We went into the dark, scary alleyways of northern California for this episode of Genesis Office Hours. Between alarms, SWAT takedowns, and police sirens, we talked about selling premium themes, writing mobile first CSS, and working for non-profits.
All of the violence, but none of the sirens.
– Ozzy Rodriguez, new tourism advocate for San Jose
Guests:
Ozzy Rodriguez – Genesis developer out of San Jose, CA over at ozzyrodriguez.com.
Mickey Kay – WordPress developer and trainer out of Oakland, CA at mightyminnow.com.
Key Discussion Points:
What is Mobile First CSS and why hasn’t it trickled down to StudioPress child themes? When I hear “mobile first,” I typically think of design, but that’s not what we’re talking about here. Mobile First CSS simply means putting the least workload on mobile devices. By shifting from using max-widths for media queries to min-width, the burden is smallest for mobile devices and scales up for styles being loaded for a full desktop experience. For a more in-depth look at coding for mobile first, check out What is Mobile First CSS and Why Does It Rock? by Mickey Kay.
How do you handle working with non-profits when there’s not a big budget? My experience has taught me to charge full price for my services and then give back some part of that after the project is complete. Charging full price helps educate clients about what the true cost of web services are (and that means they can budget more appropriately in the future), but donating a part back means they still walk away with a win. Even though it’s a “wash” as far as money goes, there’s added value for both parties. They get great services, plus a nice charitable donation and I get a tax write-off.
Show Links:
- Trestle – Genesis starter theme by Mickey Kay
- Genesis Mobile First theme by Mickey Kay
- What happens if WordPress themes get more expensive? by Chris Lema
- What are you paying for when you buy GPL themes and plugins? by Chris Lema
- MightyMinnow Web School in Oakland, CA – live website training by mightyMinnow (Mickey Kay)
- What is Mobile First CSS and Why Does It Rock? – by Mickey Kay
- Genesis Simple Logo plugin by Rob Neu (still in development)
- How to Add a Logo to a Genesis Theme – tutorial by Carrie Dils
- Plugin Review for blogVault – by Mickey Kay
- ShopTalk podcast about front-end design, development, and UX with Chris Coyier and Dave Rupert