theprofessional — Mon, 15 Apr 2002 12:19:44 +0000

Good news everyone. I've just aquired a brand new suite of web design software, Macromedia's Dreamweaver, Firworks, Freehand, and of course I still have Flash. The re-design will be in the works and the outcome should be impressive.

Your right about those style sheets, and man does Dreamweaver make it automated. No site that I ever build will be without style sheets anymore. And graphics will have a much better look now with a lot more versitility.

At the moment I'm redesigning a site for a client, so as soon as I'm finished I may be able to get to my own, maybe, hopefully. Seems like I get a lot of referals and business from word of mouth. I can't study or even do my own stuff from all the work. Till then, thanks for all the help and watch for me to post back here when it's ready.

cadeh — Mon, 15 Apr 2002 00:28:03 +0000

Hmmm. Well it's clear that this site must have changed since I looked at it. People were talking about flash stuff but that don't seem to be there anymore. Only the services link worked on my visit and one thing I did notice is that the text sizes are different between the services and the main page. Style sheets are your friend man. Make one style sheet and use it on the whole site. I think consistency is pretty important and style sheets are great for that.

theprofessional — Fri, 29 Mar 2002 13:13:20 +0000

Yea, about that revampt site. I'll post some stuff in another section about this whole ordeal in getting your images to....
Well, you'll have to find it to see it. I'm sure it'll be some great questions that budding designers would like answered for themselves. I'll get to it later today. See you then.

The Webmistress — Fri, 29 Mar 2002 10:07:54 +0000

I agree if you can do everything well then that's fine, but doing it as a self-employed business on your own there generally comes a time when you have to say I'll concentrate on this and get someone else to do that when required. You really need to concentrate on what types of sites you are likely to be doing that'll make you money, we have found that basic html sites are what's needed in most cases (with the odd bit of flash & e-commerce here & there) and if we come across anything that requires anything different (database, etc) we will outsource when necessary.

Look forward to seeing the revamped site.

Megan — Thu, 28 Mar 2002 17:13:16 +0000

If you can do it all well then there's no reason why you can't offer both.

theprofessional — Thu, 28 Mar 2002 16:19:06 +0000

I quess my first mistake with this whole thing was letting my image app slice it and create it. I hear that's amaturish, but you have to admit that it's speedy. You just plug in the dynamic stuff, change a few lines here and there, and finished.
I promise not to use this approach again. This weekend I will hand code the structure and plug in the images.
The content will be changed also to reflect a web design/development business without all the hopla about professionalism. I've already changed the text font to Verdana.
As a freelancer I do enjoy both the development (php, mysql, perl..) and design (images, layout, flash..). Is it wrong to run a business that does both? I have no interest at the moment to contract anything out, until I get so busy I have no choice.

theprofessional — Thu, 28 Mar 2002 16:06:42 +0000

I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!
OK. You've all proven your point. While I lick my salted wounds and sadly admit that I am not as good as I thought, I ask for your forgiveness. Truth is, I have not anyone or anything to base my level against. Therefore, I based it myself by comparing the looks and functionality of what I could do against other sites. And I have to say, the majority of sites I see look like my first experiments with FrontPage.
So then, I stand humbly before my masters in search of perfection through understanding, attention to detail, study and practice. Enough with this talk about ethics and professionalism. I will become good at this in due time, and with the help of my peers I may be able to become great.
So whataya say we get back to my site.

Rayna — Wed, 27 Mar 2002 23:48:38 +0000

Quote: Your first big client you landed, did you tell them "I've never done anything this big, but we'll try our best." As long as the perception you give your business can be backed up by your product or service, that's not deception.

Most certainly, YES, I have told clients that something is not within my scope of knowledge. To me this is called professional ethics.

If I hire someone to clean my carpet I expect to have my carpets cleaned by someone that has the knowledge and equipment to get the job done. What I don't expect is for someone to sell me a service they know little or nothing about then show up on my door step with a bucket and a sponge.

What is deceptive is selling a service that you can't provide at the professional level you are claiming to have. Like I said, it boils down to our differing opinions of what a professional really is. Plainly put, what you offer as a professional service does not meet my definition.

I am by no means saying my definition is the most correct one. However, I would consider myself a professional designer. I have an in-depth knowledge of my field and I continue to expand my knowledge, I believe that I have integrity, I work by a strict code of ethics, conduct myself in a professional manner, and I make a decent living.

Suzanne — Wed, 27 Mar 2002 23:19:05 +0000

I think the thing that's striking people badly is that you say you have a lot to learn, but when people more experienced, more knowledgeable and more educated (on the topic) than yourself point out where you are going wrong, you dismiss them and argue your point.

The printer issue -- anyone in this field more than a few months knows that just because it works on your configuration, that doesn't mean it works anywhere else. Don't argue with the feedback, learn from it.

There are many people out there who make websites. Far more do it for fun than for a living. You don't do it for a living, either, I might point out. Most of the people who you are arguing with, do. Don't you think you might want to pay attention to the people who are living off their work?

taff — Wed, 27 Mar 2002 22:15:21 +0000

Is this a design critique or a semantic debate?

Well, let's see if we can combine the two...

Using jpg for your text navigation is, to me, unprofessional. Just look at the obvious quality difference between the subheadings (gif) and the navigation. Image optimization is a balancing act, not a contest for the lowest file size

Defining your entire page structure by the use of spacer gifs is, to me, unprofessional. Your main page is composed of about 50 individual graphic files and your services page is pushing 100! Kind of defeats the purpose of image optimization, doesn't it? This doesn't look to be coded at all. Rather, it appears to have been laid out in some graphics app and then sliced.

The use of 4-5 different fonts is, to me, unprofessional.

Putting a half-built site up on the top tier of your domain is, to me, unprofessional. "under construction" pages are considered tacky to be sure but I'd suggest some sort of "coming soon" page while you get the site together.

I don't have any serious problems with your textual content except perhaps for the fact that your work really doesn't seem to live up to your claims. However, that is for an intelligent consumer to discover.

Where else but your own web site can you have licence to blow your own horn. However, you need to be able to back these claims up with
a) a professional web site of your own, and
b) a body of work to lend yourself legitimacy.

"do you think I should tell my potential clients, whom you know I can get them a very decent website up, that I'm just a novice but well worth the money."

You really have yet to demonstrate the former and yes, honesty can work. Novice or professional, you need to be able to back up your claims with results.

"Your first big client you landed, did you tell them 'I've never done anything this big, but we'll try our best.' "

Not necessarily the first but yes, I am quite frank with clients when dealing with issues beyond my expertise.

Representing yourself as a professional is important but misrepresenting yourself as one, can ultimately ruin your reputation and your business.