Subject: Re: "Dynamic web maintenance"
Mon Sep 28 15:47:54 1998


>I need to do some "just in time training" on how to create websites that
>clients can update and present material on their websites in real-time.  If
>at all possible, not using PageMaker.
>
>Any URL references, keywords, "experts for hire" would be much appreciated.


ouch..

i see two basic options, based on my experience with similar experiences
in the past:

 1.  you can try the standard customer-service thing, looking for tools
that update pages with scripts and forms, all the while keeping the user
from having to know FTP or HTML.   this involves a lot of setup on your
part, and also a lot of maintenance, because a client's desires tend to
grow over time.

 2.  you can try to convice the client they need to know some basic HTML
and how to FTP thgeir page updates to the server.   this involves work
on the client's part, and can be a tough sell.


hands down, i prefer option 2.


protecting a client's ignorance is a never-ending battle, because they
keep wanting you to protect larger and larger forms of ignorance.  
eventually, assuming you're talented enough, you can have clients
bitching at you because the virtual server setup package and
Oracle-driven dynamic HTML system you set up is "just too hard to use"..
and btw, they want to change the site structure completely by wednesday.

the biggest impediment to a basic HTML training session, by contrast, is
little more than a gumption trap.   you need to sit down at the keyboard
yourself, asking them what they want changed, and showing them how
quickly those changes can be made, until they get some enthusiasm going.

the make-or-break point in the session comes when you put them behind
the wheel, to do the typing for themselves.   if they refuse to enter
HTML manually, even if you're the one telling them what to type, cut the
session short and don't expect future business from them.   excuses
like, "i'm not a programmer" or "i need WYSIWYG because i'm a visual
thinker" have nothing to do with logic, and everything to do with
avoiding work.   trying to talk them over to your position is futile.


if you have a good client, though.. and thankfully, there are a lot of
them.. they'll be hooked as soon as they see their first change appear
when the reload the page.   from then on, your job is a piece of cake.  
all you have to do is answer questions like, "okay, so how do i put it
in italics?" and "what if i want to use an image for a link?"   for a
pro, handing out correct answers is just about as difficult as
breathing.

by the time you've walked the client through basic page structure,
italics, boldface, lists, images, and links, you'll be ready to stop for
the day.   schedule another session later, after they've had time to
play with the basics, to go over tables, and another to deal with
setting up a form that goes to a mail handler.

the hidden goal of the sessions is to show the client that making a
single page is simple, but that keeping a collection of pages linked,
synched, and functional takes work.   what you sell as a web consultant
is the ability to do more than the one-page-wonder website, and that
really is the most stable line in this business.   

PageMill can legitimately replace the "i know HTML" consultant, but
doesn't do squat for keeping a site organized.   the organization side
isn't so much difficult as it is time consuming, and requires a lot of
attention to detail.   that's exactly the kind of thing a client will
want to offload, so they can spend time making money.


for software, use whatever word processor and FTP client are simplest,
and most likely to be on the client's machine already.   on the Mac, i
suggest SimpleText and Fetch.   the fact that you *can* build an entire
website with SimpleText (and fairly quickly, too) raises the question of
"why pay $49.95 for PageMill, if this is all it does?"   for Winboxen,
try Notepad, and avoid like the plague any word processor that
automatically decides what file extensions you *will* use.