Life is a Journey. Lead Yours.

CSS/XHTML Web Development: Scott Marlow

The Ascent Institute provides one-on-one coaching and leadership courses. John McConnell describes his team as “warriors of the human spirit.” Find joy, passion, and fulfillment. Discover the true in you.

Visit the new Ascent Institute website.

Graphic Design by Jay Braverman.

Serving All Indigenous Populations

CSS/XHTML Development: Scott Marlow

Heritage Renewables helps tribes achieve energy independence by providing  consulting and management services for wind energy projects. Google Sites, which hosted the former website, does not support Cascading Style Sheets. So editing site content and making sitewide layout changes was laborious.

I launched a 100% CSS website with an open source Content Management System. Graphic design by Beegee Tolpa. Hosting provided by Advanced, LLC out of Vancouver, Washington. Kyle Smith, principal, can now edit content freely, while strengthening his brand image.

How To Lower Your Website Design & Maintenance Costs

Hiring a graphic designer to code your website is like hiring a painter to build your car.

Below are 16 ways to save money on your website design or redesign project.

1. Consider a free or affordable template-based website
   This is the cheapest and often fastest way to get your company online. You’ll look like the masses. And you won’t differentiate yourself (particularly important for commodity products and services). WordPress offers 1 theme for every 6,000 sites.
2. Determine the look and feel you want before meeting with a designer
   Share examples of websites (and other graphic design) that you like to convey to your designer what you want. This reduces the time required for design concept and design production.
3. Be your own project manager
   If you are technically proficient and well-organized — you can hire your own web design team: copywriter, graphic designer, illustrator, photographer, and/or web developer. Just like being a general contractor, you’ll know exactly what you are paying for, and save money by not paying someone else to manage the project.
4. Think small
   Generally, smaller web design agencies and independent creative freelancers are less expensive than large web development firms, which pay more overhead. Small web teams are usually more agile, more responsive, and have less bureacracy.
5. Tell your designer you want a CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) website
   CSS websites can save you money in the long-term by reducing maintenance time and future redesign costs. Not all CSS websites are created equal — hand-coded sites require less HTML code and are more flexible when you want to make site edits. Note: CSS websites can potentially cost more upfront.
6. Ask for fewer design comps
   Design mockups, or “comps” to designers, take an extraordinary amount of creative time to develop. Limit your comps to one or two— you’ll save your designer some time and yourself some money. Also, with a CSS-based website, you can often make small design edits, like color changes, during or after production.
7. Avoid image-based navigation systems
   Image-based navigation systems can take 4x as much time to create and maintain as CSS-based text navigation. Graphic designers love images because they can control fonts. But you’ll learn to hate images when your designer explains it’ll cost hundreds of dollars to update your navigation because dozens of images must be Photoshopped.
8. Do you really need a Content Management System (CMS)?
   If you don’t edit your content frequently (think weekly), and your site is under 50 pages, a CMS may cost you more money and time than it is worth.
9. Ask your web developer to use free open-source software and scripts
   Avoid proprietary technologies that lock you into monthly or annual contracts, with possible expensive upgrades. [once, I paid for a site built in Cold Fusion. Later, I learned Cold Fusion developers cost $125 per hour and the necessary upgrade for a Cold Fusion dedicated server would cost thousands of dollars. Never again.]
10. Don’t ring that bell
    Unless you are in the entertainment business, your site should not entertain. Most Flash, animated, and other in-your-face visuals are simply expensive gimmicks that distract your audience from the information they seek. It’s reported that as many as 25% of visitors will immediately leave any site that loads a Flash introduction.
11. KISS — Keep It Simple, Stupid
    Usability studies show that web visitors miss subtle design elements — a hallmark of traditional graphic designers with heavy print production experience. Simple layouts simplify coding, as well as maintenance – lowering your costs.
12. Listen to alternatives
    Do you really need that slick 360 degree virtual tour that cost your realtor $2,500? Perhaps a semi-custom slideshow of static images would work for under $500. Small stylistic differences are not always trivial — subtle design elements can cost hundreds of dollars to implement.
13. Check credentials
    If your designer does not know how to create a layered Photoshop file, then RUN AWAY, quickly. Your web development time will most likely increase without the appropriate production art. Likewise, ask for three references and check examples of prior web-specific work.
14. Do not edit edits
    The beauty of the web is its dynamic nature — the ability to change content after production. Don’t pay for edits prior to site launch. Work on getting your site visible fast and edit post-launch.
15. Take your shot
    Acquire your own website photos. Custom photography is expensive. Although stock photos can be affordable, your own photos are more authentic and they only cost you your time.
16. Learn to share
    Shared web hosting at companies like CrystalTech.com can be purchased for as little as $6 per month — a fraction of the cost to host your own site or pay to host a custom CMS on a dedicated web server. And, remember, nonprofits can receive up to 50% off hosting fees through many vendors.

Download this checklist as a PDF

I develop sensible hand-coded CSS websites, custom WordPress blogs and WordPress-powered websites for small businesses and nonprofits. Contact me to discuss your next online marketing project.

Websites for Health, Not Wealth

CSS web development: Scott Marlow | Marketing By Marlow

A new hand-coded CSS website for the Center on Infant Mental Health & Development (CIMHD) — part of the University of Washington School of Nursing.

CIMHD promotes “interdisciplinary research, education and practice; and advances policy related to the social and emotional development of all children during the first five years.

According to CIMHD, “the quality of experiences in the first 3 years of life profoundly impacts later development — including how children perform in school and their ability to form satisfying relationships with teachers and friends. Caring relationships with sensitive parents, or primary caregivers, are the most important factor in determining later outcomes.”

How true. In life, relationships are often the key to success or failure. At work, for example, your relationship with your web development team is the most important factor in determining the outcome of your new website or redesign.

Graphic design and logo by Kelly Davis | Farm Girl Works.

Piecing WordPress Together

WordPress Development: Scott Marlow | Marketing by Marlow
Design: Kelly Jean Davis | Farm Girl Works
Technical Advising:  Randy Steiger | Conflare
Photography: Laura Joyce-Hubbard | Mother Goose Photography and Claire Barnett
Consulting: Karrie Kohlhaas | Thoughtshot Consulting

Claire Barnett pieces together business and art in her new business venture: Seattle Mosaic Arts.

Although Seattle Mosaic Arts provides memorial mosaics for grieving individuals and families, the Wallingford store’s main purpose is to build community by teaching and promoting mosaic.

We wish Claire the best in her new venture, and hope you’ll visit the new mosaic store at 1325 North 46th Street.

Accessible Design. Accessible Websites.

XHTML/CSS Development: Scott Marlow, Marketing By Marlow

Karen L. Braitmayer, FAIA, needed a website to promote her accessible design consulting. The site needed to be accessible by assistive devices, so WAI/508 guidelines had to be considered.

The new site is 100% CSS, and displays in assistive devices. Unlike table-based web designs, CSS web sites are adaptive to a  wider range of web browsers.

Graphic Design by Kelly Davis, Farm Girl Works.