Couldn’t think of a better title today, and this is really a guilt post, because I’ve been neglecting this blog for other projects, but here it is anyway…
I was thinking that at some point I’d offer some free advice for newbie webkins out there who want to start their own website for fun or profit, and because there’s more web developers in the world than there is common sense, I’ve decided to start on a little series:
How To Not Get Screwed By People Who Claim To Be Professionals
Tip 1: There is no such thing as a “Webmaster”
There are Thigh Masters, and Dungeon Masters, but there are no Web Masters. There are almost as many programming languages out there as there are spoken languages. You could even make up your own programming language if you’d like (ask Larry Wall). Really though, find me a person who has mastered all the languages of the web and understands all the aspects of development from server side to front end, and I’ll show you someone you can’t afford… and my +2 magic bag of holding.
Tip 2: Don’t let your web designer register your domain name!
So many times I’ve been asked to look at someones site from “an SEO point of view” only to say “hey, you don’t actually own your site”. 9 times out of 10 its registered to the goof who “designed” the site (I can usually tell by the footer links they embedded that point back to their site). Depending on your registrar, it can be a pain in the ass to transfer domain ownership (especially if said goof “locked” the domain). Do yourself a favor, just pay the $10 it costs to register your domain with GoDaddy and do it yourself.
Tip 3: Money! Get away!
Why do you want to be #1 in Google when you’re not monotizing your site? One of the first questions I’ll ask someone is “how does your site make money?” If it doesn’t, then what are your reasons for paying someone to market it? ROI means “Return On Investment”, you need a way to measure that return… it doesn’t even have to be money, although that’s usually the best metric…
Tip 4: Get your credentials!
So, you’ve paid $10,000 for some joker to install Drupal on your domain, and $1200 a year on webhosting, but you don’t have access to your own server? Why? You don’t even need know what a server is, you should ask for these credentials. They belong to you… you’re paying for them. Imagine, if you will, that you bought a computer from Future Shop, couldn’t access the administrator account, and were told by the staff that they can’t give you that account information? It really is the same thing.
Tip 5: Don’t ask me why your site comes up like this in Google:
[FLASH] 00 : 00 / Loading… 00 : 00 00 : 00 / Playing 00 : 00 00 : 00 …
File Format: Shockwave Flash
00 : 00 /. Loading… 00 : 00. 00 : 00 /. Playing. 00 : 00. 00 : 00 /. Paused. 00 : 00.
Because Google can’t really spider flash yet, despite what your “Flash Webmaster” told you (or what the +4 Goblin Slayer he’s wielding says)
