6 minute read

1. Stop Starting Over

In 2022, I identified something that was really frustrating me. I felt like I kept starting over with every project. Designs would start with a blank page. Development would start with an empty child theme.

I found myself hand-coding an image & text row block and wondered…haven’t I done this 500 times before?

Starting fresh with each new project doesn’t feel as fresh as it did five years ago. Now I think it drags on the timeline of the project and keeps me away from more important client work.

My 2023 goal is to…

• build an internal reusable component library for design and development assets
• create my own starter child theme that is just the way I want it
• build the ultimate website inspo database, so I can pull design & functionality inspo rapidly

2. Super Track My Time

My goal is track my time for everything in 2023. Emails, Admin Work, Accounting, Meetings, Contractor Engagement, Client Onboarding, Writing Newsletters etc.

The goal is to really understand where I spend my time within my business.

I am in the process of moving away from hourly rate quotes because so much of my time is spent on complementary tasks. My time is nowhere near 100% billable (aka I can charge my full hourly rate directly to client projects for 40 hours a week).

I need to really understand how much time it takes me do everything to accurately create a base quote for projects.

I’m probably gonna feel a little bit [adjective] as I literally time myself for the time it takes to answer emails in the morning.

I plan on tracking my time using timeular, by the way!

I also plan on sharing my time tracking stats in my newsletters throughout the year, so stay tuned!

3. Track My Business Expenses & Quarterly Financial Audit

If you run a professional service business and you already keep an ongoing record of your business expenses, then kudos [clapping emoji]. Because I have not [crying emoji].

In years past, I would quickly pull together a spreadsheet of business expenses during tax season but I wouldn’t know how much I was spending on my business on a monthly basis.

That’s because my business expenses weren’t high at all (all I need is a computer to work!)

That has changed and I realized that kinda late in 2022. Now my business has some real expenses to keep it running. I rent office space now, I have 3 contractors that support my workload throughout the year and nothing is free re: software subscriptions.

This year, I plan on doing a quarterly business financial audit with me, myself and I. I will really look through all my business expenses and now how where my adjusted gross income is. Fancy words!

I also plan on taking myself out for a treat after I do these audits [martini emoji]

4. Get Involved in my Local Community

I’d like to credit my dad with inspiring this goal. If you don’t know already, my dad is a co-founder of Athentic Brewing in Athens, GA. In the summer of 2022 he retired from his corporate career and is now dedicating all his time to Athentic’s mission which is community building (and making great beer).

He’s part of so many local organizations (Rotary Club, Athens Historic Society, Athens Chamber of Commerce, you name it…) I am so impressed with his dedication to getting involved and being part of the conversations that shape our local town.

Jeff and I have chosen Athens, Ga as our forever home and I think it’s high time for me to get involved deeper than using my purchasing power at local businesses.

I plan on choosing 1-3 organizations to partner up with. I’ll share more about my involvement throughout the year!

5. Send a newsletter each week for the entire year

If you are reading this — buckle up and get ready for me in your inbox!

I sent my first newsletter on November 1, 2022. As of sending this, I’m now on issue #8 and one year from now (December 27, 2023) I’ll have sent 68 newsletters.

For me, this is an exercise in consistency. This is an exercise in writing. This is an exercise in value creation.

For you, this will open your mind to new ways of problem solving in your online business. I want to make you go 🤯🤯 at least a few times this year. Please reply to my emails with any feedback. I read & reply to every reply I get. I’m writing this newsletter for you!

This post was originally shared via my weekly newsletter where I share actionable advice about solving problems for online businesses. If you enjoy my writing, please sign up and you won’t miss a post from me!

6 minute read

TLDR; (too long don’t read…)

Today I’m going to unpack a feature that many website platforms advertise – the “design it yourself” website. Which means that the business owner (or employee) is responsible for the content and design of their website. I share how I, instead, believe that content and design should be separated. Business owners should focus on creating content and I should focus on handling the rest. If you want to know why I think websites should be “unbreakable” keep reading 👇

Table of Contents

1. Defining Design & Content
2. The Separation
3. Why the Separation
4. My Opinion is an unpopular one
5. Where do you stand? [A poll!]
6. Out of Office Spotlight

Defining Design & Content

Design = all of the design decisions that go into the look & function of a website

Content = the content within a website (images, words, etc.)

Design [🟠] —

• Layout of content
• Hierarchy of information
• Typography for headers, description & other tertiary copy
• Colors (page, text, button, etc.)
• Design of buttons & other interactive components (quantity selector, dropdown, color swatches)

Content [⚫️] —

• Images of product
• Title of product
• Price of product
• Description of product
• Available variations of product (color, size, etc)

The Separation

Design

Unbreakable design

• Design, layout & functionality of website is created and built by me/my team
• Client cannot easily change design or functionality of website
• Post-launch design & functionality changes will be handled by me/my team

Content

The only thing the client can do

• Client only has to focus on content creation
• Client can just drop in the images and the copywriting
• Adding content will never “break” the website

Why this Separation

1. Client Won’t Break the Website

I put a lot of effort into limiting the permissions for my client user roles so there is no way they can “break the website” when they are making content updates. The burden of advanced technical and design decisions should be on me — not the client.

2. Website won’t look “off” after client updates website

Let’s say the client hasn’t broken the website, but the website definitely doesn’t look good after their content updates. I don’t want my clients to have to put extra effort into making sure their content formatting is correct. I want content updates to be so effortless that it looks perfect every time.

3. Client can focus on content creation

I want clients to spend their time being the voice of their business. I want them to focus on what they do best — selling their product. They should spend their time writing engaging copy and having creative photoshoots. I don’t want them to get overwhelmed or bogged down with minute design tweaks and technical settings.

4. Client won’t be overwhelmed by design decisions

I don’t want my clients to have a DIY experience. I am here to do-it-for-you. Clients don’t need to spend extra time considering the infinite possibilities of design. All the decisions get too overwhelming! Instead, I want clients to only focus on their content.

My Opinion is an Unpopular One

It’s the opposite of what many website platforms are selling (Squarespace, Webflow, Wix, Showit, etc.)

1. I do not offer a DIY solution

These page builder sites sell a DIY solution to business owners. They provide the power for business owners to make all the design decisions without someone like me. You, the business owner, get to choose the layout, color and typography for every component on your website. It’s an attractive offer but it is an overwhelming undertaking. It will be hard for most business owners to choose an attractive vision for their website and then stick to it with a cohesive design system.

2. My approach isn’t “no-code”

Another selling point of many website platforms is that there is “no coding required”. My approach to web development includes a lot of code. I won’t make the client code (ever!) but design and functionality updates typically require adjustments to the existing code framework. This is because I provide custom solutions for my clients. I don’t want my clients to have to make compromises when they work with me. The design of their website will be bespoke and the functionality, whether it’s provided through a 3rd party integration or hand-coded, will look native to their brand.

3. Clients rely on me for new site features after website launch

Since I separate content and design, that means I will be there for clients when they want to make design, functionality or feature updates to their website after it’s launched. My clients do not have advanced technical skills (why they hired me) so I don’t expect them to make big updates to their site without me. I provide extensive training for clients to independently add content to their website but they typically rely on me going forward for new site features. This relationship is maintained through a retainer (read more here) or keeping in touch on an as-you-need-me basis. If clients choose to go in-house or work with another contractor, I’m always happy to hand-off the website to them. A client’s reliance on me is not meant to “lock” them into a retainer with me but rather to give them peace of mind that their website is in good hands.

Where do you stand? [A poll!]

Click the links below to vote!

I’ve obviously made an argument for my opinion, but I want to hear yours!

Option One: Content & Design should be separated click to vote

• I don’t want to stress out about design decisions
• I just want to drop in content
• I’d rather have a website expert help me when I want to add on to the website

Option Two: I don’t want design to be gatekept by a web designer/developer click to vote

• I want to be able to easily change the design of my website
• I don’t want to rely on a website expert to grow my website with new features
• Designs decisions are fun! Not stressful :)

4 Minute Read

TLDR; [too long don’t read..]

I started offering retainers for the first time in 2022. They now make up 30+% of my income and have led to some fantastic client wins. I structure my retainers as a hands-off or hands-on approach. I can give you peace of mind that your website is running smoothly in the background or I can be a thinking partner to help you scale your online business. Intrigued? Keep reading 👇

Table of Contents:

1. Benefits of having a retainer
2. 2022 breakdown of retainers
3. My approach to retainers (3 options)
4. What’s a Good Fit?
5. Ask Me Anything: Retainers!
6. Out of Office Spotlight

2022, My First Year Offering Retainers

This year I started formally offering retainers with my existing clients, and it’s been a game changer 😈

The Benefits of Having a Retainer with a Website Expert:

• Plugin, theme & core updates can be out of sight and out of mind
• If your website goes down, you know immediately who to call (or text in my case!)
• Your website won’t slowly fall into disarray
• Routine reports will give you clarity on what’s working and not working
• You get to pick the brain of an expert in industry
• You get to keep improving your website every year instead of every 3-5 years

At a glance…

2022 Year of Retainers (my first year offering them!):

• 14 retainer clients
• 26% of my total income of the year
• • Additional 11% of income from projects that were spin-offs from retainer…so 37% of my income directly from retainer relationships!

My Approach To Retainers: Hands-Off or Hands-On

1: Peace of Mind

A hands-off retainer that keeps your website running year-round. I’ll be available on a need-to-know basis.

$

• Monthly website updates (Plugin, Theme, Core — This is especially helpful for my Wordpress clients)
• 24/7 Uptime — If your website is down or experiencing major functionality issues, I’ll be available to help you asap (typically within hours).
• Limited but helpful website support — You’ll have a few reserved support hours (typically 4 hours) with me that you can use whenever you need some help with your website.
• Keep me in the loop — Have an idea for a new feature or project? I’m all ears! Too busy to connect? No worries, I’ll keep running updates in the meantime.

2: On Standby

A retainer that has me on standby for when you need me. With quarterly reports and an annual site audit you know what’s working and what’s not working in your online business.

$$

• Includes everything in “Peace of Mind” 👆
• Extra support hours (typically 8 hours with this plan)
• Reports — I’ll send you quarterly reports on your website traffic, SEO and site conversions with insight on what’s working and what’s not working.
• Annual Site Audit — I’ll do a top-to-bottom audit of your entire website. [Including: Branding & Design, Content & Messaging, SEO, Accessibility, Performance, Responsive Design, Integrations, Conversions & more] I compile all my findings & recommendations into a detailed report that we’ll go over in a 2 hour strategy session. New projects that are generated from this report will be quoted separately.

3: Partnership

A hands-on retainer that lets you pick my brain, dive into strategy and scale your online business.

$$$

This includes everything in the “Standby” plan 👆 with the additions of…

• Quarterly strategy sessions: Every quarter we’ll have a reserved time to discuss goals, challenges and what’s ahead. I’ll bring expert knowledge of the industry to help you make strategic decisions for your business. New projects that are generated from these sessions will be quoted separately.
• Slack channel where you can message me questions anytime: Pick my brain!! I’m constantly researching the latest trends in technology and using that knowledge to help solve problems for online businesses. Have a question or curiosity? I’m here for you.
• Expanded website support - You’ll have extra support hours with me (12+) that you can use whenever you need help with your website
• Reserved time for bigger projects: I’ll reserve time in my schedule for us to tackle bigger to-dos. We’ll be discussing many ways to improve your online business and I’ll have the bandwidth to make our ideas a reality. These projects will have separate quotes

What’s a Good Fit

A Retainer with Me is NOT A GOOD FIT If…

• You have internal support that can provide website updates, reports and troubleshooting
• Your website is not a primary tool for your business
• You don’t have the time to think deeply about how to improve your digital product and user experience

A Retainer with me IS A GOOD FIT if…

• There is no one on your team with the technical skills necessary to keep a website updated
• Your website is a primary tool for your business
• You want a thinking partner that you can brainstorm and collaborate with

Interested or Have a Question about Retainers?

Send me a message at info@allisondskinner.com!

For clients & online business owners – I’m happy to answer any questions about retainers :)

For service professionals – do you offer a retainer package for your clients? What’s your set up? I’d love to know.

A project without a clear path will just go in circles

Credit: Artist Andrew Herzog, These Things Take Time

Embracing the Discovery Phase

Today I’m going to discuss a project phase that I only recently started including but now can’t imagine doing a project without it: the discovery phase.

The discovery phase is the dedicated time to adequately plan and scope a project with a client.

And I mean d e d i c a t e d time. Not a 30 min consultation call that can produce a proposal.

Before I added the Discovery Phase to Projects

2 Consultation Calls

Before I started implementing a discovery phase for my projects, my process looked a little bit like this:

1. Prospective client reaches out to me about a possible project
2. We book a 20 min get-to-know-you call.
3. During the call we do intros and discuss the project a little bit
4. After the call, I do research on their business and what they are looking for
5. We book a 45 min call where I discuss how I think the project can be pulled off
6. During the phone call all this other stuff starts coming up (We also do X and actually want Y) and I make note of it
7. After the call I put together a proposal and scope of work for the project and send it off to the client to review

After an hour of speaking with clients I would produce multi-thousand dollar quotes.

Fortunately for my business this process has “worked” many times. Many clients have accepted my proposals and we’ve done great work together.

However, just using consultation calls will lead to inevitable issues with a project:

I was not able to accurately scope projects.

Clients can’t fully articulate the problems they are trying to solve.

They expect me to figure out what’s wrong with their online business in the first place.

It’s like a patient with a list of symptoms coming to a doctor for a cure.

Scoping a project after only 1 or 2 brief exploratory calls is the bandaid solution – not the cure.

Scope Creep Erodes Client Relationships

I’m going to share a scenario that has happened many times with my client projects:

We are midway through the design phase of a project and we start to really understand how the website will come together. As we start to understand the project better, we start coming up with new ideas. Great ideas. However, these ideas were not part of our initial consultation calls and they weren’t included in the original scope of the project.

This puts me in a tough spot.

If I provided a fixed bid for the project, I will lose money as I invest more and more time into new directions and ideas. It may lead to me having a sour mood and regretting that I ever took on the project.

If I provided an hourly rate for the project, my hours will quickly start to exceed my original estimates as we explore new directions for the project. My clients may get in a sour mood and regret ever taking on the project.

There are ways to mitigate scope creep in a project, but it’s still a tricky and uncomfortable situation. In the past I would lean on my excellent relationship with my clients to help them understand how the scope had grown and provide options for re-structuring the original quote. They typically would understand that the investment was worth it and agree to continue our work together.

But what if there was a way for you and your client to feel confident about the trajectory of a project?

The Discovery Phase

The discovery phase is dedicated time to frame the problem and the solution for the project.

It’s also a chance for me to get to know the client and their business better!

Here’s my new timeline for projects with the discovery phase added:

1. Initial consultation
2. Discovery
3. Design
4. Development
5. Content Migration, Quality Assurance & Site Launch
6. Post Site-Launch, Training & Documentation

After the initial consultation (step 1), I provide a fixed quote for the discovery phase and that’s it.

That’s because the trajectory and size of the project is so up in the air before the discovery phase.

This provides peace of mind for the client (they know exactly how much they are paying) and it gives me peace of mind (I’m getting paid to properly scope the project).

After the discovery phase, I’ll provide a fixed quote for design.

If the client chooses not to go forward with the rest of the project, I still think the work we did was really valuable. The client’s investment in the discovery phase will give them a rock-solid RFP and plan of action.

I can provide discovery as a stand-along service. (Reply to this email if you’d like to discuss this with me!)

After the design phase (I’ll write more about this soon!), I’ll provide a fixed quote for development through site launch.

What a discovery phase typically includes

Framing the Problem:

• Stakeholder interviews (i.e. a conversation with everyone who cares about the project)
• Competitor business analysis
• User behavior analysis (from site analytics)
• Audit of current site
  • Homepage & Other Key Pages
  • Site performance
  • SEO
  • Accessibility
  • Responsive Design
  • Hosting setup
• Identify primary website audiences & their goals
• Define, research & analyze the problems of the website

Framing the Solution

• Come up with solutions that fit within the constraints of the project (timeline, budget, technology requirements, etc.)
• Moodboard for site design direction
• New information architecture for the website
• Wireframes of key pages for the website

The discovery phase typically takes around 8 weeks and includes multiple (at least four) meetings and open communication throughout via email.

The process of framing the problem and framing the solution is a collaborative effort that involves everyone. It’s a chance to brainstorm and consider all the approaches we can take with a project. Once the solution starts to take shape, the path ahead for the project will be clear. A project without a clear path will just go in circles.

The Book I’m Reading and Re-Reading About Discovery

Dan Brown’s Practical Design Discovery (published from A Book Apart ❤️) is packed with ways to approach the discovery phase of a project. I have pages and pages of notes from this book.

When is it time to work with a website expert (aka me)?

Your business will need a website the first day you open.

You need people to be able to look you up on Google and think you’re legit.

They need to be able to view your products, see your latest work and be able to take an action like purchasing a product or getting in touch with you.

These are bare bones website expectations.

Do you need a website expert (like me) to build your first website?

Not necessarily. For many start-up businesses, I’m not the most practical option because of budget and timeline.

That’s because I DON’T do…

• small & simple websites.
• templated page builder websites (I’ll write about this more!)
• cheap websites
• quick turn around sites

But I DO…

• solve complex problems
• organize complex data
• create one-of-a-kind scalable design systems
• etc. !!

Here’s a list of businesses that need, kinda need and do not necessarily need expert services.

~~ all the linked websites below were made by me! (see all my latest-ish work here) ~~

1: You absolutely need to work with an expert

Why an expert: Your business has big goals that require complex solutions

• Virtual Membership (Southern C, Lydia Menzies)
• Physical Subscription (Posh Pups)
• Online Courses (BotanoLogos)
• Large-Inventory Ecommerce (R Hughes)
• Large Educational Institution (Lamar Dodd)
• Product Personalization (Monogramme 29)
• Publication (The Georgia Review, UGA Research News)
• Advanced Sorting, Filtering, Searching of Content (Philip Juras)

#2: It would benefit you to work with an expert, but you could possibly get by okay without one

Why an expert: Your “know/like/trust factor” comes from a bespoke design. Your business will soon scale to need more creative problem solving.

• Ecommerce (Aloka, Kaya, Steel & Plank)
• Small/Medium Educational Institution (COAST, UGA Law Clinics)
• Real Estate (Georgia Club Real Estate)
• Landscape/Architect Studio (City Garden Co.)

#3: You don’t need to work with an expert

Why an expert: you could go with a template design but why not stand out from the rest?

• Therapist (Seyi Amosu)
• Artist (Philip Juras)
• Coach (Demmie Hicks)
• Restaurant (Puma Yu’s)
• Venue (Rockwell House)

This post was originally shared via my weekly newsletter where I share actionable advice about solving problems for online businesses. If you enjoy my writing, please sign up and you won’t miss a post from me!

Meet The Southern C

​The Southern C is a business that helps entrepreneurial women #connect #collaborate & #create through in-person summits, virtual events and an online membership.

The Southern C Founders Cheri Leavy (Left) & Whitney Long (Right)

I’m a member & I attended my first retreat with them in Round Top, Texas this fall. They are amazing and have built an incredible community!

The Southern C’s Issue: The slow death of manual work

When I started working with the Southern C (back in April 2022), they shared their processes for managing their business with me.

I immediately heard a lot of red flags…

🚩 “When someone buys a ticket, we copy that information into here…”

🚩 “We double check this information by scrolling through here…”

🚩 ”We manually keep that list up to date”

They were doing a LOT of manual work to manage their online business. They at least had processes around their manual work, but still…I felt exhausted just listening to them!

After speaking with The Southern C, I knew that…

1. I didn’t want to inherit this manual work 😂
2. There had to be a better way

The Solution: Migration, Integration & Automation

Leveraging online tools to be your hardest working employee

1: 25% of their members were on Shopify and the other 75% were on Wordpress

How it Happened: Holdovers from their old Shopify site. When The Southern C first launched they were on Shopify, but then they made the move to Wordpress when they wanted to deliver a more robust virtual content (good choice — Shopify is the best for physical subscription products while Wordpress is best for virtual subscription products)

The Problem: Disorganization & no way to leverage automation. They were receiving payments every month, but it was all disorganized. It was hard to manage a complete list of current members and impossible to leverage automations when they were split between two platforms.

How I Fixed It: Migrated all Shopify members into Wordpress (without any hiccups!)

The Platforms: Recharge Payments (Shopify) → Woocommerce Memberships (Wordpress) This migration was tricky because we did not want to interrupt any recurring payments from members or force any members to sign up again. Once I figured out how to do this (every migration process is different) I handled the migration manually because I wanted to be super careful and not make any bulk mistakes with a bulk migration. After this successful migration, we were able to sunset their old Shopify site completely!

2: Membership data from the website was not automatically syncing with Mailchimp (their email marketing platform)

The problem: They had a mailchimp list of members they were manually updating. They did a pretty good job of keeping it updated but it wasn’t perfect (an email list of your active members should be absolutely perfect).

How I fixed it: I synced membership data from their website to Mailchimp with the Woocommerce Memberships for Mailchimp plugin​

The Results: Membership status automatically syncs between platforms Bonus benefit: Able to trigger automated email sequences for Paused, Expired, Pending Cancellation & Cancelled Memberships.

3: New Member Info + New Ticket Sales were manually being entered into Airtable

The Southern C LOVES Airtable and so do I ❤️

For The Southern C, Airtable offered a more user-friendly, scalable & flexible way to managing their membership & attendee data versus the Wordpress admin interface.

However…

The Issue: They were manually entering in order info for every membership sign up & ticket purchase. (HUGE time sucker)

How I fixed it:

❌ Woocommerce + Airtable integration does not exist

✅ so I used Zapier as our middle-man to automatically sync data.

A woocommerce order on the TSC website (membership or ticket sale) triggers Zapier to then add a record to their Airtable spreadsheet. (Via Zapier you can customize exactly what order data goes into what columns in Airtable!)

Now, 24/7 their Airtable spreadsheets automatically update with new order and member info.

4: Detailed demographic data was being manually entered into Airtable

The Southern C gathers rich demographic data from all of their members & attendees. This demographic data is set-up as custom fields at checkout.

The issue: Detailed demographic data was being manually entered into Airtable. (huge time sucker)

How I fixed it:

❌ Can’t pull the custom demographic data from Zapier into Airtable. (😪 still working through this!)

✅ So instead, I created an export template via WP All Export (I use their premium version) that includes the custom demographic data. The export template was tricky to pull off, but I was able to through the handy use of passing data through php functions.

With a one-click export from Wordpress & a one-click import into Airtable, we have all the demographic data available with no manual entry.

5: Creating a set-it-and-forget-it SMS list to text active members

The issue: The Southern C wanted to be able to send text reminders to members before their weekly Zoom calls. The SMS list needed to be an accurate list of active members.

How I fixed it:

• Through Zapier, I created an automation where phone numbers are added to mailchimp profiles after someone signs up for the membership on The Southern C website (mailchimp does not collect phone numbers by default)
• On Simple Texting (their SMS platform) I installed the Mailchimp integration and pulled in the tagged list of active members (which is automatically updated via our work in solution #2 above ^^) Now The Southern C can send texts to their active members without spending any time managing their SMS list.

The Ultimate Pay-Off: More Time to Focus On the Important Work

It has been so satisfying putting together these automations for The Southern C team. Now founders Cheri & Whitney can focus more of their time on CEO-level work, instead of being in the trenches of manual work everyday.

I can’t wait to dive into more systems and processes work with The Southern C in 2023!

Meet The Flagpole: Athens’ Most Beloved Local Magazine

If you’re local to Athens, Ga the Flagpole needs no introduction. It’s our town’s weekly magazine (independent since 1987!) that covers everything that happens in our city. It’s arguable that the Flagpole Calendar is the cornerstone of their entire publication. It includes everything that’s happening in Athens in the upcoming week.

Flagpole’s Unique Request

Flagpole approached me with a unique project for their calendar. They wanted to be able to easily (like click one button easy) export their entire online calendar into a custom XML document that would be ready for print. Having this capability would be a huge time saver for them, considering they were manually typing up each event both online and for print.

Pulling Off the Custom Export Process

• So the calendar is split between LIVE MUSIC and GENERAL EVENTS.
• Live Music events are listed chronologically (by day), but within a day it is organized in alpha order of venue. - Then within that venue, the infoline and acts are listed.
• General Events are listed chronologically (by day), then listed in alpha order by event category, then listed in alpha order by event title.
• There’s also really specific rules about the XML formatting (<p> is , <h3> is ) and really specific rules about how html symbols are displayed (& is &)
• The export process needed to take into account all of these logic & formatting rules automatically.

And We Did It!!

My brain went into meltdown mode a few times during the summer trying to figure it out, but we pulled it off.

Now whenever I look at the Flagpole Calendar I know it’s my export code that brought it to print. Very cool 😎

How the Export Works

1. On an admin only page, Flagpole staff can configure the settings for their export

2. Then they click a “generate XML file” button that generates a page of XML code (This XML code that is generated comes from a PHP file in the site directory that generates XML code based on the settings the Flagpole staff have configured. There are a gazillion conditionals based on date, type of event, text formatting, order, etc. The file is complex but the computer can read it in one second and output the correct XML code.)

3. They copy & paste the XML code into their design software for the print calendar and its immediately ready & perfectly formatted for print

Content is the reason why people visit your website

In recent months, I have been dedicating more time to the research phase of a website project and in particular a website’s information architecture.

Information Architecture is the organization of content on your website.

Why Information Architecture Shouldn’t Be an Afterthought

In the past I’ve immediately dived into designing a website because I’m a visual/creative person and like to “see” the website come together as quickly as possible.

When it came to the site’s navigation and organization, I would tell clients that a site’s organization can be easily tweaked because websites are fluid and can always be changed (versus a printed book that has no flexibility post production).

While designing the website, I would assume a lot of things (why people visit the site, what content people are looking for, how people find it, etc.) and just trail-blaze through the design.

However, there are telling signs when the information architecture on a website is in poor shape.

🚩 Red Flags for Bad Information Architecture

Here are signs that your website may be organized in a confusing way:

1: “I Can’t Find X” - your customers

If a customer is looking for something on your website and then resorts to contacting you for help — that’s a sign that you’ve got an information architecture issue larger than one customer. This customer is at least going out of their way to contact you about what they are looking for. How many other customers just left your website?

2 Search queries show that people are confused

For a client redesign project, I recently looked up what users are searching for on their website (via Google Analytics). One of the most common search terms was “help”. This showed me that users are resorting to typing “help” into the site’s search bar because they have not been able to find the information they are looking for after multiple attempts.

3 You watch someone else navigate your website and you get frustrated with them

I welcome you to ask a friend or family member that is not a power user on your website to navigate your website and find a specific page of content. Do they wander around a lot? Do they get confused? Do you want to just take their phone out of their hands and show them where to go?

You can also use tracking software like Lucky Orange to view how users navigate your website in real time. You can see where they get stumped with your site’s organization and decide to leave your website.

As a power user of your own website, it will be hard to recognize flaws in your site’s information architecture. Seeing someone else navigate your website will be illuminating.

How To Conduct An Information Architecture Audit

1: Map Out Your Existing Content

Create a spreadsheet of all the current pages on your site. I ❤️ spreadsheets and build them all the time on Notion & Airtable (I don’t touch excel!)

Label pages with a taxonomy. I typically categorize pages by their depth, audience and type. The content on your website will grow so make sure your approach to taxonomy and labelling is scalable.

2: Identify the Audiences of your website and what primary content they are looking for

Let’s use a retail store as an example, consider the following customer types:

People that are shopping for themselves, People that are shopping for their kids, People that are shopping for a gift, People that are return customers and are looking for information on their recent order, etc.

What content are they trying to find immediately on your website? That content should be clearly and quickly available to your customers.

3: Conduct User Research

• Review your site’s google analytics (if you have an account set-up) and see what pages are the most popular, what pages are least popular by comparison and what pages have the highest bounce rate.
• View the search inquiries people make on your site (possible via Google Analytics)
• View google search console reports to see the queries people are making to reach your site
• Add a website feedback form on your website or send out a website survey to learn more about how people use your website and what they are looking for

4: Card Sort the Information Architecture of Your Website

Card sorting for Strand Bookstore from this Medium article​

I recommend getting hands on with this part of the project! Get colored index cards and literally lay out the architecture of your site. Rearrange the index cards in a variety of methods. I recommend that you rearrange the information architecture for each audience type so you can consider different approaches.

5: Finalize your new site architecture & Monitor the Results

After you have considered the user research you’ve collected and gone through multiple iterations of your site’s information architecture, it’s time to choose the path of your site’s new information architecture.

Update your main menu, footer menu, sidebar menus, etc. with your new approach.

After you have made these updates, monitor your site’s performance.

Welcome Feedback. Make sure you have a “website feedback” form available on your website. Also, always ask customers if they had any difficulty finding what they were looking for as you provide general customer support.

Keep an Eye on Your Analytics & Search Queries. Check your site’s analytics on a weekly basis for the first few months after a major information architecture update. Look for improvements in bounce rate (when people leave your website) and conversion rate. Also keep an eye on the search queries of your website — have they changed since your recent information architecture audit or stayed the same? Are people still typing in “help” with no luck?

Based on user feedback and analytics, stay nimble and make tweaks and changes to the information architecture. Luckily websites are forever editable — so keep at it!

6: Conduct Seasonal Mini Information Architecture Audits

People will be searching for different content on your site based on the “seasons” of your business. Before you roll out a new course, giveaway or flash sale — make sure that your information architecture provides the most relevant and current information on your site. Don’t have your new course info or giveaway terms buried in the second dropdown of your main menu.

When your promotion is over, return your site’s information architecture back to it’s normal “evergreen” state.

Last month I posted on instagram, “What if we started a book club?” and to my surprise a lot of people were very interested (close friends, friends I don’t see as often and a few that I don’t know too well yet).

I think a lot of us in our adult lives lose touch with reading. When we are young, reading is encouraged and enforced with compulsory literature classes, summer reading assignments and standardized testing. A lot of this early reading can feel like a chore but every so often magic strikes, and you fall into a book and the book devours you, changes you. It’s an incredible experience.

As adults, there is no compulsory reading and really no encouragement either. I feel like we’re pushed to be on our phones all day and compare ourselves to everyone else. We are reading all day but how much of it is valuable, how much of it holds our attention longer than seven seconds? To put down your phone and pick up a book can feel like a revolutionary act.

That’s a big reason why so many wanted to join the book club. They used to have a love for reading, but somehow that love hasn’t followed them into their adult life.

My hope for the book club is that people find their love for reading again. I’m personally excited to talk about books, read books that I usually wouldn’t pick out and have a reason to spend time with others.

For our first month, I said I would pick the book and I’d host book club at my home. I didn’t expect picking the book would be so stressful! My criteria for the book was the following:

• available in paperback
• spooky in some way (because October)
• under 400 pages
• page-turner but has depth

After reading many book reviews, I landed on Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. It’s about a traveling theatre group in post-apocalyptic America. As I’m writing this, I have not started the book yet. I’ll be starting the book tonight! Of course, starting a book club made me also want to code a rotating 3D book because why not.

If you are interested in what else I’ve read, I post book reviews in my Instagram story highlights and I also post my reading on GoodReads

About the 3D Rotating Book I coded…

I followed SuperHi’s tutorial How to make an interactive rotating 3d cube with CSS and Javascript. You can view my codepen below or here for the full HTML, CSS and JavaScript.

I was asked this question by a student when I spoke to one of Lamar Dodd School of Art’s classes this Fall of 2019. [side note Lamar Dodd School of Art is one of my clients!] We were discussing running a business as an artist.

When the student asked this question, I was struck by the word “failed”.

Because to “fail” means you tried, really hard. And honestly, when I see a freelancer or any business owner try very hard…they don’t fail. When I answered the student, I rephrased the question for my answer.

I haven’t met freelancers that “failed” but I have met freelancers that never made it, I said.

Freelancers that never make their work their whole thing. Freelancer that phrase their work as something they do “on the side”, “sometimes”, “a little bit”. Freelancers that never leave their full-time job*. Freelancers that say “I’m not a professional at this or anything”.

These are the ones that do not make it.

So, I wanted to tell you what I told the student.

If you are going to be a freelancer (aka become a business owner), you need to make your business your whole identity.

What you do should be on every social media profile of yours, it should be the first way you describe yourself.

Maybe you work at a coffee shop full-time to pay the bills (what I did all through college). But you aren’t a barista, you are a photographer (or web developer, or videographer, or writer).

When someone asks you what you do, say “I’m a photographer” not “I do photography on the side sometimes”. Even if you only have one photography client a month. Who cares.

Also, if you want to be a business owner you should put all your eggs in that basket, aka make it a full-time commitment, as soon as possible.

(I will say that freelancing isn’t for everyone and some people thrive working full-time for a company. I support that 100%!)

I was thrust into full-time freelancing after I got fired from my first agency job. I got fired because I published my freelance portfolio website. I just wanted to make a few thousand dollars to pay off a new (to me, very used to the world) car. I did not want to quit my job. I did not want to freelance full-time. That’s because I didn’t think I would make it.

Getting fired was the best thing that happened to me. It forced me to commit 110% to freelancing. I had no savings, I had no clients, but I had 24 hours a day to try. To try very hard.

Also, money.

When you are a freelancer, money will be something you talk about every day. Money will be something that doesn’t come every two weeks. My advice is to..

1. Get over any weirdness you have about money. Know what you have, know what you need to survive or thrive, know how to give a fair quote to clients. And when I say fair, I mean fair to you. Fair enough that you can make a living! Read more about my money thoughts @ How to File your Taxes as a Freelancer.
2. Save money. Obsessively. Literally nothing will feel better than knowing that you could have no work and no income for six full months and you’ll be fine. Like paying your bills and meeting your friends for dinner kind of fine. Actually the only thing that will feel better than that will be having enough for a whole year (my current goal). In the three years since I started my business, I’ve let my consumerism fade away. I don’t crave many things. I can attribute that to the fact that many affordable things make me very happy (library books, grocery shopping, exercising). Another benefit to saving money is that you can be more picky about the work you choose. If a project sounds stressful with a not-so-nice client — skip it! You can afford to. Money is not what determines happiness, but it can give you some peace of mind and a little freedom.

So, no, I don’t think anyone is destined to fail at freelancing. I do think some will give up on it before they really, really try to make it work. And I want you to know, that one, I believe in anyone who wants to do this — I don’t care if you have no clients, savings or experience. And, two, I’m here for any questions or advice on how to run a business independently.

*There are some freelancers that ❤ their full-time job and love the freelancing they do on the side and I totally respect that. However I do see a lot of people that never quit their full-time job because of fear and self-doubt. That’s who I’m talking to here!