I just returned from my grandmother’s funeral in North Carolina, a beautiful celebration of her 94-year life that came to an end in August. Her unwavering commitment to family blessed me with close relationships with my aunts, uncles, and a dozen cousins.
Rev. James Forbes spoke at her funeral and told stories of her simple but powerful goodness — how she made everyone she met feel like a human, feel valued and equal, feel dignified. She welcomed everyone into her home, fed us all with whatever she had in the fridge, and always waved us goodbye from her front gate.
I’m feeling sappy post-Thanksgiving/funeral/time with too-far-away family, but I’ve been savoring this reminder of my why, which stretches into my work. I love that through my work, I can come into people’s lives, help them through a headachey thing (making a website), feed them the knowledge I’ve gathered over the years, and wave goodbye when it’s time for them to head home.
And the thing I really love about websites is that they can do some work for us — they’re out there sharing who we are so we can lean in to the conversations that stretch on after dinner. I’m honored to get to take some of the burden off, to set up a tool that lets my clients slip out into the rest of their lives more easily. And to do the same myself.
This Month’s Observation: “Call for pricing” kind of stinks.
Many people who don’t list pricing on their website do it for good reason: no two projects or services are the same, and they (we) don’t want to set unrealistic expectations.
But especially these days, showing people what they can expect to invest if they want to work with you can go a long way. If you can break it down, give ranges, or share a starting at price, I believe you’ll better serve your website visitors.
With that in mind, I just published a blog post on how much a website designer costs. I’m also offering a few new a la carte work options for small business owners who don’t need the whole enchilada.
- Website Help Call – I often do hourly consulting with clients, but some website owners just need to phone a trusted website friend, ask their questions, and get back to work. I’m offering this new ask-me-anything style call at just $125.
- Website Planning Workshops – For most website builds these days, I require a planning workshop before we start building. These strategy workshops are $650 and I offer them a la carte too, meaning we can work together to plan your website before you DIY it.
- Website Setup & Launch Only – Adding in website content (copywriting, images, buttons, etc.) can be a really time-consuming part of the website design process. For DIY-oriented clients with simple website needs, this takes all the techy stuff off your plate for a lower cost than a full build. This works best with Squarespace, but I’ve done WordPress setup & launch projects too. These projects range from $1,200-$2,200.
Website & SEO Updates from Around the Web
Is Domain Name a Google Ranking Factor?
I get this question a lot. Keywords in your domain name don’t matter anymore, but your domain name still matters from a UX and public image perspective. I have a module on choosing a domain name in my upcoming course.
DTC advertisers are looking at different and less expensive marketing platforms
DTC stands for direct-to-consumer. If you’re having trouble with Facebook and Instagram ads that used to work, you’re in good company.
The Top Marketing Trends of 2023
Two main things to focus on IMO: full site mobile optimization is a must, and social media should already be treated like a customer service tool.
A good read if you’re DIYing your SEO.
The Web Has an Outdated Software Problem
Outdated software poses big security risks. There can be good reasons to wait to update software, but this is why I recommend monthly maintenance plans to WordPress website owners. If you have a Squarespace, Shopify, Wix, Weebly, etc. website, you don’t need to worry about any of this! Read more on PHP from Kinsta.
Meetup.com Removes Accessibility Overlay
If you’re still using an accessibility overlay, I recommend ditching it and taking some steps to make your website more accessible.
Happy Giving Tuesday!
In case you have the means to share and aren’t sure where, here are a few causes worthy of support IMO:
The Cairn Project supports outdoor learning & leadership for girls+ around the US.
Loving Black Single Mothers is dedicated, through radical action, to the thriving and well-being of Black single mothers.
Homeboy Industries – “This is not work of helping, but of finding kinship,” from a wonderful On Being episode about the org.
