Last week I dove into the creation of my first website. The technology itself wasn’t as daunting as I expected it to be and with little time invested, I was off to the races. After following the suggestions of an instructor I logged in chose the first template that kinda looked right and I jumped right in.
I gave some thought to the creation site, but who was I to know how the publishing configurations of one site may out shine that of another. Too many options… So I chose to go with the flow and follow the lead of ‘EVERYONE’ around me. I convinced myself that I really needed the support of others who had: A… Done this before or B… Appeared to know what they were doing.
Going through the process as a newbie I learned: My specialty is not in website design. But then again… who cares… someone else who specializes in website design has offered FREE templates. No need to reinvent the wheel right? And stick to the promise of a KISS… Keep it simple sister!
I also learned that to get the good stuff like embedded audio and video, I would have to upgrade… Not yet having job security or 100% certainty that this option is really for me I decided to pass for now. Some suggestions for this in the meantime were… Create a youtube account and share it in a roundabout way… Or download audio files onto some other free site and export files from there… Yikes… Sounds like too many steps… and side track I am not ready to explore as of yet.
My biggest learning was the ever so powerful experience of FAILURE. On Wednesday evening after a long day in class, I logged into my website . Inspired by random thoughts, I took a left turn and fell into a moment… I was lured into timeless hours of creative composure. A poem crafted by the emotional ties to disengaged learners of the past, I submitted to the detour and composed a piece that I was emotionally and intellectually bound to. At 11:55 pm I finished the piece after embedding many wonderful links. Foolishly… I decided the page needed more visuals. After embedding a quote and some images… The page went wonky and I gave into the editing components for images. I right click on the red square to delete the image that contorted my screen and VOILA… the written document that consumed 10 dedicated hours was gone in a second. (Choice words omitted)
Lessons learned… Website creation sites are not publishing sites. There is no undo button! What should I have done? Screen shots… Back it up in a pages, word or google docs. How foolish… Recovery… NOPE… Too tired to collect my ideas I rallied to 4:00 am to reinvent the page lost… Was it the same? Nope… Was it close… Kina… Did I learn something valuable? You betcha!
In closing, I remind myself that no lives were lost in this experience and my wounds will eventually heal thanks to the power of supporters who have travelled the same road and sponsors that offer simple button clicks with no regret. Thanks to my amazing colleagues and the makers of Nespresso!
Signing out with a click, save and back-up!
Sincerely,
Lesson Learned
* Images will be now be added added as wounds of the most recent episode are no longer fresh in my mind…(music link here because I can’t embed a video without an upgrade)
4techmenot 