Intern
- I was a general intern with a heavy focus on web development. The bulk of my tasks pertained to creating the company’s website, but I also answered customer phone calls, and took notes during commerce meetings.
- My main task was creating the company’s new website. The site was built on the WordPress platform, but I have to heavily modify the chosen theme in order to fit the company’s needs. Weave DOT Guru is primarily a Managed Service Provider (MSP), therefore it was imperative for the website to showcase the company’s services, contact information, social media accounts, and affiliates. In addition to building the website, I attended several business meetings with my boss and took notes, like a meeting for the local chamber of commerce. Finally, I took customer calls and returned emails.
- In order the built the website, I had to leverage all my knowledge about web development from Data-Centric Applications, and I learned a great deal about CSS. My job was to take the basic layout of the WordPress theme, look over the HTML code to see how it was creating the page’s layout, and edit it so that it fit the specifications of what we wanted. For example, there were three div’s on the homepage that contained short blurbs about services, but we wanted five blurbs, so I had to figure out how to replicate that look while maintaining the alignment and mobile functionality. I utilized resources like FontAwesome for social media icons. While I was making this website I had to account for the user experience. It was important to make sure the website showed off the business’s capabilities without being cluttered, and since the clientele for this company isn’t quite tech-savvy, the website design needed to be intuitive and straightforward. Overall, building this website taught me about empathizing with the user so the user has a positive experience, while also catering to the company’s needs and specifications. In addition to building the website, there were several iterations of the website before the site was live. I would built a page or two, showcase the prototype, take feedback on elements that needed to be added or changed, and then repeat the process. This process repeated until the website satisfied all of the company’s needs. Aside from building the website, I spent some of my internship taking phone calls, and recording notes during meetings. While it wasn’t the bulk to my time, I did learn about leveraging resources, like the local chamber of commerce, or business workshops, to network and find clients. Additionally, I learned about phone systems like 3CX, which allowed phone calls to the office to be directed to my cellphone. Also, I learned about services like Twilio, which allows users to purchase temporary phone numbers. Part of MIS is learning how to leverage technology to solve problems, so it’s beneficial to know what kind of services are available as solutions. Overall, this internship allowed me to expand my knowledge about different services, networking opportunities, and customer and company needs, and build on my skills in web development and user experience.