Website 101 Podcast

The ins and outs of mastering social media for small business owners with Jessica Perrault plus a predication about AI generated content for social. How Jessica got into social media Tips to get started for small business owners Social media and content marketing Understand the nuances of the different social networks Which social network is the most important? How to manage the time requirements...

A discussion on plugin development with Ben Croker who has developed plugins for Craft CMS and previously for ExpressionEngine. We discuss when to use a plugin, when a plugin should be commercial, how to price a plugin, and providing support to end users. Ben's origin story What is a plugin? CMS acquisition of plugins in order to add to core functionality When to use a plugin or build it myself? H...

In this episode we discuss internet privacy with Michael Geist who holds the Canada Research Chair in Internet and E-commerce Law. Artificial Intelligence and phishing scams Chat GPT Government TikTok Bans Bill C11 - Canadian content requirements Potential negative consequences to how YouTube's algorithm shows Canadian content. Pentagon Leak on Discord GDPR and cookie consent Bill C-27 Surveillanc...

Rebroadcast of a Season 4 Episode - Pimp Your Typography - Time to pimp your website typography with Oliver Schöndorfer. Learn the fundementals of typography and why it matters to your website and message. We start off by defining what Typography is. Then the various types of fonts including serif and sans-serif fonts and when to choose which to choose. I (uppercase I), l (lowercase l), 1, a, g te...

We talk with Sarah Lutz, self proclaimed metal queen of the universe, about working remotely overseas. Sarah has travelled all over South America while working and has plans to travel Europe next year. Business location for tax purposes can be different from the location you are working from. Working locations - hotel, coffee shops, beach, restaurant... Dealing with time zone differences Pros/Cons...

In this podcast episode, Mike Miller shares his experience with RFPs in web development, discussing the advantages and disadvantages of using RFPs and providing insights into how to navigate the process effectively. What is an RFP? Inviting to tender Where to find an RFP RFI RFQ The reasons why Mike does not like RFPs is it common for the vendor to be pre-selected in the RFP process? Pros of using...

Sean and Mike attended PodCamp Toronto 2023, a conference for podcasters. This is our recap of the event and key takeaways for listeners. Day 1 The care and feeding of an Audience Feedback page for the Website 101 Podcast Podcast Networks and how to pitch your show Analytics: What numbers do you need to look at Behind the scenes with CBC podcasts Yeah but how do you manage a podcast (Project Manag...

Advice from, Jane Atkinson, a veteran online business owner and coach on how to succeed in running an online business. Jane's background Starting her online school for professional speakers Course Platforms Marketing & newsletters Engagement and having a system Community - Facebook and other options Recruiting members is hard and costly What is a Mastermind? Metrics Mistakes were made Writing...

In this episode of the Website 101 Podcast, Amanda presents the topic, “working with conflicting personalities.” We’ll discuss sexism, failing upward, swoop-and-poop feedback, and tactics to avoid Chatty Kathys. My life is work Person Set Boundaries and realistic expectations Old school views - it's always been done this way A person who doesn't know what is going on or doesn't have a clue Bubble...

We talk about website maintenance, tips for planning maintenance, and maintenance contracts. What is involved in maintaining a website Owing a website is a lot like owning a car, a house, or a garden. Unplanned expenses Keeping the CMS and server updated Once click updates Waiting too long for maintenance could make your site more difficult or impossible to update Too many plugins Who, in your org...

We talk all about choosing a CMS - what to look for and pitfalls to avoid and how to evaluate a CMS. CMS (Content Management System) Do you choose it based on what your friend is using, the most popular cms, or is there a better way? Everyone is aware of WordPress What features do you require? Ensure the CMS has these options built in. Plugins Maintainability A CMS is only useful if end-users/cont...

We talk with David Canton about the ins and outs of contracts for creative professionals. Follow up episode to Contract Opinions from not a Lawyer This is not legal advice What is legally binding? Verbal contracts Plain language contracts vs legalese 3 reasons to enter a written contract Non-competition clauses Combine contracts and compromise What is "Work for Hire"? Software license How often sh...

We talk about tools of the trade that we use in our day to day work life. We talk about the following topics Project Management Tools Web Development Tools Set Up Aliases for your terminal ( github gist ) Design Tools Business Tools Password Managers Screen Recorders Show Links Basecamp Trello Jira Wrike Monday Airtable gQueues Visual Studio Code Sequel Ace Navicat Database Beaver Table Plus cmder...

We talk to new developer Shopnil Mahmud about learning web development at Seneca College and starting work in the field. Questions were submitted by current students at Seneca College. Web technologies Learning new frameworks Is what is taught in a course enough to get a job? Side projects UX/UI Design vs Developer Continuous learning What was the most important thing you learned at school for you...

We talk to Tim Scollick about working with freelancers and agencies both using and not using a contract. Tim's history as a freelancer. Contracts are super important but they don't always have to be legally binding. Break work into smaller chunks helps to build trust. Lawyers are expensive. Non competition clauses Small claims court Red flags Show Links More Website 101 Podcast Email the Podcast!...

Explore Alpine JS, a popular and simple JavaScript framework for web development. Learn about its unique features, including the Alpine Day conference and new components, in this episode of Website 101 Podcast. What is AlpineJs The origin of the name Alpine Caleb's background and history Online courses Alpine Day conference Tailwind and Alpine - a perfect pair Alpine in your HTML markup Alpine com...

Learn about the process for hiring junior developers and get insight into common mistakes made as well as how to stand out from the crowd. Terence has 12 years of experience with hiring. Number of applicants and number of interviews What's important in filtering candidates to interview Soft skills Advice for developers on portfolio sharing Contracts Job ad requirements Code test Attention to detai...

Learn why Chris Ferdinandi believers there's a simpler, more resilient way to make things for the web with vanilla Javascript. We also take a detour into accessibility. Chris's background and history with web development Single Page Applications Libraries Tiny libraries that Chris recommends at: The Vanilla JS Toolkit Accessibility and best practices with JavaScript Living with ADHD JavaScrip...

We discuss various things to avoid doing with your website and why they are not a good idea. Disabling copy/paste Open in new tab Click here Using placeholder text and not using labels Low contrast text Not enough white space / breathing room No comments in your code or unformatted code For clients: Identify problems, don't suggest solutions. Dates on blogs that are infrequently updated Carousels...

Sean and Mike interview our new co-host Amanda Lutz. Amanda's goal is to out nerd Sean and Mike in this episode. Amanda made her first website in 1994 - a university provided website Amanda's major is Computing and Information Sciences Amanda has learned these languages: Basic, Pascal, C++, Java, C# Amanda is a Windows/Android user Made a time tracking website as a personal project in the ear...

Kevin Powell CSS evangelist discusses everything to do with CSS and why it is awesome. Kevin's history with web development and teaching Teaching in classroom vs online teaching How do you decide what you are going to teach? Where do you go to learn about new things in CSS that you want to teach? Upcoming CSS including Cascade Layers , CSS nesting , Container queries, and Query units Kevin's thoug...

We talk with Bill Campbell, one of our subscribers, about the process of planning his website and then working with a web developer and hosting. Introduce our new co-host Amanda Lutz Bill's background 3 products that Bill will sell on his website Planning pages and page content Newsletter call to action Domain should be separate from hosting company Ecommerce & Security Selling courses and coa...

Adam Wathan, co-founder of Tailwind CSS, talks about what Tailwind CSS is, why he built it, and the future of Tailwind. Is Tailwind CSS a framework? What is Tailwind CSS The biggest inspiration for tailwind is... Inline styles vs Tailwind Tailwind 3 and Just in Time (JIT) Build tooling Tailwind Browser Dev tools Arbitrary classes Tailwind UI Tailwind documentation and examples How to choose what t...

We talk to Wes Bos all about web development, soft skills, and everything needed to succeed in web development. Wes's history and background in web development How does Wes learn enough on a new technology to start teaching it? How to decide what to learn with new technology or languages Important advice for a new developer Most important technical skill Learn the fundamentals No code design Weake...

Sean interviews Mike about his journey to becoming a web developer Bootcamps / college Started with Macromedia Flash Mike was a drummer in 4 different bands - learned web development to build the band websites First website built for his band in late 90s First client site - restaurant (February 2000) First job was web developer at a magazine publisher Build tools Design vs Development preferences...