This has probably been discussed before, but I'm starting a new thread 'cause I'm too lazy to search.
There's a very small business I frequent. It's got a decent website that's got info about the business (location, business hours, stuff like that) and a shopping-cart system for purchasing online.
I was in the store the other day and asked about the website (it came up naturally; the business is only open two days per week but is about to got to five days per week; I asked if they'd update the website when they made the switch). The store's owner told me that the site has been run by a few different people over the past few years, and that the last person to have maintained it has moved to the mainland and probably will not continue to work on it, and nobody knows how she did what she did anyway.
Then she asked if I was asking because I do websites. I said yes, which was a slight hyperbole, and added that it was more of a hobby than anything else, and that right now I don't have much room in my life for a new project, which was also a slight hyperbole.
Before I left (it's one of those buy-what-you-need-and-hang-around-and-chat kinda places), I said that when I got a little more space in my life, I'd see if they'd found anyone to do their site.
Well, I've been thinking about it, and something happened in my life recently that may result in my needing to fill up what remains of my free time (read: problems with my love-life). I think I could put up something at least as decent as what they've got at minimal expense to the store. I also think I'd be willing to work for peanuts (say, a few hours a week in exchange for goods or even a discount) because this is a pretty unique place and a lot of cool people will be very disappointed if it doesn't survive. Also, once I got it going, I could teach the owners how to maintain it themselves, if they wanted to, and then only go in when they needed serious work, 'cause I think that would be ideal.
Sorry; I'm thinking out loud now. I foresee a lot of possible problems here, but I'm wondering if I see them all. Anyone got any ideas for me? Someone's gotta do the site, and as I said, this is, for some people, a lot more than just a store. How can I help these store-owners without (a) killing myself and (b) eventually leaving them where they've been before, with a website that needs updating and nobody around to do it?
Also, if I do this gratis, or in exchange for some goods, do I have to get a GET license?
There's a very small business I frequent. It's got a decent website that's got info about the business (location, business hours, stuff like that) and a shopping-cart system for purchasing online.
I was in the store the other day and asked about the website (it came up naturally; the business is only open two days per week but is about to got to five days per week; I asked if they'd update the website when they made the switch). The store's owner told me that the site has been run by a few different people over the past few years, and that the last person to have maintained it has moved to the mainland and probably will not continue to work on it, and nobody knows how she did what she did anyway.
Then she asked if I was asking because I do websites. I said yes, which was a slight hyperbole, and added that it was more of a hobby than anything else, and that right now I don't have much room in my life for a new project, which was also a slight hyperbole.
Before I left (it's one of those buy-what-you-need-and-hang-around-and-chat kinda places), I said that when I got a little more space in my life, I'd see if they'd found anyone to do their site.
Well, I've been thinking about it, and something happened in my life recently that may result in my needing to fill up what remains of my free time (read: problems with my love-life). I think I could put up something at least as decent as what they've got at minimal expense to the store. I also think I'd be willing to work for peanuts (say, a few hours a week in exchange for goods or even a discount) because this is a pretty unique place and a lot of cool people will be very disappointed if it doesn't survive. Also, once I got it going, I could teach the owners how to maintain it themselves, if they wanted to, and then only go in when they needed serious work, 'cause I think that would be ideal.
Sorry; I'm thinking out loud now. I foresee a lot of possible problems here, but I'm wondering if I see them all. Anyone got any ideas for me? Someone's gotta do the site, and as I said, this is, for some people, a lot more than just a store. How can I help these store-owners without (a) killing myself and (b) eventually leaving them where they've been before, with a website that needs updating and nobody around to do it?
Also, if I do this gratis, or in exchange for some goods, do I have to get a GET license?
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