Web
Fairytales and horror stories: Tales of web creation.
By Flying Hippo
It’s time we pass down our two favorite tales of website upkeep and creation. One is a fairy tale full of wonder, enchantment and romanticized web upkeep victory. The other, a cautionary story of how web creation can go astray.
We will begin with the horror story. Continue reading… if you dare.
Horror Story: The Website Zone
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of graphic design, a dimension of video, a dimension of content. You’re typing in your URL to get to a land of both knowledge and substance, of branding and marketing. You’ve just crossed over into….. The Website Zone.
This area – The Website Zone – lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is a dimension of imagination, creation and usefulness. This dimension is as vast as space, and as timeless as infinity. This is a place of your own and a location to put anything you like for the world to see.
It sounds intriguing, even exciting! As you imagine the detailed ins and outs of your dream website, you realize a stark reality. You don’t know how to build a website. But, you know that it is an absolute necessity. So you decide to hire a creative agency to build it for you because they have lived in this magical 5th dimension much longer than you have.
You made a great decision. With this one good decision, your confidence grows. Soon, you feel like you know a lot about this dimension that was formerly an elusive mystery. You start making decisions and assumptions.
Then you make a decision which is a fatal flaw. You decide to take a crack at designing the website yourself even though you have little to no design experience. You also instruct the agency you hired to provide you with two design options so you can choose which design you like better.
You didn’t know that splitting design resources between two designs instead of investing all the time into building one, superior design, would create terrifying results: two underwhelming website designs, instead of one amazing design. You begin to backpedal. Your palms begin to sweat and your heart begins to race when you think about the mistake you have made. But it’s too late.
You jolt awake in your bed. Beads of sweat on your forehead. It was just a nightmare.
But now you understand your reality. In this dimension you cannot design your own site, and you shouldn’t create two separate web designs or things may go awry in…. The Website Zone.
Fairy Tale: Your site and the 7 Dwarves
Once upon a time, there was a website IT team that was known as the best in all the land. Some believed this maintenance team was only a myth, because they were never seen working. But every day the website would be running flawlessly. Some claim that when the website was being updated, they would hear a faint chant in the distance, calling “Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho.”
Soon, it was discovered that this mysterious IT team was actually comprised of 7 technology-oriented dwarves. These dwarves would work around the clock to maintain websites. Each day, they would put on their suspenders and stocking caps and take a great deal of care with the upkeep and hosting of their websites.
Not only did the dwarves maintain websites, they also helped build them. But they were different than your typical web developers. Upon receiving a new project, they would grab their pick axes and dive into work. They would head deep into the mines of clients’ specifications. They would diligently chip away, collecting the best website aspects the client wanted as they went. They would become immersed in the environment, learning everything they could as they were gathering information. They knew they needed to provide a product that was consistent with the client’s brand.
Cynics didn’t think the dwarves were capable of building sites that fit their needs, especially since the dwarves only knew one industry. Many believed it only to be a myth. That all changed when the dwarves presented their website to the client, and the client was brought to tears.
From that day on, the dwarves were known as some of the best in the web business. Next time you hear a faint “Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho” in the distance, know that the dwarves are quietly working to keep your site functioning.
We hope you never experience a web horror story, and that your website building experience will provide nothing but happily-ever-afters.
