Crafting beautiful sites for unique people and organizations. Artist. Listener. Learner.

Moving into independent projects, but still taking on new clients.

Working as a solo freelancer or as part of a team. Occasional subcontractor to other designer/developers.

Think we might be a good match to work together to make your website better and your customer interaction more useful? Write me at cheryl@cflinn.com.

Include the following information:

• Your full name and your company or organization’s name.
• Your physical location (city, state/province, country).
• Your phone number.
• Your current website’s address (if you have one).
• Your new website’s name or goal (if you don’t have a website address).
• Money parameters: Your budget (required; a rough estimate is fine).
• Time parameters: When you need/want your site work completed.
• How you were referred to me (if you recall).

After receiving your email, we can briefly chat (phone or email) and then I’ll send you a short worksheet for a bit more information so I can draft an estimate for your review.

A bit more about CFDS

C Flinn Development Studio exists around the goal of creating effective, forward-compatible, web standard compliant websites. It’s a demanding and constantly-evolving field and is something that can be done well or done poorly. You wouldn’t believe the number of factors that should be considered.

I’ve been working online for over 10 years. I like the variety and challenge of web design, coming to it (as others have) from working in desktop publishing (print layout and design). My formal education is in fine art, but I always enjoyed mathematics. Since web design requires both sides — the creative and analytic — to work in sync, it’s a comfortable place to be for me.

But site development is too broad and complex a field for one to be universally adept. So I work with a network of specialists who can bring his or her expertise to your project, as needed. Since there’s no standing overhead, this reduces your costs. It works well.

C Flinn Development Studio clients are often small businesses, individuals, and not-for-profit agencies for whom we can create or refurbish sites so that they can achieve their unique goals and they can manage their sites in the most time- and cost-effective manner possible. An estimate costs nothing but a little bit of your time in providing me with your requirements. Let me know if I might be able to help you get where you need to be.

Simple but not always great

The easiest tack to take is to just create an email link. But that can open the door to an awful lot of unwanted spammy attention. If you’re going to use a simple mailto link on your site, at least consider mangling it a bit so it’s not so easily spotted.

Contact forms can carry extra weight

A secure form (be sure your web developer creates one that can’t be easily hijacked) has two key benefits:

• It keeps your email address securely hidden from the casual (and possibly nefarious) browser
• It can be configured to ask an array of targeted questions that can give you a jump-start in communicating with your prospective clients

What’s a poor form to do?

The down side of forms is that the same autobots that haunt blog comments will inevitably find their way to your contact form. Forget that fact that one person in a thousand will ever click on their nonsensical emanations; those odds sound good to them. So there’s a few options.

• You can have your form custom programmed to discard any posts with links. Of course, if your target audience might need to communicate this it’s not so helpful.
• You can employ some variety of CAPTCHA wherein someone wanting to communicate with you must type in a word or two before the form can be submitted. Not so onerous, but consider your demographic and if their sophistication/online-experience level might be atypically low (or their impatience level might be especially high).
• If you’re a design client, ask me about deploying what we’ve used with other sites.

Back to basics

Discarding forms altogether, you can write out your email address like “john at company dot com”. Again, you need to weigh the sophistication of your audience (will they understand?) as well as the potential annoyance (will they bother to type out the email themselves)?

Full circle

There’s no purely “right answer” here and the sand (and trends) are always shifting. Take a moment to re-read my article on how to reduce spam to see if it gives you any ideas. Some good spam filter software (or a catch-all Google Mail address) might solve some issues.

In the end you’ll need to consider your needs and your audience’s needs and reach an accommodation that strikes a happy balance.

Three times someone wrote to me — people that I know in two cases, the 3rd was a local small business I patronize — and they addressed the email to or cc to from 13 to about 88 people.

That email was important. And you were so thoughtful so as to include me — albeit so very visibly — in your group of people you really care about. But I don’t know them. And now they can see my own email address, out there all naked and unhidden. I know that since I like you I’d probably like your friends — but maybe not.

And I do have plenty of friends. And I use Twitter and other social media all the time. I know how to socialize. So even though I’m sure they’re all great, don’t give my email address away like that. Please?

Maybe you’ve heard of these malware and spybot computer things?

I know that you keep your computer up to date with patches and anti-virals and all the other de-germing stuff you have to do with PCs. Damn hackers and script kiddies. But maybe some of your friends are not so careful? And maybe you just slapped my email address right into the middle of your cousin Andy’s machine (he’s the one who has to call you about how to print out screenshots, remember?) and I just know he’s probably got a zillion keytrackers and address-book harvesters running rampant. So, let’s just not do that again, okay?

You’ve got to protect your own reputation, too

I mean, web servers start seeing you sending out those mass emails, gives them pause, right? They know that that’s what the bad folks do, sending out emails to 20 or 50 or 100 people. So maybe they look a little harder at what you’re up to. And maybe they put you on a list of people that could be a little “iffy”. You don’t want to even go there.

Next time: stop, check, think before you press “send”

This is what I’d love you to do. It’s not a big hassle, really. And it would make it even more obvious what a smart person you are. And you are, of course, since you’re my friend.

• If you’re sending out notices regularly, and you’re a business, check into a service that will make sure you do it right, and professionally. I love MailChimp. They have great online tools, helps, and tracking for feedback. (You don’t want to guess about these things.) Other options are Emma and ConstantContact.
• Kind of chatty? Think about a blog. That way I can subscribe to you and you don’t even have to worry about telling me when you have your next great idea or need to pass along that newsflash.

Otherwise, this is it:

Become friends with the BCC field in your email program. Put me and all your other BFFs in the BCC field. (Stands for “blind carbon copy” — crazy antiquated term, but it works.) And in the TO field, put your own email address.

Now you’re emailing everyone the right way. And because you’re my friend, I want the best for you.

But if your install isn’t up to date — if you’re running an older version — you might want to read this post from HQ that makes an interesting point about car thefts, The Club, and lojack methods.

Afterwards, come back and mull over this quote:

A stitch in time saves nine. Upgrading is a known quantity of work, and one that the WordPress community has tried its darndest to make as easy as possible with one-click upgrades. Fixing a hacked blog, on the other hand, is quite hard. Upgrading is taking your vitamins; fixing a hack is open heart surgery. (This is true of cost, as well.)

Updated!
Someone chats with the 17 year old hacker who hacked his blog and asks why.

Skitch (Mac only)

Skitch is my favorite screenshot software. I use it to show draft sketches and designs to clients. It’s easy to upload to their server (or put in an email or IM or blog, should I want to) and I can either point to the item directly or I can choose to allow comments.

There are several easy-to-do, intuitive editing features built in like resizing and annotating.

Jing (Windows or Mac)

Jing comes from the people who make Camtasia and SnagIt, two well-known commercial softwares for Windows PCs. But Jing is free and allows for both screenshots and screen video capture. You can upload your screenshots easily to their server and (with the paid version) your videos can be sent to Vimeo, Facebook, or YouTube.

Watch the movies

Both are downloaded softwares that you install on your machine. As with all software, be sure to follow good practices when trying something out; just because it works well for us (and lots of others) doesn’t mean it’s a good choice for you.

But take a moment and watch the movies on both sites. It might be just the productivity kick (and frustration reducer) you’ve been looking for.

#1 — Who am I?

Look in the mirror. That’s you. Now look at your web site. Consistent? Does your site reflect your style, your essence? Or were you trying too hard to copy others so what is unique about you got lost in the process?

You know how you get a first impression when you meet someone and shake their hand? What vibe does someone get when they’re first viewing your site? How does it (you) present itself? Are you genuine?

#2 — Who am I talking to?

Think about someone you always listen to. They speak, and they have your ear. Do those that visit your site feel that way? Do they feel confident in your authority in your field of speciality? The days of “build a web site and they will come” passed with the old millennium. Choices abound. Do I know the people I want to speak to — do I have them clearly in mind — and does my site express that I understand?

#3 — Have I put up barriers?

Is my site sending subtle messages? Were you dragged into putting up a site so it’s the bare minimum and your visitors feel the cold shoulder? Did you try to do the site yourself so you don’t understand why people (on other types of computers) are getting error messages? Are the interactive areas of your site giving cues and feedback to help people? Does your site hide information or make it a puzzle to get from Point A to Point B?

#4 — Am I stale?

Picture a movie theatre that always plays “Jaws” (the original, of course; the sequels were horrible). Great movie. But how many times can a person see the same thing? Ticket sales would be pretty sad. Why would you do that to your website? Are you planning on never having repeat visitors? So why do they want to see the same thing each time? What are you doing to keep your site content from being old and stale?

And if you’ve got an established site, check out if your visual presentation and user interface (ack, sorry, techy term) and even the back end programming are holding you back from giving your visitors the right idea about you or your organization.

#5 — Where am I going?

Where do I expect to be in 1 year, 3 years, 5 years? My web site is a part of the body of my organization, a tool in my toolbelt, a key element. Have I asked myself how I can best utilize its strengths to help me get there — things I can implement now? And do I have a flexible structure that will allow me to integrate and expand where I see and/or want growth?

Can you answer these questions? If I can help you communicate the answers, let me know. I’m just an email away: cheryl@cflinn.com

• hosting
• logo creation
• multimedia
• search engine optimization and consultation and reporting services *
• social media integration
• sales of digital product
• sales of physical product via PayPal
• sales of physical product via full e-commerce system (req. merchant account)
• photo shoots (local)
• (and more; just ask)

But then, you might be surprised what comes “as standard” with all our projects. Contact me for an estimate and find out.

* Please let us know at the time you request an estimate whether you’d be interested in professional search engine optimization services by the professional, ethical, organic-methods SEO specialist I can add to your team. Services can include:

• A simple report to see what search engines you’re appearing in.
• Generation of keyword phrases unique to your market niche.
• A thorough competitive analysis of those keyword phrases.
• Web copywriting with an SEO-sensitive slant.
• Consultation (phone, email) by the hour.

Once I know what services you’re interested in, fees for those services can be listed as an option on your estimate.

And, since “content” can mean several things, they can differ greatly in how well-adapted they may be to a given task or project.

I would be more than delighted to talk to you about how your site’s performance and ease of maintenance might be improved by using a content management system such as WordPress, which can be modified in a way to make it completely “yours” — design-wise.

Email me and I’ll collect some basic information and draft a free estimate for your review. cheryl@cflinn.com

C Flinn Development Studio sites start at about $500. That’s spare change in the world of advertising. And yet your website will be standing in for you, available to “talk to” — your clients, membership, customers — any time of day or night, long after that not-so-inexpensive ad is gone and forgotten.

Required, not optional

Your online presence shouldn’t be an afterthought. You need to budget for it. It’s not 1995 anymore and having a vibrant and interactive site is no longer an option — it’s a business requirement.

You let me know

But if your organization is needing to be prudent about investments right now, that’s just good sense. And the great news is that it doesn’t mean you have to have a third rate or antiquated website. Let me see how I can work within your budget. Contact me for a free estimate today.

First, I want to distinguish what I mean by “spam” as opposed to “another annoying email.” If you have an account at Macy’s or buy from Amazon.com or got some software from XYZDevelopers, and you checked (or didn’t uncheck) a box at some point that said “it’s okay to send me your newsletter and/or important news blasts,” that is not spam. All responsible emailers from responsible businesses have an “unsubscribe” link in their messages. Use it.

What to do if you’re getting it

So now we’re left with the cheap jewelry and the personal enhancers and wildly frisky people longing to meet you. Clearly spam. They drive you around the bend, don’t they?  In this case the rule is quite different: never never never click “unsubscribe” in any of these emails. If you do, you’ve just done them a favor by confirming that there’s a real live pair of eyes at the other end and your email address will be even more deluged.

Mac people: If you’re using Apple Mail, consider turning off the “Display remote images..” setting in Viewing preferences. (Or choose a similar setting in whatever email you use.) And check into SpamSieve, which is a brilliant software. Simple, focused, almost entirely self-monitoring, and to-the-point.

How to avoid getting spam in the first place

The A number one bit of advice is never never never never put your email on your website. Have your web developer install a contact form. If you must display your email, have your web developer encode or otherwise obfuscate your email address. I would wager that about 100% of the spam received is received by people who put their bare naked email address on the web. Spambots are waiting to pounce.

I know this from personal experience because I’d adhered carefully to best practices with one of my email addresses but unbeknownst to me, it was put in a PDF that was posted to a web site (a business group I belonged to), and from there on out the jig was up.

Get a general-contact email address from GoogleMail

There are a lot of times when you need to sign up for a forum or a service and you’re not quite sure of their privacy rules. For example, I have an email I use for my accounting activities, and one or more of the services I’ve used decided to spread the joy by selling or sharing that email address. I’ve learned from that and now use a free Google Mail address for all sign-ups, registrations, services, etc. Not only do I have tons of space (very easily searchable, as you might expect from Google), but their email has very accurate spam-spotting algorithms and so I never have to have any of that download to my computer.

Infected friends

The recommendations above cover a lot of ground, but recognize that sometimes it’s out of your hands. You could have a friend or colleague with an infected PC and by virtue of being in their address book, your email address became compromised. The best thing you can do is to encourage your friends and associates to keep their patches and virus protection up to date (if they’re on Windows OS, especially) and to follow the simple recommendations listed above.

Spam is here to stay but there are ways to get above it!

My own inclinations are more adjectival and less portmanteau-ish but I was glad Shelly (@brassblogs) found this decisive snippet:

How should the term ‘website’ be written in official documents and on the web? Should it be website or web site, and should there be a capital W?

It always takes a little time for new words to settle to a standardized form. Our most recent dictionary, the revised 11th edition of the Concise Oxford Dictionary, published in July 2004, shows website as the standard form, and future dictionaries will reflect this.

We recommend capital initials for Internet, World Wide Web, the Web, but not for individual sites.