₦airaland Forum

dhtml sure, but based on his comments b4 and after that, I inferred that he probably wouldn't be able to get it done, even with help, hence my alternative solution

greenmouse:
I am sure you have your techniques but like a teacher, you can't trust your students to do something, just because you told them to. You have to ensure they do it, for their own good.

Look at it this way: Assume you are a lawn tennis coach. what you have done is equivalent of showing the player how to serve a fast ball then walk away and just because they have been winning, don't bother verifying that they are serving fast balls, a prerequisite of the modern game. Not good.

As a wise one once told me, "Whatever you want to do in life, do it well". No harm intended. Just advice.

Surprisingly, no one so far has mentioned using the google search plug in. In addition to being free, you stand to gain from ppl clicking on your ads. Of course, the prerequisite is that you have a google adsense account.

Common sense is not common!

Thanks for bringing this up. I forgot to add it in my last post

So, and no offense to anyone who has responded so far but, let's employ some common sense here:

How many people, including yourself, will type "lies from imo" or "imo lies", etc? I mean, what are the odds of typing those versus "imo state" plain and simple.

1) let the content do the work
2) always see positives in negatives. "thetruthaboutimo" would have been better, IMHO. When I saw the ad, all I could see is a big banner that read "Imo lies". I didn't know if it was referring to a person, or if the whole state of Imo was a liar or if it was a political ad.

Site looks good, for 3 weeks worth of training. Site development is easier to learn in this time, than site design, IMHO.

One thing you might want to teach your future students is that they need to learn how to indent their code. Indented code is easier to read, follow, understand and maintain.

Good luck!

@widesmile

1) Let me rephrase the contact form thing: It is not validating properly

2) I don't have to like Amala and Ewedu to appreciate it if it is visually appealing. Don't fall for the "let me see your works" crowd. Folks pay me to do reviews that I am doing for free on NL. If you want to "see your works", contact me privately as I don't display "your works" on public fora. In general, forget about "humble beginnings" etc. If you got it, you got it, simple. Consolation statements won't take you anywhere in life.

@slyrox: I intend to use javasript to stop it 4rm takin blank input, I really appreciate your comments, and also your conscious effort to find an error with my Sql, it was obvious it took a while b4 u cld generate that error cos I saw all the inputs u sent into the database, well on the average most ppl send reasonable input and that won’t generate an error , but I’ll work on the security just incase some ppl are out there to frustrate the database. Thanks a lot

1) So what if javascript is turned off? I assume you will also perform backend validation.
2) It isn't the "most people" that you have to worry about but the "very few" people who are out to wreak havoc
3) Yes, there are many who are out there for "frustrate the database" and I can assure you that in the end, you will be the frustrated one, especially if this site is for a client and you get called in the middle of the night because the data is all gone.

Good luck!

You tell me. I almost "LWKMD" when I saw this advertised on the online vanguard's website. At first I thought it was a joke:

http://www.imomanylies.com/

Somebody, please tell me this isn't an official government website. Even if lies are aplenty about the state, how about "thetruthaboutimostate.com"? Just a thought.

Oya, over to my compadres

1) Contact form not working
2) Background colors are such that it gives impression of noise
3) Username/password area could do better without green/white/green which I actually thought was the Nigerian flag
4) Banner could be a lot better
5) Get rid of "come join us" animation: distracting
6) website potentially unsecure: http://www.olivebranchcollege.com.ng/index.php?action='
7) Words on logo, hard to read

For more, contact me for how my company can help you become better at what you do.

We are all ignoring one obvious but general fact: Poverty and high unemployment.

As the i_want_to has alluded to, in a way, "man needs to eat". This can make a difference b/w standing your ground and turning away a project because you are offered little money and taking the job because again, "man needs to eat"

With the government not creating enough incentives for private industries, that would hire people, to take root, many of us are languishing in the unemployment market, not for a lack of skill of any kind but because there are very few jobs and for those that are out there, it's not enough. Not everyone has (or should have) the entrepreneurial spirit in them.

Something to think about.

A professional web developer should learn how to design its own website from ground up. That is what makes you a professional.

Weeeell, not necessarily. What makes you a professional, IMHO, is how you handle your clients, how you handle your web development processes and how well you do what you are paid to do, among others. Now, if you said, "that is what makes you a better web developer" or "that is what makes you stand out from the rest", I might be with you there.

Sure, starting up with a tool like joomla might not be in your best interest as you don't get to learn what happens under the hood, which is something, as a web developer, you should know but there is no reason why a beginner can't put up something professional-looking with joomla, especially considering all the templates that are out there.

Just my 50 kobo's worth

dhtml: I think say na better post. I was hoping to hear you say you are now fully in charge of developing/maintaining his website

@alleno:

1) Don't be shy to take on hard projects. Worse case, you ask around for help or search google
2) Don't go for the million naira job right away. Start small and increase as you get more popular
3) Keep on reading and learning new skills. It is the only way to remain marketable
4) Be a shameless marketer. For example, at weddings for example, don't be ashamed to "take style" and drop your biz card on the table/chair while people are dancing. OYou never know who might pick it up.

Good luck!

dhtml:
Since he is talking mobile dev, css3 and html5 are perfectly okay here. If he was talking regular web dev, I would have said something long time ago. Most phones are webkit browser-based and so they support pretty much most of the specs.

Consequently, if a beginner wanted to jump str8 into web dev (after all, in the next 5 years, a study i read said over half the people will be browsing the web via a phone), this is probably the perfect time for it.

How do you define "rich" and "poor"? For example, I tell people all the time, though I am not looking to make a million bucks, if you give it to me, I won't turn it down. I just want to make enough money to pay my bills and have a little tucked away for retirement and a rainy day. Why? IMHO, more money, more problems.

To someone like me, 10K is dirt cheap but to some other guy, it could be heaven. Yes, one must look to make residual income as opposed to hoping on steady jobs and I agree with you there. As I tell ppl, just as we have 10 fingers, we must have 10 diverse money-making ventures that way, if one fails, the other 9 pick us up.

he he, u dey use kohana? 

How do I know?
http://www.njorku.com/search/jobSearch?query=graphics+designer&country='

Note the tick at the end of the query string.

Hint:
You might want to sanitize your query strings to avoid a possible hack attack.  Contact Slyrox for more info on the possibility of having your entire jobs database wiped out.

This thread might help: http://forum.joomla.org/viewtopic.php?p=1190396

Search for "JFolder::create: Could not create directory" and read *everything* from there on down.

Fortunately for you, I also use hostmonster

I would go through each folder where you have installed joomla and ensure that the permissions are set to 644 or 755. Select the folder/files in question, at the top, you should see "change permissions" button, click that. Window should go dim, lightbox style and you should see 9 checkboxes and a number at the bottom. You want to check the boxes of "user" and "other" at the very least. Each time you check or uncheck a box, the number will change. Again, make sure the total is either 644 or 755.

good luck!

Sounds like you need to change permissions on the folder in question.

instinct:
Of course it is a matter of (professional) opinion so let me ask you this:
What purpose does that clock serve on the site? Assuming it does serve a purpose, why is it at the bottom of the page, as opposed to the top, where it can be easily seen?

Just a couple of things to chew on . . .

Josiah
1) Improve upon the logo you have right now
2) Get rid of scrolling marquee beneath logo
3) Contact form not validating properly
4) Use same size font throughout the site

Why not finish the whole thing (or at least 90%) before having us check? How will we know what is finished and what isn't if you don't tell us?

In the meantime:
1) take out that clock, bottom-left: distracting and unnecessary
2) Use black text throughout and don't mix black and brown.

we thank God o. I been think say I go fit take d jobs of all politicians for dis cycle but oh well, I guess I go wait till 4 more years

you download the software

obie: I dey o. how runs now?

@remoranger:

First and foremost, how Rangers FC dey do now?

On a serious note, if you look at my response to webconsult, it is actually quite nice. I am not quarreling with him at all.

I understand where you are coming from, with respect to 10K websites. Guess what? It has happened to me too. I recall a would-be client telling me, "look, I can go to the nearest bookstore and read a book on web design for free and come up with a website. I just don't have the time otherwise I would have done it on my own. Besides, even if I were to pay, I know a guy who will do it for $300". Like you, I didn't mind and told him to go ahead. One day, I googled and stumbled upon the site: http://www.uruan4u.com/ - Judge for yourself, the quality.

My point:
Many atimes, you get what you pay for. When you encounter those who want to offer less than you think you are worth, try to convince them as to why they should reconsider paying more. Also consider negotiating. As I read somewhere, when giving someone a price, always add extra so that if they ask for a better deal, you offer what you really would have charged.

Finally, I will close out with what a friend's father used to tell us when I was growing up: Education isn't for everyone. Porting this quote to what we do: A good website isn't for everyone.

webconsult, again, I implore you to read my post again but this time, read it well.

There is nothing wrong in saying you are the best in the world. When I saw the post, guess what I did: I clicked it. He got my attention and that was his intent. What do I think about his site and portfolio? That is for me to know and for you to try and figure out. It also got me thinking, "hmm, this guy don hold ground for those cities, some of which many say there is no work so, it is time for me to follow and break ground in those cities and more".

So to finalize, read my post again and more importantly, take it for what it is: a marketing ploy. Moreover, don't take it like an insult but a motivation, if you feel insulted, to beat him out of the markets he has mentioned.

I see you are trying to rack up the number of posts that you have

Nigerians can do pretty much anything that they put their minds to . . . and you know it

I see at least 2 ways:

1) Code your website semantically. This will ensure that your website will pretty much be consistent on all platforms. You can check google for what I mean by "semantic web development" if you don't know what it is already

2) Have a separate mobile site: Sniff the device the person is visiting your site with and if its from a mobile device, redirect the person to a mobile specific website. The disadvantage here, at least to me, is that you now have 2 sites to maintain.

Something to chew on:
I read some time last year that in 5 years or less, over 50% of people will be surfing the web using a mobile device. I can attest to this as personally, I do more and more via my smartphone.

Folks, I want to believe we live in (a somewhat) capitalistic society, one in which we can do anything, within legal limits of course, to sell our product. Where I live, there are many who say they are the best in the world, granted such people have probably never left the country. Furthermore, 2 businesses involved in the same product are known to operate opposite each other. Rather than fight, if one person sells for $2, the other sells for $1.99 and the price drop goes on and on until one person stops. As the OP has said, let his customers be the decider in this.

Earlier on in my career, I used to be the way some of us on this thread are. But as I grew older, I realized that I should live and let live. Furthermore, I decided to use my competition's weakness to my advantage, in a quiet manner. I suggest you all do same.

Note: I am not holding brief for the OP. I am just being real and speaking from experience.