Should I list a website I created as experience on my resume?

Question

I'm a recent graduate with a degree in computer science and I was wondering if I should list a website I created as experience on my resume. The website wasn't technical in nature, mainly just demotivational posters and comedic lists of things. It did, however, garner 2,000 - 4,000 page views a day on average.

Positives

• I personally wrote HTML/CSS/JavaScript for parts of the site
• I acquired some skills involving analytics and advertising, as well as how to reach an audience via social media

Negatives

• General quality and type of content on the site

I should probably mention that the site no longer exists. The Wayback Machine is the only way an employer could actually see the site. As far as content goes, I was a bit vague. The best comparison I can come up with is that it had content that would be along the same lines as what Cracked.com has now.

Answer 1

If you created the web-site and it's a decent piece of work then the answer is ...

... OF COURSE

But don't confine yourself to listing the URL. Think about what aspects to this project, used technologies and so on are relevant to your prospect employer and then present it as an indicator for that you aren't just talking the talk, but also walking the walk ... ;)

Answer 2

Are you proud of the web site? Does it convey the message you'd want to send to an employer? Are the skills you acquired relevant to the job that you're applying for? Is there anything there that you wouldn't want an employer to see?

Answer 3

No.

List, in detail, what you learnt from it. The point is to convey what you are now capable of. No one is going to look at a link on your resume and go to it - it looks very ugly anyway. Most will search for your site in order to investigate.

Answer 4

As the rest said it's better to include details about the company (or university, etc.) and what you learned from the project instead of giving implementation details (how).

BTW, it's usually better to have only a single link in your resume that will give details about all your projects (description, screenshots, code, etc.) - instead of describing each project in it. For example you can say "find details about my projects on www.mysite.com/projects". This will keep your resume compact and potential technical employers that care about details will still be able to find them.

Answer 5

I wouldn't list the actual URL, but the company and experience is a Yes.

For example:

Company XYZ

Created a point of presence web site for the company's product line using Javascript, HTML, and CSS.

I might add any relevant experience coming directly out of school would be a plus. Your resume is probably heavily focused on your coursework and relevant projects.

Answer 6

If your resume contains links to previous websites, make sure you check on them from time to time.

Years ago, I recommended a former co-worker for a job and my manager said his resume looked good, but why did it contain so many links to porn sites? He had only ever worked on financial sites, but some of them had gone under and their domains had been bought up by adult businesses.

Answer 7

Well it depends because I've listed my website I created years ago and the project manager said while interviewing with me "This is something you created? Looks nice." I assure you that website made an impact on her view towards me and they made the offer but I decided not to leave my current position which is detail.

Answer 8

Good plan is to list everything you spent more than half year with; or if it produced something interesting end result. Anything shorter than that is slightly too short, and if there is no end result, it's not going to be very good.

Answer 9

The website will give prospective employers an idea of what you are like, both professionally and personally.

• If, as you say, the quality of the website is not good, it will not leave a good impression of your technical skills.
• If the content was "demotivational posters and comedic lists" it could give an employer a bad impression of you as a person. (Some employers won't mark you down for this, but others will—and you don't want to drive anyone away)

So, as others have said, list your experience on your resume, but don't list the website itself.

Answer 10

To me it depends on the type of website.

If the site is just a personal page with nothing but some scripts and fancy stuff, then no, don't bother adding the link to it.

But if you have a top-of-the-art site (or even better web application) with a complex server architecture, heavy use of databases, social interactions, etc, then I would list it.

Then, if you are a programmer, trying to get a job involving the use of a specified language, showing what are you able to do with your language is not a bad idea in my opinion.