Darice de Cuba

In this digital age most people have a computer they know how to use and most of them have internet. From kids to elderly everyone is digital to some levels. There are plenty of applications to create websites, edit your photos, and so on. These applications target the amateur hobbyist and the professionals. Lots of designers and developers are self taught and many do have a degree in another field or a field closely related to webdesign, like Communication for example. But being a webdesigner or developer is an ongoing process of self teaching, practice and keeping up to date with latest technologies like coding, web-standards, etc.

Not everyone is as good as the other one, we all have different method of working and preference. But that’s good, it brings variety, while one client might like an awesome eye catching design, the other client might prefer a simple design with focus on content. To each its liking and preference. That’s when a portfolio of a webdesigner comes in handy.

Now that I’m working and no longer a student I’m always on the look out for website projects. I focus mostly on Aruba. Being an island with only one internet provider its only the last 5 years that technology has started booming there with G3 service being started a few months ago. The whole island is full of wifi hotspots and most residents have DSL(although the speeds are pitiful compared with somewhere else). But the island is mostly online and mobile.

Logically websites are finally popping out everywhere, all newspaper are online, the radio stations, the government, lawyers and hotels. Other instances especially non-profit are slowly getting their websites. At the moment there are many Arubians like myself with web building experience and a study in the field. We all would like to build websites for clients from Aruba. But there is a problem, a problem that is everywhere and very known to webdesigners.

The amateurs who can open Frontpage(or any kind of WYSIWYG program) and claim to be webdesigners. They can put a website online so they think they can charge companies to create websites for them. The clients who have no knowledge of websites are more then happy to get someone who claims they can create their website in short time and at very cheap prices or worse they charge lots of money and provide a cheap website.

An example case

Yesterday on one of the online newspaper they wrote about the new website launched by the department of Education. A website to promote our native language Papiamento.