So, if you’re having issues with FeedBurner not updating, I recommend these actions:

1. Use the FeedBurner FeedSmith plugin (you have to download it from Google).
2. Remove any 301 redirects you may have setup in your .htaccess file for the feed.
3. If you have a caching plugin installed, make sure it’s not caching the feed or the feed path (/feed/).
4. Once done, go into FeedBurner and ping and then resync it.

This has worked for me in every case — hope it works for you, too!

Oh yeah — just a little reminder — if you haven’t seen the previous updates from this blog, I’ve moved all of my project management related postings to a new blog at The Project Web (www.theprojectweb.com) — please check it out and make sure you update your RSS subscription.

So what’s changing?

For starters, I will no longer be posting the aforementioned articles or the podcast here at clecompte.com. You will need to update your RSS feed address to www.theprojectweb.com/feed/ (apologies for the inconvenience — I didn’t want to automatically switch people to that feed since I plan on maintaining the blog here). Secondly, I plan on publishing more frequently (aiming for once or twice a week). Really, that’s all that will be different — for now.

The blog here will remain intact, but any existing crossover posts will be redirected to The Project Web. I will continue to maintain this blog, though I’ll be publishing topics that will probably be a bit more random.

Why change?

I felt my current site is connected too much to my name, which I believe limits my ability to grow the blog and podcast. Plus, I felt like designing something new.

All in all, not much change — just a new look, new domain, and hopefully, some enhanced visibility.

Project Web Podcast – Episode 005 – Think Before You Design

Show Notes

These are the articles I discussed in the news segment:

• 10 Best iPad Apps for Web Designers (Web Design Ledger)
• Just Say No to Clients (Carsonified)
• Your iPad Rapid Prototyping Tool: Keynote (Adaptive Path)
• The Worst Freelance Project Ever (FreelanceFolder)
• 11 Ways to Prevent Angry Clients from Destroying Your Project (PM Hut)
• Five Immutable Principles of Project Management (Herding Cats)
• What Makes a Great Web Project Manager? (TheSamBarnes)
• How to Survive Saying No to a Client (SitePoint)
• The 7 Sins of Managing Web Projects (Carsonified)
• Drawing the Line: 6 Things You Shouldn’t Tolerate in Projects (Six Revisions)
• 5 Ways to Maintain Client Relationships Long After the Work is Complete (SitePoint)
• Passing The Holy Milestone: How To Meet Deadlines (Smashing Magazine)
• Keynote Wireframe Toolkit (Konigi)

For web designers and developers, and especially project managers, this is a tough nut to crack. We work hard to create a design that not only gains the acceptance of the client, but also works for the target audiences and true users of the site. Oftentimes, in the midst of the project’s final stages, clients may desire to change a color or adjust the header or request alterations to the layout of content. This is a time consuming barrier to finishing the project, and frankly, many clients don’t know what they’re talking about.

Nevertheless, design redirection occurs, and we live with it, pushing on to find the light at the end of the tunnel. What we can do, however, is manage projects in a way that prevents and reduces the potential for design changes further down the road.

Most designs are not officially approved

In my experience with clients, a good majority of design work is never officially approved or signed off on. Sure, there’s a general consensus that the chosen design will be used, but the client doesn’t explicitly say, “This is the final design we’re going to use.” Unfortunately, without this finality in the design decision, the selected concept can sometimes float around the heads of stakeholders well after the impromptu consensus was reached, thus enabling a sense that changes can still be requested.

Instead of aiming for a general consensus, get the client to affirm that they approve of the design without any additional major modifications. Minor changes are obviously going to happen, but anything that will require immense time to amend, such as colors and layout, should be addressed before the design is approved.

Some people may even want to think about having the client sign an official form of acceptance on the design – for me, though, this is too formal, and likely to frighten the client. Verbal or written approval of the design is usually enough, and the client should know that major changes down the road will be difficult and may incur costs.

Spend more time on planning, less on building

Over the past couple of years, and especially the last few months, I’ve shifted my primary focus from the actual design and development work of a project to the planning. This is where I pour most of my energy – my quality time – and really coordinate with the client to determine exactly how the new website needs to look, act and work.

In the past, a former, more impatient version of myself could be seen jumping straight into the design and development of a new site, without consideration of whether or not it would all line up in the end. In most cases, the project did not line up, and I found myself doing patchwork on the design at the client’s request and running into multitudes of development problems because of poorly conceived decisions.

What sort of planning activities should you focus on? Site navigation, wireframes, target user profiles and marketing alignment are some of the more important areas. Site navigation and wireframing deals with the structure and layout of the new website, while user profiling and marketing alignment are more geared toward ensuring the site’s design is compatible and effective with the end user.

Work in smaller iterations

As I mentioned already, design is one of the toughest jobs out there. It’s subjective, hard to quantify and can be thrown into wild disarray based on the unique perceptions of others. There is no hard science behind it – no right or wrong answer – and the moment of truth is delivered during the unveiling of a fresh new mock-up or prototype.

Will the client like it? Will they want to change anything? Will I have to start all over?

If these questions run through your mind, you’re doing something wrong. While design is of course subjective, it doesn’t have to come down to a love it or hate it situation. Rather, through smart planning and bite-sized samples, you can feed design concepts to clients without throwing the whole pie in their face.

Here’s a practical application. Once you’ve met with the client and have established color schemes, marketing angles, user personas and any of that other good stuff, you should then think about producing a wireframe. Share that wireframe with the client and get their definitive feedback. Next, find examples of other sites out there that might be in alignment with the desired design parameters, or if you’re adventurous, go with a mood board. The client will toss around a few ideas, and you’ll have a pretty solid idea of a design concept at this point. When you finally do start designing, you’ll feel comfortable and confident, and you’ll produce an initial iteration of a homepage or subpage that is likely to be accepted. Don’t spend immense amounts of time tweaking the finer points of the iteration – just get the concept laid out, and then communicate with the client.

Notice in that example how much client interaction and feedback is involved? Lack of confidence is one of the biggest causes of the love it or hate it situation, and what leads to this lack of confidence is a failure to understand the client. Once you understand the client and feed them real ideas early on, you’ll find the confidence barrier gone and greater success in getting even your very first iterations accepted.

Change is not a bad thing. But change in the middle of a project can be disastrous. Avoid it by getting design sign off, planning and working more closely with the client during the initial design phase.

Project Web Podcast – Episode 004 – The iPad in Project Management

Show Notes

These are the articles I discussed in the news segment:

• Web Designers, Don’t Do It Alone (Smashing Magazine)
• Get More Done: 10 Tips for a More Productive Web Design Process (Noupe)
• Kill Your Darlings (Adaptive Path)
• The Best Clients to Chase (The Freelancery)
• 11 Reasons Your SMB Still Needs A Web Site (Outspoken Media)
• How Do You Apologize to Clients? (Freelance Switch)
• Why You Should Let Your Project Cool Off Before You Turn It In (Freelance Folder)

Now, what do you do if a client doesn’t seem critical or difficult, and they truly do want to work with you, but they just don’t like your work?

It’s a tough question. I’ve had the pleasure of working with some clients on multiple projects where they approve nearly all my outputs except for that one outlier project in which nothing seems to look right in their eyes. So good clients–those who are fun to work with–can get stuck in a hate-everything mode, and unfortunately, the project will suffer as will your relationship with the client when communication becomes strained.

If anything, this post is a healthy reminder for myself. Below, I’ve outlined some of the methods and means I’ve put into practice for handling those clients who, to use a strong word, hate my work.

Be Responsive

Negative client feedback is an important juncture of any project. The way you treat it will determine the course of the project and your relationship with the client. This is why it’s absolutely essential to be responsive, no matter how much you disagree with the client, and to understand their stance. Don’t ignore the client, and don’t respond with a curt email message.

Identify What They Don’t Like

The first thing you should do whenever a client comes back with negative feedback is to identify the specific area or areas of the output that they’re unsure of. I’ve experienced feedback that appeared as if the client considered my entire design rubbish, when in fact, they only disliked a single color in the mock-up. Don’t be afraid to ask a client for specifics.

Change Communication Method

Communication seems to be the root of all problems in society and web design is no exclusion. Oftentimes, designers will throw out an initial mock-up via email and expect to receive electronic feedback. In a perfect world, this would be flawless, but alas, email does not convey the breadth of description ideal in explaining the reasoning behind design decisions. Instead, if a client shows hesitation over a design, pick up the phone or schedule a meeting to gain a better understanding of their position and to help communication your ideas more precisely. I’ve settled long-chained email disputes in a matter of minutes by establishing quick and simple sit-down meetings.

Find Examples

Once you’ve determined a client doesn’t like your work, ask them to find examples of websites that they do like. Usually, you would be better off doing this during the initial phases of the project–before any design work is done–but the rush of the moment can sometimes push a designer too deep into the process without looking around first.

Start Smaller

Building off my previous point, moving too fast for a client in terms of design work can often lead to confusion, misinterpretation, and ultimately, negative feedback. To combat this trend, try slowing down and moving your sights back a couple of notches. A standard conflict resolution tactic is to find common ground. Find common ground with your client by gaining acceptance on the smaller things such as a color scheme, layout or general theme. You can then increase the amount of output you feed them until either a design is settled on or a roadblock is hit.

Get Independent Feedback

In most projects, you’ll be dealing with one or a couple of client stakeholders. When design disagreement strikes, a helpful suggestion might be to involve other stakeholders within the client organization to review the design. If that doesn’t seem possible, then you as a designer or project manager can seek out independent review of your work to see where you might be going wrong. A fresh set of eyes can always shed new light on work that we can sometimes become too involved with.

Defend Your Work

A client hating on your work is not the end of the world. I would be highly skeptical if I never ran into the occasional client who didn’t like my work. It’s part of the business, especially considering the highly subjective nature of design. Many business owners have stood by the mantra that the client is always right, and perhaps in some cases or industries, that might be true; however, when it comes to design, you are the professional. Stand up for your work. Explain the decisions you made. Many clients do not understand the workings of the web or user psychology, and thus may not be qualified to provide constructive criticism. A good web designer doesn’t just produce beautiful work–they’re also able to explain why it’s the right approach for the client.

Start Over

Finally, there are some instances where you need to scrap everything you’ve done and step back to square one. This can give you a fresh start with the client and another chance to understand their needs and expectations.

Botched projects, negative feedback and strained nerves are not things to be ashamed of. We all experience them at one time or another. These experiences should instead serve as a learning exercise where you can analyze what went wrong, what you did right and how you can prevent future occurrences. Without failure, we would have no definition of success.

Project Web Podcast – Episode 003 – Dealing with Difficult Clients

Show Notes

These are the articles I discussed in the news segment:

• What Not to Say to Clients (freelance:uk)
• 7 Habits You as a Freelancer Need to Ditch (SmashingShare)
• Should You Take the Check Even if You’re Not Into Your Client? (FreelanceShack)
• Ten Tips For Project Perfection (PM Hut)
• What to Do When Constant Client Emails Keep You from Working (Freelance Folder)
• Is Your Project Going Awry? (ProjectManagers.net)
• 9 Tips to Control Every Meeting and Get What You Want (PickTheBrain)
• Death To Design By Committee (Boag World)

So as project managers, web designers, and freelancers, we must by default become quasi experts in security. No problem. It adds more fun to the challenge.

Combating security breaches should fall into two camps (which are obvious if you’re a long-time reader of this blog): proactive and reactive. Proactive is preventing the problem before it occurs while reactive is after the fact and how to perform damage control.

How to prevent malware and spam from harming your clients’ WordPress sites

First, never underestimate the damage a spam or malware link can do to your client’s website. A strategically placed barrage of spam links can reflect in search engine listings, which could take days, if not weeks, to reverse. Malware links, which are usually script or iframe calls, can cause the ire of Google and Mozilla, both of which subscribe to an internet malware watchdog group. Under this coalition, you could find a client’s site tagged in Google searches as being unsafe due to malware and inaccessible via Firefox and Chrome among other browsers, with a big red warning to greet visitors.

That’s not good, especially if your client relies on their site for income. Unfortunately, I’ve been on the receiving end of a malware attack, and the results aren’t pretty.

With that preface in mind, prevention is the obvious course. Here’s what you can do to sleep better at night:

• Perform basic security operations on the WordPress install. This includes changing the admin account to a subscriber access level, ensuring passwords are strong, and closing some of the loopholes in WordPress (see the plugin below to help manage this).
• Consider installing a plugin to help manage some of those basic security loopholes. Secure WordPress is among the more popular ones.
• Always install the latest version of WordPress since many security holes are patched in the updates.
• Read through WordPress’s preventative guide.
• Stay informed of the latest security methods and concerns. For example, Noupe has a good article (and comments) on some preventions.
• Routinely check the client’s website rankings in search engines to identify any possible spam links.
• Maintain backups of the WordPress database. In the event of an attack, you may have to perform a restoration. WP-DBManager is one of the best plugins for automated database backups.
• Install a gatekeeper plugin to prevent robots from delivering link spam. Bad Behavior is a good plugin to consider.
• Finally, and most important, setup a Google Webmaster account to tie in with the client’s site. Not only will this service provide valuable insight into search engine rankings, it will also notify you the instant a malware attack has been flagged by Google. And yes, it’s free.

The hack has happened, what to do now

A WordPress hacking incident will more than likely occur at some point in your life. It sucks and the ensuing mess is no fun to deal with. Fortunately, it’s not the end of the world, and there are some pretty solid ways of cleaning it up.

Remember that there’s a difference between a spam attack and a malware attack. A spam attack is the infusion of junk links in the code (or worse, in rogue plugin files, which are harder to find) so that search engine results will pick them up. This may not necessarily be flagged by Google as malware, making detection a bit fuzzy.

A malware attack, on the other hand, is usually a simple case of an illegal login into the site and the placement of a script or iframe tag. Google routinely scans sites for calls to malware files such as these and will subsequently raise the warning flag. Hopefully, you’ll have had Google Webmaster setup so that notification can be sent if that flag is raised, though Google makes an earnest attempt to email the site owners regardless.

Once the attack has occurred and you awake to the nightmare, here are some ways to deal with it:

• Identify the location of the malware or spam, and remove it. If it’s a more intricate spam attack, you may need to consult a guide such as Pearsonified’s WordPress Pharma Hack post.
• Scan the WordPress install for any other problems. I recommend the WordPress Exploit Scanner plugin for this job.
• If you haven’t done so already, setup Google Webmaster immediately. After linking the site with the service, you’ll see a red bar warning you of malware on the site if that’s the problem. After you’ve removed the malware, make sure you notify Google using the malware diagnostic tool. This will instruct a robot to scan through your client’s website, and if the malware is gone, remove the warnings within 12 – 24 hours. The sooner you do this, the sooner the warnings will be removed, which is the ultimate goal.
• Notify the client that the problem occurred and what you’ve done to resolve the situation. This is the hardest part because a Google malware warning can make a site appear like death. Nevertheless, if the client is hosting with you or under a maintenance contract, you should help them out of this situation. A confident tone and action-oriented plan will typically calm the client’s understandably stretched nerves.
• Now that damage control has been completed and Google notified (if there was a malware attack), it’s time to toughen up the WordPress install. I highly recommend reading through the hacked FAQ on WordPress’s website. This guide will provide some basic and advanced methods for fixing and preventing the problems that brought about the attack.
• Review the preventative measures outlined in the section above.
• Of the WordPress hacked FAQ already mentioned, the most important takeaways are to change the passwords of user accounts and implement new secret keys in the wp-config file, which can be generated here. This will establish new cookies so that hackers cannot remain logged in.
• It may also be prudent to scan your computer and the client’s using antivirus software. The malware may have either originated from one of those computers or infected one or more of them if the problem site was opened.
• Lastly, notify the client what steps you have taken as well as a timeline for the impact on Google search results to reverse.

Perform an investigation

Many people advise performing an after-the-fact investigation into what happened post-attack. This is a good move in that it can provide a unique analysis of the flaws in your client’s site, the hosting operation, database software, or some other area of potential weakness.

The best place to start is by executing a simple search in Google for any recent issues regarding the web host and security problems. For examples, in the attacks I recently experienced, there were a couple of articles pertaining to my provider, Rackspace:

• Smackdown! Blog: Rackspace clients, check your databases
• Sucuri Blog: Attack of WordPress blogs on Rackspace
• Unmask Parasites Blog: Attack on WordPress blogs on Rackspace

These resources can provide valuable analysis on a specific attack as well as a means to stop and remove them. In addition to these resources, you should also consider reviewing logs, if available, to see if you can pinpoint where the attack originated. This might not always be possible, but the more information you can gather, the better. It may even be prudent to contact the web hosting company to see if they’re aware of the problem, and if they’re at fault, what’s being done to rectify the situation.

WordPress hacking sucks; there’s no doubt about that. Remain vigilant and help protect your clients from the dreaded malware warnings slapped down by Google and others. Otherwise, your client could lose confidence in their website as well as visitors and revenue.

Project Web Podcast – Episode 002 – Defining the Freelance Project Manager

Show Notes

These are the articles I discussed in the news segment:

• When Clients Mess Things Up (WebWorkerDaily)
• History Can Teach Us! (ProjectSteps)
• 8 Mistakes That Devastate Business Owners (Entrepreneur)
• 10 Steps to Keep Your Freelancer (oDesk)
• How To Spot A Sketchy Client (Plus A Contract Template) (Smashing Magazine)
• Is That Client Legit or Just a Tire Kicker? (Freelance Folder)
• A Checklist for Choosing a Project Management Software (PM Hut)

Project Web Podcast – Episode 001 – Introduction and Post-Project Work