Posted by Anonymous on 2/22/05 1:17am
Msg #21757

To notaries who do their own websites

Don't let your ego get in your way. Nobody's perfect.

Spell check is your best friend. It will help you if you use it.

Use http://validator.w3.org if you think your HTML (or XML or ...) is perfect. (If you're a realist, you'll know that you'll make mistakes and use it to find 'em.)

Go to your local library, borrow a public-access computer, and check out your site. Follow every link. (Yes, EVERY link.) If your library uses the same browser as you use at home, find a place that uses a different browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Firefox, etc.) to see how the site appears. Buy time at an Internet cafe; it's cheap insurance.

If you must post your site's name here, be prepared to fix what we tell you is wrong. Expect abuse if your creation has errors in spelling, language, punctuation, or facts (horrors!). If someone says your site has bad colors, believe that you need to consider your visitors' needs.

If you ask your family (and/or friends) and they say it's fine, tell them you really want to know how it could be improved. Ask strangers what they think. They're more apt to tell you the unvarnished truth.

If you wouldn't do free loan closings, don't expect those of us who are (or were) computing professionals to give you free advice. Ditto for language or art teachers or other professionals. A number of the notaries public who post here regularly have told people explicitly that their sites need work and offered to suggest fixes at reasonable rates.

If you're serious about your work, you've spent time and money becoming a proficient notary. You've spent your time on your site; now it's time to pay the professionals (people for whom web site development is NOT a hobby) help you improve it.

Reply by Korey Humphreys on 2/22/05 3:31am
Msg #21759

With all that said......... check mine out and let me know if everything works, and is okay.

GO HERE:

http://massachusetts.notary4hire.com (don't put in www.)

I just finished most of it. I did not know that different browsers would make it look differently. I used Internet Explorer.

Let me know what ya think!!!



GO HERE:

http://massachusetts.notary4hire.com (don't put in www.)

Reply by ERNA_CA on 2/22/05 1:34pm
Msg #21807

It looks good. I would have the service catagories wich is your business better placed and acessable, and give the links less space.

Reply by PAW_Fl on 2/22/05 8:57am
Msg #21775

An Anonymous poster posted: "be prepared to fix what we tell you is wrong."

Why would we listen to an anonymous poster? In my book, anonymous posters have very little credibility from the get go. Further, that validator does not always work properly, giving many, many false errors, especially with pages made with page generators. W3 is NOT the HTML police and their policies and "standards" are not accepted by everyone in the web design and implementation arena.

Reply by Korey Humphreys on 2/22/05 12:58pm
Msg #21802

I agree Paw_Fl........ I was going to mention something about the anonymous posting in my message posted earlier.

Dang, people have some giant balls when posting as anonymous. If they got something to say, then post it with your name. What,,,,, some "Notary Cyber-Patrol Officer" is going to come knock on your door and beat the crap out of ya?