Geek stuff..
I’m working on the website for work, and I’m very much out of practice.
- I’ve got Google AdWords and Google Analytics set up on the site. The Analytics side is easy peasy – a quick cut and paste of some code and there you go. The AdWords thing isn’t hard, really, I just need to figure out how to get our ratings higher and our keyword QualityScore better than what it is, because for the most part, it’s ‘Poor’. Not good. Impressions are okay, but the Click thru rate isn’t that shit hot. Need to work on that, too.
- Have to get a couple of other ads set up and get things tweaked a bit to hopefully raise the QualityScore – more specific ads to go with more specific key words that will link to more specific pages.
- The site is done in ColdFusion, and I don’t know ColdFusion at all. I vaguely remember PHP and ASP, but I’m so out of shape with them it’s scary. Luckily work should pick up the tab on a CF book. ColdFusion MX came out in 2002 ish, and I don’t think the website is that old.
- I have no idea where the database that we’re pulling all of our stuff from is located. Other than emailing the guys who did the website design and programming of the back end, I .. yeah. I’m clueless as to how to figure out where it is. There’s a ‘db’ folder that I can FTP to, but it looks like all there is are a couple of back ups. Will have to get in touch with them to figure out where it is and the passwords, etc.
- Once I figure out that, I guess I’m going to be adding some more things to the website, under the product description. Not a big deal, but again, that requires knowledge of a) where the database is and b) what kind of database it is (MS Access, SQL, MySQL, etc..). Stuff I don’t know.
I’m kind of geeking about this, because, well, this is what I eventually went to school for. If I can get some website programming in, that’ll make my days a lot less boring and my brain a lot less mushy. It’ll look good on my resume and if/when I go back to school, I think it’ll help me out. It’ll at least make me enjoy my job a bit more.
Hockey tonight. GO MELONS!
Cold Fusion is dead. At lease that’s what I’ve heard. If you can get into PHP or .Net, web development will be more relevant to your Geek knowledge, resume and general education.
I dabble in PHP but I have done ASP and .Net. Being a Linux Geek myself, I prefer PHP for my own hosted site. If you really want to hang with the cool kids, try wrapping your head around Ruby on Rails.
Unfortunately, since the site is done up in ColdFusion now, that’s what I’ve got to work with. I’ve done PHP and ASP before, so while I’m sure I could (but I don’t know what our web host is set up with) I would need the time to switch everything over. Plus I would have to convince the GM that it would be a good idea for me to do it, and I’m definitely behind the times enough to not be able to convince her that it would be a good idea.
I’ve actually curious about Ruby on Rails. My host has it and I’m just … curious about it. I kind of doubt that the Jorb’s site host has it, but you never know.