Journal
Notes from the websites and B2B software I design and build, mostly about prices, timelines and the decisions behind a screen, so you know what to expect before we start.
Should I Put Prices on My Website?
People who cannot find a price mostly leave to look for it elsewhere. Which kind of price suits which service, the rules once a price is shown, and the four places where it belongs on the page.
How Many Fonts Should a Website Have?
One or two typefaces, three or four weights and about six sizes. What a second face should do, what each file costs to load, and three designs which use one, two and three families.
Success Message UX, and the Screen Most Flows Forget
A booking deserves a page, a step in the middle a banner, and a routine save a changed label. Which success message suits which action, what a confirmation page says, and how screen readers hear it.
How to Write a Website Brief Your Designer Can Build From
The goal, the audience, the pages, the words, a few reference sites, what has to keep working, the standards and the budget. What to write in each part, and why the brief is the scope.
How to Change the Canvas Color in Figma, and Why I Use Mid Grey
The canvas colour lives in the Page section of the right sidebar, one page at a time, and everyone who opens the file sees it. The steps, and why mid grey suits website designs.
WordPress Changes Not Showing? Clear the Caches in This Order
The edit is mostly saved, and an older copy is coming from the browser, the page builder, a caching plugin, the host or a CDN. Which one, and the order in which I clear them.
How Many Colors Should a Website Have?
About ten values, grouped by the job each one does, with only the accent taken from the brand. The roles, the contrast rules behind each shade, and how this website uses them.
A WhatsApp Button for Your Website, and Where It Should Go
A WhatsApp button is an ordinary wa.me link with your number and a first message. Where it should go on the page, what the message should say, and the WhatsApp settings behind it.
Carousel UX, and Why the Next Card Should Peek In
A row of cards which fits the column looks finished, so nobody scrolls it. How much of the next card to show, why rotation works against you, and how this website builds its swipe row.
Website Handover Checklist, What Should Be in Your Name at Launch
The domain, the hosting, your own login, every paid licence, the design files and the Google accounts. What you should hold on launch day, and how to confirm that you hold it.
How to View a Figma Prototype on Your Phone
The free Figma app is the way to review a website design on your phone. How to open the prototype, find the hidden menu, and what I would look at once it is in your hand.
Briefly Unavailable for Scheduled Maintenance, and How to Clear It
The message comes from one small file which WordPress writes when an update starts and deletes when it ends. Why it sometimes stays, and the four steps which I take to clear it.
How to Fix a LinkedIn Preview Image Not Showing on WordPress
A WordPress post which shares on LinkedIn without its picture mostly has one of two causes, an oEmbed link in the page's head or a share image saved as WebP. How I found both on this website with Post Inspector, and the fix for each one.
How to Update WordPress Plugins Safely, One at a Time
The safest way to update WordPress plugins is one at a time, with a look at the site after each one. The order which I follow on the eleven sites I update every month, and the updates which I hold back for a decision.
How to Comment in Figma When You Review Your Website Design
Leaving a comment in Figma takes a click, and pinning each note to the thing which it describes is the habit that saves the most time. How to comment on a website design in Figma, and what makes a comment quick to act on.
How to Add Annotations in Figma, and What I Write in Them
Annotations hold what a screen cannot show on its own, such as what happens on a tap. How to add them in Figma, the three categories which I use, and how I write each note so that it stands on its own.
How to Choose a Headline Font for Your Website
A headline font sets the voice of a website before anyone reads a word. How I chose the faces for two websites, from a scan of over a thousand templates to a test at real size, and why some popular faces now read as made by AI.
Are Stock Photos AI Generated? How to Check a Photo Before Your Website Uses It
Some stock photos are AI generated even when the library's filter says otherwise, and the reliable answer sits in the file itself. How I check a photo before it goes on a website, and what each label in the file means.
Questions to Ask a Web Designer Before Your Website Is Built
A portfolio shows how a website looks, and the questions which matter after launch are about who builds it, who can change it and what it depends on. The six which I would ask a web designer, and the answers worth listening for.
Dropdown Menu UX for the Mouse, the Finger and the Keyboard
A dropdown menu has three kinds of visitor, one with a mouse, one with a finger and one with a keyboard, and most menus only work for the first. What I built into this site's Capabilities menu, and how to test yours in a few minutes.
Dental Clinic Website in the Philippines, From the Book Button to the Chair
For a new patient, a clinic website has one job, which is a booking, and the path from the button to the chair mostly breaks where the owner never looks. What I found on eight Metro Manila clinic websites, and how to test yours.
Website Privacy Notice in the Philippines, Starting at the Form
Every form which asks for a name or a mobile number needs a privacy notice under the Data Privacy Act, and the NPC's guidelines put the short version at the form itself. What it says, where it goes and when a form needs a consent box.
Website Button Hierarchy, From 16 Styles Down to Three
Buttons are added one section at a time, so a website mostly collects more button styles than anyone designed. How 16 became three, one for each job, and how the hierarchy is kept in Figma and in the build.
Multi-Location Website Design and What a Copied Location Page Keeps
Location pages are mostly made by copying a page which already works, and the copy keeps the old location's phone number, links and settings where a quick read passes over them. What it keeps, and how I check each page.
