Fun Stuff > CHATTER
Whatever, Let's Have A Goddamn Blog Thread, But Try And Keep It Reasonable
pwhodges:
--- Quote from: öde on 18 Nov 2008, 12:05 ---
--- Quote from: Midnight Umbreon on 17 Nov 2008, 18:51 --- I'd like to think I don't suck that bad at web design sort of things and I could start some sort of website making thing.
--- End quote ---
You and a hundred thousand others. You won't be able to start charging until you have good examples of your work, and even then paid work will be hard to come by.
--- End quote ---
Most of that hundred thousand can make a simple website that looks OK-ish in one or two browsers. A career in the business means understanding:
* Standards, and why they matter;
* Cross-browser compatibility, and why it's bloody hard;
* Accessibility (in the UK; I don't know about elsewhere);
* Ajax techniques for efficient dynamic websites;
* Simplicity - why less is more;
* Graphic design - but please, no Flash just for "impact";
* Databases;
* Security;
* Security;
* The security you missed before;
* Well, that's for starters - I could go on.
öde:
I meant occasional freelance work for tiny clients, not major work.
pwhodges:
Oh, I'm sure - but even tiny clients can suffer from the problems that a web site that is only partially functional can bring, especially if neither they nor the person who provided it realises. Professionals are only too familiar with having to sort such things out later.
That's not to say I want to put someone off doing it; more to give pause to realise that if it seems simple, then there could easily be something wrong. If anyone wants to learn even the basics of what I said, then all strength to them.
BlahBlah:
Web security can be incredibly difficult to do properly. I was working for a large company in the summer and the security that the senior programmers had implemented was just laughable. Everything moves so fast now, it's almost impossible to keep up.
Alex C:
My uncle is a systems analyst and he still laughs/cries about the time some hospital administrator wanted to consolidate the billing and patient record systems without compromising security. Hospitals tend to understandably place more value on acquiring a fancy new MRI machines than upgrading their computer security, so really, the air gaps they had inadvertantly put into place were really the most secure thing about their whole operation. Apparently explaining the pitfalls was a nightmare.
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