Could someone answer these questions please?

@AzureTempestJun 24.2014

I started learning web design a few days ago, so I am new to this. While e-books can teach you a lot about the technical part (HTML, CSS, Java…), some quite important things are still left unanswered. I’ve searched online, but I couldn’t find a proper explanation for any of these. Could you please answer them:

~~[SIZE=3]~~~~[B]~~1.[/B][/SIZE] ~~[COLOR=”#0000CD”]~~~~[B]~~How to select the best site dimensions, and how to make it flexible, so it fits all screens and devices?[/B][/COLOR]

~~[SIZE=3]~~~~[B]~~2.[/B][/SIZE] ~~[COLOR=”#0000CD”]~~~~[B]~~Are web designers supposed to maintain the site of their clients? What does maintenance consist of, and how time-consuming it is for a web designer to maintain client many sites at once?[/B][/COLOR]

~~[SIZE=3]~~~~[B]~~3.[/B][/SIZE] ~~[COLOR=”#0000CD”]~~~~[B]~~Client needs a multi-regional site, and I don’t speak other languages beside english. It isn’t a problem to translate a few words, but text needs to have an flawless grammar, no matter the language. What about that?[/B][/COLOR]

~~[SIZE=3]~~~~[B]~~4.[/B][/SIZE] ~~[COLOR=”#0000CD”]~~~~[B]~~What if the client doesn’t like the site? Does he have to pay? Should clients pay before or after the project.[/B][/COLOR]

~~[SIZE=3]~~~~[B]~~5.[/B][/SIZE] ~~[COLOR=”#0000CD”]~~~~[B]~~Who pays for hosting and domain?[/B][/COLOR]

~~[SIZE=3]~~~~[B]~~6.[/B][/SIZE] ~~[COLOR=”#0000CD”]~~~~[B]~~If client has no knowledge about operating a website, am I obliged to teach him the basics or maintain the site in his place?[/B][/COLOR]

~~[SIZE=3]~~~~[B]~~7.[/B][/SIZE] ~~[COLOR=”#0000CD”]~~~~[B]~~To work in a company or to be a freelancer? Tell me about your experiences.[/B][/COLOR]

~~[SIZE=3]~~~~[B]~~8.[/B][/SIZE] ~~[COLOR=”#0000CD”]~~~~[B]~~Do professionals know basic color codes, or do they have to look them up online? Wonder if I need to know them to work for a reputable company.[/B][/COLOR]

Many questions, but I really need to know all of it. Thanks in advance!

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Full-stack Developer

8 Comments(s) _↴

@tracknutJun 24.2014 — #

1. Read up on "Responsive Design" - that's the current model & trend for dealing with various display sizes

2. Depends on your contract with your client. Maintenance could include code changes, content changes, hosting and domain support, etc, and be as time consuming as your customers demand.

3. There are services that will do translations for you.

4. Probably a good idea to be checking with the client during the development, rather than a big surprise at the end ?. Typically you'd charge some portion up front, maybe some progress payments, and some at the end.

5. Depends on the contract you have with the client.

6. Depends on the contract you have with the client.

7. I've only freelanced. Make sure you know how to run a business, deal with taxes and laws, etc, as well of course as how to work with customers.

8. I'd assume you could come up with the hex codes for the primary and secondary colors, but after that no, I don't know anyone who can tell me the hex code for "ochre" off the top of his head.

@AzureTempestauthorJun 25.2014 — #Alright, that's just what I wanted to know. Thanks a lot man.

Contracts and legal work sound quite troublesome. I didn't know that freelancers have to go through that.

@PromaticsJun 25.2014 — #Good answer and these are also very useful for me.

@tracknutJun 25.2014 — #
Contracts and legal work sound quite troublesome. I didn't know that freelancers have to go through that.[/QUOTE]

That's kind of the main difference between running your own business and working for someone else. If you run the business, you need to find and contract with customers and handle the business operations (accounting, payroll, taxes) as well as doing the development. If you work for someone else, they hand you a project and you start work.

@AzureTempestauthorJun 25.2014 — #Makes sense. After all, running a business of any kind means going through a lot paperwork and legal problems. Thanks again.

@hudafaeqJun 26.2014 — #Agreed with all answers by tracknut.

1. Read up on "Responsive Design" - that's the current model & trend for dealing with various display sizes

2. Depends on your contract with your client. Maintenance could include code changes, content changes, hosting and domain support, etc, and be as time consuming as your customers demand.

3. There are services that will do translations for you.

4. Probably a good idea to be checking with the client during the development, rather than a big surprise at the end ?. Typically you'd charge some portion up front, maybe some progress payments, and some at the end.

5. Depends on the contract you have with the client.

6. Depends on the contract you have with the client.

7. I've only freelanced. Make sure you know how to run a business, deal with taxes and laws, etc, as well of course as how to work with customers.

8. I'd assume you could come up with the hex codes for the primary and secondary colors, but after that no, I don't know anyone who can tell me the hex code for "ochre" off the top of his head.[/QUOTE]

@steve_dswtplJun 27.2014 — #Good answers are give here that very helpful to others.

@deathshadowJul 03.2014 — #These are some good questions -- and good foresight on your part asking them. MOST of them unfortunately are shades of grey on answers, but there are a few that IMHO have solid answers.

1. How to select the best site dimensions, and how to make it flexible, so it fits all screens and devices?[/quote]
You're kind of answering your own question -- the best dimensions to design to is NONE; because if it's flexible it will expand, contract, and re-adjust to fit. Kind of like what Bruce Lee said about water; You pour it into a cup, it becomes the cup. You pour it into a bowl, it becomes the bowl.

Any 'width' choices you make should first be 'elastic', which is to say declared in EM's. This is so that your layout auto-enlarges or shrinks based on the user's default font size preference as not everyone uses the magical 16px default found on most OS. That's also why you shouldn't declare text in pixel sizes as it too won't auto-expand -- the only reason to use px on fonts being in more advanced situations like image interactions and/or replacements.

Though overall your layout should be semi-fluid, auto-adjusting in width to the available space, but with a max-width so that long lines of text aren't hard to read. Side columns are usually best made as a 'fixed elastic width' -- when you have side columns.

How big should that max width be? How big should the side columns be? However large the content needs them to be. Content should dictate your layout widths, NOT your design. I know that probably sounds backwards from what you've already heard, but what you've already heard is IMHO putting the cart before the horse.

Content is what's important -- it's why websites EXIST; to deliver content to users. As such you want a 'content first' atttitude when working with your design. Content dictates markup, content, markup and screen size dictate design.

Instead of wasting time designing to specific widths, choose your break points and widths based on the available space and needs of the content. That's how 'good' responsive layout can be done, you just shrink the browser window until it breaks, make a media query to adjust the layout so it's not broken for at least another major shrink, then lather-rinse-repeat.

2. Are web designers supposed to maintain the site of their clients? What does maintenance consist of, and how time-consuming it is for a web designer to maintain client many sites at once?[/quote]
A designer? Unlikely. A DEVELOPER, possibly. Sorry, "designer" has a negative connotation to me now because it makes me think of people drawing goofy pictures in photoshop and having the giant set of brass to claim they know anything about web design despite not knowing enough HTML, CSS, or accessibility to be designing a blasted thing for anyone.

That said -- developers can be contracted or retained to maintain a site for the client, or not. It can go either way and it depends on the needs of the client and the agreement hopefully reached before work starts.

3. Client needs a multi-regional site, and I don't speak other languages beside english. It isn't a problem to translate a few words, but text needs to have an flawless grammar, no matter the language. What about that?[/quote]
Automated translation is rubbish -- universally it just doesn't work worth a flying purple fish. IF the client has multi-language needs, and they are SERIOUS about it, they should hire professional translaters (which is not cheap) to translate their content as needed.

Though there will always be people who try to cheap out on this -- and usually the results make [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hw71HxAiBTE]Macho Business Donkey Wrestler[/url] look good.

4. What if the client doesn't like the site? Does he have to pay? Should clients pay before or after the project.[/quote]
Getting stiffed by clients used to be rare, but in todays world there's a reason I got in the habit of requiring 30% up front and a NOTORIZED contract. Any client that balked at that can hit the pavement.

So far as the design process goes, if they "don't like it" there's probably something wrong with the communication during the development process. As you go keeping them updated and getting feedback is a must have, or you can very quickly find yourself on the road to failure. There's a lot of back and forth which is why developing the ability to communicate clearly and understand a client's needs is one of the biggest assets you can have.

... at least until you get old, bitter, and start telling clients where they can shove it. Give it a decade or two.

5. Who pays for hosting and domain?[/quote]
Typically the client, though some "one stop shops" will try to sell you "the whole package" -- I usually advise people against using one stop shops, because it's the client's website, not the developer's. You never know if you want to switch developers, or might need to should something like death show up; or something truly ugly and terrifying like the developer wanting to switch you to HTML 5 and jQuery.

6. If client has no knowledge about operating a website, am I obliged to teach him the basics or maintain the site in his place?[/quote]
Entirely up to you if you want to go there; there are a LOT of people out there who don't know enough about having a website to have a website, that still seem to think they should have one. Typically dealing with these types of clients means you either rip them off and run, or are stuck with a man-hours pit that will cost you more in labor in the long run than they could ever pay you. You end up going there, get an ironclad contract and a in writing billable rate!

7. To work in a company or to be a freelancer? Tell me about your experiences.[/quote]
There are advantages and disadvantages to both.

Working for a company has the biggest advantage that usually you're not the one spending (unpaid) time looking for clients; the boss or marketing finds a client, assigns it to you, and you run with it. You get a steady paycheck even when there are no new clients, but your income potential is limited.

The biggest disadvantages I found in working for a company were first that you couldn't kick problem clients to the curb; a LOT of people who "want a website" probably shouldn't have sites in the first place, or have completely unrealistic expectations. Worse the company usually wants you to cookie-cutter everything; there is bloated crap many of them expect you to use like HTML and JS frameworks regardless of if the customer needs it or not or if the page would be easier to maintain without that nonsense -- and they'll often sell the client on some stupid artist designed PSD that has jack **** to do with sane and rational site design... which quite often paints you into a corner of sleazing out a site you don't even want your name associated with. Generally speaking the quality of the work from companies is rubbish because the employees don't care and the boss and clients don't know any better -- making it a very BAD place to work if you have any clue what you are doing.

There's a reason the last time I was working for a company I stormed in the boss' office and yelled at him "You don't know **** about doing this, you hired me because of that! If you're not going to let me do the job how it should be done WHAT THE **** DID YOU HIRE ME FOR!"

Freelancing on the other hand frees you to avoid problem by letting you filter out 'bad clients', educate clients, and you can charge the full-on rate of $100/hour or more... You can build a site pretty much the way they should be built. You don't have some stupid 'designer' in your face with their ultimately useless bloated crap, you don't have some manager who wants everything sleazed out with the current trendy and ultimately pointless HTML or JS framework...

BUT -- you will find yourself spending a LOT of unpaid time on self promotion and finding clients; those nice big pay rates? Also has to cover the time spent not building websites, which is why you can charge the big bucks... the same big bucks the companies charge and then split between the 'team' goes entirely into your pocket... but then you have to be really good at managing your money. You build a rep for reliability and quality work, it's a sustainable profession...

If as a freelancer you vomited up the quality of work most 'design companies' call a website, you'd make more money flipping burgers for a living; since then you're competing with the college and high school kids still having life paid for by mommy and daddy -- or the "I can haz intarnets" dime a dozen broken engrish moist goodry crowd from places like India.

8. Do professionals know basic color codes, or do they have to look them up online? Wonder if I need to know them to work for a reputable company.[/quote]
Real developers don't use the named 'color codes' if that's what you mean. They're hard to remember, and most of them aren't even part of the W3C specification! What you want to learn is called "colourspace" -- how to mix the hexidecimal RGB numbers to make the colors you want. That's not 'color codes', that's color mixing.

Once you know hexadecimal and how to add them together, you can state all 16.7 million possible display colors with ease using the six digit (24 bit) version, or the 4096 possible combinations of the 3 digit (12 bit) version.

The big thing you should learn about colour is how it applies to accessibility and legibility. I wrote a more clear (than the W3C version) explanation of that in this thread:

http://www.webdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?295779-HTML-form-code-generator&p=1336413#post1336413

That should help you understand it assuming you can make sense of RGB and hex.

Hope this helps.