| | is anyone good at making websites?Page 1 of 1 | i have seen a bunch of people denouncing the way this site is created/tested/run/whatever (and saying they could make a better site, but it would be tough to get everyone to migrate).
but i have to believe the reason it's a one-man show and he does things on the fly, is that hiring a team of developers would cost money. and i don't know how rich he gets from ad traffic, but i do know that businesses/providers pass the costs on to the consumer to preserve their bottom line. ergo, if you want this site to hire a team of skilled programmers to develop a flawless, convenient and lightning-quick interface, get ready for it to be a fully NOT-free site.
it's just like building a deck. if you can't afford to hire a contractor, and opt to DIY, you can get it done, but it won't be of top tier quality, and may require repairs over time. but by the same coin, if someone invites you to chill on their deck and eat barbecue, you as a guest oughtn't whinge about the workmanship of the deck.
my suggestion is that someone who is good at and enjoys making websites should create a new smooth and robust pof website, and sell it at a reasonable price ($10k?) to the owner of plentyoffish. that way he doesn't have to do anything with a team or hiring, he just buys the code and implements it so you can all be happy, and it doesn't incur a large cost to be shouldered upon users. and if he wouldn't buy it and you already made the site up, just tweak a few things change the name and launch the site! | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/12/2012 10:40:50 AM |
i have seen a bunch of people denouncing the way this site is created/tested/run/whatever (and saying they could make a better site, but it would be tough to get everyone to migrate).
I think what so many of the "I could do it betters" fail to understand is the complexity of the back end of the operation.
POF has proved that you do not need the slickest interface of the best looking site to be successful, what you need is a formula that works and that formula is a trade secret.
Even Match tried to get access to this data and a roundabout way with letter from their lawyers requesting that POF disclose propitiatory information to prove claims. | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/12/2012 4:46:34 PM | I do webdesign as a business.
I don't think you understand how the front end works with the back end.
There is a huge difference between designing, programming, databases, networking and security.
In fact you sound like my mother ....
"Oh ... you work on computers, you must be smart"
"In my time our computers were in our head"
She's 87.
You're 27.
I would expect more from you.
What you suggest is not doable.
In fact you should do your research prior to posting.
Then you would have learned that he is not a one man show anymore. | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/12/2012 7:15:11 PM | wow did you think i was being disparaging to our faithful overseer?
i was telling the ones who think it is a band-aid patchwork of scripts, a slap-dash error-riddled piece of coding, to cowboy up and actually make something better, or quit griping about something they get to enjoy for FREE... | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/12/2012 8:21:04 PM | It's very do-able. The hard part is getting everyone to sign up and stay.
But yea this site really seems like a one man show. | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/12/2012 8:49:52 PM | I build database driven web sites that let the owners add / edit their own content by logging in to the web site rather than the server, so I have an idea or two on what would be required!
It would be easy to build a dating web site! It would take about 2 weeks to get the basics up and running, then a lot of listening to the users for the extra features that they actually want!
The problem I have in building a dating site is the cost of getting a reliable server and advertising that the site was up and running! | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/13/2012 7:47:24 AM | I chucked as I know the history of this site and how/why it was originally created.
The owner IS a programmer. I suspect if he wanted it programmed differently he'd do it himself or at the very least hire a company to design it in the manner he saw fit. It's not that he isn't capable. I suspect he just doesn't think its broken and why should he. Also I just don't see him being too interested in someone else telling him how to run his website and I think suggesting a programmer have another programmer do so might be offensive to the creator, but heck, what do I know.
I also suspect if he was going to hire someone to redesign the site, he'd do something a bit splashier than $10 K would get you .... what is that an hours worth of revenue on here - I dunno.
I guess I compare it to McDonalds. Low budget and no frills but with their own secret sauce.
Sure others think they might know what it is and try to duplicate it but how many other fast food companies do you see out there that have the market share McDonald's has?
I just don't see anyone walking in to McDonalds and saying "let me tell you how to make your sauce better cause it just isn't working for ya". At the very least, if someone did, no doubt they'd be dismissed quickly.
Bottom line, you might not think McDonalds has the best burger in town but the billions of dollars it is making says they must be doing something right. | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/13/2012 10:43:49 AM | miss allison you are so well spoken...
definitely i am not suggesting that the owner of the site needs to do anything different at all. i very much subscribe to what you say, and the analogy to mcdonalds. the site works and it's free and it's greatly useful, so in my eyes it ain't broke, don't need fixing.
i just wish the complainers would put up or shut up. this site is great how it is, i mean it suffers the occasional glitch, but people are skewering this guy and saying he's an amateur and is content to patch the leaky dam etc etc. and then they throw out some acronyms they could use to build a better bomb "i'll just stack some SQLs with PHP and attach a CSS and XML to a LAMP" well, what are they waiting for? lol | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/13/2012 11:16:12 AM | bahaha - i know many that would argue on how "well spoken" i am but thanks for the compliment
that being said, like many others i do think it would be nice if there were some changes and stuff, but as a freebie member myself i'm just thankful for the opportunities i get for free - there always seems to be events in my areas and plenty of users to meet too. | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/13/2012 1:07:10 PM | I am not suggesting that we (the users) do not get what we pay for. What I have said before, and will say again, is that an IT professional would not experiment on the production system. You set up a test server, implement your changes there, and make sure everything works BEFORE you place the new code in production.
The way changes are implemented here seems, well, to be honest, like amateur hour. | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/13/2012 2:04:56 PM |
The way changes are implemented here seems, well, to be honest, like amateur hour.
That's the whole point though.
The owner has proven that you do not need a large team of people to make it perfect, as getting your site 90% there can be done at a relatively low cost (provided you have the knowledge) and pushing that extra 9% is an unnecessary cost that has a small or no ROI.
No site or business can ever be perfect, so why kill yourself and your bottom line trying. | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/13/2012 3:30:26 PM | It seems someone didn't get their Maths spot on
Surely the gripe most people have is not the downtime, the changes but in fact that things that used to be free are now being charged for. With little/no communication.
To make a successful business/website/group etc. surely when charging a membership/subscription fee, you should add more to it. Not take away the things people were used to.
As an example, look at Spotify. The first people to join got a service at a level that now costs the mid-range subscription level for newcomers. Think of it as a loyalty reward | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/13/2012 6:24:41 PM | Yep, as the gentleman mentioned earlier, there should be a test server for new feature/bug fixes before it goes live on the real server.
Amateur or pro, that's the protocol. Test it first on a test server, then if it works then put it on the live server.
I am a veteran programmer/IT guy, and that's how we do it. That's why people like me think this site is quite amateur. You need a team to build games, but for a dating website, you don't need a team. | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/14/2012 10:58:21 AM | Because if there are too many random bugs and unannounced "maintenance."
The purpose of a test server is to ensure the new/updated stuff works before the same code is implemented on the live server. | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/14/2012 11:13:43 AM | Maintenance doesn't need to be announced. I don't know why people feel they need to be informed of when someone is making changes to their business. Stores don't consult the public when they decide to rearrange their products, put on sales or stock a new item. POF isn't any different.
I understand the purpose of a test server. Have you seen the development area for POF? Me either, therefore I can't assume that there isn't a test server. | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/15/2012 5:09:13 PM | Maintenance definitely needs to be announced, and it's not just "rearranging their products." It's more like "our product is out of service." Whenever POF goes on maintenance, part of the website becomes non-functional. And so just like in a gym business if the locker room is gonna get the locks repaired, there will definitely be notice way ahead of the scheduled time. Can you imagine what people will think of the business if they find out only as they are about to use the lockerroom and find it unavailable?
When you "rearrange your products," you basically still provide the same product, but when maintenance happens, some of the products might get taken off the shelf or be replaced with a different version of the product, so yea it's not that simple my friend :) | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/15/2012 6:15:03 PM |
Can you imagine what people will think of the business if they find out only as they are about to use the lockerroom and find it unavailable?
If it was a free gym for them to use at their leisure then I would call when whiners if they complained.
is anyone good at making websites?
I am very proficient at Geo-cities pages with lots of blinking lights and scrolling banners. | |
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| is anyone good at making websites?
Posted: 6/15/2012 7:56:22 PM | Yes but keep in mind that although you may not be paying directly to POF out of your checkings account, you are paying dues to POF by means of using your computer to visit the site. You see, everytime an ad banner shows up on your screen on POF website, POF gains ad revenue. This cannot be done without you, even if you aren't a premium member :)
And you see, as responsible users we have the duty to "whine," if you choose to use that term; because how else would the management at POF notice the problem and act accordingly?
Saving a dead horse. Thread closed.
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