A glimpse at the Web Developer behind CaeraKirsch

Valerie Anderson - Web Developer

Every person who authors something for the Internet is a developer.  And if you are the owner of a piece of Internet real estate - your domain name - you probably own the space because you want to display something for any visitor to your web address.

There are many free hosting services that provide templates for the novice and even free developing software for those wanting to have more instantaneous control over what is - or is not - being displayed on your site.

However, not everyone has the time nor the resources to quickly pull together a web presence people are attracted to.  There are many quirks out there that can render a website useless in certain browsers and although there are work-arounds, unless you are aware of the many quick ways to review - and sometimes correct - your website, the piece of Internet real estate you own, will be ignored by both people and the search engines.

As a web developer, I bring to the development process a large set of tools, ranging from graphic design to programming, all the way to quality original content, a knowledge of viral marketing and even some search engine optimization techniques.  From time to time, I will even perform fair use data mining techniques for a variety of purposes.

All in all, I am adept at bringing someone’s vision together in a timely manner relative to what they are seeking out of owning a piece of the Internet.  Some sites need only 3 pages while others need possibly hundreds.  Even if someone does need a hundred page need, my personal internal process allows for quick build-outs of a web site.

I first set up a flat site hosted on my server for us to then develop together.  This flat site allows me to ensure my client is satisfied with the overall visual impression the site displays while giving me time to tweak the code, ensure it validates, tag the links, set the meta tags, alt-tag the graphics and any other SEO technique the search engines find acceptable practices.

Once this flat site is approved by my client, now its my turn to grow the site and create the pages needed for the site.  Many of my customers have content they knew they wanted included in the web site, such as menus, brochures, CD covers, etc. but more often than not, I’ll offer up a few suggestions to improve the quality content volume of their site.  I’ve written biographies and set up blogs to act as simple photo galleries virtually anyone can upload to.

When my client approves what I consider to be a “final” version, that is typically when we will purchase their hosting, unless they already have a domain name and hosting service.  Once the hosting is active, it immediately becomes a “close to final” version because of various elements that cannot be attached until after the site has been uploaded.

Internal search engines need domain names, templates, and other tweaks.  Testing needs to happen in Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, sometimes PDA’s (when available to test on, I personally do not own one), laptops, etc.  Sometimes graphics don’t want to display properly or a style sheet isn’t being read because some change inside the page superceeded the global instructions.  I can now submit the address to the search engines (I’ve had sites picked up through Google in a matter of days, but that is not necessarily the norm).

As a web developer, my role closely resembles the job of promoter of a local artist.  My job is to design a site that helps my clients become noticed by their target market and subsequently persuade them to hang out at the site for a while.  Although I do maintain websites for a few musical groups, the development principle is still the same.  Anyone can hit big at any time as long as it is seen by others.

Therefore, within 48 hours of going live, it is relatively “safe” to begin promoting the site as strongly and as actively as the client chooses to.  Think of this point as your last chance to play around with your image before people begin the judging process.  And if you market your quality content-filled site, the Internet is filled with “you never know what can happen and when” success stories and legends.  There are people living out their dreams because they were noticed via their web presence.