Fun Fridays :: YouTube Video :: Go the F**k to Sleep by Samuel L Jackson

I’m sure most of you parents out there have heard of the book Go The F**k to Sleep by Adam Mansbach by now. This reading of the book by Samuel L Jackson makes it even that much funnier (scenes from one of my all time favourite movies, Pulp Fiction, played in my head as I listened to this ).

Wordless Wednesday :: Infographic :: 60 Seconds on the Web

The web is a busy, busy place. No wonder I can’t keep up with all the blogs I’d love to have time to read. Here is just one of 1,500 blog posts that will be posted to the web in the next minute.

(click for larger view)

from www.go-golf.com

Did You Know That – In 60 SECONDS

Search engine Google serves more that 694,445 queries

6,600+ pictures are uploaded on Flickr

600 videos are uploaded on YouTube videos, amounting to 25+ hours of content

695,000 status updates, 79,364 wall posts and 510,040 comments are published on Social Networking site Facebook

70 New domains are registered

168,000,000+ emails are sent

320 new accounts and 98,000 tweets are generated on Social Networking site Twitter

iPhone applications are downloaded more than13,000 times

20,000 new posts are published on Micro-blogging platform tumbler

Popular web browser FireFox is downloaded more than 1700 times

Popular blogging platform WordPress is downloaded more than 50 times

WordPress Plugins aredownloaded more than 125 times

100 accounts are created on professional networking site LinkedIn

40 new Questions are asked on YahooAnswers.com

100+ questions are asked on Answers.com

1 new article is published on Associated Content, the world’s largest source of community-created content

1 new definition is added on UrbanDictionary.com

1,200+ new ads are created on Craigslist

370,000+ minutes of voice calls done by Skype users

13,000+ hours of music streaming is done by personalized Internet radio provider Pandora

1,600+ reads are made on Scribd, the largest social reading publishing company

Starting a New Website? 9 Essential Questions to Answer

Some people know they need a website or would like to change their existing website, but are unsure of where to start and what the process would look like. This is OK!

Just like you hire an accountant to do your taxes or hire a plumber to fix your toilet, hiring a graphic and web designer is no different. Taking that ‘do-it-yourself’ stress off of your hands can be worth it so you can spend your time focusing on what YOU do best and running your business. No need to waste time learning Photoshop or how to code websites.

I met with a client this week who knew she needed a website for her business. She knew a website would help her business look more professional and it would help her clients to learn more about her and what she does. She came with a big list of questions about the process and I also had my list of questions for her.

Here are my 9 essential questions I ask my clients when beginning any website project:

1. Goals

What are your goals for the website? This is where we answer the “what” and “how”: what do you need and how are we going to get there. Where do you want to go with your site?

2. Purpose

What is the purpose of the site? What is your grand vision for the site? What are you imagining your site to have? The sky is the limit at this phase and it’s worth getting all ideas down on paper to create your “dream vision” and not considering time/costs/labour involved. We will narrow this down throughout the process and make sure that everything you need is included and the “extra stuff” is taken out.

3. Audience

Who is your target audience? What are your clients like? This includes age, gender, location, interests, profession, even down to the type of clothes they wear can be an important factor when designing a website. What will grab their attention? Remember you only have about 50 milliseconds before people click away from your site. What can we do to make sure that they will stay on your site and become a new client?

4. Size

How big would you like your website to be? How many pages do you think the site will be? Do you need a blog? Image gallery? Portfolio? And the list goes on and on

5. E-Commerce

Will you be selling products and/or services online? How will you receive payments? How many products will you sell? If you’re selling online, this means your store is open 24/7 and you can reach customers worldwide.

6. Updates

Would it require regular updates? If you’re selling products, you may want to feature new products or best selling products that will change frequently. A website should be a living thing and requires regular TLC. This not only lets your customers know you’re still in business, but it also helps with SEO (search engine optimization).

7. Maintenance

Do you want to do your own updates and have someone else do it for you? We can discuss an ongoing strategy once the initial site is designed and launched.

8. Timeline

What is your timeline? The turn around time for each website is different, depending on its complexity. We can discuss your timelines at our initial consultation.

9. Budget

What is your budget? Obviously, the more bells and whistles you need, the more time it takes and the more expensive it will be. If you have a tight budget, we can discuss how we can make it work – maybe a simple, one-page site is all your business needs. We can discuss how to make your budget work for you.

Conclusion

During this first meeting, I generally ask a lot more questions than this to do a needs assessment on your site and to make sure that you’re getting exactly what you need. These essential 9 questions ultimately lead to other questions specific to your needs. Asking all of these questions upfront allows a web designer to plan out what they need before they sit down and sketch wireframes and mockups for your new site. Trust me, this upfront work will save both you and the designer time and headache in the long run.

What questions do you ask your clients when developing a website? Please leave a comment.