Can’t code? Don’t code! – Using the correct tool for the job

Posted 13 May 2010 - 8 Gratefully received comments

Have you ever used a hammer to knock a screw into a piece of wood? With enough brute force it can be done, but the result is never as effective as using a screwdriver.
This is how I would classify my first two attempts at creating my online portfolio.

Eventually common sense kicked in and I decided to use the correct tool for the job, namely someone else that knew what they were doing.

The recent changes to my site once again underlined how little I know about the principles of writing code to build a website. You can read about the changes I’ve made to this site here.

It’s safe to say that this website would not exist beyond simple sketches and fleshed out photoshop layouts without the assistance of my very talented and extremely patient coder friend Andy Kleeman, who works under the moniker ‘The Boy who Cried Fox.’

When I first started out in the wonderful world of design I knew that it would be important to have some sort of online presence that I could use to show off my work and promote my services. I made many attempts to design something that showcased my work and I went through two very distinct looking sites that were functional at best.
I was always aware of the limitations of my own knowledge and capabilities when it came to coding.

The reasons I persisted in trying to do it all myself were simple. Lack of money and contacts. I didn’t know anyone that I could work with to get what I wanted, and I didn’t have enough money to pay someone if I found them.
I imagine this is quite a common situation, and it might be a good explanation of why there are plenty of failing attempts on the net of self-promotion.

These are very good reasons to try a bit of DIY, but I now believe that common sense should prevail. If you want a job doing right use the correct tool to do it. You might even save yourself some money by spending a bit.

Chances are if you are as limited as I am in the coding department you will never be able to produce the website that you would ideally like. It could well be that you do have some basic coding knowledge and with time and effort you will eventually be able to produce what you want.
If this is the case consider my argument. You can spend your time and efforts in learning the required skills, or you could pay somebody that already has the know-how while you use your time to make the money needed to pay your coder.

I found myself in the position where I was losing so much time trying to gain knowledge (that I would never be able to use to compliment my business) in trying to build a website that it made much more sense to find someone to do the heavy lifting for me.
This freed me up to put my main efforts into doing the work that actually pays the bills.

Once the initial outlay costs are navigated, you should be left with a site that does exactly what you need it to do, namely promote you effectively, which should result in a better income, justifying the expense.

This sort of mind-set doesn’t stop at coding, there are plenty of fields in the design industry where it pays to get specailised assistance. Fields like design, illustration, printing, copy-writing & accounting as well as niches within niches like e-commerce coders, flash developers etc.

Each time you outsource a piece of work you have to view it as an investment. The most important thing is that the task you have to get done is accomplished to the best of your ability, and if that task is beyond your abilities you need to get the right sort of help.

Do you outsource elements of your jobs? Do you have trouble relinquishing control? Have you had bad experiences with outsourcing?

Further Reading – Related Articles:

BK Macdaddy – WordPress: Hire a Pro or Do it Yourself?

Instigator Blog – When should you outsource to help your business?

Freelance Folder – 7 questions to ask yourself before you outsource

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8 Comments

  • Federica Sibella says:
    May 13, 2010 at 12:55 pm

    Hi Ken,

    well written, I couldn’t agree more with you. I’m a webdesigner and front end developer and I used to outsource back end programming, because I had not enough knowledge of PHP and such server side languages. Sometimes it was a good experience and sometimes not, it depended on the feeling I had with the other programmer. Now I don’t need it anymore because I work as a team with a very good guy that has a big know-how in server side programming and I’m learning a lot staying with him.
    Anyway should there be things in the future we don’t know, we will hire a professional for sure: no waste of time and a better result for sure!

    [Reply]

    Ken Reynolds Reply:
    May 13th, 2010 at 1:06 pm

    Hi Federica, thanks for dropping by and commenting.

    You highlight a good point. Once you’ve made the decision to outsource the next stumbling block is finding the right people to do it. I usually only outsource to people I know within my contacts network, or or via recommendation.

    [Reply]

  • Scott Corgan says:
    May 13, 2010 at 6:46 pm

    Way better solution than WYSIWYG editor in Netscape Navigator … ha

    [Reply]

    Ken Reynolds Reply:
    May 13th, 2010 at 8:18 pm

    The fact that I don’t fully understand that comment displays exactly why I outsource! :)

    That’s for commenting Scott.

    [Reply]

  • SG says:
    May 14, 2010 at 4:17 am

    i’m having the same problem right now so it was nice to read this article.
    You should write an article for students who have no money.
    Do you recommend any sites that could help starting a basic website?

    [Reply]

    Ken Reynolds Reply:
    May 14th, 2010 at 6:41 am

    Hi SG thanks for commenting.

    You’re right it is difficult when you’re starting out and the pressure is bigger to do everything yourself with very little money at a time in your career that you might not know as much as you eventually will. It’s all a bit of a catch 22.

    A few suggestions for free online portfolios are Deviant Art, and the Behance Network. It’s not like having your own site, but it’s somewhere that you can refer potential employers/clients that looks professional and presentable.

    I’ll have a think and see if I can come up with some better advice in a future article.

    [Reply]

  • Laura says:
    May 14, 2010 at 8:22 am

    Hi Ken,

    Nice article as always.

    I’m lucky that at my full-time work I’m put of a two person team with a very talented programmer. So I haven’t had to out-source anything. Though as I do more and more freelance stuff, this may change – but at least I know who I can turn to for some help.

    I’ve even picked up a thing or two, and now fine working out some simple PHP & MySQL and Javascript stuff very interesting and a nice challenge.

    Your an intelligent guy Ken, I reckon if you had the time, you could EASILY pick up the bulk of HTML and CSS with no issues at all.

    Cheers for the read,
    Laura

    [Reply]

    Ken Reynolds Reply:
    May 14th, 2010 at 8:28 am

    Hi Laura,

    As in most things it is all about who you know!

    I’ll blush if you keep paying me compliments, *shucks*.
    The truth is coding doesn’t hold my interest in the way design and illustration does. I don’t have a passion for it which makes it harder to learn. I’d rather use someone that loves what they do and will do it well than bang my head against a wall. I’m lucky enough to be in a position where I can do this.

    [Reply]

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Who's Ken?

Picture of Ken I'm a freelance graphic designer living and working in Suffolk. I've been using Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign & Quark Xpress since 1999 but I've been using pens, pencils, paper and most importantly my imagination for a lot longer. I'm always looking for new clients to work with and interesting projects to work on.

 

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