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Re: If I had it to do over again
My whole motivation for using BV was to have control over my destiny.
I did not want to have to rely on a web developer, his mood swings of the day, his other priorities or other clients priorities, a monthly bill coming in for god knows what because his rent was due or he needed new tires on his car. I wanted to be able to make additions, deletions, corrections and changes to my web site without hearing my developer was on vacation, sick, in the middle of a divorce or visiting his sick aunt in Yehaw Junction Florida.
I cannot live my life or run my business based upon other peoples priorities, problems or excuses.
Now, having said that, I do not have a creative bone in my body. I can't draw a straight line with a ruler. If it is not brown, beige, black or white, it is not in my color spectrum.
I signed up for BV and BH based upon the control I have over my site. I drafted the talents of a lady with a very keen eye (hint) to help me make my template and punched forward. I built a site with over 125 pages but I failed to get the template perfect before I built page 2. Now, I have had to go back and make massive corrections at a cost of very valuable time that I could have used for developing content.
I cannot comment on your SW package but if you are a novice at using a computer then I highly recommend you use a package that is designed as: Easy to use, drag and drop; has a group of people willing to assist you and self use tutorials that can help you remember which thing/Icon to click on for what you are trying to accomplish on your page.
If you have never built a web site and are in first grade with computer skills (I am about a 9th or 10th grader) get one of the BV developers to help you build your template and you fill in the content, based upon your area of expertise, whether it is baking choclate chip cookies or how to Laser Imprint serial numbers on Diamond Jewlery.
Let them build your forms, as that seems to be a shortfall of the current releases of software and the tutorial sequencing and spend your time doing what you do best...www.yourbusiness.com ; Not www.yourbusinessbutIamlearningtobuildwebsitesinmys paretime.com
Trust me, you will sleep better at night, and may make some good friends along the way.
If you are a computer novice, I recommend you avoid the techy, acronym weilding mods or be prepared to experience some frustration. (mods are generally the Generals on the board)
Go with the people that know how to "Talk to the Dog". Ones that are able to explain things in laymens terms and give specific examples. Not ones that tell you to use Phpbb, in MY Sql, with a PHP extension except when using the gobbeldygoop form unless the HTML or java script reads like a .gif file in Mambo. (greatly over exaggerated but approprite).
Those folks just do not get it. This site is all about newbies building their own web sites. People that sell auto parts, run B and B's, train dogs, sell Native American Jewlery or re-condition golf clubs.
The BV clients are not about learning advanced computer skills, not about learning the intracies of a SW program and all the except exceptions of this particular release if you try and put a photo on line 1,299 of your page. They want a web site they can control and not have to spend a fortune doing it. They do not want some techno geek who is more interested in the latest gaming software release and how many people have reached level 5, controlling their destiny.
Carol, I can only offer you 25 years of Senior Corporate level experience with a fortune 10 company. I cannot advise you on software selections. I still forget to save stuff when I am finished and am notorious for forgetting to include attachments when I send stuff to people. I type with about 5 fingers on two hands and very slowly at that.
I am a BV fan for the reasons mentioned. Yes, I am paying the price for wanting to finish pages before I had my template perfect (kind of like building a home only to discover you have to tear parts of it down because it was not built properly in the first place). It would have been easier to do it right in the first place. I wish I had taken a little more time and sweated the small stuff (like link naming conventions). Maybe I can save others hundreds of hours of wasted time by learning from my mistakes and making fun of myself. (no one ever gets mad when you make fun of yourself)
Like you, this is my first web site. It just happens to be a little large (126 pages and counting). My cross to bear because I was antsy to publish quickly (well, it has been 3 months in the making). Do not ever hire me to build you an experimental car or airplane because it would probably crash. Now, show me a finished, engineering tested product and I will show you how to market and sell it anywhere in the world.
I am the wrong person to ask about technical issues with BV. But, it does work (with a little help from your friends).
Good luck.
BTW (by the way); The Control Panel AWstats are really cool. Being the Ex Corp. Exec. that I am, I watch those closely. I like to make decisions based upon data and not gut feel or heresay. Test your template with the site Loura (above??) suggested above before you build page 2. It has been very helpful in identifying where I need to fix stuff instead of guessing. Like using a computer to test your car engine rather than a mechanic guessing, guessing, guessing until he finally gets it right and $580 later when a $39.95 water pump would have fixed the problem in the first place.
Whatever you do, do not repeat my mistakes or you may never have a web site. I just happen to have the time on my hands and will not be denied my desired end result. (wouldn't a "mistakes made" section on this forum be fun? Maybe not, as most people do not have the self confidence to laugh at themselves)
Wherever you are, I hope you are warm, comfortable and getting ready to have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...!
.
My whole motivation for using BV was to have control over my destiny.
I did not want to have to rely on a web developer, his mood swings of the day, his other priorities or other clients priorities, a monthly bill coming in for god knows what because his rent was due or he needed new tires on his car. I wanted to be able to make additions, deletions, corrections and changes to my web site without hearing my developer was on vacation, sick, in the middle of a divorce or visiting his sick aunt in Yehaw Junction Florida.
I cannot live my life or run my business based upon other peoples priorities, problems or excuses.
Now, having said that, I do not have a creative bone in my body. I can't draw a straight line with a ruler. If it is not brown, beige, black or white, it is not in my color spectrum.
I signed up for BV and BH based upon the control I have over my site. I drafted the talents of a lady with a very keen eye (hint) to help me make my template and punched forward. I built a site with over 125 pages but I failed to get the template perfect before I built page 2. Now, I have had to go back and make massive corrections at a cost of very valuable time that I could have used for developing content.
I cannot comment on your SW package but if you are a novice at using a computer then I highly recommend you use a package that is designed as: Easy to use, drag and drop; has a group of people willing to assist you and self use tutorials that can help you remember which thing/Icon to click on for what you are trying to accomplish on your page.
If you have never built a web site and are in first grade with computer skills (I am about a 9th or 10th grader) get one of the BV developers to help you build your template and you fill in the content, based upon your area of expertise, whether it is baking choclate chip cookies or how to Laser Imprint serial numbers on Diamond Jewlery.
Let them build your forms, as that seems to be a shortfall of the current releases of software and the tutorial sequencing and spend your time doing what you do best...www.yourbusiness.com ; Not www.yourbusinessbutIamlearningtobuildwebsitesinmys paretime.com
Trust me, you will sleep better at night, and may make some good friends along the way.
If you are a computer novice, I recommend you avoid the techy, acronym weilding mods or be prepared to experience some frustration. (mods are generally the Generals on the board)
Go with the people that know how to "Talk to the Dog". Ones that are able to explain things in laymens terms and give specific examples. Not ones that tell you to use Phpbb, in MY Sql, with a PHP extension except when using the gobbeldygoop form unless the HTML or java script reads like a .gif file in Mambo. (greatly over exaggerated but approprite).
Those folks just do not get it. This site is all about newbies building their own web sites. People that sell auto parts, run B and B's, train dogs, sell Native American Jewlery or re-condition golf clubs.
The BV clients are not about learning advanced computer skills, not about learning the intracies of a SW program and all the except exceptions of this particular release if you try and put a photo on line 1,299 of your page. They want a web site they can control and not have to spend a fortune doing it. They do not want some techno geek who is more interested in the latest gaming software release and how many people have reached level 5, controlling their destiny.
Carol, I can only offer you 25 years of Senior Corporate level experience with a fortune 10 company. I cannot advise you on software selections. I still forget to save stuff when I am finished and am notorious for forgetting to include attachments when I send stuff to people. I type with about 5 fingers on two hands and very slowly at that.
I am a BV fan for the reasons mentioned. Yes, I am paying the price for wanting to finish pages before I had my template perfect (kind of like building a home only to discover you have to tear parts of it down because it was not built properly in the first place). It would have been easier to do it right in the first place. I wish I had taken a little more time and sweated the small stuff (like link naming conventions). Maybe I can save others hundreds of hours of wasted time by learning from my mistakes and making fun of myself. (no one ever gets mad when you make fun of yourself)
Like you, this is my first web site. It just happens to be a little large (126 pages and counting). My cross to bear because I was antsy to publish quickly (well, it has been 3 months in the making). Do not ever hire me to build you an experimental car or airplane because it would probably crash. Now, show me a finished, engineering tested product and I will show you how to market and sell it anywhere in the world.
I am the wrong person to ask about technical issues with BV. But, it does work (with a little help from your friends).
Good luck.
BTW (by the way); The Control Panel AWstats are really cool. Being the Ex Corp. Exec. that I am, I watch those closely. I like to make decisions based upon data and not gut feel or heresay. Test your template with the site Loura (above??) suggested above before you build page 2. It has been very helpful in identifying where I need to fix stuff instead of guessing. Like using a computer to test your car engine rather than a mechanic guessing, guessing, guessing until he finally gets it right and $580 later when a $39.95 water pump would have fixed the problem in the first place.
Whatever you do, do not repeat my mistakes or you may never have a web site. I just happen to have the time on my hands and will not be denied my desired end result. (wouldn't a "mistakes made" section on this forum be fun? Maybe not, as most people do not have the self confidence to laugh at themselves)
Wherever you are, I hope you are warm, comfortable and getting ready to have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year...!
.
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