Ep. 15 - Understanding Website Platforms and More with Jon Lebkowsky

Creatives Meet Business

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for creatives of ALL disciplines to get from zero to one in thinking of themselves as business owners (in the creative sector).

This episode features Jon Lebkowsky, founder and CEO of Polycot Associates. Jon is a fascinating fellow and is beyond knowledgable about all things web and development (and on ALL things internet). Jon shares about the different types of platforms out there (and the difference between them) and what questions you should be thinking about if you're ready to work with a developer. Because there's so so much that's exciting about this episode - let's hop in and hear what Jon has to say!

• 0:00 to 2:16 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of Jon Lebkowsky
• 2:20 to 5:23 - Four Categories of Platforms
  1. Hosted Service - examples include Squarespace, Wix, Tumblr
  2. Light Content Management System - you arrange the hosting yourself. WordPress is an example. Note - WordPress does have a hosted version, but Jon is talking about the software, not the service.
  3. More Complex Content Management Frameworks. An example is Drupal
  4. Web Application Development Frameworks - Ruby on Rails is an example. Basecamp is an example of a site built with Ruby on Rails
     1. Rails is good for rapid prototyping and web application development
• 5:24 to 7:11 - Web Development is less about building from scratch and more about re-tooling to increase and customize functionality. Two ways to extend functionality:
  1. Themes, free or purchase - configure to customize based on needs
  2. Additional functionality that's not in the core platform:
     1. WordPress - plug-ins
     2. Drupal - modules
        1. Be careful of the plug-ins or modules you attach to your site as they increase complexity to site and potential for conflicts. There could be security flaws with the plug-ins or modules, so be cautious.
• 7:12 to 11:32 - Questions to Ask When Decided on a Platform
  • What are you trying to do and who are you trying to reach with the platform?
    • Brochure sites - basic information
    • Considered Purchase site - informative, repeat traffic from same visitor
    • Information site or portal - very information dense
    • E-commerce site - can be simple or complex
    • Web application - application that's served over the web (Basecamp is an example)
  • How are you going to choose a developer? If you have someone in mind, get to know their platform proficiency.
    • Recommended to get developer first and include them in the conversation about platform selection that will work for your project
  • How much can you afford to spend?
  • How much are you willing to spend for ongoing maintenance?
  • How often will your website and content change?
• 11:36 to 12:36 - Content Management System For Self-Maintenance
  • Open source allowed more freedom for customers to change developers, no longer locked into a developer if the client was dissatisfied
• 12:37 to 13:57 - Ashland Closing Remarks

If you like what you hear, share the podcast with your friends, rate and review. To stay in the loop - follow us on Twitter, Facebook or subscribe to the newsletter.

We'll be moving over to PR next, so start getting excited. Stay tuned for more!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business