Webmaster Wanted
Interested parties may contact me via the "contact" tab in the top menu.
Quote: s2dbakerI need experience in all of those skill sets. I do hope to move to Vegas shortly though. If you need a database guy, keep me in mind.
Sorry, I don't think I need a database guy. However, let me know when you move here. Maybe we can have lunch.
Quote: MathExtremistHave you considered moving to an open-source content management (CMS) platform like WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla? There are a lot of options for templates with pretty advanced features. I just redid my entire website myself using WordPress + the Headway theme. I'm very technical, but I'm not a pro web designer by any stretch. I'd think you could hire a CMS consultancy to do requirements gathering, set up a site for you using one of several CMS packages, and then just show you how to add content to it. That way you don't need to have a full-time webmaster on staff at all.
Plus plus... there's plenty of modular Boards that would provide 99% of the current functionality and 55% of the functionality you don't have but might like to add.
Quote: thecesspitPlus plus... there's plenty of modular Boards that would provide 99% of the current functionality and 55% of the functionality you don't have but might like to add.
I thought he was referring to WoO rather than this forum, but you're right, there are plenty of open-source forum/BB packages which are very easy to administer and highly functional for forum sites like this one. More importantly, using a single content package or set of integrated packages will drastically reduce admin costs compared to using different custom code for each site.
Quote: WizardThanks for all the comments thus far. This is not the first time someone has recommended an off the shelf product. What gives me pause is that I like to have full control of my sites. I don't want to be unable to do something because the software doesn't support it. I'm also not very patient with manuals. I would imagine it taking weeks to learn the basics of such a product. Finally, I know when you save something as HTML in Word it loads it down with all kinds of crap. I don't want my code to look like that. I'm big on clean code.
The thing about open-source is that you can do whatever you want with it, all the way down to changing the base code itself (hence, open-source). Yes, there's a learning curve with a lot of packages, but especially with something like WordPress, you can get going rather quickly and then figure out the tips and tricks as you go. Plus, because there are so many other people using the same package, there's already a built-in support structure.
Also, never use Word for HTML. Yuck. The point of most CMS systems is that you don't have to use HTML at all, not directly. You can, of course, but a properly templated CMS theme will format your text and other content according to a predefined set of styles (in CSS, which are also adjustable). Here's what I suggest, just to get your feet wet:
1) Create a private website somewhere, either hosted or on your own PC.
2) Grab the latest copy of WordPress and install it. Most web hosts have simple one-click installs for common packages like WordPress (Bluehost does, etc.)
3) Surf Google for free WordPress themes or templates. I say free because this way you can test-drive WordPress without paying a dime. If you like how it works, then you can pay $50 for a professionally-coded theme.
4) With the free theme installed, add a few demo pages to see how much time it takes. If you typically author your posts in Word, that's fine -- just copy/paste from Word into the WordPress visual content box and click "Publish" (or "Update"). Works like a charm.
