Now we are talking dozens of browsers, a handful of operating systems, and a mix of monitor resolutions. So…which configurations should you test your website for? There are two trains of thought here, and you should use a combination of both.

1. Research the general market share
Browse through the various websites that analyze the different user trends to determine what’s most import for you to track. For example, I only verify/test in browsers that have at least 2% market share. This scenario will cover approximately 95-99% of your website visitors. Look through the following sites to learn more about browser, operating systems, resolutions and device usage:

1. Market Share- a leading source of stats, which provides a comprehensive breakdown on all the criteria you need. The data is compiled from approximately 160 million visitors per month.
2. W3Counter – based on the last 15,000 page views to each website tracked by W3Counter. W3Counter’s sample currently includes 33,420 websites.
3. StatCounter- Stats are based on aggregate data collected by StatCounter on a sample exceeding 5 billion page views per month collected from across the StatCounter network of more than 3 million websites. Stats are updated and made available every 4 hours.

When using these sources, remember that they represent a small sample of the entire population of the web. Check out the Usage share of web browsers from Wikipeida for a median average of several top stat providers.

2. Research your own market share
Use Google Analytics, or another on-site analysis tool to learn more about your specific sites visitors. I tend to find that the stats provided by our on-site programs vary some from what the public sites provide. Take the time to analyze who visits your site, and through what hardware/software. Make it a priority to verify the sites on the most popular platforms.

Testing tools
Do you have a testing facility with rows of computers configured with different operating systems, monitors, and browsers? If not, I would highly recommend Browsercam.com for remote desktop testing, screenshot services, and the like. You may also want to try BrowserShots.org which is a free browser capture service. 

Browsercam has browser capture, remote desktop, device capture, and email capture features. This service will help you to test your website in the most popular browsers quickly, accurately, and inexpensively. It is easy to paste in a list of URL’s from your site (home, product, category, etc…) and then activate the testing. In a few hours, you will have all your screenshots, which can be easily filtered and downloaded for offline viewing. 

BrowserShots - a free service that will allow you to take screenshots of a single webpage in different browsers/operating systems. I don’t use this service often, but it seems to have gotten the job done when used.

Make it a rule to test the website thoroughly in the most popular browsers, and take browser captures of the site in less popular configurations for design consistency.

Ranking 4th behind Direct to site (35%), Paid search (20%), and SEO (18%), affiliate marketing is one of the more complex marketing initiatives to get involved with. Due to the complexities in sourcing your own program, or working with an affiliate management company, many smaller web businesses are having a hard time getting started with affiliate marketing.

The great allure to affiliate marketing is that you only pay for those sales that are made on your site. Unlike PPC, SEO and email marketing, your overall expense in using affiliate marketing will be directly coorilated to your sales. In PPC, you are paying for clicks not sales; SEO, your paying for higher rankings; and in email marketing, your paying for emails sent/opened. Affiliate marketing is really the only system that you pay out after the sale is made.

Many of the product/service review, informational, coupon, directory, and blog websites out there are linked in with affiliate programs. This is why affiliate marketing is such a powerful tool.  However, the FTC recently enacted a rule that requires affiliate publishers to disclose their connection with the product/company they are endorsing. The long-term implication of this rule will remain to be seen.

The benefits of the program are many:

• Fixed costs – you set the commission amount for each sale.
• Performance based – only pay affiliates when purchases are made from your site.
• Gain exposure from new mediums (coupon and shopping comparison websites).
• Increase your online visibility and branding with added advertising avenues (in addition to your own marketing initiatives).
• Increase visitors (at low cost) - as affiliates send customers your way, many of them are not going to make a purchase, however, they might sign up for your email newsletter or post your website/products to their social marketing profiles.

Affiliate marketing offers a truly unique approach to increasing sales on your websites.

Some of the challenges with affiliate marketing include:

• Cost of entry – unlike other mediums, the setup costs are much higher.
• Finding quality affiliates – even using an affiliate management company, it is sometimes difficult to find affiliates who will sell your product.
• Affiliate attrition - if your competition is offering higher commissions, or has more appeal to the publisher, you may lose your affiliate partners.
• Maintenance – you will have to allocate time to review affiliates, watch for fraud, monitor affiliate methods, and ensure non-compliant affiliates are removed from your program.

While affiliate marketing has many benefits, it is also a challenging medium to setup and maintain: due to the myriad of options in working with your affiliates. For example, you could use a combination of product feeds, promotions, banner ads, contests, and other such mechanisms to help your affiliates drive more sales for you.

There are basically two methods to start an affiliate program; by managing it yourself, or partnering with a management company. For smaller web businesses, trying to manage a program on your own will prove to be very difficult, if not counter-productive. But it also becomes costly to partner with an affiliate management company.

Top Affiliate Management Companies
As per Internet Retailer; Cj.com (62%), Linkshare.com (24%), and The Google Affiliate Network (13%), are the top 3 providers used by the 500 retailers in thier survey. Below are the topline details of each of these companies. Sign up as a publisher for each of these, and look through their system to see what other advertisers/publishers are using them, as how well their systems function.

Commisions Junction (Cj.com)

 LinkShare (LinkShare.com)

 Google Affiliate Network (http://www.google.com/ads/affiliatenetwork/)

Whether your working on a single website, or a cluster of complex software applications, take the upfront time to standardize the method to control the source code, and task schedule. You will be grateful for this when your lead developer quits, or you hire some new team members.

A version control system (VCS) is basically a running log of all the source code changes within your website. It allows a developer or designer to quickly analyze source code changes and enables them to revert, modify, or delete changes with simplicity.

A VCS will play a critical role in the development of your project when you have various team members, or iterations to your source code. For example, let’s say you have two developers; a lead developer and a entry-level developer. The entry level developer can make changes to the source code, and the lead developer can quickly verify these changes to ensure they are coded properly. The software creates a full account of all changes to all files, and identifies where the changes were made, by who, and when. The lead developer can then accept the changes and push them to the live source code base, or reject the changes and push them back to the entry-level developer to fix.

The real benefit in using this system is it does not require a high level server administrator or developer to manage or use. Anyone on your team can access the source code changes, verify schedule and tasks, and gain some insight into the project from a basic web browser. This is a powerful tool for a project manager or webmaster.

Version Control Software
There are many parts to a version control system. It starts with the actual technology used for managing the source code. A few of the different software applications that are responsible for managing changes are; CVS, Subversion, Git, Mercurial, Bazaar, the list goes on…See a great break down of the different systems at http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/09/18/the-top-7-open-source-version-control-systems/

Interface Tools
A VCS is the under-the-hood system installed on your server which is responsible for logging all changes to the source code. The next part of the equation is the interface you used to communicate with the VCS. For example, when you upload files to your server, you probably use some sort of FTP client to transfer the files. Much like an FTP client, the VCS interface tool allows you to easily commit, revert, and access the source code base. These tools make accessing the VCS extremely simple for your designers, project managers, developers, etc…

Project/Task Management Software
The project and task management software is the system that makes the changes easily accessible and available for tracking, documentation, and communication. For instance, a project manager can access the entire project from his web browser to verify tasks, bugs, and time logs of his team members. With this information, decisions can be made to prioritize and escalate tasks. This system is the engine behind the management of the project.

Key benefits of using these systems:

• One centralized location to manage all of your projects with ease
• Your projects will be fully documented with the changes and why those changes were made and by who
• Backups of all changes are stored within the VCS, and in the case of errant code, can quickly be restored
• Bug tracking and resolution made easy and efficient
• Task scheduling and resource allocation is tied in directly with work accomplished (source code changes)
• Time tracking per task, project, etc..

So hopefully you now understand the importance of these systems and are ready to take the next step. I am going to outline the systems I use, and why. There are dozens of different configurations, however, I have found that for small teams, with limited Linux experience benefit from the configuration below.

Choose Your VCS
First off, I used Subversion (about 5 years ago). At the time, our code changes were only rolled out to the development server every 12 hours. Eventually, we were able to roll out the changes every 5 minutes, and then were finally able to roll out changes with a post-commit hook (which means someone needed to trigger the system to activate the changes). This was not efficient for our designers who were working on browser compatibility and advanced CSS/HTML code. It killed their productivity because every little tweak they made required 30-60 seconds of extra time to implement. Added up throughout the day, and we lost a lot of time.

Subversion is much slower to roll out changes, as it stores all the projects in a centralize repository. So, whenever you query the system it needs to run through the entire source code base of all your projects to implement the change. If you have a lot of projects/source code, this could cause some major delays.

Anyway, we moved on to a few other systems that were better than Subversion but too hard to use from a Windows system. That is, the interface tools were quirky and difficult to work with.

We finally tested and implemented the Mercurial VCS, which is fast, powerful, and has some great interface tools. It is also very easy to use, and scales well for larger projects.

Benefits of Mercurial VCS:

• Ease of use
• Commits/changes are made instantly (good for designers!)
• The interface tools are well adapted for Windows and non-technical people
• Easy to setup and minimal amount of upkeep/maintenance
• Decentralized system, which stores each project within its own repository
• Advanced tools for branching, tagging and merging source code (for more technical teams)

Choose Your Interface Tool
So if you are using Mercurial, and your on Windows, I recommend using TortoiseHg which is stable and easy to use. It is a shell extension which shows up in your Explorer context menu:

The one downside to Mercurial is that there are no plug-ins for Dreamweaver, which means your designers (if they use Dreamweaver) will have to manually commit files to the repository-they cannot do so through Dreamweaver.

Choose Your Project/Task Management Software
I have used various project management systems; two of my favorites are Trac and Redmine. I first started with Trac, which has some powerful tools, but is limited when it comes to managing multiple projects and source code repositories. That is, they don’t have stable tools to quickly access all your projects, users, and project materials. My server administrator recommended Redmine, which has nearly all the tools of Trac, and then some.

Benefits of Redmine:

• Quick and easy management of multiple projects
• Comprehensive user management/restriction system
• Feature rich (per project wiki’s, defect tracking, time logs, news, document/file repository, threaded bulletin board for team communication)
• Per project and overall activity log
• Customizable fields for defect tracking (severity, priority, status, etc…)
• Excellent search feature
• Excellent usability
• Calendar and Gannt view features

Calendar feature

Gannt feature

Redmine is a very stable and versatile system that is easy to use and extremely flexible. Try out their demo at http://demo.redmine.org/

This system enables the project manager to see the under-the-hood changes to the project, as they happen. It creates a repository of all communications, and assignment of tasks, as well as establishing a library of notes on the project, which can be saved indefinitely.

Start assigning workload to your team through Redmine, and see how easy it use to use and manage your projects.

Manage Incoming Email

1. Create a “ToDo” email folder under your Inbox

   

2. Go to Tools -> Options -> Other Tab -> Reading Pane (third section down), then deselect the checkboxes “Mark items as…” and “Mark item as read”:
   
   

This will help to create a better workflow for when you read and reply to email. I noticed that when I read an email, and it becomes “read”, it sometimes gets lost with new incoming email. Now, all my messages in my Inbox are either “read” and have been processed or new, and need to be reviewed.

Check your email sporadically throughout the day. Move email that is not mission critical to the “ToDo” folder and set time aside at the end of the day to reply and/or schedule tasks to follow up. For email that is mission critical, respond right away, which causes the email to become “read” and is processed.

Quick notes:
- For those emails that can be replied to right away (or are mission critical), send a reply. This will mark the email as read.
- For those that are not mission critical, move to the “Todo” folder and check at the end of the day, or when you have some down time.
- For those that require more time, reply to the sender letting them know that you will get back to them. Then create a task and schedule yourself out to complete this task when it is due, or when your schedule allows.

I also have a “Pending” folder for those emails that have no due date, and will be processed when an opportunity presents itself (3-6 months). I review this folder every few weeks and schedule out tasks to complete items as needed.

Manage Outgoing Email
When you send email that requires a response, utilize the Follow Up feature located on each email:

Before sending the email, click Follow Up  -> Custom, and set the reminder to when a reply is needed:

Now, when the due date arrives, you will get the Reminder alert (as long as you have Outlook open). Use this to track important emails, task deadlines, and basic communications between clients, staff and friends!

• the “+” sign next to your Adwords ad (+ Show Products from…)-this is generated from your Adwords and Google Product Search integration
• above the right column Sponsored Links section, which is generated from the Google Affiliate Network (see: http://www.google.com/support/affiliatenetwork/advertiser/) and Google Product Search integration
• Shopping Results display within the organic listings, which is generated from Google Product Search

Google is slowly changing the landscape of product searches with feeds from their Shopping system. Google Products optimization requires a strategy and time for implementation. Develop a strategy for getting your products indexed in Google Product Search, and continually optimize your feeds to help supplement your SEO/Adwords efforts.

Google Search Results "samsonite luggage"

Why Google Shopping
The Google Shopping platform has been around for years, first labeled as Google Base, it had a slow start as it wasn’t fully adopted by users. Initially being featured on the homepage for Google, it didn’t gain the traction Google expected, and it was removed from their homepage real estate. Google recently re-added the Shopping link to the new fade-in navigation bar, and more so, has been making major updates to how the products in the Shopping site display within search engine results.

The top benefits of submitting to Google Shopping and Google Shopping search optimization are:

1. Your products will be listed within their Product Search site at http://www.google.com/products?hl=en, which is now linked to on the Google homepage
2. Your products can be syndicated to other websites, applications, and systems through Google’s Data API-which means you could receive more exposure as other web entities adopt this system
3. If you have high ranking on the Product Search site, your product images, name and price will be listed within the SERP’s (see image above-Google Search Results “samsonite luggage”)
4. If you are running Google Adwords, your products will be attached to your Adwords campaign (see image below) 
5. If you are a part of the Google Affiliate Network, your products can show up on the right column Sponsored Links section

Google Search Results; Adwords and Product Feeds

Right now, setting up and submitting your ecommerce site’s products to the Shopping site is free. However, it will only be a matter of time before Google starts to integrate the Shopping feed within Adwords so users can develop product image ads. Google is tracking the results of this roll-out to gauge the effectiveness of the implementation-hopefully, they will open up the system in the near future for Adwords users, rather than just Google Affiliate users. Now is the perfect time to setup your Google Products optimization strategy!

To learn more about the Google Affiliate program check out http://www.google.com/support/affiliatenetwork/advertiser/ 

Getting Started
I put together a short list to help setup the Google Merchant account, which controls the products feeds. You will still need to develop the system that provides the actual product feed to Google Merchant, which is a different process. The Google Products optimization plan is going to be unique to each industry, as different product have different competitive advantages, attributes, etc…

Experiment with different attributes for your products to see which yield the better rankings.

• Browse to http://www.google.com/merchants to setup your Google Merchant account
  • Configure/Optimize General Settings
    • Name, description, URL, address, contact information, display preferences
  • Setup Tax and Shipping summary
  • Share account with Adwords (if applicable)
  • Setup Google Checkout (if applicable)
• Product Data Analysis and Optimisation
  • The required fields are: condition, description, id, link, price and title
  • Invest extra time to ensure the following required fields are properly defined:
    • title – product name – suggested maximum length of 70 characters
      Structure the title so it includes the product name, but also the keywords you want to rank for.
    • description – product text, up to a maximum length of 10,000 characters
      Again, make sure the keywords you want to rank for are included within the description.
  • Invest time on a few of the optional fields:
    • brand – if applicable list the brand of the product; this helps Google organized the same products for better comparison shopping.
    • image link – be sure to include the full-sized images, Google will re-size accordingly. You can add multiple product images to your listing which may boost ranking. Make sure you link to a http link of the image, not https!
    • isbn or mpn – the manufacturers part number; another method for Google to organize the same products
    • upc – unique product code or SKU number (http://www.google.com/support/merchants/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=160161)
    • product type – the category in where your product should be listed (http://www.google.com/support/merchants/bin/answer.py?answer=160081&hl=en)
    • See a full list of all the available Google attributes at http://www.google.com/support/merchants/bin/answer.py?answer=160085&hl=en
    • In case you need to define your own custom attributes, check out http://www.google.com/support/merchants/bin/answer.py?answer=160602&hl=en
  • Encourage customers to create ratings at the following sites; Resellerratings.com, Pricegrabber.com, Rateitall.com, Bizrate.com, Reviewcenter.com, Shopping.com, Epinions.com – positive ratings may help boost your ranking
  • Add a tag to each product so Google Analytics can track it; e.g., &utm_source=GoogleBase&utm_medium=ComparisonShopping&utm_campaign=[product name]
• Testing Feed
  • Check Google Merchant account to ensure the feed was submitted
    • Check Active, Inactive, Data Quality, and Performance reports
  • Edit/update content based upon errors in report
  • Verify products show up on Google Shopping (with Google Checkout icon, if applicable)
  • Verify stats are being logged in Google Analytics
• Optimize
  • Experiment with adding optional attributes, custom attributes, and description text. Since Google cant factor in back links to the product listings, it will probably heavily consider click-through data for its ranking.

It is also important to strip out html/code characters. Try using htmlentities, but define all the possible characters that need to be converted (including CSS/HTML) as Google will disapprove the product if it includes HTML markup. Make sure to meet the content length, image, and data quality requirements/policy, or your products will be disapproved.

Google Product Search is extremely flexible-try submitting a few of your products manually to start experimenting without investing the time needed to develop a full-on dynamic product feed system. Remember that Google Products optimization is just like search engine optimization; it takes time and effort to achieve success!

SportKilt - SERP Dominance

Use  my tried and true process below to cherry pick the most expirenced provider at the lowest cost. Learn how to filter out the amateurs so you can negotiate with experienced professionals. From owners to webmasters, this outline will prepare you with the information you need to start outsourcing your next project!

While there are many resources to locate and communicate with providers, I am focusing on a specific website where I have had an extremely positive expirence with. Feel free to apply these methods to other sites that serve the same purpose.

Why Outsource
The single most powerful benefit of the Internet is the speed of communication. With email, we are able to communicate with people all over the world in seconds. This allows us to work with individuals who charge less, but are able to complete the project to spec, within budget, and on time. I’ve worked with providers from India, Europe, Asia, and Africa, and found that with clear instructions, you are able to get your projected completed for a fraction of the cost you would pay within the US or a more developed country. Many of the providers also have specializations that give them exceptional prowess in areas you may need help with. The top three benefits being:

1. Cost – as stated, you will pay a low hourly or per project fee-usually $2-$10 an hour (depending on the task).
2. Speed - within hours, you will have dozens of providers bidding on your project ready to execute-many can start work immediately.
3. Variety- with outsourcing, you open up the possibilities of getting multiple bids from providers with different levels of experience and skills; you would have otherwise not found locally.

I have found that nearly all projects that I undertake can be preformed by external contractors. The projects that don’t qualify are those that are very complex, that require more business planning and evaluation, or projects that cannot be easily defined in the written word.

What to Watch Out For
Outsourcing comes with some of its own inherent problems. Although, we will be able to avoid many of these problems by following the process below, there is always the chance for miscommunication, malicious intents, and bad synergy. Become more familiar with the potential pitfalls, and you can learn to side step many of them.

1. Language - when working with foreign providers, where English is not their primary language, you will encounter communication barriers. Specifically when you have very complex tasks that require long and tedious work flows/explanations. I have found that investing the extra time to provide screenshots and very direct instructions tends to eliminate 80% of miscommunication.

 

2. Communicating - typically, most of the communications will occur via email, instant messenger, or VOIP. When working with providers in different time zones, sometimes a dozen hours ahead, it can be difficult to develop and coordinate a team environment. Usually, the providers work during their business hours, while you are off soundly sleeping. This is obviously a major issue if you are launching the project, or have mission critical tasks that need to be performed.

 

3. Completion- it is extremely important to define when the project is considered complete. With my process, I define the timeline, as well as penalties for if the project timeline is not met.

 

4. Experience - when posting a project, you will probably receive dozens of bids. It is important to choose the best provider, not necessarily the cheapest. I always require a simple trial project to test their skills. Most serious providers will agree to one.

 

5. Security- when you begin the project, you will need to supply your software, server access information, proprietary data, etc…Its important to cover your bases when opening up your systems to outsourced providers-there is always the chance that they will mistakenly overwrite files, delete information, etc…

Get Started – How It Works
I primarily use one service, which has served me well for the last 3 years. Having posted dozens of projects, I have never been swindled or take advantage of. In fact, I have had fairly positive experiences with nearly every provider I have worked with. I build relationships with many of the providers and send work their way on a regular basis.

The site I choose to post projects on is called getafreelancer.com (or more recently, freelancer.com)-we call it GAF for short. The way the system works is that you sign up for an account, which is free. You then have access to post a project to their database of providers. A $5 refundable project fee is taken for each project posted. This is to ensure you are serious about hiring a provider, and is partially refunded upon project cancellation or project completion. If you decide to cancel the project, you get your $5 back. If you choose a provider and complete the project, you get charged a small percentage (3% or so) of the project bid amount. To learn more about their fee’s check out https://www.getafreelancer.com/faq/view.php

Define Your Project
There are a few key points to mention within your post. Many employers write one or two lines of text which is ambiguous and bound for disaster. The more clearly you define what you expect, the greater your chances of success. This template is best used for smaller scope projects that do not require exhaustive explanations. For larger scope projects, more time is needed to prep the project. I will use a recently completed project as an example.

1. Start by explaining what the project is about. I include a couple of sentences to define the project:
   I am looking for unique articles to be written on health care products. I would like to start with twenty articles. Part of the research process will be to find sites with information on the products. My goal is for you to write the articles from research based upon these sites and the reviews customers left on these sites (for each product respectively).

 

2. Breakdown the work to be done for the project, step by step:
   Each product article is to be broken down into these sections:
   - Features – what is the draw to this product.
   - Materials – what is it made of.
   - Options – what sizes, color, etc… does the product come in.
   - Add-On’s – what can be used with it, or does it need to function.
   - Issues – what are potential issues with this product; taken from reviews on other sites.
   - Directions – how does it work, include links to user manuals from manufacturers sites.
   - Final Thoughts – overall consensus on the product.
   - Prices of products-based upon websites that sell the products.

 

3. List out your requirements that must be met for the project:
   Requirements:
   - Must be written in EXCELLENT English.
   - Must have correct spelling, punctuation and grammar.
   - 100% unique, and must pass Copyscape.
   - I will own the full copyright of articles, and you may not reuse articles.
   - Articles to be 500 words each.
   - I am after QUALITY – not quantity.
   - Keyword to be used in the title and up to 4-5 times in the article.

 

4. Define the timeline of the project, when it will be completed and the consequences if the project is not completed on time. I have only had one instance where the project timeline was extended, and we were able to agree to a reduction in price due to the missed deadline.
   All articles must be completed and posted to GAF PM within 2 weeks of project winner acceptance, as per the timeline below:
   First 10 articles – 1 week from acceptance date
   Final 10 articles – 2 weeks from acceptance date
   If this timeline is not met, than the employer will have the option of cancelling the project and re-posting for another provider to bid on. All deposits will be refunded to employer. Alternatively, employer may negotiate a reduced rate with provider to compensate for the overrun.

 

5. Finally, add in requirements for the bid, and explicit instructions in the bidding process. I have found that you will weed out 90% of providers this way-many of which didnt bother to read your project description:
   In your opening bid, simply say “I am interested”. Then make a PM with the following details. I will delete all bids who do not meet this requirement.
   1. How much money to complete the project.
   2. A 150 word sample article for the product “Skin Care Lotion XYZ” meeting the writing requirements above.

Communicate with Providers
Out of all the bids you receive, only a handful will be legitimate. Carefully review their bids and choose a few that look promising. I create a PM (private message) to each one asking them a few pointed questions on the project; how they accept payment, if they will accept full payment when project is complete, reconfirm the deadline of the project, and finally, if they do not meet the deadline, do they agree to cancel the project so I can choose another provider.

I have found that those providers who stick with you to the end, and follow through with professional and detailed answers, will nearly always complete the project on time, to spec, and within budget! To get started, pick a small project that is less than $100 and work through these steps to find a provider.  

Directed more towards project managers, designers and webmasters, this article will provide some tidbits of knowledge to help you get through the design phase without having to Frankenstein your design!

After implementing some of these tactics you should see an increase in the design phase process, profitability, client satisfaction, and overall design quality.

Proposal Terms and Agreement- make sure you define, up front, the design limits/constraints

Limits
Depending upon how you charge for services, either set up a limit on how many design revisions are allowed or how many hours can be utilized. Make sure to define these limits per page (home, content, product, category, etc…) or globally for all pages. Define a price for overages on revisions or hours, so the client is clear on the boundaries. This will help you to avoid endless changes and never-ending  hours of time.  I also recommend including a floating block of time that can be used above and beyond the limits specified for unanticipated changes.

What’s Included
Define what is included in the design of the site. For example, will stock photography be used in the design, if so, what are the charges? How many pages will be designed? What if the website has hundreds of content pages, with thousands of images-define a set number of pages that will be custom designed, and use a standard template for the rest.  Although, in many cases, even templates still need tweaks. Some items to think about, and to include in your proposal:

•  
  • Home, category, product, system and content pages
  • Favorite icon
  • Internal banner ads (for promotions, categories, content pages etc…)
  • External banner ads (for advertising on other websites)
  • Email marketing newsletter template
  • Email receipts and campaigns
  • Packing slip, and shipping labels
  • Stock photography
  • Error pages, e.g. 404

What’s Expected
Ok, you defined what you are going to deliver on, now what is the client responsible for? That is, they need to give you some background, direction, content and images, to help you design the site right. Clearly articulate what the client is responsible for delivering, in what format, and by what date. Listed below are examples of these deliverables:

•  
  • Content outline due within x months of request, via Word or Excel
  • Product and category outline due within x months of request, via Excel
  • Video files due within x months of request, provided via Youtube link
  • Imagery and design materials due within x months of request
  • Product images must be in JPG format, at least 500 x 500 pixels
  • Lifestyle images must be in JPG format, at least 300 x 300 pixels
  • Design changes due within x days of phase review

Client Engagement and Expectations – build trust once the project has been sold, and set the pace of the project.

Experience
Since the client signed off on the project, they probably already trust your design skills. Although I always reinforce the background we have in design; how many sites we’ve designed over the years, awards won, before and after examples, etc..

Outline the Design Process
Make it clear how the design process flows. For example, if you wireframe the homepage first, and then review it with the client, let them know this. Explain how they will be involved, how long each phase takes, and the reason for performing the phase. This will provide greater understanding to the client, which should lead to more trust. I usually provide a step-by-step overview of the entire design process-from start to finish-so everyone is on the same page.

Execution – how to structure the design phase.

Content First
Before you even think about the design, make sure you have all the content, products, categories, and marketing items. Without understanding what the client is selling, and how he is selling it, your design will require massive changes.

E.g., if they only have 3 products available to start, but are considering adding hundreds more in the future, you have to design the navigation system differently so a customer can quickly access different product categories. The same is true for content-although many clients have lofty expectations for what they want included on their websites, writing content takes time. More content, also requires more design and programming time, so make sure you have a clear content outline before you start designing.

Wireframe
After you have received all the top level content, and product information, design a homepage wireframe to review with the client. Wireframes set the initial direction for the actual design and take a fraction of the time. They also allow the client to visualize the site, and make suggestions or ask questions. It is much faster and economical to make changes to a wireframe than it is an actual design. I design a wireframe for all the major template pages and review each with the client. This has reduced design changes on the actual designs substantially. Many projects are signed off on the first or second concept.

Another great benefit of the wireframe is to provide the frame of reference of the site to the designer. This allows the designer to focus on the design rather than what needs to be included (content, marketing features, images etc…).

Design Presentation
When your designer sends you the final design, compare it to the wireframe to ensure it has all the specified items. I also request design notes on what the designer was thinking in terms of; hierarchy, colors, fonts, image use and layout.

Meet with the client; don’t just send them the design. It is important to explain the design to them so they understand the meaning behind it.

I always show the existing site design first, as a before and after type of effect. This is usually a very powerful tool-especially if the old design is outdated!

I also print out a copy of the design so the client can have a take away, and scribble notes on it.

When first showing the design, I pause and allow the client to take it all in, I then explain the concepts behind the design from top to bottom, including the designer notes. At this point the client will ask some questions, request some changes, need time to resonate with it.

After the meeting, I send a follow up email with the design attached asking them to get back to me in x days with their thoughts. Usually a few minor design requests are made, in which case, I add them to a change request form, and send it to the client to approve.

Design Signoff
The change request form is critical in defining the work requested, as well as making the process official. If you make changes on the fly, it devalues your service and encourages clients to make one more quick change. Directing them to put it on the change request list will force them to think the changes through.

Once the client is happy with the design, send an approval form that explains this is the final version, any additional changes will require addition expense, etc…Be clear that this is it-no more changes!

Additional Tips – you will always encounter some clients who you don’t quite see eye-to-eye with, and come to an impasse. Use the tips below to push the pace!

 The design comparison – for those clients who want to see more than one composition so they can see a comparison. I usually explain that when we create the wireframe, we have thought out all the specific details, so there will be few changes from the wireframe to the design.

Never ending changes – if the client continues to request changes, and blows through the limits set, make one more final list for the client to make a request. In this final list, make it clear that additional changes will be billed.

Release of responsibility – sometimes clients want to design the site using their own colors, layout ideas, and other crazy design concoctions. Simply require them to sign a release of liability that explains how you will have no liability should the site get negative reviews, low sales, etc…Usually when presented with this approach, clients second think the animated gif featuring the spinning globe of the world.

Cross compatibility – is the color a little off, or the type a sliver to small? Explain to the client that the website will look a little different for each user due to different browsers, operating systems, monitors, graphic cards, etc…

Uncertainty – for that client that neither likes it or dislikes it, explain the design using industry best practices, statistics, and facts/figures on why the design was made the way it was. I usually break out the heat maps, analytic overlays, and recorded browser sessions to help convey my message.

General Dislike – for those clients who ask the opinions of all their friends and family (even little children). Enroll the help of your fellow web users; browse to the many web forums out there and get feedback on the design. Better yet, hold a Usability Test-you can find some low cost services at fivesecondtest.com, feedbackarmy.com, loop11.com, etc…Take the responses you get and provide to the client-this should provide the motivation they need to sign off!

Ultimately, the client hired you for a reason, but they still deserve respect and need to be listened to, as they know their business better than you!

If you are a website owner, manager, or webmaster, take the time to review the different hosts and server scenarios available to you. There are a plethora of different hosting companies out there-use the attached checklist to make sure you don’t get swindled!

This article is a great resource to get started, and applies to smaller web businesses. Larger web businesses will consist of more advanced schemas which are outside the scope of this article.

Download the spreadsheet here: Web-Hosting-Checklist

Define Your Hosting Needs
The first step in the hunt for the perfect host is to be clear in what you actually need. For all intensive purposes, you are probably going to need either a dedicated or shared server. Choosing a server type is beyond the scope of this article, but for a frame of reference:

Dedicated Server
A dedicated server is usually managed and maintained by your hosting provider. That is, in many cases, your host will provide support for the server hardware, and sometimes, the software. However, you will have sole control over the server, as it is not used for any other purposes other than your own. You can usually install whatever software is needed, and configure the server based upon your specific requirements. As opposed to a shared server, where your website will be competing for the same processing power as hundreds or even thousands of other websites. This option is going to be more costly, although the benefits include control and scalability.

Shared Hosting
Shared hosting makes up the majority of hosting providers out there-it is the bread and butter of the hosting world. Most Software as a Service applications (Yahoo Stores, Volusion, MonsterCart, etc…) are shared hosting providers. And many of the low cost hosting plans are based off of shared servers. You are sharing a server with various other websites, and are limited to what you can do, which why it is more economical. Although, many larger companies that are utilizing a shared server approach have a sophisticated architecture with multiple redundant servers. This means that if one server should fail, another will pick up where the failed one left off.

There are also collocated servers where you have full responsibility of the hardware and software, and are simply renting rack space, electricity and bandwidth.

Beyond the type of server you’re going to need, define what the actual requirements will be on a software, hardware, and support basis. Perform some research to find the answers to the items in the checklist before you start contacting hosting providers. This will ensure you have a clear set of requirements available for an accurate quote from each provider.

Find Hosting Providers to Contact
Other than your typical Google search; I would recommend the following hosting specific forums:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/

http://www.sitepoint.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=96

It is going to be challenging to find a quality host at a low price. Quality meaning they have an SLA for: response time on tickets, outages, and hardware replacement. They should also guarantee an uptime of at least 99.999%, which means your server can be down for about 5 minutes a year (this does not usually account for scheduled maintenance).

Another great resource to learn of higher end hosting providers is to use the Gartner Magic Quadrant

Take care to add your own requirement specific questions to the list (Web-Hosting-Checklist), and compare the answers to find the best provider for your needs.

If you are a website owner, manager, or webmaster, and the term disaster recovery is new to you, use this basic checklist to help you get started in building a disaster recovery strategy for your web business.

This article is a great resource to get started, and applies to smaller web businesses. Larger web businesses will consist of more advanced schemas which are outside the scope of this article.

Part 1 – we will focus on discovering what your current backup process is, and what it should be

Part 2 – we will make a list of the time needed to restore information should it be damaged, deleted, or lost

Part 3 – we will create a resource sheet and accountability for who is responsible for responding and executing in the time of a disaster

Part 4 – we will develop a schedule to review the backup process, and implement a monthly “mock” disaster scenario where we put the disaster recovery plan into action

Develop Your Plan in Advance
Defining a restoration strategy in advance of having a catastrophe prepares your team with an action plan for a successful restore. Understanding the intricacies of your backup strategy will help to uncover backup issues and minimize downtime when outages occur.

Communication
Open up a dialog with your server administrator, hosting provider, or software development firm to learn how your current backup schema is configured. Press them to answer your questions in a way that you can understand. This will help to pinpoint areas of concern and ultimately lead to their resolution.

Where to Start

1. What type of information should be backed up
First, define what should be backed up – make a list of your data sources, special programs, and other software applications. If your website data is on one server, make sure that all your data is being backed up, not just your files, but your databases, mail settings, server log files…

Example list:

• Files; media (images, videos, PDF’s, etc..), programming code (PHP, HTML, etc…)
• Databases
• DNS records (MX, A, sub domains, etc…)
• Server log analysis software
• Server log files (generated by Apache)
• Apache settings and configurations
• Third party software systems (email marketing, ticketing systems, etc…)
• Email settings (mail boxes (username/password), aliases, forwards, quotas, routing, SPF records, etc…)

2. Learn how your current backup process works
Understand the process for how you data is being backed up, what is included, what is not included, where are they stored, how much space is utilized, how far back your backups go, and how you can access them

• Existing backup schema – what is currently included in your back up process? Make sure this list is clear and concise. Refer to the list you made in step one to ensure what you need is included in the backup processIf it turns out that your data isn’t being backed up, open a dialog with your host or server admin to start backing up your data immediately. It is usually a pretty straight forward process, and once configured, doesn’t require a lot of maintenance. The benefits far out weigh the negatives. 

 

• What precisely is included with each backup – make a list of the actual data that is being backed up. For example, if your business has multiple domain names, and various email addresses, make sure that your DNS records are being backed up; specifically your MX, A, sub domains, SPF and any other applicable DNS records.Often hosts will backup folders within your domain, but not the settings, DNS records, and server log files. If you are currently using a control panel (like Plesk, HSphere, CPanel, etc…) to manage your domains, these systems usually have their own backup systems. Find out exactly what those systems backup.

 

• Where are the backups stored – on site, off site or both, and on what machine. This is an important element that will help to determine risk factor in specific types of failures. For example, if your data is backed up on the same server, and your server’s hard drive controller shorts out destroying your active data and backed up data, you are in a bad position.
   
  Your data should be backed up on a separate server, preferably outside of your local network, in the case of intrusion, hardware failure, fire etc…Preferably, store your backups in a  separate data center in a different city or state. That way, should you datacenter experience a fire, flood, power outage, or go out of business, you have all your site data in a separate location.

 

• How large is each backup – what is the size of each backed up type, e.g. how many GB are all your media files, database information. This will help to define a strategy for storing the data on separate servers or different data centers.Since database backups are typically smaller than media backups, it might make sense to store backups for the database files longer than media files.

 

• What is the initial size of the backup? That is, most backups create a base backup, and then generate incremental backups of the files that change on a daily basis.You will need to know this if you decide to move the data to an offsite location. The initial base transfer will increase your bandwidth usage.

 

• What is the incremental backup size? That is, how much data is changing each day and being incrementally backed up.Estimate your daily incremental backup to budget bandwidth increases and storage needs on separate servers, or in different data centers.

 

• What is the rotation of your data – files should be backed up either hourly, daily, weekly, etc…, and should be rotated out for new files so you don’t utilize too much disk space.With the list made of what is being backed up, specify the rotation of each item, or if your backup includes everything, define when the backup is rotated out. Maybe your backup only goes back 1 day, or 1 week. Sometimes it takes some time to discover you lost some data, and if you only have a daily backup, you can’t restore a file that was lost last week.

 

• How do you access your back up files, and what format are they in? Get access to where they are stored, and figure out if you need special applications to work with them.It depends on how your backup process is configured, some system require programs to extract data, sometimes you can only extract the entire backup. Get access to the files so you can figure out how to work with them.

 

3. Make a chart of your findings
Use Excel or Word to organize your results into a readable chart. This will be used for scheduled reviews and status updates.

I defined the Type of data being backed up, the Location of where the data is backed up to (in this example, the data is stored on a redundant, load balanced server, in addition to a separate data center), the Size (in gigabyte and megabyte increments), the Rotation (how many days back the data is stored for), and Includes (what exactly is included in the backup).

Once you have your chart ready, you are prepared for the next step! Please see the Website Backup Strategy Part 2 for the continuance of this process.