12 Not all of your readers make websites

I know this is a website “for people who make websites”, but not all of your readers do that professionally. For example, I work as a C++ & Java programmer. I have my own website where I experiment with web design as a kind of hobby, and that’s why I read this site, but I don’t do it professionally. So should I have listed my salary as a Software Engineer (with has nothing to do with websites), or should I have put $0 (my salary as a web designer)? I’m not sure that the results will reflect the web design field if there’s not a question to confirm that you are actually working in it.

posted at 02:18 pm on April 24, 2007 by Kip Robinson

13 re: not all your readers make websites

Great question, Kip. Kindly list your salary as a web designer ($0) and complete all relevant questions. Actually, if you mark yourself as “freelancer,” then most of the employer-related questions will disappear, and the survey will be more straightforward for you. Thanks!

posted at 03:34 pm on April 24, 2007 by Daniel Lynch

15 Privacy Policy

I’m very interested in the results of this survey, but I was unable to find your privacy policy stated anywhere on the site. Your reputation as an honest and professional site speaks for itself; however, you are asking personal questions and may receive a more honest answer if your privacy policy was clearly stated upfront.

posted at 03:49 pm on April 24, 2007 by Bryan Trogdon

16 survey software

Brilliant idea, I’d just recommend tightening the ranges of salaries and hours spent working; also maybe break down work and play. I wouldn’t consider messing with some PHP script at home for 10 hours a week actual work (as part of my job) but I would count that toward something like fun/play/research/learning.

What’s the survey software you guys are using?

posted at 03:50 pm on April 24, 2007 by dave rau

17 Where am I?

As someone who lives in Colorado, I’ve always found our region to be a little odd, we’re not really in the Great Plains (there be mountains here!) and definitely not Southwest (people in the South call me a Northerner). So I’d suggest a new region called Mountain States or at least something indicating where the regional dividing lines are.

posted at 03:58 pm on April 24, 2007 by Brian Warren

18 Still a student

A lot of these questions were unapplicable to me (e.g. how long have you been working the webdesign field, or something like that) because I’m still a high school student doing webdesign/developing/reading ALA as a hobby.

posted at 04:47 pm on April 24, 2007 by Vincent Zekred

19 Validity of the Survey

What is the statistical validity of a survey of this sort? Considering all of the survey takers are self-selected, doesn’t that skew the results? While the survey results may be interesting, I don’t see how they can be used to accurately extrapolate data and trends concerning the web design industry as a whole.

I’m not trying to be difficult here, just raising what I believe are some legitimate issues. I don’t know how a truly random survey of web designers could undertaken, especially since the field is so broad and the specific jobs are so varied. I’d be interested to hear how a statistician would assess this survey.

posted at 04:48 pm on April 24, 2007 by Dan Wilkinson

20 Ethnicities

Just to be anal, none of the ethnicities listed are ethnicities at all (except maybe Hispanic, but that’s debatable). They are all races.

posted at 04:52 pm on April 24, 2007 by Kim Siever

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