Few months ago a disgruntled member commented that we cannot consider ourselves professionals if we use scripts or even hosting provided by a third party. How dare we call ourselves this if we use other people’s work into building our projects. Are we still professionals if we are not “jack of all trades”?

In a way we are this “jack” since most of us know a bit of everything: we can design in Photoshop, maybe Flash too, we know how to put the design in HTML/CSS, we know how to do SEO on the site, how to monetize, how to run a community. It’s hard to believe but nowadays the internet related work is SO SPECIALIZED each of these are already separate specialities that can really fill one’s day. A good “photoshoper” spends most his/her day coming up with new effects, shapes or patterns, making them look nice, taking care of the colours etc.

Slicing a design and making it cross browser valid, implementing SEO elements etc. is another specialty in its own. Some do it rudimentary still (I admit I am not a specialist in this either, so I do make mistakes), while others have brought this to an art level.

Can we call these people losers because they don’t code in php/mysql for instance and use an already proven to be good solution? Can we think they are not professionals just because they don’t use their own computer as server and waste all day trying to secure it while also paying hundreds of dollars a month for something they can have with 5?

We can, but we wouldn’t be right.

Six years ago, when I started my first site I used “plain” HTML. I had 50 articles already and updating the content and linking system was a pain. Don’t get me started on the re-design I used to do at least once a year, because it’s too painful to talk about it.

After a while I discovered people use “scripts”. The famous “cms” (content management systems) that make your work as an article writer way easier. Sure, you can use the script as it is and just focus on the content or you can also learn how to skin it so that you use only the “backbone” and make your site look really unique. We already have a distinction here: people who just use a solution and people who customize it.

Two years have passed and I started my “masterpiece”, Wtricks.com on a free subdomain. I used phpBB for the forums since I was interested in adding a forum to my content. Sure, I think I could code a forum system. Since I am alone and a total beginner it would take me 2-3 years, but I think I can make it. I am a smart woman and, once you get some coding experience, it can’t be that hard. Still phpBB, even if now losing momentum in comparison with MyBB for instance, is still a solid script. The thing that matters is there are TEAMS of people working on it: some code the login pages, some create new features, some prepare the layout etc. We talk MANY people, whereas I’d be ALONE.

So my question back then and now is: WHY try to come up myself with a script, which will never be as good as one that’s been improved years after years, lose years of potential revenue, just because I want to please someone who thinks I need to manufacture my chipset too so that I can consider myself a PC professional?

By the time I’d be able to finish the script, I’d realize it’s already outdated (feature wise) and I need to start again.

So, I chose the “easy way”. I downloaded a good script, with an excellent community of developers (who’d know how to help me when I have problems) and show my talent in designing a new theme for it, writing useful articles and running a nice community.

Instead of working for the next 2 years on a script and not having 1 finished site, I was able to gather more than 35 sites till now, many of them bringing in revenue that gives me the “drive” to work some more. If one  works for many years for nothing in return, one thinks about switching to another hobby that’s more lucrative (say coin collecting for instance).

Working on the web means MANY nights and weekends, a lot of personal time put into this. We jeopardize our free time, even our personal life sometimes. Web developers are not known to have a very active social life since they have to work on their sites for many hours to make them successful. And if your loved ones see you work with no financial gain, they would consider it’s not worth it.

One of the most important aspects in this matter is to KNOW how much you can do. If you plan on releasing a project, you have to know what parts of this you can manage and what not. Those you can’t do yourself can be done by other professionals, specialized in it. I use ready-made scripts that already cost me a small fortune to be able to release a project fast. 18 forums are run on VBulletin or MyBB, directories use phpLD, my blogs use WordPress etc. I started by installing them and then it all came to my expertize: modifying their looks so that my projects do look unique. This is what I do best and in this area I am the professional.

Then I create the content and work on the SEO/promotion aspect. Since many people cannot create a decent article, coming up with many in a week is already a talent. There are many awesome content writers who can’t even install their blog script. This doesn’t make them less of a blogger since what they do (content creation) is of a very high standard.

So in the end it comes up to knowing what you can do, how much this will take you and how to use other ways to achieve your goal. If you want to have a successful site as fast as possible, you need to leave pride aside and know when to ask for help or use a better solution than the one you could provide.

Filed under: Web development by ramona