Business

Drew McLellan puts the chairs up on the tables, sweeps the floor, and closes off our season, and indeed the entire 24 ways project with a look back at what it’s meant to run this site as a site project, and what impact side projects can have on the work we do. Will the last one out turn off Christmas the lights?

Laura Kalbag discusses the gift of personal data we give to Big Tech when we share information on its platforms, and how reviving ye olde personal website can be one way to stay in control of the content we share and the data we leak. Christmas is a time for giving, but know what you’re giving to whom.

Mazz Mosley hands out the sheet music, gives a quick blast on a pitch pipe, and counts us in with a rousing chorus to remind us that leaders are made, not born. Just like a good box of chocolates, styles of leadership come in all shapes and flavours, each with its own function and purpose. Just avoid the coconut ones.

Anna Shipman looks back across the wintery landscape to her time spent working on the UK’s Government Digital Service. Like the busy elves in Santa’s workshop, government digital workers toil tirelessly for the benefit of people everywhere. The very best of them, however, also share their blueprints.

Drew McLellan wraps up our 2017 series with a gentle reminder that in a rapidly moving industry, the best technology for the job isn’t always the newest. And while Christmas tradition tells us we should follow the bright star, sometimes the answer lies closer to home. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

Suzanna Haworth turns off the daytime TV and puts on her favourite Christmas slippers to discuss the subject of distributed teams. Is working away from the office the key to health and productivity, or a way to avoid small talk at the Christmas party? Well, at least you’ll be home when the postman delivers your shopping.

Meri Williams sets her sights on self improvement in 2017 with a guide to personal development. Like a good Christmas dinner, you can set a beautiful table, but unless you get the turkey prepared and into the oven, it’s never going to be ready to serve.

Andy Clarke encourages us to have confidence in the way we communicate with potential clients. Being open and genuine, and providing an insight into what working with you will be like can help prospective clients choose you over your competitors. So before you refresh your glass, refresh your website’s copy!

Heather Burns outlines the most important international legal issues whose effects will ripple through our work on the web in 2016 and beyond. Like the Ghost of Christmas Yet To Come, these trade agreements have approached slowly, gravely, silently. Perhaps now’s the time to take action.

Lara Hogan ignites a little cognac over your web performance pudding by considering ways you can keep stakeholders invested in a site’s metrics and KPIs. More than just the budget, it’s the thought you put in that counts.

Andrew Clarke poses the question, that if we’re all telling prospective clients that we’re crafting and designing delightful, beautiful and remarkable digital experiences, what marks any of us out?

Dave Collins reacquaints us with the benefits of SEO, cutting through the snake oil with the clove-scented satsuma zest of genuine techniques to help Google smartly bring your visitors calling. With luck, they won’t will be singing carols.

Carolyn Wood reminds us of what in recent years we’ve come to overlook, hunched as we are over laptop and tablet: our physical wellbeing. Sometimes, that tingle down your arm from shoulder to fingers isn’t Christmas magic.

Drew McLellan releases the eager huskies of 2014’s 24 ways into the glittering snowy landscape of the web, asking you and other experienced professionals what should be the basis of building websites now. Ten Christmases is a long time, and not just on the web.

Andrew Clarke squeezes into his leathers and mounts his Fat Boy® to foster healthy negotiations around price. With family demands and needs over the holidays we all need to compromise for peace at Christmas.

Ashley Baxter recounts her experience of developing an app better suited to her customers’ needs, even though she isn’t a programmer. With a new year approaching as fast as the old one can carry it, get building.

Andrew Clarke unpicks issues of cost and value, specifically when clients question our prices. It can be uncomfortable, but there’s always wiggle room. Bear left? Monkey right.

Emma Boulton doesn’t let a good question about designing and using surveys as part of a project’s research activities go unanswered. Q: Have you been good this year? A: Yes|No. Think carefully. Santa knows the answer.

Elliot Jay Stocks meditates on the success of 8 Faces and the delicate balance of passion and profitability that he strives for. New years can inspire new adventures: is it time to set out on yours?

Matt Curry demystifies some of the more complex and powerful reporting functions of Google Analytics from page goals to event tracking and beyond into custom reports and multichannel attribution. With the mounting stress of Christmas, we all need a bit of analysis.

Mike Kus rummages inside his sack of personal design experience and pulls out nine gifts to share with us. From finding reasons to stay motivated, to thinking in new ways and overcoming creative block, there’s enough food for thought for all the twelve days of Christmas.

Paul Robert Lloyd unfurls his seraph wings to proclaim peace on Earth and the importance of goodwill between designers and developers. It’s not the office Secret Santa that unites them, but constant contact and shared appreciation of different skills.

Paul Annett illustrates the benefits of sketching to convey and record ideas for wireframes and other project objectives, with some useful techniques to raise your scribble from doodle to diagram. The reverse side of all that wrapping paper should become tempting…

Cennydd Bowles reveals his thoughts on the important moment when we present designs to others. With thoughtful decisions and a considered approach, showing and explaining your designs can be a gift to your clients that keeps on giving.

Leslie Jensen-Inman delves into doing good: ‘Tis the season to embrace your inner superhero, set core values, and use the web to make a positive mark on the world. Get out your Underoos and capes—we’re going on an adventure.

Andrew Clarke shares a case study highlighting the benefits of progressively enhanced web design. Ever wondered how to convince your clients to let you use cutting edge web techniques? It may be simpler than you think.

Jina Anne encourages us to stop and take stock and make sure that we’re getting the most out of all the work we’re putting in. Does your work make you happy, and if not, how do we change things for the better?

Elliot Jay Stocks thinks you should have a pet project on the go, and dammit if he’s not about to tell you why. Of course, this very site is a pet project which is explicitly just for Christmas, but we’re prepared to overlook that. As you were.

Mike Kus get us fired up with some ideas on how to think beyond the web when embarking on a new project. Inspiration is often hard to come by – learn how not to fall into the trap of churning out another identical web design.

Paul Boag challenges us to think about what makes our sites successful, which has interesting implications on how resources are spent. I once asked my aunt what makes her Christmas pud successful, and when I found out I never ate there again.

Jeffrey Zeldman rounds of our 2008 season with some hard-earned advice for web designers and developers to take into 2009. As the economic climate gets tougher and budgets get cut, our skills need to extend to staying in work, not just completing work won.

Andrew Clarke rides into town to remind us of the importance of having a proper contract in place between those providing a service (usually us) and our clients commissioning the work. Projects that don’t run to plan are a fact of life, so make sure you’re prepared.

Meri Williams sets our stomachs rumbling with a festive look at making sure our projects stay on track with some simple and effective project management techniques. Most web work is undertaken as some kind of project, so use these tips to make sure you’re not working late on Christmas Eve.

Marcus Lillington has some ideas to pitch – to help you to win more of the jobs worth winning. From deciding how to market your services, through to writing a proposal and eventually attending a pitch, let Marcus take you by the hand and walk you through the process.

Henriette Weber argues that there’s no more time for ‘business as usual’. Instead it’s time to turn your company into a rockband and take it on tour. It’s Sunday, so kick back with some tea and toast, put the newspaper to one side and ponder something a little different.

Brian Fling offers his insight into the state of the mobile web as we hurtle towards 2008. Just as Web 2.0 taught us to rethink our assumptions about the web, Mobile 2.0 looks to do the same. There’s a little something to mull over as you munch your mince pies and move onto bottle of Sherry 2.0.

Paul Boag shares his tips for smoothing the path between design brief and sign-off. Like cooking Christmas dinner, it’s all the in the preparation. And like a good figgy pudding, your designs will go down best with custard.

Simon Collison questions the use of quote-mark images for the aesthetic styling of blockquotes. In doing so, he demonstrates a method of achieving the same purely with CSS. A worthy thing in my estimation.