article thumbnail

How to Start a Small Web Design Firm

Up and Running

For web designers, transitioning from working full-time for someone else to freelancing has some perks, like being your own boss and having a more flexible work schedule. While you may envision running an agency full of designers in the future, you’ll probably begin your journey as an independent (solo) freelancer.

Web 86
article thumbnail

Need a Technical Co-founder? Hire a Product Design Lead First

This is going to be BIG.

If you read Marco from Instapaper, you see that what makes Instapaper great isn’t the technology and his ability to write code, but his thoughtfulness around design. He thinks about how he can offer solutions, not create more problems like RSS readers did. This is where product and design leads come into play.

Cofounder 123
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

How To Be More Persuasive On Your Website

YoungUpstarts

Social persuasion isn’t new – websites have promoted their websites on Facebook and Twitter for years now. Their attempts have mainly been aimed at promoting existing websites, though. Making social persuasion a part of the very way a website is designed is a more recent idea. Place customer testimonials wisely.

article thumbnail

The Best Small Business Tools of 2013

Up and Running

I like the Kanban board design for project management, which makes it easy to organize tasks by what stage of completion they’re in. ” -Mike Wheeler, Lead Web Developer. While Flipboard can also serve as a solid RSS reader, Feedly excels at skimming through tons of content and surfacing interesting content quickly.”

article thumbnail

Ardent War Story 5: The Best Marketers Are Engineers

Steve Blank

We hired a PhD in computational fluid dynamics from Duke who had worked on helicopter design. Theme: Digg 3 Column by WP Designer. At the time this was a pretty controversial decision. These hires were definitely not your standard marketing types. Years later he would become a venture capitalist at Sequoia Capital.) Now In Print!

Engineer 205
article thumbnail

Seven Compelling Reasons Why You Should Redesign Your Website

crowdSPRING Blog

Establishing a presence on the web was probably one of the first things you set up, after your logo and branding strategy. But is your website as effective as it could be? As we wrote recently , If your website isn’t well-designed, quick-to-load, and easy-to-navigate, you’re sabotaging your brand’s valuable online presence.

Mobile 48
article thumbnail

HOW TO: Build an App for Your Small Business

mashable.com

This will protect all parties involved, ensuring your developer is treated fairly, your work is done in a timely manner and all expectations are met on both sides. Also make sure that you’re communicating well with any web developers or designers you hire. Want "just another crappy app"? Go ahead and DIY.