Aloha,
My name is Jesse.
I live in Makawao.

Reading through posts on the group I haven't noticed any discussion,
just articles.

Is discussion favored here?

If there is a faq or etiquette document please point me in the right
direction, as I could not find one.

Mahalo,
Jesse

Aloha Jesse,

Discussion is great...bringing the IT comunity together has always been
a goal of mine.
I have seen your site and I know you have been around a while. What are
you specialties as of now? Computer, web or both?

-Joe

Hi Joe,
I guess htis is a bit of an intro...
I would like to spread out a little myself and as an independent that can be difficult.
I don't have time to learn every web language so I'd like to have a nice resource base of other independents that I can pass work
too and vice versa. That's half of why I searched google groups for maui web design. (I htink tahgt was the phrase).

The other half is to be able to discuss and share with other maui webmasters and programmers about any conceivable aspect of design
and programming.

I do my very best to stay away from fixing computers these days.
I know the name Maui Computer.com is a little off the mark and I do get the occassional call to fix or rent computers.
In 1999, I thought I'd be doing a lot of computer fixing but as it turned out, I really don't like that job.

My focus is on PHP applications and artistic web design.
I do not much care for template sites or creating sites that look templatey.
So I mostly stay away from CMS.

My sister is heavy into CMS and uses it successfully on many sites.
I have employed one site wide CMS and I dislike it very much.

On the other hand I do enjoy building applications that automate websites in visually unique ways.
On the main, my clients are artists, designers, and vacation rentals. Especially in the art and design cases I try to bring my
clients visual ideas to the page. I want the site to look like them, not like me. I also try to balance that with retaining SEO
capability and End User functionality.

If I knew of a place here on Maui that we could share sites in progress for honest and expert critique amongst each other, I would
like that.
All I worry about there is confidentiality issues.

I write, when I can in XHTML strict 1.1 as I want my sites to work in browsers two years from now.
As most sites are displayed in quirksmode, including clients I take on, Iam concerned that the dispaly of them may change
whimsically from browser version to browser version. Although there are some discrepancies in XHTML strict 1.1, it as least as
standardized a language as I have yet seen.

I am fluent is CSS,XHTML design and prefer to work without tables as design elements except for actual tables of data.
I ran from tables for years and XHTML finally lifted the lid on the very difficult cross browser issues with CSS. SO did the demise
of IE5 for Mac. Hallelujah.

I use PHP to create generally small applications such as using one page to display many pages in one shell page, keep considtent
navigation, image galleries, user tracking, forms and form manipulation, sending email and a host of other ideas i get from time to
time.
I generally will look first to php if I need a solution to just about anything.

I have made two catalogs using PHP/MySQL that alloow the user to see current prod/desc/types/and paypal buttons.\
They also allow the client to upload new products through custom designed forms.
I have done two in two years so that is difficult for me still.
Once I have mastered php further I will take on MySQL even more.

I have been doing SEO for just over a year now and I am having some successes.
In any case I am improving traffic to each site, though sometimes not as much as I'd like.
Tracking the end result is also difficult but I am reasonably sure I have been increasing my cliuents profits and tehy are
reasonably sure of it to. Some sites, I knopw exactly how many visitors my efforts specifically have brought in. Others are not as
easy to sort.
Especially as rentals are surre to put 1-800 etc... in big bolds. And that of course is beneficial to them.

So I am learning SEO in the short and Marketing in the broad.

Things I'm not great at?
Flash, Flashscript,  javascript, ASP, java, drawing and traditional arts, Oracle, SQL, Windows 2000 platforms, server maintenance,
annd everything else....

I hope to meet other independents to share work with and also meet everyone who designs or programs.
I am glad to help anyone with code issues where I can. WHen I don't know I can point to other greater resources.

Aloha,
Jes

I would agree with what your saying about CMS and templates. Being a
good designer is about bringing design to functionality. So in that
respect, CMS is important, having a way to allow clients to make
verbiage changes and manage modules. However, I have found that custom
CMS is the only way. Working with PHP/M.Sql you can tie in modules
together with dynamic content etc.

I like your idea of having a forum to critique work before going live.
How else will you improve unless you are willing to hear criticism?

SEO is something every developer should have some knowledge in. However,
it is an ever changing field and requires an expert who focus solely on
SEO to really get the most out of it. Especially when it comes to
SEO/SEM specific type work. Talk to Mo at intellectualeye.com.

Have to run out right now, but just wanted to get back to you. Keep the
discussion going...

PS: Something I've been wanting to kick off is a Built On Maui
association of IT Pros. Helping to keep work on island and not
outsourcing to Russia, East Europe etc. Like plenty folks here like
doing.

--
Thanks,

Joe