But for many years now I have struggled to put together a website for myself; the old proverb, "Too busy tending to other peoples projects, to have no time for my own". 

The main issue has been scope and purpose.  Any developer will know if they have attended a client initiation meeting, the normal proceedings go;

1. Listen to the client about what they do, what they like, how they operate and what they require from their website;
2. Discuss all the options available, and what you can do to make their website the best thing on the internet for their purpose.  A Real sort of brainstorming, blue sky thinking and everybody is onboard and enthusiastic about the project, with lots of ideas and value to add.  We are selling ourselves to the client, there is an atmosphere of a partnership, rather than client and service provider; and then
3. POW! Discussion moves to the budget, and suddenly everyone is brought back into reality.  This culminates in a proposal bieng developed to acheive the goals within the scope of the project, and as a Developer I have clear direction, what tasks and items need to be acheived.  We do what is required, only adding small amounts of extra value that won't bloat the original scope or incur scope creep.

The reason I mention this is because when working on my own projects, I NEVER reach step 3.  The endless great ideas, epiphinies in the middle of the night, developing proofs of concept and even reconsidering of the original purpose.

I have tried to discipline myself to follow the same processes and practices that I do with our clients to make sure everybody is on the same page and driving the process forward; but I am the BOSS, I am the client, if I want to change things at any point of the process I can.

I try writing up a specefication document, and get bored as my mind keeps wandering onto what it will look like.  So I stop and open up Photoshop, and start designing the site.  But my true skills are not in design, they lie in development, so as soon as I have a design that roughly resembles a website and I have a clear design aesthetic, I stop preparing and start building.

As I write this, I am currently on the fourth design revision, third website project, second name and URL and I hope the last.  Well, until it proves some sort of success, then as any website should,it  will grow and evolve with a better idea of what works and what doesn't.

So here we are with Webtekkers.com.  I hope that by now you may have been around the site, found the content useful and want to come back in the future to see what's new.

But if not, this is what I am trying to acheive, the goals for Webtekkers if you will.

1. A portfolio or blog that I can put on a CV.  Who is going to employ a web developer when they cannot review what they do for themselves.
2. Give back to the web development community with (hopefully) useful content, aswel as providing a brilliant resource for those looking to get into this business.
3. If I have acheived the top two, then lets make some money!! For myself and all those who contribute to making this website a success.  After all, why not let the advertisers and sponsors pay us to do what we love. THEY WIN, WE WIN.

Now if you have read this far, thank you, and take some time to explore the website, comment on a few articles, add your own value, and I will see you soon!

Will