Website design question - should be easy

[susiestar]

I have a question about website design and maintenance. It should be a fairly easy question if you do this kind of thing.

How hard is it to update something on a website that is just text??

We have a rather large Fairgrounds that is very busy. they have a LOT of neat things going on.

It would be nice to know about these things. The website has a calendar, that takes 2 clicks to get to. Not a problem.

BUT the home page has one place where an event is featured. Just the event, dates, and a contact name and phone number. This routinely features an event that is over. The current event happened in MARCH of 2008. Until March the event was one that happened in Nov of 2007!

I just wondered if this was something hard to do, or if asking to have this feature an upcoming event is a reasonable thing?? I have asked and they DO have a person who is in charge of the site. I am planning to go to the Board in charge if I don't get some results.

This is an embarrassment to my town, in my opinion.

Thanks,

Susie

 

[Abbey]

It really depends on what software they are using to produce the site. For me...I'm a straight coder. I don't like programs that do it for you. In fact, I would never take on a client that had one. Trying to sift through someone else's code is a nightmare.

That would be a good place to start. Find out what program they are currently using to update the site.

Abbey

 

[Star*]

code, syntac, line......

ABBEY IS A SMARTY!!!!!!!!!

 

[WhymeMom?]

The person in charge of updating the website would have a password to get to the code to change it. Updating wouldn't be difficult if you knew the password.....but web designers or sponsors might be a bit touchy about letting anyone update and would not give out the password. I would call the person in charge of updating and let them know that they are not keeping up with the changes and if they can't do it there are plenty of people who can, so either get with it or we will find another company who can......

More than likely they left this to some lower office person who just doesn't see the need to do this in a timely manner....if that's the case I don't know if there is much you can do since again they won't give just anyone access to the code.....

Complaint may be your only recourse, unless you want to sign on for a full time job of updating........I know your feeling.....there is nothing worse than going to a website and finding outdated information!

 

[Abbey]

Updating wouldn't be difficult if you knew the password.....but web designers or sponsors might be a bit touchy about letting anyone update and would not give out the password.

BINGO! I would NEVER give out the password to someone's domain. If you're not HTML proficient, or know how to use whatever program they use, I'd simply email them the updated info and let them do it.

Abbey

 

[DammitJanet]

Like Abbey and Whymemom said...its really not that difficult but no one is going to give out that info to just anyone. I love love love building websites but Im out of date now myself. Heck...I think HTML is out of date...lol. I was trying to self teach myself HTML when they were coming out with something new that blew my mind and I threw my hands up in the air. I cant even remember the name of it right now. Not dreamweaver...ummmm....it was something to do with the databases I think for boards...oh I cant remember. Just a simple website was easier.

Now I want to learn graphics. Im gonna bootleg adobe studio and play!

 

[skeeter]

10-1 they have a "volunteer" doing the website, who really isn't all that into keeping it up to date. Or the person who originally developed the website has moved on and the job of upkeep has shifted around or fallen through the cracks.

husband does web site development as a part time job. His biggest gripe is to see a website with out of date information or broken links. If the website he is doing is going to be handed off to someone else, he never puts his name on it because he then has no control of whether they keep it up or not.

 

[Hound dog]

Personally, any webpage I've ever had, I've let Frontpage (is that what it's called?) do all the coding work. I can do all the design, add pics and such and then the program (comes with microsoft office) does the rest. Just have to make sure that the site will let you use it.

Abbey Travis can do the coding. He started to explain it to me once. My eyes glazed over, my mouth fell slack, and all I heard was WAH WAH WAH like on the Peanuts cartoons. lol Safe to say I'll never be a computer programmer.

 

[Star*]

Would you guys speak ENGRISH!

 

[susiestar]

I have NO intention of updating their website, ever.

I wondered because they acted like it was incredibly difficult to change the sign out front when I asked about the same issue with it a few years ago. They said it was very difficult to change and they couldn't change it every week. Then I spoke with the (then) director of the board overseeing it and got a different story. It was laziness, and the board just hadn't had anyone complain.

I was curious because I have never done a webpage, so I didn't know. The name and number on the website relate to the event - not the webpage. If it were MY name and number, I would be angry to ahve it up there 3 months or more after my event.

I just hate out of date info when I am trying to see what is going on. and it is embarrassing, as a member of teh community, to know that any tourists/visitors may see this. Esp as we are a HUGE Agricultural community so the Fairgrounds website is busy and many of our tourists/visitors look for info there.

Thanks!

 

[Abbey]

I got out of programming when it went from straight HTML to all this fancy stuff. I saw the writing on the wall. The technology was moving faster than I could afford to keep up with training, etc. Now graphics...that's another story. I am one mean arse when it comes to Photoshop.

Translation for Star: There are these little letters that you put in a row that make a web page. You used to have to type them in, now a program does it for you. Make sense?

Abbey