Yesterday Morning, I jumped into the car with my friend Colleen and headed to go explore the mystic world of website development.
Now, if you know anything about me you’ll know that I’m a firm believer in empowerment and educating yourself.
There is always something to learn and opportunities to do so.
So, although I have built a few wordpress websites I’ve never used another platform and I don’t truly believe I can do a website the justice it deserves.
I get utterly frustrated with the back end of my website and thankfully can just shout and my daughter Tammi fixes it.
So, I went along to learn a new platform and well prepared not to know a thing .
We arrived to a room full of eager attendees and table set with coffee and home baked muffins.
A large screen projected computer screen images onto a wall from a desk placed strategically in the centre of a room full of mismatched chairs.
As the lecture began it turns out I knew quite a bit actually and I enjoyed patting myself on the back throughout the workshop with each topic I actually knew.
It also turns out our workshop presenter was neither an advanced developer nor was he very confident in delivering his workshop.
His monotone voice droned on in the background as he flashed screen upon screen of technical code in front of us.
There was no interaction during the workshop, no notes to follow or take home to recap on. There was nothing but a projected screen of computer jargon.
I was transported back to my grade 9 Accountany lesson where I was sure watching paint dry or having my toenails pulled would be more exciting.
FOUR very very long hours later we were now dubbed smart enough to be website developers.
We’d sat through his workshop and were officially sanctioned to pay our money and claim the title.
This lead me to ask the question …
As business owners how do you know your developer is properly qualified?
This workshop was rushed and truthfully mostly self explanatory. Although there is no certificate of attendance or completion, you are issued a helpful manual and outdated YouTube videos.
But does that make you qualified to design someone’s website?
Does that give you the knowledge to understand the brand, portray their vision and write content that is SEO compliant enough to have them found in a search engine?
Even though I was bored out of my mind I walked away with two very good lessons.
1. I know much more about website development than I give myself credit for.
2. Always check the credentials of the person or company doing work for your business, especially in terms if large companies or franchises as they have less control over who works for them.
