advice: static vs dynamic design skills

[Enzino]

People still use static sites?

Apparently so. Wish some of them would come in our direction, we're getting increasing demand for dynamic content. Currently in terror of a project coming up in the next couple of months

From what l can see, in Oz, most websites are starting to hit second generation, i.e the companies/organisations have had a web presence and now find it limited by being static.

I blame the net for showing them that dynamic stuff personally. We should all deny existance of anything outside straight html

[gingercatnz]

So far, I've been trying to avoid using a CMS (Under the assumption that most clients can do that themselves) but have been able to make a few functions that helped clients.

I think you'll find most clients can manage a CMS but can't set it up or design a template for it. Your design skills and knowledge of php are still needed even with an off the shelf CMS. I even lost one ckient because they felt their CMS (Xoops) was just too hard to use. I would have been better to set up a static site for them I think

[Schultzy]

Using a server side code (EG PHP) to add in headers and footers can be usefull and can provide speedy updates to sites.

As you get further working for people it will get harder to learn at the same time, to do so you might have to stay up long nights and be determined to still work early.

Dynamic sites are usefull, from my experience clients pay for a dynamic site but wont use it often.

[BID]

Definately look into the CMS solution ( Depending on their needs )

Most client's can't set up CMS themselves and customizing a CMS is still very design intensive.

I also have rudimentry php/mySql skills so if I need something more complex I get a quote off a programmer. In the end it's far quicker and cheaper to hire a programmer than to spend time trying to learn it yourself.

Your knowledge now of php/mysql should give you a reasonable indication of what's involved programming wise so you can give rough quotes straight up.

Go for it!

[wavedave]

I've been a web developer for nearly 12 years (static and dynamic)
and a freelance computer consultant for about twice that long.

Others here have offered good, realistic advice: Expand your skills as you go
and outsource when necessary. You'll do both whether you plan to, or not.

But no matter what your level of expertise, you'll be able to pay the bills
and enjoy the benefits of self employment, as long as you don't slack off
on SALES.

Market yourself. Give high quality service and ask for referrals.
Niether Microsoft or McDonalds make the best product (by far) in their
respective marketplaces... but they maintain a fat bottom line because
they do a great job on SALES.

As long as you make self promotion a priority, you'll find more work than
you can personally handle, no matter what you're selling.

Good luck, and best wishes my friend

[ablaye]

The websites that use static html are amateurish.
You are not going to end up with big clients or earn big bucks if you only code html.

[cajebo]

"Web Frameworks"

could you expand on this a bit? is that an organization? a company? a website?

as to cereal's jump: go ahead, leap. you'll be amazed at how quickly one's 29-hour day starts shrinking due to all the stuff you'll be force to admit you're going to learn about, and all the things you'll determin quickly that will need an additional hat-rack.

trying to wear too many hats is the major source of neckpain.

michael

I hate quoting myself, but so as not to belabor a point, I'll provide one of the best answers I've come across with relation to the definition/comprehension of "Web Frameworks" as a concept, at least for the non-programmers among us.

This fellow has been nicknamed BDFL. His real name is Guido van Rossum

[Gooofy]

You are your own worst critic.
Don't be shy to take a request that will force you to advance your skills.
You can do it!

[icesar]

I think focusing on your strengths is key. If you're good at static pages, build on that strength first by offerring products within that scope. I know when I started I stretched myself in too many directions and caused myself many a headache.

As for outsourcing, check out sites like http://rentacoder.com and http://elance.com and create a relationship with a programmer or three. The sites are reputation based, so you know who you're working with, and they provide a great safety net so you don't get ripped off. In the end, the hard part is learning to work together remotely.