Carlos On Web :: Blogging from Experience

How much does it cost to create a website? As a web developer, I often hear that same question over and over from business acquaintances I get into contact with. Some would like to build a business website, thinking that it is a cool thing to do. Others would think that building a website is much like typing a thesis paper on a word processor and therefore it should be easy and cheap. If you were to answer that question, what would your response be?

Three hundred thousand Pesos? Fifty thousand? Five thousand? One thousand? Just a cup of McDonald’s hot chocolate?

Any Web Developer worth his salt and who has been in the business of developing websites — or Web Applications for that matter — is aware that the first question raised above is actually incomplete. It doesn’t even give you a hint as to the nature of the project. So any figure you that you will come up with based on that question alone is in fact meaningless. But, on the side of the customer (the one asking for a price quotation), it is a good way of spotting the kind of web developer you are talking to – whether an amateur or a real professional.

“Hey Carlos, if you don’t come up with a figure right then and there, how will the client know if he will hire you to do the project or find someone else?”

Thanks for asking and you have a good point. First, I don’t regret losing a client who doesn’t know what he is about to do. If I should be working WITH a client, I’d like to do it with someone who awards a project not on the basis of price alone, but on the benefits he will derive in knowing that he is working with a real problem solver. Second, as a web professional, I always make it a point to remember that I am also a consultant. It is my job to dissect what my client’s real needs are and offer a few suggestions. It could be free during the initial stage, I’d be glad to do that. Just because a client wants a business website doesn’t automatically mean that it is the perfect pill for him to shallow.

“So Mr. Consultant, how do you proceed?”

If you are new to Web Development Business, read carefully. I am about to share some priced possessions that I’ve been keeping in my treasure chest of wisdom learned from being a practicing web developer and software consultant. I am assuming here that you are dealing with a client who relies on you for guidance in showing him the right way to develop his website.

Here are the five points to remember:

Read complete article »

When was the first time you ever saw a website? Cool, wasn’t it? Did you notice a change between the kind of websites so popular then versus the style of websites that are making big waves these days?

Hello, owner of a business website! Today I am talking to you. Let’s talk about your website, too.

I’ll ask a few questions and then you can answer me in silence or by using the feedback form provided with this article. The purpose really is to spot a number of craps that are
creeping into your website which you probably put there thinking they were cool but end-up hurting your business.

Don’t worry if at times I am harsh with my words and you are hurt with my comments. Personal attacks are not my intention. Let’s just say I am poor on vocabulary, but I want you to improve the quality of your website — is that a business website? — by pointing out the mistakes other people make on their websites, so that you can eliminate them on your own.

Read complete article »

Do you want to know how to register a domain name all by yourself? Do you already have a website but you are not sure whether or not it is really registered in your name? How do you check this out? How do you make sure that you have complete control over your domain name?

The answers to these questions are very important if you are ever serious about your website
Learning to manage a domain name is not very difficult, but I am a bit surprised at how many small business website owners I’ve met don’t even know how to do it. They just leave the job of handling the registration and maintenance to the web developer or the webhosting company without even being aware of the danger.

After reading this article, I hope that you will grow in confidence in being able to take
complete control your domain name.

Read complete article »

An effective domain name plus a bunch of user-centered content are a greate treasure that invites users to visit a website again and again.

About a couple of days ago, I got an email from a visitor who, by criticizing my choice
of domain name, actually proves that I have an effective one. Let me share with you
his email message while I discuss the main topic for this post: “How to come up with an effective domain name for your website.”

Since he never disclosed his real name (for reasons only he knows), I’d like to call him “Original Guy” just for the sake of giving him a name. His email reads:

Read complete article »

So you wanna have a website? You have spent a lot of time browsing the Internet and think that having a website is really cool. It could lead you to fame, expand your reach globally, attact more customers, get more bucks into your pocket, and so on. You have seen your competition really made it big on the Web and you really believe with certainty that you can beat that bastard. Afterall, you have an MBA in the country’s most prestigious Business School, while he has not even finished his Accounting Degree.

The problem is you don’t know where to begin. Should you enroll in a vocational school and learn a bit of HTML yourself? Or, maybe you just want to hire that next-door guy with a long hair who is an expert in the latest version of Corel Draw. You think he is so fast he could get your website up and running in five minutes!

In this article, I’ll try address the most basic issues that you need to understand before you even start building your website. Knowing about these things could save you money and some needless mistakes that other business website owners experienced in their rush of having their own websites.

Read complete article »