May 28, 2008 PLEASE FORWARD
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News, Rants and Case Studies for Web Design Professionals
by Brendon Sinclair (tribune@sitepoint.com)
Read the HTML version of this newsletter, with graphics, at:
http://www.sitepoint.com/newsletter/viewissue.php?id=2issue=398
IN THIS ISSUE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- Introduction
- Editor's Perspective: Small Business, Big Advantage
- Marketplace Moments: First, Ask an Expert
- From The Forums: Criticize the Competition -- Or Beat It?
- Tips & Tricks: Social Networking Site Directory and Celeb Brokers
- What's New on SitePoint!
- Hot Forum Topics
- New Blog Entries
SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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INTRODUCTION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
I used to think that big business had a big advantage over my
little web development firm, but I realized a long time ago that
it's not the case. I had a situation involving a desperate client
on the weekend, and its successful resolution demonstrated to me
once again that small beats big every time in providing value
and service. Read on for the full details!
We'll also check out a great forum that exists to help you
clarify your needs and expectations before you dip your toes in
the water of the SitePoint Marketplace. You'll find solid,
practical advice from people who have been there, done that, and
can take a lot of the stress out of your decision-making.
In From the Forums I advise against criticizing a competitor's
web design -- we talk about the best approach for showing our
competitive edge in a way that doesn't have the potential to
backfire.
We finish off with my confession that I've given Jessica Alba a
spanking! Yes, that line is enough to get me in trouble with my
wife -- but read on and you'll see it makes great business
sense!
Happy Reading!
Brendon Sinclair
mailto:tribune@sitepoint.com
EDITOR'S PERSPECTIVE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
SMALL BUSINESS, BIG ADVANTAGE
Small business has a huge advantage over big business. In fact,
it's so great an advantage that it should make the sale every
time.
The big advantage? Easy. Small business cares.
I care about my clients. I can't afford not to care. If I don't
care, they won't keep paying me.
Big business doesn't care; the guy on the end of the phone still
gets his paycheck no matter what happens with your web site. It's
all about accountability.
This fact was brought home to me (literally!) last Sunday
afternoon. An overseas client called in a panic -- her domain
name was displaying a bunch of pay-per-click ads. It appeared,
to her, that her web site had been either hijacked or the domain
had expired and been registered by someone else.
What had actually happened was that her domain name email
contact was no longer active. Therefore, she didn't receive the
email notifications about renewal. Then her domain name expired.
So the registrar started displaying its own page full of
advertising.
We sorted out what had happened, the client quickly renewed the
domain, and her site appeared again within a couple of hours.
All's well that ends well. But if she hadn't checked the site,
panicked, and called me on Sunday afternoon, her valuable domain
could have been lost.
If that domain name was managed by a small business, it would
never had expired in the first place. A small business is far
more likely to have a finger on the pulse, because its service
is more personalized. A small business will know what's
happening, who it's happening to, and what to do to fix it,
averting this sort of problem.
If your business is small, look upon it as a big advantage --
and start pushing that advantage at every opportunity you have.
And yes, I did transfer that client's domain name into the care
of my business, and renewed it for ten years. That's a $200
profit right there for being small and caring -- and answering
the phone on a Sunday!
SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Maintaining a website can be both fun and sometimes frustrating
especially if the web host does not catch up to your needs. The
owners behind WebHostingBuzz have experienced it all.
We have been there and done it. We know what YOU want when it comes
to running a script oriented website. We know what YOU want when it
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http://www.webhostingbuzz.com/website-hosting.shtml?host_shared-hosting
MARKETPLACE MOMENTS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FIRST, ASK AN EXPERT
The factors that make the SitePoint Marketplace such as success
are a combination of the right products, perfect target market,
pricing structures, and -- last but not least -- loads of
information.
One valuable source of information is the How To Buy and Sell a
Web Site forum [1]. You'll see a new link in the
Marketplace, "Ask an Expert [2]," which leads there.
This forum provides an opportunity to ask an expert about
anything related to the Marketplace. Particularly helpful is the
chance to ask experts how they price businesses when selling or
buying. The biggest concern for both buyer and seller is always
about getting a fair price -- after all, no one likes to feel
like they've been ripped off -- so this knowledge is well worth
arming yourself with before entering the Marketplace.
Information is what you need to make the best decisions, so take
a stroll through the forum [3], get your questions answered, then
jump into the Marketplace [4] fully informed.
[1] <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=265>
[2] <http://marketplace.sitepoint.com/>
[3] <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=265>
[4] <http://marketplace.sitepoint.com/>
FROM THE FORUMS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CRITICIZE THE COMPETITION -- OR BEAT IT?
In the forums this week, ULTiMATE [1] asked a great question:
"Is it ethical to slate another designer's work and try to get
the client to let you redesign the recent redesign?"
You see, a firm he worked for previously have had their web site
designed. It is, in ULTiMATE's view, just awful.
The opportunity to redesign an awful design is truly golden --
it's so easy to offer a solution that looks a hundred times
better. Nonetheless, the worst thing ULTiMATE can do is offer
criticism in any way, shape or form. He should approach the
company by all means, but not like that. In fact, the only thing
criticizing the current site will do is to reduce his chances of
attracting the business. There are a few reasons why:
- If he criticizes the designer and/or the designer, he's
criticizing the person who selected the designer. The person who
selected the designer will almost certainly be the person
selecting the next designer.
- The bad designer may well be the wife/brother/nephew/lover of
the decision-maker. You never know. It's never a good thing to
tell a guy his own teenage daughter's web site design sucks --
even if it clearly does.
- If you criticize someone harshly, you're perceived as being a
negative person.
So, let it be a rule. Never criticize the competition. You
should even praise them or some aspect of their design a bit,
then tell the prospect how your design or service is better and
provides greater value.
The best way for ULTiMATE to approach the company is the way
every businessperson should approach a prospect. He should
approach them with a better solution.
- a better solution to get seen by more prospects
- a better solution to brand the business
- a better solution to make more sales
If you approach the prospect with a better solution, he or she
is likely to be very interested. If you approach him or her with
a better solution, and you successfully quantify the potential
benefits of using you instead, it's almost a done deal --
without needing to slate anyone.
[1] <http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?t=549880>
TIPS & TRICKS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
WEB 2.0: COMPREHENSIVE DIRECTORY
There are so many social networking sites out there now. In
fact, it's becoming very difficult to keep up. And it's
important for the web marketer to keep up with, or at least be
aware of, social sites because of the enormous number of web
visitors they attract.You don't want to miss out on the
next big thing - not to mention the tremendous networking and
promotion opportunities they can provide!
Jake McAuley, author of GO2WEB20.net - The Book [1], makes
keeping on top of new sites a little easier with his ebook Web
2.0: Comprehensive Directory to a ton of social networking sites
[2].
It contains 259 pages of social networking site information to
make your life that little bit easier when it comes to being in
the know about where the social crowd are moving to next.
CELEB BROKERS
Finally, the revelation you've all been waiting for -- I gave
Jessica Alba a spanking this week!
Yep, I beat her at the staring game [3] she's involved in with
www.ibeatyou.com [4], a site started by her husband and a
friend.
The point is, Jessica's video has been viewed over four million
times.
This fact represents an opportunity -- if you can get even a
fraction of that sort of attention for your site, it'd likely be
doing well.
Celebrities get attention. Celebrities get noticed. A celebrity
can make your next site, or your client's site, a success just
by association.
So, you ask, where exactly are you going to find a celebrity?
Well, it may be simpler than you think -- just try Celeb Brokers
[5].
With a bit of help from a well-known face, and a little lateral
thinking about how to use it, your site could soon be getting
the attention it deserves!
[1] <http://www.go2web20.net/book.aspx>
[2] <http://www.scribd.com/doc/1036413/Web2Directory>
[3] <http://www.youtube.com/user/ibeatyouvids>
[4] <Http://www.ibeatyou.com>
[5] <http://www.celebbrokers.com/>
SPONSOR'S MESSAGE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Morae: Usability Testing for Software & Web Sites. An all-digital tool
that enables you to:
-Quickly identify website and software design problems
-Affordably conduct user testing. Quickly calculate metrics & graph results.
-Deliver professional results in a fraction of the time.
http://www.techsmith.com/morae.asp?cmp=StPtUX3
WHAT'S NEW ON SITEPOINT! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Build Beautiful Buttons in Photoshop, Part II
by Corrie Haffly
In this second instalment of Photoshop tutorials, Corrie reveals
more of the secrets behind creating swish navigation buttons.
Learn techniques for creating a wide range of button styles:
opaque, pearl, glass, plastic, and more!
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1644
Create Scalable Applications with ColdFusion Components
by Ben Davies
Is the code in your ColdFusion web application out of control?
Do you have six versions of the same function spread across many
different files? Ben shows how easy it is to write and use
ColdFusion components, take back control of your application
code, and shift your development practices into high gear!
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1643
Rails For Beginners: All You Need To Know!
by Patrick Lenz
OK, so Ruby on Rails is well structured and saves us time. But
where do you start if you're completely new to web development?
In this article, Patrick teaches you the important theory behind
the framework, so that you can begin building best practice apps
in no time.
http://www.sitepoint.com/article/1641
HOT FORUM TOPICS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Microsoft urges web developers/designers to get ready for IE8
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=550840>
23 Designers Answer The Question: "When is it finished?"
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=550990>
Anything Wrong with Working with Your Clients Competitors?
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=550552>
Web users 'getting more selfish'
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=550194>
safe way to buy a website?
<http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=546570>
NEW BLOG ENTRIES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Web Tech Blog: TECHNICALLY SPEAKING
15 Million Reasons Why Twitter Sucks… (5 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/05/29/15-million-reasons-why-twitter-sucks%e2%80%a6/
Button Up! More Photoshop Goodness...)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/05/29/button-up-more-photoshop-goodness/
The Conversation Is More Important Than The Topic (5 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/05/28/the-conversation-is-more-important-than-the-topic/
Adobe Flex/AIR Article Competition: And The Winners Are...
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/05/26/adobe-flexair-article-competition-and-the-winners-are/
Web Pro Business Blog: STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS
For Sale: Web Application - Unused (2 comments)
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/05/29/for-sale-web-application-unused/
Design Blog: PIXEL PERFECT
Adobe Fireworks CS4 beta released
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/05/29/adobe-fireworks-cs4-beta-released/
Are You User Experienced?
http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2008/05/23/are-you-user-experienced/
ADVERTISING INFORMATION - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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HELP YOUR FRIENDS OUT - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
People you care about can take charge of their Website by
effectively using the information and resources available on the
Internet. Help them learn how - forward them a copy
of this week's SitePoint Tribune.
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