₦airaland Forum

RuuDie:
@ Afam,

really interested in PHP but don't know how 2 get started. . . . . got any clues?

www.php.net is a good place to start. Will be boring no doubt but it will help in understanding what's up with the language. Don't force yourself to understand everything for now.

Looking at web applications and trying to figure out how you can replicate them will work like magic.

Remember, you cannot think programming without thinking in a logical manner.

If it cannot work in your head most likely it will not work when you write the code.

RuuDie:
Will PHP work with Win server IIS ?

Yes, it will.

Search for apache2triad and install on your windows platform and you will be good to go.

I guess people should not be guided as regards what they choose to reply to.

This forum gives everyone the opportunity to air his/her views no matter how reasonable or stupid.

The good thing is that when people end up exposing themselves as narrow minded people they lack the courage to even contribute meaningfully.

Na people like this go claim say anybody wey get good moto or house na juju man/woman instead of trying to better themselves. Pity.

The majority of web applications out there run on PHP and unless majority of the developers out there are just wrong then I suggest you stick to PHP.

As a matter of fact PHP can be adapted to the desktop not just the web.

E yaa, it seems that some people find it difficult to live with the fact that I must not take their advice, sorry, can't do much to help you.

In any case, your line of reasoning is petty and I would be surprised if you are not really petty in real life.

@prodgalson,

It seems almost every post I make is being turned into a competition so I am staying away from this.

I am on 24hrs internet access and I am enjoying the quizzes thus far.

Enjoy!

J UNIT:
guys guys guys, don't be confused, what actually makes a good website, is it how fast it comes online, or how user friendly or which software can produce the best images, think about that?

A good website is one that is fast in loading, have very clear and concise navigation, have readable content and clear pictures.

As long as visitors are able to visit a website and find the information they are looking for or are able to complete the tasks they came to the website to complete the website can be said to be a good and useful website.

However, on this forum almost every single individual has his/her own idea of what a good website should look like even when some of them have never developed any website in their lives.

I am sure if google came to this website to ask for review most users here will advice them to scrap the website.

Why don't you try it and tell us so we can learn from your experience?

mambenanje:
@Afam
I have one question: DO YOU THINK YOUR SITES HAVE GOOD DESIGN OR VERY POOR DESIGN.
and why do u think so

your answer to the question will help many people out there
chaoo!!!

VERY POOR DESIGN.

Reason: So that people like you will get busy facing your own businesses rather than trying to hang on what I do which by the way people pay for.

I am beginning to sense frustration on the part of some of you who are hell bent on Afam changing his design even when you are allowed to pretend that your designs are better.

So, as long as people pay for my services I will keep making money, I also hope that those of you that are excellent designers make enough money rather than complaining all the time.

danteweb:
1. @ the man who believes the computer represents 666, does he keep all his money at home or at the bank. If he uses the bank then he'd better tell
them not to check his account balance using the computer.

He was clutching a mobile phone as he was speaking and I asked him if he thought he was communicating with people thousands of miles away using juju.

danteweb:
2. I've never seen a company who's got too much customers. When companies attain a high client base, what they do is to expand, not reject the customers.

I have. www.justalternativepower.com is my alternative energy website and on the website I stated that we cannot handle orders until next month because of the sheer number of people that want our inverters, about 50% of them from this forum alone.

Expanding is easy to talk about but in any specialist field getting relevant and intelligent people is really not easy especially when you offer 1 year warranty on all your inverters. Just had a meeting with two clients this afternoon that agreed to wait for 2 more weeks even when the money will be made available tomorrow.

danteweb:
3. Its good to mail brochures to prospective clients but why would someone want to keep all their eggs in one basket? With search engines, businesses reach their target markets cause a user would not click on a link if he/she is not interested in it, so the conversion ratio is high. In conventional marketing, you target people who you think / hope would need your services and thats got a very low conversion ratio!

The company decides what it wants to do. I doubt if any company will change its business process without top management buy in.

danteweb:
4. If I go online cause others are doing so, there is a probability that I might stumble on something that interests me and then I become someone's customer!

Well, this is for the client who decides to go online just because others are.

danteweb:
5. You said yahoo and google became global brands by servicing their customers. My argument is this. First they tried to get the customers before servicing them. If you don't have customers, then you are going to service empty air!

Did they get to use google to become global brands? No. I cannot remember seeing yahoo advertise on NTA before I knew what yahoo was doing. Every good product sells itself real good. Google is making money by doing with it does well. Others are also doing well by doing what they do well. Coca cola makes millions every day and I am sure the web or google does not have a great deal to do with that.

timmy:
AFAM AFAM, ooo AFAM, yu know, i had to ignore all other post just to lash you,

but somehow, i feel yu just aint worth the words, yu design really crap, as in, big time crap. and expect people to comment on how silly you get, just face it. this web thingy isnt for you. Go back to school, and start a new career.

1. You want me to go back to school to learn how to design 800+ static websites? No, I will not. I will leave your type to become experts on that one.

2. New career when I run 2 successful companies I started from scratch? Trust me.

You were bragging about the 800+ static website you designed for one university, what happened? Have they finally realized that you were a complete slowpoke and given the website to a better person to manage?

Guy, people like you will design and even upload full websites with their mouths even when they don't know the difference between static and dynamic websites.

Or, the domain name has not fully propagated through the internet. 4 - 72hrs is usually allowed.

A default under construction page belonging to the hosting company is expected if the domain name is actually resolving to the server that is housing the website.

Unadulterated hypocrisy at play.

One on hand someone complains about terrorism and on the other categorically states that wars are necessary. Is someone losing it here or what?

almondjoy:
We did not complain when they helped to bring Hitler to his knees. Or Keep Russia in check abi? They are bound to make errors. Iraq and Afghanista will work out themselves! Yes, I agree. . . . those are grave errors. But like I said, it will be alright in the end!

As you can remember the errors of Iraq and Afghanistan. . . .remember the hopes and successes of past combats too. Which one Nigeria don do?

Of course it will be alright in the end after hundreds of thousands of innocent men, women and children must have been sent to their early graves based on the lies of the US president.

Nigeria? Liberia and Sierra Leone.

almondjoy:
As you can see, nothing came out of the Biafra war. Nigeria only got worse. With each war places like America fights. . .no matter how dubious the reasons are. . . it gets better!

Like Iraq abi? Or Afghanistan? Which one?

danteweb:
@ Afam. seems this discussion on seo would continue.

In my opinion, I think every commercial company that has an online presence would definitely need SEO. Lets take utal building for example. They do curtain walls, roofing and stuff. Lets assume I'm building a multipurpose hall and need roofing products, the first place i'll think of going to, in this information age, is my search engine. Going to google and typing 'roofing products nigeria' gives me some results which don't include utal building. Thats thousands of potiential clients lost!

You might be wondering why, despite your site containing the keywords 'roofing', 'products' and 'nigeria'. Well thats where seo comes in.

In SEO, you literally go into customer's minds, and think of what they might be trying to find. You then optimise your site for those keywords.

cnn, google and yahoo are global brands that everyone knows of already and do not need any search enginge marketing. Nevertheless, if you type 'news' or 'news america' into google, cnn still comes up!

@danteweb,

I spoke to someone who believed that the computer represents 666 and he claimed his pastor told him so and according to him if all the money in the world has to be made using the computer he wouldn't want to be part of it.

This man is very very rich anyway.

There are people who do not use the internet let alone depend on it for search.

That said, I agree that SEO makes sense for some websites and don't make sense for others.

How come yahoo and google became global brands? They focused on servicing the customers not trying to tailor their websites to suit another company's business model for example google.

It is not uncommon for website owners to provide information on their websites that first and foremost appeal to what google wants as regards search algorithm than content that should help convert prospective customers to paying clients or help service already existing customers.

I stated earlier that some businesses will simply embarrass themselves by making themselves found on google, I will use an example to explain.

Let us imagine that XYZ Company deals on ladies shoes. Let us also assume that the typical inventory being maintained by this country is just enough for 30 people in any typical week.

Now a website that could bring in 1000s of potential customers would do this business more harm than good because the business will have to disappoint about 9,970 people because it can only satisfy 30 people in any given week.

So, while SEO makes sense in some cases there are web projects or companies that cannot benefit from it not because SEO is bad but because by default SEO cannot help them.

Trust me companies like Utal spend time developing brochures that they mail to high profile clients. See the list of their clients and you will understand what I am talking about.

Do not also forget that some people go online just because friends and competitors are doing so.

Thanks for reading thus far. My opinions, feel free to discard them.

And why didn't you or haven't you joined the US Army?

Join them and head to Iraq.

Quite a number of americans deserted the army and took off to Canada.

If you cannot blame the soldiers since they were taking orders from above why blame Nigeria after all it was under military rule for a long time? Abi na different rules for different people you dey practice?

Do you know the meaning of getting defensive?

I post websites for reviews.

I get comments.

I accept some and reject some.

Now those that have their comments rejected take offense and begin to focus on my person.

I reply in kind and people like you begin to hypocritically complain.

My sites are mine so do not purge on behalf of others abeg.

texazzpete:
Pity many Nairalanders do the same thing when Darfur comes up as a topic for discussion, isn't it?

Why don't you start a topic on Darfur to discuss that?

What a shame that Nigerians would have to die in another man's country to become a citizen of that country, a sarcrifice they will never make for their country, because of bad government.

Posted by: Chairman , on Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Report this comment

And I guess it is good government that led the US into a meaningless war based on the lies of George Bush abi? Nonsense.

And the world stands by, playing games with words as innocent people are killed.

The US is 100% responsible for the carnage in Iraq today simply because its president lied his war into waging war with Iraq just because "Saddam tried to kill my dad".

And as usual spin doctors would try to divert attention from the cause of the mayhem to internal problems in Iraq, what a shame.

About 5 websites (including version 1 of the main website) with brief descriptions about what the websites were about including snapshots abi na thumbnail images of the websites.

hanen:
@dantewb
your the man jo.

Afam the 'developer' strikes again. Its like driving badly and giving the excuse that you can't drive, instead of learning or getting a driver. People are just trying to tell you that aesthetically your site isnt the best. You admitted why. Instead, of sitting on your oars and blaming your lack of design skills, try and find a way to improve it instead of jumping down their throats. That's not the way to progress, man.

I have never claimed my design was the best. Never will.

However, all my websites don't have broken links, are easy to navigate, are easy to read.

Do I have to hire a driver that does not even know how to start a car just to satisfy you? No.

Comments and suggestions must not be taken and so far it seems you can't swallow someone rejecting some of your silly suggestions, too bad, you are not my client so your thoughts don't matter on this issue.

Meanwhile, dem forbid you to develop websites? Why not practice what you preach by leading the way abi your destiny na to dey abuse people wey no take your advice?

This post was made in 2006.

The copyright information on this site still says 2006.

The website still shows news dated 2006.

Now my questions

Is this website still useful to the owner?

Why is the portfolio of this website not swarming with projects?

Did it occur to anyone that no business website is on the portfolio page?

Great design/flash design is cool but no successful website is successful simply because people like the design.

Websites are designed for clients and users certainly not for peers who may be more interested in showcasing their latest design skills.

At this rate I can not feel comfortable that my websites are not at the bottom of the ladder. At least 4th to the last is a good position for now and still counting.

makunmi:
hi yes its good to have an alternative source of power
but wait first there are different type of people here some who want to sell some want to buy and some want to know
while some know . the victim here is the buyer no matter what to a mother monkey her kid is "bella"
to tell you first solar energy is not an alternative power in the twenty first century my be 23rd century
the solar panels on the satellite is bigger than the physical area yet its mission beyond the orbit is not solar powered!
japan is most advanced in technology yet the solar powered car engine is a little bigger than "maruwa" but also needs to be plunged into nepa at night
tell any one who is providing power from solar to u to to justify your investment in his business by not connecting any cable to nepa
don't u see hat all thy succeed in telling u is boil water on lamps and watch tv leisure and pleasure for 250k at 120watts
common an inverter will justify your investment in Lagos were u need returns on your money not in guinea were the are struggling for amenities amids hash
weather please solar solutions are for critical services where every other is available i can tell u that an inverter system worth 250k will serve a system of 120watts continuously for 3.3 days without charge while the solar system can not provide power beyond 12hrs they will tell u that while charging don't use !!!! please the solar solution has a function note if the tell u its an alternative tell the then don't plug to nepa or generator for investment justification
don't be riped off i will not mind to give a free brief for what u want if u need more on all i have said signify by a post --makunmi

Thanks a lot Makunmi.

The buyer remains the victim here. Solar technology is not ripe for use as an alternative to PHCN in Nigeria.

No house or office in Nigeria can run on solar energy cost effectively.

Only government or world bodies use solar energy and they use it for basic things like keeping drugs in controlled temperatures.

The internet is a great place to search for information but again only relevant and factual information will make sense as regards actual implementation.

Nanosolar cannot even tell you today when they will be shipping another batch neither will they tell you when they will be selling to end users whether for home or office.

These people claim they are focusing on power plants for now and someone is looking for Nigerians to invest now. Maybe the poster needs to invest in the technology if he believes in it so much.

In the area of power, there is usually a disconnect between promises and actual performance.

Over 60% of people I know that have used inverters are not happy because they are not getting what they bargained for simply because the service providers/dealers/sellers of inverters kept telling people what they wanted to hear as against what they should hear which is basically honest professional advice on alternative technology.

I am waiting for the first Nigerian to cost effectively use solar panel to power his/her home or office.

Well @ Afam, It seems you have been caught in your own web! People like you never learn because they believe they know too much, whereas they are complete empty barrels. Have you ever heard of the terms 'seo and keyword research'. Well let me do you a favour. Type that into google and I guess that should keep you occupied constructively for the next 1 year!

The quote above was your first post directed at my person on this forum for no reasons at all.

If I don't welcome criticisms why would I post a website for review on a public forum?

I have openly and privately made it clear that I am not a web designer but a web programmer who would rather continue to setup websites the way I currently do than trust web designers that don't have portfolios I can trust, after all anyone can claim to be a great web designer and when put to test it becomes another story altogether.

Again, it is important to note that there is a world of difference between comments made about a website and personal attacks on the poster.

I respect your views on SEO but in my opinion not all websites need SEO.

Where do you search to find google on the net? What of yahoo or cnn?

Unless you are dealing on digital products having the world search for and locate your website will do you more harm than good, trust me.

damolat:
Afam, there is no point taking you serious, goodbye.

Thanks. I wonder why you came to the party at all. I guess you should restrict your reviews to people that will prostrate to you as a show of gratitude for making comments on their websites since ordinary thank you is not enough.

danteweb:
Hi, Afam. Well, i've decided to reply to your comments even though my natural instincts are telling me to get off not only your thread but nairaland! Now for the benefit of those reading this thread, I will clarify some facts and 'not let sleeping dogs lie.'

First, in my comments, I jumped to a guess that people like you never learn. Well I think that guess was right! as exemplified by your ignorant and - (in your own words) - 'usual stupid' assumption on SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION.

If I may ask, what do you mean by 'focusing on your clients'? Its a fact that google owns a 60% quota of the search engine market and it would be 'stupid' for anyone not to take them seriously. Of what use is a 'stupidly' designed site that doesn't show up in google search results? Anyways, let me educate everyone a bit. One of the major tasks of any web design outfit is to help their clients achieve their goals of reaching their target audiences and on the long run make more sales. Now how can a website help raise a company's profit margin if no one finds it? or you thought the billboard in your village would do it?

Anyways to cut the long story short, seo is a major force to be reckoned with in the web development world and anyone serious about their clients must be serious about seo and trust me, thats the definition of client focused design! I would not go into details of seo as I'm sure you all can find that out yourself.

And just for you to know Afam, submitting sites to google has nothing to do with seo. Don't even try to educate me on crawlers cause that has nothing to do neither. These things you are talking about deal with getting your site indexed by search engines. SEO deals with things such as keyword research, keyword density, google pagerank algorithm, link building etc. Enough for y'all to feast on.

By the way, this is not to say that there are not some illegal approaches to seo (black hat seo techniques) which is another topic entirely!

Again, this forum cannot be a substitute for web development basics. Thanks for all the comments on google and search. First, you need to understand the business processes of clients before you jump into the band wagon of google is a must mantra.

I will wait until your portfolio proves that you have all the right answers to the issues you have been bringing up, until then no comment and there is a huge disconnect between what you preach and the portfolio you have.

danteweb:
Men! this one was quite funny. Now if its a usual position that u attack people, why not then retrace your steps. It might not be a 'stupid' position afterall. A million people can't be all wrong you know.

I guess I wasn't writing in greek. When people insult you and you respond to the insult in kind and they turn around to accuse you of attacking people what do you make out of such people? Hypocrites and trust me with your comments thus far you are certainly one of them.

I have never insulted anyone on this forum - FACT
I have always responded to insults in kind - FACT

Now if you cannot understand the statements above it's your headache not mine.

danteweb:
And in conclusion, whats happening here is not a competition. It is just an approach to improve standards in web design in Nigeria. We all complain that a lot of companies prefer to give their jobs to overseas agencies. Why would they not, when those guys help the companies achieve their goals better. So what we are saying here is if we can improve our standards, learn from others, not take everything as a competition and not jump to 'stupid' conclusions, then maybe these fellows would start to have faith in us. Thats not to say that there are not a lot of guys doing a good job out there.

Please, take all the clients. I do not compete with people for clients because the fact is that no web developer can even handle all the business people in a particular street not to talk of a city or a state.

Show them those lovely web design skills you have even though your works don't confirm you have them. I don't know about people complaining that companies give outsiders projects to do because I have a couple of clients from the UK and US so it would amount to sheer hypocrisy if I complain that companies are outsourcing projects.

The good thing is that clients decide who they want to do business with and in most cases it is based on previous works and ability to understand what the client wants.

Clients usually prefer service providers that are honest, reliable and dependable. Learn these if you don't already have them.

I put up a website for review and rather than focus on the website I get to deal with personal attacks from people who think they have the right to attack the poster rather than the website.

Well, maybe this is why quite a number of people complain about not getting enough clients whereas others are even rejecting projects.

Keep looking for people to attack. Meanwhile, try to update the copyright information on your website and on your clients websites, this is 2008 my friend.

smartsoft:
@afam, chei, you dey make me laugh ooooo i dey roll for grand i swear to you !

Wetin I for talk as it seems quite a number of web developers are more interested in how I develop websites than how they develop theirs or what my clients are comfortable with.

At the end of the day it is about the clients anyway, not about peers.

Strat:
Afam, thanks a lot your contribution has enlightened me a great deal, however I would not like to go to the market to pick up inverter, battery, stabilizer and look for someone to install and then after sales service, I have had enough of that with my generator.

I need a company that can do all this and just bill be and the only price have gotten is 170K, can I get the same package for less? if so help me send the contact ASAP.

We build inverters and offer 1 year full warranty. We recommend batteries or get them at N2,000.00 extra per battery.

We install inverters for clients especially automatic ones.

However, we cannot take any orders until the first week of April due to the high number of demands and we don't want to fail on scheduled deliveries.

www.justalternativepower.com

Cactus:
@afam, good call lol

I definitely know that guardian will never reply my email as to why they published even though it might be paid for. But in case they do reply, will post their response and of course i know that they may be reading this post also eh eh eh.

Fortunately or unfortunately the person that pays for any service calls the shots whether you like it or not as long as you are not doing anything illegal.

Have you ever wondered why well known looters in Nigeria get the best lawyers in the land to defend them even when these same lawyers ordinarily would not want to have anything to do with them.

I have dealt with clients who insist on doing things the way they want regardless of any advice you may offer and at the end of the day I collect my money and do what they want the way they want it.

So, Guardian would not just say no to the client unless you will gladly pay Guardian for not allowing the client display his/her site.

Enjoy!

Well, at least I don see one website wey my own better pass as in design according to una .