 So
we are all about mechanics. Keep it Simple maybe in appearance but
that $120+/hr program scripting under the hood is what makes
"pretty yet useless" vs "simple an enabled"
something valued to return to.
We have been working on the database scheme for several years now
and increasingly finding ways to script it and leverage the data.
Data entry itself is relatively painless. We wrote a page so we
could select text from an online Angus pedigree and save it in a
much simpler text file.
Once that was done we could display it in a single line listing
or take the same data and display in a 40+, page friendly, data
searchable sales presentation (as we did here) and we continued to
tweak until the current scheme where titles and sale orders are manageable
by a simple file of variables plus allow separate sales to be joined
and linked (the cow/sire footer) in that same variable file.
More ingenious then complicated and just like in cattle &
farming or most businesses if you make it complicated you are bound
to fail in the confusion. Oh sure there is a Facebook or Google rich
fellow out there to tempt one but practical solutions without the
ego lets a fellow help out the neighbors without whining how many
thousands of dollars a second it is costing me!
The "pretty" can always be added by simply "dicking"
up the look and adding crap around the borders. Oh sure pretty sells
I will admit but it is even better if vast amounts of data can be
organized and revamped from year to year without hours of tedious
work. The years of tedious work I already have done...
...and continue to do in things like the "Mr Ticket"
real time harvest ticket posting we do from a cell phone to website
each Fall and now can put more time into things like that.
Of course the real secret to any of this is most web design firms
have little understanding the fine differences between a bull and a
heifer which is painfully evident when they think someone might have
$120+ and hour in discretionary income to pay for web scripting (we
do that just for therapy & the challenge) so if they don't
understand your problems, don't "get it" how your biz
runs, then how are they ever going to ever figure out the right
solution for your needs?
|
