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| | The ABHP - A Bit of Humble Pie Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | Is "Webmaster" a dated term? Then what do we call ourselves? | Views: 890 | | Apr 20, 2008 3:09 pm | | Is "Webmaster" a dated term? Then what do we call ourselves? | # | 
Eileen Brown | | Happy Sunday Barnyard Barkers. I wouldn't normally post this on a Sunday but might forget it by tomorrow morning. :) Nine Signs You Shouldn't Hire That GUY! My employer specializes in creating websites for middle-sized businesses. We rarely create "Mom'n'Pops" websites and generally don't pursue contracts with major corporations. Working with mid-size business has given me the opportunity to speak with executives and "decision-makers" within each business. Our discussions eventually end up with the other person telling me about their previous web developers and how their current site is ineffective as a sales to or representation of the business. There are some definitive characteristics about my customers' previous web persons and without further adieu, I give you 9 signs you shouldn't hire THAT web guy. 1. He Calls Himself a "Webmaster"Any web guy that calls himself a "webmaster" probably isn't a master of anything. The term "webmaster" has become a translation for the word "amateur." The web has diversified into so many different realms that webmaster is no longer meaningful (was it ever though?) 2. He's a FrontPage ExpertAny developer / designer with a degree knows that Microsoft FrontPage most definitely isn't a professional tool. FrontPage will pass for Mom and Dad who want to create a website dedicated to their dogs, not someone who's trying to do business. I'd argue that a solid Web Developer should work at code level. 3. He'll Submit Your Website to [Inflated Number Here] Search EnginesSubmitting your website to hundreds of search engines would be great...10 years ago. Websites are indexed by relevant search engines by how rich their content and keywords are. Search engine optimization is big business and submitting sites to search engines simply isn't the way to get to the top of Google. 4. He Wants a "Designed By ...." Plug on the Bottom of Every PageYou've paid this person to create a marketing tool for you -- not a billboard for him. Your website is a launch pad for your business and Poindexter McScooner is simply the man behind the curtain -- keep him there. 5. He Created a Cool Website for [Insert Family Member / Friend Here]Your business needs someone who's been there before. The most common answer to my "Who was he and what business did they work for?" question is "Oh, he did a website for the CEO's daughter's [insert lame organization here]." I honestly hear that friend-of-a-friend story all the time. Choose someone with a sizable portfolio that can provide references. 6. He Can Make You a Great Splash Page Flash AnimationTranslation: "I can spend dozens of hours wasting your money to create something that will take too long to load and will be skipped more times than dessert at a bad restaurant." Consistency and website flow are important to web design -- not meaningless animations that waste visitors' time and your money. 7. He Mentions He's a HTML ExpertWho the hell isn't? I would argue that dropping any language acronym on a customer (PHP, Ruby on Rails, ColdFusion, etc.) unless they ask is meaningless fluff. A mechanic could use a banana on my car if it would fix it. Keep your tools, especially HTML, to yourself -- the customer doesn't care. 8. He'll Fit a Cool Counter on Your SiteYou'll add an ugly relic of the early internet on my site so that my competitors have an idea of my web stats? Sweet!
Counters make a website look as unprofessional as possible -- don't use them. 9. He'll Place a "Best If Viewed in..." Message on Your WebsiteAny real Web Developer knows that he doesn't make the rules. Follow standards in the initial build and then fix it in Internet Explorer -- that's the flow. No responsible programmer would place a "best if view in..." message on the front-end of a website. SOURCE: http://css.dzone.com/news/9-signs-you-shouldnt-hire-web- ~~~~~~~~~~ Good comments if you chose to go there.
I don't agree with all of these - which ones do you find bogus?
Eileen :)
http://abhp-network.ryze.com/ - ABHP http://www.buddywebworks.com/ - Web Svcs.
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http://www.eileenseshop.com/ - Gifts and Home DecorPrivate Reply to Eileen Brown | | Apr 20, 2008 5:20 pm | | re: Is "Webmaster" a dated term? Then what do we call ourselves? | # | 
Reg Charie | | What do i find bogus?
Lets just see.
1)Any web guy that calls himself a "webmaster" probably isn't a master of anything.
Perhaps this applies to some.
Personally I have some 12 years learning my craft, which started in '96 with a 360 hour, 3 month course on "WebMastering" at a local community college.
I am proud to call myself a WebMaster.
2)Any developer / designer with a degree knows that Microsoft FrontPage most definitely isn't a professional tool.
Anyone that would write this just does not know web design programs.
MS Front Page is an extremely powerful web design program, BUT, as with all software the user HAS to get beyond the basics.
Because FP makes it easy to design a site with little or no understanding of HTML and because it automates a lot of processes, (which require what some call "Poor Code"), it has been given a bad rep.
http://KennyShaw.ca is done in FP. Is this an "unprofessional" site?
3)Submitting your website to hundreds of search engines would be great...10 years ago.............Search engine optimization is big business and submitting sites to search engines simply isn't the way to get to the top of Google.
Very true. Most web designers are NOT SEO experts.
Following the recommendations of those that are not could be very costly. Automated submissions are frowned on by the search engines and the best way to get a site indexed is to let the Search Engine find it on their own.
4)He Wants a "Designed By ...." Plug on the Bottom of Every Page
Not something that I insist on but would like.
Hey! I am proud of my work.
When you buy a car or just about anything for that matter, it has the manufacturers name on it. If we follow the train of thought of no linking, then there would be no such thing as branding.
And remember, putting a "Site Built By" link can work against you as well as FOR you, depending on the quality of the site.
5)Your business needs someone who's been there before. Choose someone with a sizable portfolio that can provide references.
DOH! The only reason you would not do this is you want to save money by having "that talented high school kid" do the work.
If the package included SEO, then ask for examples. They should be able to provide something like http://regcharie.com/`latelierart-serps-apr-4-08.htm
6) He Can Make You a Great Splash Page Flash Animation
If your guy is good, and YOU have done your research, this will not even be an issue. Splash pages just do not work, for your visitors OR for good search engine listings.
7) He Mentions He's a HTML Expert.........Keep your tools, especially HTML, to yourself -- the customer doesn't care.
Not care?
The client should also know about the software package that is being used to build the site, why it should be used, and what it means to them.
Part of a WebMaster's job is to educate the client.
The customer should be totally aware of what type of code is going to be used. There is a huge difference in writing the site in static HTML and programming it in a dynamic system such as PHP/MySQL.
The difference might just make or break your success.
The difference WILL mean that you will be tied to your designer to make changes or will be easily able to make your own edits.
8)You'll add an ugly relic of the early internet on my site so that my competitors have an idea of my web stats? Sweet!
Counters make a website look as unprofessional as possible -- don't use them.
Well who cares if your competitors know your webstats?
If your WebMaster has done his job properly, the stats will only serve to depress them.
And they don't need a counter on your site to judge your traffic. All they need to do is go to http://statbrain.com and plug in your URL. (My Fantastic Machines site below checks out at 995 visits per day, which is close to my web stats which show an average of 907, exclusive of search engine bots.)
On one of my sites the built in counter in the footer states "2794878 requests since Friday 20 May, 1994". (http://fantasticmachines.com)
IMO this helps build credibility
There are other counters that should be used as well.
The more ways you can track your traffic the better.
9)No responsible programmer would place a "best if view in..." message on the front-end of a website.
I agree.
IMO this is done because the programmer cannot design in a fluid medium.
Pages CAN be designed to hold their formatting regardless of the resolution of the viewer's web browser.
Picking a person or company to design your site depends on several factors.
1)The level of knowledge that the client has:
A controlling factor. "You don't know what you don't know"
A site is much more than a "pretty face" when you consider the back end. If you do not know what can be done in administration, marketing, and metrics, then you cannot make an informed choice.
2)Your budget:
It costs money to hire a professional.
The flip side is that you are investing in your success.
A fully functional eCommerce enabled site can be done for a few hundred dollars. I have some pricing example here. http://regcharie.com/web/index.php?cPath=6 (Forgive the site. It is not quite ready for the public yet.)
Getting your site up sooner means making sales sooner.
Would profit on 2 months of sales pay for the site?
Would getting #1 on Google mean anything for sales?
3)Your motives:
The talented teenager just happens to be the boyfriend of your oldest daughter and the money will be used to put a down payment on their first apartment.
4)Your level of skill and patience.
Coding a site might LOOK easy.
WYSIWYG editors make it easy to write the code, but the Do It Yourselfer is going to run up against what would seem to be insurmountable hurdles. Research and patience are the keys.
After 12 years of building sites I STILL come up with things I need to research to understand. I CONSTANTLY monitor the professional channels, receiving and reading the latest in industry and professional news.
As a DIY person you just cannot spend this much time for only one portion of your business.
You still have your business to run.
5)Your willingness to ask questions.
Knowing the right questions to ask.
Research, Research, Research
Reg - Online since before Al Gore "invented" the internet.
All You Need is Dotcom-Productions and a Dream. http://dotcom-productions.com
Zero Grief Hosting - http://0grief.com/special_hosting_accounts_for_my_ryze_frie
CRELoaded websites http://RegCharie.com Private Reply to Reg Charie | | Apr 20, 2008 7:36 pm | | re: re: Is "Webmaster" a dated term? Then what do we call ourselves? | # |
Eileen Brown | | Here, Here Reg! Stand up and take a bow!
OH - you did that already. Good on YOU. When you take a
stand, don't be shy, put it ALL out there. HeeHee.
One thing that really stands out is the very first,
that "webmaster" thing. I don't see that ever being a term
of the "past." At least not in my liftime.
Eileen :D
http://abhp-network.ryze.com/ - ABHP http://www.buddywebworks.com/ - Web Svcs.
http://www.buddycopywriting.com/copywritinghome/ - SEO Copywriting
http://www.microwebmasters.com/ - Guru Squad Coordinator
http://www.eileenseshop.com/ - Gifts and Home DecorPrivate Reply to Eileen Brown | | Apr 20, 2008 7:55 pm | | re: re: re: Is "Webmaster" a dated term? Then what do we call ourselves? | # | 
Sean Rice | | Hmmm... maybe I've been misunderstanding the term all this time. As a designer / programmer, I always thought of the term "webmaster" as 'the guy I hand the web site to AFTER I've completed and launched it." The administer. The person that adds content and handles the small stuff. :-\
Am I wrong?
Sean Rice
http://www.rasadesign.com
Rasa Design StudioPrivate Reply to Sean Rice | | Apr 20, 2008 9:37 pm | | re: re: re: re: Is "Webmaster" a dated term? Then what do we call ourselves? | # |
Reg Charie | | Sean,
IMO the WebMaster knows all the ins and outs of a website.
Design and programming are but part of the picture.
Elieen, < grin >
You hit one of my Hot Buttons with the initial post.
RegPrivate Reply to Reg Charie | | Apr 21, 2008 12:44 am | | re: re: re: re: re: Is "Webmaster" a dated term? Then what do we call ourselves? | # |
Eileen Brown | | I agree Reg (hot buttons aside.) The term "webmaster" means
day in and day out watching out for the health of a
website, the SEO health, the timely content, the staggering
amount of incoming links it takes to make a difference, and
more. It is watching out for the clients interest, in
their name so to speak, that makes the term "webmaster" an
all important roll in the overall scheme of things.
I am glad I hit your "hot button" with this post. It's good
to see some passion arising from you (or anyone) about what
a lot of us do on a daily basis. I am proud to be a
webmaster too. Even if we go about that in different ways,
we still have the best interest of our clients at heart.
Webmaster is not for the leftovers - The webmasters are the
worker bees, without which a website dies a grizzly death.
Eileen :D
http://abhp-network.ryze.com/ - ABHP http://www.buddywebworks.com/ - Web Svcs.
http://www.buddycopywriting.com/copywritinghome/ - SEO Copywriting
http://www.microwebmasters.com/ - Guru Squad Coordinator
http://www.eileenseshop.com/ - Gifts and Home DecorPrivate Reply to Eileen Brown | | Apr 21, 2008 3:07 pm | | re: re: re: re: re: re: Is "Webmaster" a dated term? Then what do we call ourselves? | # | 
Laura Wheeler | | I have to comment on the Front Page issue. Front Page is obsolete - it no longer produces good code, if indeed, it ever did so. It has been abandoned by MS, and pages developed with it are showing errors in browsers as it is gradually abandoned elsewhere.
I object to this guy's assumption that anyone who do does not hand code must be using Front Page. People who are using WYSIWYG editors now are generally NOT using FP, and there is a big difference in quality from one to the other. If you get one that creates decent code, why waste time hand coding when you can do the job ten times faster with a drag and drop editor?
More bad code is created by poor hand coders than ever was created by HTML editors.
Except MS Word... which is not an HTML editor at all, but a mockery of HTML editing fit only to produce buggy bloat.
Laura
Mom to Eight
Firelight Business Enterprises, Inc.
http://www.firelightwebstudio.com - Exceptional Website Services
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http://www.microwebmasters.com - MicroBusiness Service Provider Trade Association - Unite to Succeed!Private Reply to Laura Wheeler | | May 13, 2008 5:44 am | | re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Is "Webmaster" a dated term? Then what do we call ourselves? | # | 
Bobbi Jo Woods | | BUMP~
Saw this thread hiding down below the rest, and thought I'd put in my $.02.
I agree with pretty much everyone here, and Reg put up some good arguments with his points as well.
I only used the term "webmaster" in the past, to refer to myself in volunteer situations. But lately I've seen it as a non-progressive thing and prefer, 'Web admin' or 'administrator'. I do have a couple of websites I don't charge for that I have to use my title when communicating to the world, so I use these terms interchangably.
I also agree that FP was never of real value to anyone. Except if you are McGuyver, and you're on a deserted island and you have a laptip with REALLY damn good wi-fi (heh), and you need to do a quick website update. But then again, quick updates are usually faster and easier done and said in notepad (for me anyway). McGuyver as a web guy? Okay that was dumb, LOL. I just like doing analogies. *Shrug*
I once had someone call me for that reason (they were not an existing customer). This woman and her daughter ran a business online using some "Front Page live" deal, which apparently allowed them to litarally login to Front Page from their website through the browser. They needed some updates done immediately but for some reason couldn't log into Front Page Live, and then also, Google banned their site and they wanted to know if I could scan it to find out what the prob was. I had to investigate the matter and get them back in. They had a site rank of 9/10 for a year or so, before Google dropped them like a hot potato.
Well, I thought I didn't need any stupid old FP since I just whip out notepad to make edits but it turned out to be a total nightmare for me since I had no experience with this Front Page live stuff, and furthermore, did not have the software on my machine, so updating their site was like trying to nail Jell-O to a tree, since all the extraneous code (or "bloat" as Laura calls it) was hard to wade through and correct, line by line. I thought it was just a line of code or something missing that was causing the error from Google, but it wasn't.
I found out the problem... FP Live is full of security holes, and essentially serves as a backdoor to hackers to "Come on in and have at it!". So the web site folders basically had some hidden malware scripting, java classes and .exe's all loaded up inside, and that was why Google banned them. That was a nightmare and a half. So I made it a policy not to touch FP sites anymore from then on, unless it's a site which is going to be torn down and re-constructed again without FP. Well anyway, getting banned from Google in this case was not permanent--just a warning that was next to the site link which anyone could see in the search results (This site may harm your computer). It took about 2 months for the warning to be lifted, once a full site scan was done, and some directory permissions where changed around. After that, the customer was sternly advised to a) either get a more stable and secure host (iPower web was their brew of choice at the moment), or b) Get a dedicated and private hosting server, and C) Above all, stop using Front Page LIVE!!
As for tech-jargon... if they don't ask, I don't tell. I do sometimes point stuff out as far as how things are done to my customer's sites, but most of them are using a CMS which they know how to get into the back end of, and that's that. Otherwise, if there is no CMS, any web person worth his/her salt can figure out my code if the client ever has to hand it off to someone else for help. This has not happened yet!
-Bobbi Jo
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Bobbi Jo Woods, Owner & Fanatic
B. Woods Design - Professional Managed Web Solutions
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