Lucas

A Look Back at 2018: Round-up of Codrops Resources was written by Mary Lou and published on Codrops.