Writing

The Ideal Project Team

Good things come in small packages and I believe the ideal size for a web team consists of around 5 people. To start with you need somebody to bring in the business. This person obviously needs to be a good salesperson, but not in a pushy, telesales kind of way. They need to be confident and charismatic, comfortable presenting to the board or mixing at networking events. As they will be dealing primarily with other business people, it helps if they come from a business background. However they still need to have a solid understanding of the web.

What's in a Name

Most mature industries have pretty fixed job titles and roles. Take the construction industry for instance. You've got Architects, Engineers and Draftsmen. You've got Electricians and Carpenters, Bricklayers and Plumbers, Foremen and Site Inspectors. Each one has a defined role and if you met one down the pub, you'd have a pretty good idea what their job entailed. The movie industry is the same. Every film will have a Director and a Cinematographer. There will be Producers, Actors, Special Effects people and Stuntmen. Each person knows roughly what the other does and how all the roles fit together to produce a great – or not so great – movie.

A Long Weekend In New York

After SXSW Interactive wrapped up, most of the "BritPack" headed off home. However I decided to make the most of my time away, so arranged to meet up with my girlfriend for a long weekend away in New York. I've always wanted to visit New York, but despite all my travelling, it's a place I've never managed to get to. New York is one of those big cities–like London, Sydney or Hong Kong– that you absolutely have to visit at least once in your life. We live in an age where American popular culture has penetrated the furthest reaches of the world, and New York takes centre stage in our collective consciousness. It's one of the places that you've seen so many times on TV and in the movies, you feel you know it, even if you've never been there before. It didn't disappoint.

Diving the Southern Red Sea on the Sea Serpent

The Business Case for Web Accessibility

Until recently, few businesses had given much thought to the topic of Web Accessibility. However thanks to the tireless work of organisations like the RNIB, this is starting to change. In this article I hope to give a brief outline about exactly what web accessibility is, and then explain how building an accessible website can have a positive impact on your business, both in terms of PR and ROI.

The Pricing Problem

Working out a price for a website can be a bit of a guessing game. Quite often people will get in touch with you (and a dozen other agencies) asking for a quote with very little or no information to go on.