Hey, don't worry, this is not how we treat our clients!  In fact, our whole marketing strategy is built around our giving our client the best service we can.  That's how we can keep them,and still charg elow monthly fees for the great service we offer.

But the purpose of today's post is not to tell you how great we are - after all, what we tell you will be treated with caution anyway - but to introduce you to our latest live site, and our new client Hurt by Love.  Cindy and Doug have a great ministry reaching out to, mostly, abused women in our world, giving them good, solid, practical advice, a listening ear, and a safe haven to find hope.  Cindy is an abuse survivor herself, so doesn't speak out of someone else's experience or from a dry textbook.  Her experience came at a high price.  Doug, her husband, has 23 years, and counting, working behind the walls of a state prison and brings the experience of dealing with abusers and manipulators of all types. His experience is invaluable.

If you are the victim of emotion or verbal abuse, or you know someone who is, this

I don't doubt that all these are repeated elsewhere, in 1000's of pages.  That's the good, and bad thing, of the Internet.  There's a bunch of information.  Unfortunately, especially when it comes to IT, much of it is out of date (or not updated), totally wrong, or written by armchair amateurs.  You know, some of the same ones that clog up the Internet with horrible web pages that start with "Welcome to my page" or similar.

So let's get started......(in no particular order)

1. Bloated files/pages.
This could really be 2 categories.  Firstly bloated pages.  These are the ones stuffed with gigantic pics that allow you to cook dinner, wash the car AND do you shopping while the page loads.  Second are bloated files.  PDF's are great used properly, but they can be big.  I like to offer my visitors the option of saving/opening a PDF, or viewing as a plain HTML page.  Yes it takes more work on the part of the designer, but it's much more user friendly.

2. Visited links that don't change color.
When users have visited somewhere, they like to know it.  Not coding links to change color when they've been clicked is insulting to

1. Their portfolio has nothing that makes you think, “Yeah, they can handle my website!”
Many people look for experience and that can be good too, but, if your designer has years of experience, and their portfolio is lackluster, then that’s what you’ll likely get.  Lackluster.  Look for someone who has a portfolio, but one that makes you go “Wow!” and don’t worry about size.

2. Going for the cheapest price.
How often do we hear that it’s not necessarily the best option getting the cheapest, but so many people still do.  If you’re doing that, you’re only thinking with your checkbook, and not your head.  Not that paying high prices guarantees quality either, but neither does a low price guarantee a good deal.  As Benjamin Franklin used to say, "The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten."

3. You rush them or they rush you.
I’m often asked, “How long will this take?”   The truth is, on the average site, 2-3 weeks is sufficient, but that time frame is dependent on you getting all your copy and photos together in a timely fashion. Anyone can quote you a week, or 2 weeks,