As you know, graphic design and web development is a service usually billed based on time spent. So how do you get the most from the time and keep costs down? Here a few tips:

1. If you need to speak with your graphic designer or web developer, schedule an appointment. He/she will be focused on your project and not distracted by the project he/she was working on when you called on the spur of the moment. This will shorten the length of the call and increase the efficiency in which the requests are completed. Of course, unscheduled calls are welcome, they just are not the most efficient or cost effective.
   
   
2. Follow up your phone calls with an email. Emails can be flagged and the designer can refer back to them for clarification, inspiration or just a reminder of what you requested.
   
   
3. If it can be said in an email, avoid the phone call altogether. If you have a lots of little questions that keep occurring to you over time, save a draft email and add to it as you think of things. Then you can send one long email rather than the designer wading through many emails to ensure he's answered all of your questions. Responding to one longer email takes less time than responding to lots of little ones.
   
   
4. Don't respond to an email with a telephone call unless it was requested and/or scheduled. Usually there is a reason for the email, normally so that there is a written record of response to which the designer can refer back.
   
   
5. Respond as quickly as possible to emails from the designer. We are all busy and response delays are inevitable; However, when at all possible, a quick response helps the designer keep his "mojo" going on your project and produces a shorter timeline for completion. In addition, the longer the delay the longer your project may have to wait to get back in the queue.
   

Keeping these things in mind will not only help expedite your project but also help keep your project costs to a minimum.

5 plugins to streamline your Wordpress administration

WordPress offers thousands of little pieces of code designed to help you extend the functionality of your site with the least possible effort. These little pieces of code are known as plugins. Plugins can range from simple admin only enhancements to full-on new site features that are ready to deploy to your user base. The trick is finding the right one to fit your particular needs.

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Rush Fees

At Graphic Technique, we have noticed a marked increase in the request for extremely quick turnaround on hourly work often requiring late hours to complete the projects that was "bumped". Accordingly, it has become necessary to institute a rush fee of $25 for any work with a turnaround time of 24 hours and a $50 rush fee for work with a turnaround time of less than 6 hours. Of course, if it is extremely simple, like fixing a typo or something that will take less than 5 minutes to complete, there most likely will not be a rush charge. We hope this change does not cause you any inconvenience. If you have any question as to whether or not your request will be charged a rush fee, please ask!