₦airaland Forum

Come on now! Technically, you could charge N10K. In my case, all the site would have is H1 text that reads, "Hello World!!"

Seriously though, if you encounter a client who tells you the last person charged N10K (as I have), you show them your best work and ask them to compare it to what they have. That usually does the trick. If it doesn't work, simply move on to another client or negotiate for a lower, but more reasonable price.

Those companies that charge in the millions have a reason (pay for utilities, rent, salaries, etc) for doing so. A company with a good reputation will usually charge more, based on that. Usually, fellow companies/very rich individuals will go to such places. For the common man on the street, they are more likely to contact an individual.

What pisses me off with respect to those who ask for jobs on this forum, especially those who request from abroad, is that they think that those of us in Nigeria are so desperate to make a buck. So up front, they are rude with you and tell you stuff like, "you go give me discount now. your brother is charging me N10K. I jus say make I give am to you". Not to mention, it is inherent in all of us as Nigerians (come on, don't lie ) to want to hassle over prices when there is no price tag involved. Of course the real crime is committed by those who, in their attempt to think they are a penny wise and a pound foolish, decided to charge N10K for everything from DB design to graphics to code. Tomorrow, they are the same ones who are likely to say, "Nna, this web dev stuff dey tire me o! E b like say I go retire". They only see today (short-term) and not tomorrow (long-term). They forget that business is all about making money, some of which should be set aside for the rainy day. It is not for you to spend the little you have made within 24 hours.

As Afam has said, you have the right to charge as little as u want. In my opinion though, if you are going to charge N10K for a site, you might as well do it for free. I mean, I am not in Nigeria, but what can N10K really get you, especially if you have a wife and kids?

As always, my 2 cents.

yeah naija_diva,

It will be very interesting to see how females like yourself will be treated, during this xmas season, right from the airport. Something tells me that if they enforce it, there will be major fights breaking out, hence my post.

we shall see.

It depends.

1)
The hidden rule of thumb (at least in the US) is to always dress formal during your first meeting with a client and one step above the client on all subsequent visits. First impressions count. Although I have no stats to prove this, I dare say that dressing formally could add a buck or two more to what you intended charging the client.

2)
There is a proverb which goes something like this: Dress for what you want to be and not for what you are. If you see yourself in a position other than coder, by this proverb, you shouldn't follow the stereotypical example of fellow "geeks" and wear Tshirts and Jeans. This of course doesn't mean you must wear a 3-piece suit either. I would imagine you could wear a decent traditional attire and still look professional and responsible. Please proceed to #3 below.

3)
Weather-wise, is this really a good call? By dressing formally, I imagine the implication is a shirt and tie with maybe a suit to match. I remember one time visiting a bank while in Nigeria. This man came in dressed in a suit. Temperature as always was at least 30 Celsius. The guy was dripping sweat so badly, yet he wouldn't take off his suit. I asked myself, "regardless of what this guy does, is it really worth it?"

So how do I dress at all times? Semi-formal - Golf/dress shirt with a pair of trousers.

As always, my 2 cents.

you might be able to find it here: http://www.nigerianfairs.com/calendar.htm or somewhere on the site. In general, just google using the necessary search terms.

I hope this helps.

Anyone developing a website should have a website. Having said that, I was once guilty of not having one

Since I wasn't going to pay myself, the motivation was lacking. I however always had a list of sites I did at the tip of my fingers. What finally did it for me was that every time I got a request for proposal, I found myself repeating the same stuff over and over and over. By creating my site finally, I was able to say, "please refer to my website for more information". Once I created my site, it was amazing how fast the questions with obvious answers stopped. I developed 9 sites before I finally owned a site of my own

So again, I say you should have a website although even if you don't, you shouldn't allow that to hinder you from conducting business. It might make getting business a little harder, it might make one think that you aren't serious, but again, it shouldn't stop you from doing business. As I firmly believe, whatever God has in store for you, no obstacle whatsoever will prevent you from achieving it as long as you make the effort to go for it.

As always, my 2 cents.

I actually don't believe in using flash, though I know how to use it. Reasons:

1) Not SEO-friendly

2) Not accessible to screen readers

3) It lends itself to abuse (or, "flashterbation" as prodgalson would put it).

4) To be honest, on a scale of 1 - 10 (10 being highest), my flash skill level is probably a 6 or 7.

5) Fortunately or unfortunately, I am a developer not a designer (not that there's anything wrong with that )

I am also a firm believer in simplicity. That means using as little graphics/animations as possible and stressing functionality over design.

Be that as it may, feel free to visit my portfolio page: http://www.acewebdevelopment.net/ace-portfolio/

Of the 11 or so sites on there, I believe I have flash on one of them: http://www.thechurchofchristatriverdalega.org/ . The reason I used it here? The preacher wanted a way to promote his favorite passages. He also wanted those passages to catch the eye. So what did I do? I created a bunch of animations, assigned them a number, then used PHP's rand() function to generate a random number. When you refresh the page, you will notice the passages refresh as well and scroll from right to left. I know, nothing special, but that (and other things along that line) is the most anyone will get out of me. I must say that I must be doing something right because I started developing sites on the side in December 2006 and excluding the 2 sites that belong to me on my portfolio age, I have 9 sites to my credit (including 3 sites for people in Nigeria).

I have lost some and I have gained some in explaining to people why I will and will not go beyond certain levels when it comes to flash, ajax and other technologies. You say, Nigerians love entertainment? Is this to be an excuse? I beg to differ. Years ago, Americans thought scrolling marquees were good and everyone wanted it. It took education of clients on the part of web develoopers/usability analysts to convince them otherwise.

Check out my site(s) and send me any suggestions/criticisms/issues. And by the way, if you go back and read my first post, I never implied that your flash abilities were to be doubted. As far as my abilities go, I don't need to show you what I am capable of to prove my point. My motto is: the more money you are willing to pay me, the more I will do. That is why I ask a client what their budget is upfront. If I told them say, N100K, they will most likely run, without bothering to ask what comes with the N100K.

As always, my 2 cents

Mr. Biggs is relying solely on its branding. There are other better places, but like coke, it has infused its brand on our minds to the point that even when we know we want to go elsewhere, Mr. Biggs is the only name that comes to mind. For that, we have to at least give them their due respect. We have to admit, the name is very catchy.

As long as pple continue patronizing them, they will continue to offer the service you all are complaining about. If you stop going, by the power of the free market, they will be forced to re-think their strategy with respect to customer loyalty and service. I know it can be done cos in Uyo where I am based, there was such a place (prior to Mr. Biggs) where the owner did too much shakara. Once Biggs opened, no one went there anymore. They started closing earlier than normal, they cooked very little food so that it wouldn't go bad/go to waste and in due time, the place folded altogether.

Let's use our power of the wallet effectively and stop the, "how I go do?" syndrome.

As always, my 2 cents.

wow,

I thought the animation at http://www.unionbankng.com/ was bad until I saw the stuff on bertola and lagos style. One word - carnival! broadcode, no offense to you intended. I am sure you did what the client wanted. However, especially for bertola (I know the owner and one of his children and it beats me he didn't give me a call. Oh well ), I almost forgot I was on a website and that I had to actually look for information. Tell Bertola next time you see him that on children's day and independence day, even the marching kids take a break once they have gone round the tracks

I know you have probably moved on from this site years ago and earned your millions, but moving forward, if you must use flash, I suggest you put a stop() once all the inventory is present on the screen (in the case of bertola, once the inventory completes the half-moon).

As Afam has said, atimes we have to be willing to put our foot on the ground and say no, even if it means losing millions, strictly based on principle.

no o! Make una go Mr. Biggs o!

Na una been wan eat fast food. Na una been wan be like oyibo. Instead of eating original, unadulterated, unprocessed food for house, una wan comot go chop as status symbol right?

I have a cousin back home who goes there every day. When I am home, na so so, "mr biggs" as if to tell me, "look, as u dey go McDonald's, I dey follow chop fast food for here". Same applies to those who decide to "show me" when I visit them by immediately flipping to CNN. They don't know (or bother to ask) when last I have been to a fast food joint or when last I had the time to watch CNN past 5 mins. Besides, why should I buy "southern marinated chicken", named after the way chicken is prepared in the southern USA, 7000 miles away in Nigeria? Why should I spend 2 days in the air and go to another country, only to eat the same food I was running away from?

It is funny how, as oyibo dey try return to "dark ages" after realizing the danger of some of their "advancements", we as Nigerians can't seem to get enough of "industrialization".

Oh well, wetin I sabi?

Internet penetration and usage among Nigerians home and in diaspora is still relatively low but improving.

tunde:
I seriously doubt the latter ("diaspora" part of your statement above.

All,

Let's not forget, anyone who gets this web solution is not bound to the design. Just like joomla, I would imagine that Afam will allow the client buying this to customize it.

The point of this site, in my opinion, is the functionality. I would probably look more into that and not the design. Again, referring to joomla (I can say this cos I am currently learning how to customize it), it's all about the functionality and how you can best leverage it to meet your needs. In my opinion, the functionality is solid. Just like the Just Web Services software which he practically gave someone on this forum for free, I think for the amount of work he put in, he did great.

As always, my 2 cents.

smartsoft,

if there were a clapping emoticon, that is what I would have put here. I am impressed. Well done! One thing I have noticed with you is that like old wine, your sites get better with time. I think I am going to come and work for you

I use FF and noticed that the "Demo website designed by : Smartsoft Business Solutions" is outside the confines of the bottom border. Look into it.

Also, in general (I know that this is a demo), make sure you use actual photos of the hotel. I personally would hate to be lured by the photos only to find out that what I see on the site is nothing like what actually exists.

Finally, with respect to the online reservations, are you able (or will you be able) to hook up with/do they even have a DB of rooms and what rooms are available and who is staying in what room? Again, I know this is a demo, but as they say, be careful what you ask for. If you can make it happen, even better. Otherwise, I would probably go for what I have seen a lot on Nigerian sites - an invoice generator which the user can print out and take to the bank.

I hope these help. Once again, good job!

ruffai:
There is always an exception to every rule. Having said that, I think, within the Nigerian context, the issue isn't with code weight per se but with flash abuse.

Use of flash in and of itself isn't bad. What is, is continuous animations and the use of unnecessary frames, both of which add up in size. In various conversations with people on this forum, "I do it so that clients know what I am capable of" seems to trump simplicity and common sense. Remember folks, we are supposed to be experts at what we do, not code monkeys or order takers. If a client insists on something and it seems to fly in the face of what you know to be right as a developer, be bold enough to tell them "no", even if it means losing out on the business. I have encountered this myself, even with Nigerian clients, at least twice. For the Nigerian client, I lost out on one and won on one. Of course, you let the client know in a professional, and not in a, "do you know who I am?" way.

I am not saying you shouldn't have flash on your pages. I am saying 1) you shouldn't abuse it and 2) you should use it in an efficient/common sense manner. On all sites I have done, the word, "simple" comes up in one way or another. My Nigerian clients in particular have always asked me something to the effect that, "how come your site looks so simple compared to other sites I have seen, yet so elegant? I like it". This tells me that the client isn't usually the problem per se. It is ignorance on their part. And as they say, ignorance is bliss. If they aren't educated, then they expect flash on every single site. In other words, just because, Okoronkwo has flash, by God, Okon must have flash on his.

Again, remember, you are a professional. Act the part.

As always, my 2 cents.

webemarald,

at my work place, granted it's not in Nigeria, there are 15

Pretty good link folks. It definitely makes someone like me see how we have abused our sites, all in the name of getting a higher/better ranking

http://www.meangene.com/google/google6.html

Enjoy!

What is one of the things that makes a country like America great? Diversity. Disagree as much as you like but pooling together human capital irrespective of sex, religion, race, sexual orientation, background, social levels, economic levels, etc is what has made it what it is today.

webemarald,

That is why you should either have developed your new site in a different folder or developed it in a development environment. Then once you are absolutely sure, you launch it in your production environment.

What would you do if you go to a site you have been to before and the links don't work or you did some googling for a web host/developer in Nigeria only to find out you didn't know how to look at sites the person created? Be honest, what would you do?

You never know whose out there. You never know how many potential millions you could be losing.

As always, my 2 cents.

The Intro was a little slow on my computer but having said that, Tunde, would it/should it have made a difference if the site were made by a dog? Women are human too and have the capacity to learn anything you are capable of learning.

Granted, Nigeria may be a male-dominated country, as far as web development is concerned, I am sure there are some women out there who can crank out some good lines of code. You just have to find them. Heck, I am found some right here on NL

aimlove,

?? ??

This was brought to my attention by a fellow NLer:

http://www.firstcitygroup.com/newfcmb/index.aspx was launched, in time for their Initial Public Offering. However, the site didn't pull up initially. I was able to confirm this on my own. The error read something like, "Problem connecting to CMS database". Fortunately, they were able to solve the issue in the past hour.

Folks, this is even more reason why the site should have been ready to go 2 weeks prior to the offering. Sufficient testing would have uncovered this potential problem as well as any stress from overloading their system. Imagine the money lost due to:

1) Lost website users
2) Time spent trying to figure out the problem and the time spent to fix the problem
3) Possible loss of income from offering

Currently, though the site is back up, it is riddled with links that don't work and dropdowns that don't take you where they are supposed to. And let's not forget - this is a bank site

Chances are first city went for the lowest bidder. Sometimes, as they say, you get what you pay for.

neptune,

I tip my hat off to you. u r a capitalist to the core! I never thought of that strategy. I have always been the, "really? let me see if u r smart enough to do a 'view source'" type

i would have laughed at that comment, but after tons of code and polishing in IE6 & FF and finding it stretch over in IE7 has taken the humor out of me.

Herein lies the need for unit testing - in the future, code in pieces and test across the board. That way, when there is a problem, you can easily narrow it down. As someone once said, "think evolution, not revolution".

I am happy you finally found an emulator/the offending code. Good Luck!

1) website that enables me to book and pay for my flight reservation from Lagos to Calabar

2) www.gettyimages.com - make sure you check the "royalty free" box.

I hope this helps.

From a Nigerian context (and I can say this cos I am Nigerian), "webmaster (pronounced, "web-mas-tah"" sounds more powerful, akin to SAN, ICAPP, FSN, MON.

Naija and titles, when e go stop?

I wouldn't say, "dislike", but that I am "cautious", then again I am not too big on titles. In the end, it is what is in my bank account after my bills get paid. If you like call me a cook or dishwasher. As long as I am paid commensurate with what my peers are making, it's all good.

A webmaster does more than code. A webmaster also maintains a site, the servers, etc. Basically, a webmaster is a jack of all trades, master of none.

A web developer is a cross between a software developer and a web designer. So they have to deal with, say, cutting up images and turning those images into a website/integrating, say, PHP, on a page.

A web designer is only involved in creating a page out of a design.

From time immemorial, I have always called myself a web developer, even though I have had various titles ("production specialist", "user interface engineer", "web engineer") at various work places. One time at a meeting in Nigeria, someone introduced me as an engineer. I immediately got up and said, "point of correction, I am not an engineer. Just call me (my name goes here). Again, I could care less if you call me a typist. All that matters to me is that when you pay me, you pay me as a web developer.

As always, my 2 cents.

I honestly don't recall what it looked like b4 (I view 100s of sites daily) but based on what I see so far (and I use FF):

1) I like the simplicity

2) I would make your portfolio pages such that you don't have to refresh the page each time I click on a page link

3) I would make it possible to go to a portfolio of yours by providing a link, instead of me having to copy and paste the link in a new window.

4) Personal call: I hate constantly moving flash movies. I think most people now know to go to your "contact" page if they need your number

5) In the footer, if i hover over a link, the nav bar shifts. Not good.

I hope these help.

as with all things business, there is the "ajegunle market" approach and there is the "leventis" approach. Both sell the same things but you pay for the convenience with the latter. There is a market for both approaches. It is up to you as a business person to determine which niche you want to settle for.

I personally don't mind paying the extra money (even when I don't have it) and driving an extra 10 miles, if where I am going to has people who will treat me as a human being. But that's just me.

As always, my 2 cents.

I would also expect that just to b extra sure, the "trim" function shd be used to remove any whitespaces from form fields, b4 applying "stripslashes".

So:
$name = trim($name);
then:
$name = stripslashes($name);

I hope this helps.

these may be part of the 20% of undone work, but here's my 2 cents. Using FF:

1) On home page, the bottom 3 curves are a little jagged

2) On "contact us" page, the nav bar isn't working. I would imagine that eventually, you will make this a global include

3) Some pages have ".htm" extension and others have ".html" extension. why?

4) It would be nice for "contact us" page to have a form, as opposed to just listing email addresses

5) Some pages lack headers

6) In general, your nav bar is jumping up and down b/w pages.

7) In general, a lot of images representing text that I think would be better as text, for page download/seo reasons.

I would probably space out the text in the middle bubble on the home page, for readability reasons.

Other than the above:

1) I like the simplicity

2) I like the fact that you are giving the user the choice of whether or not they want to replay the flash movie, as opposed to having it play continuously, although I would probably get rid of the "replay" button altogether.

I hope these help. Good job by the way!

kose,

u keep saying "system" as though it were some code to get one into heaven

If that "system" is not the server which hosts your site, then no, you don't need it on 24/7. Note that you can have a locally-running server which you use as your development environment. In this case, no one but you (or others you grant access to) have access to such a "system". In this case, if you wanted the other party to access your server, then yes, you would need it on 24/7.

Chances are, you are referring to a "www" server, in which case, I say again, yes, you would need that on 24/7 for the world to see your site(s).

I hope this helps.

If I understand your question:
The software used to create sites don't have to be on 24/7 but what hosts the website, as in the server, has to be on 4/7.

If I don't understand:
expound please.