How did you create your web site? [Archive] - Large Format Photography Forum

Ralph Barker

12-Jun-2006, 08:32

You're likely to get a wide variety of responses on this issue, John.

A lot depends, I think, on how much of a budget you have for the effort, and how accommodating you want to be to potential print buyers. Nothing will beat a professionally-designed site with the appropriate software adjuncts to enable convenient commerce. The trick is to find a Web designer/graphic artist whose style is consistent with your design desires, or one who is flexible enough artistically to bend to your wishes (or constructively tell you when your wishes are simply wrong).

If you have a sense for graphic design, there are numerous software tools that will allow you to do your own site, and they are not too difficult to learn. These range from very inexpensive, like the Coffee Cup HTML editor (which I use), to quite expensive, like the Adobe and other high-end design tools. My suggestion would be to stay away from Microsoft Front Page, as the result is often very specific to the use of MS Internet Explorer, and will often crash other browsers. (Crashing a potential customer's browser is usually not considered good PR. ;) )

There are numerous people here who can give you better, and more specific advice than I.

JohnnyV

12-Jun-2006, 09:47

> Nothing will beat a professionally-designed site with the appropriate software adjuncts to enable convenient commerce.

This would be the way to go but it is expensive from designing the site to setting up commerce.

I'd recommend the Keep It Simple Silly approach. If you have Photoshop you could modify the web gallery templates with your “logo”, name and overall look.

If you don’t’ want to go the Photoshop gallery route consider hiring a designer to make a small site...homepage with links to gallery pages.

A website like this wouldn’t cost too much to design:

http://www.ronrosenstock.com/

A buddy of mine just completed his page for his fine art work...he used a designer:

http://tylerboley.com/FineArtPhotography/index.html

Very clean and easy to navigate. Interested buyers just need to email for prices and such...so no commerce to worry about...but I think images with a link to paypal would be an ok solution too.

Also might just want to surf the internet to find ideas how other photographers present their work and show the designer the “feeling” you are after.

>When I registered my domain name at Go Daddy.com I also purchased their economy web hosting with 5 gb of storage. Is this enough or do I need more?

That should be more than enough for a long time!

If you are on Mac iWeb might be something to look at:

http://www.largeformatphotography.info/forum/showthread.php?t=17366

Joe Lipka

12-Jun-2006, 10:01

I built my web site as a DIY project. I enrolled in a local tech college and took a web design course. The first version of the site was pretty clunky, the second a bit better and my current web site is the best yet. There are two areas that you need to think about.

1. What do I want my web site to do, and how to do it. This has to do with the functional design of the web site. I want to show my work, and provide a sales functionality. The best way to show my work is through downloadable adobe acrobat files. The sales functionality is provided through an e*ay store. How to do it will involve you sitting down and drawing a map of how you want people to go through your website.

2. Your content. Setting up a web site is not that difficult if you use a visual based web design tool. What is time consuming (and expensive if you hire the design) is creating the content. Editing the photographs, graphic design, logos, etc. This is a whole new skill and unless you are conversant with photoshop or other image processing software this is where you will spend about 80% of your time.

Scott Knowles

12-Jun-2006, 10:22

Ralph is correct, everyone's experience is different. Quite a bit depends on your goals and plans for your Web site, for commercial or personal interests, who do you want as customers, what products or services you plan to advertise, and so on, and what are your longrange plans with your photography. You need to decide if the Web site will be your portfolio or just an example of your work. I would suggest wandering around looking at a lot of commercial and personal photography Web sites to see what's being done. You'll be surprised it will help identify ideas and goals for yours. Look at them for overall design, organization, style, useability, user-friendliness, navigation, etc.

I think you need to establish that, then find someone to help design the Web site, not necessarily on the computer but the old-fashion story board idea where you outline the structure, organization, content, look, style, etc., essentially think about all of what you want to present and what you expect the user to see. That may take iterations as you add or modify ideas. After all the last thing you need to develop a Web site to find it needs a complete overhaul or replacement because it can't evolve as you want or your support/help disappeared.

Another consideration is your knowledge and experience in Web design and work. Do you plan to do your own work or find someone, either a good-hearted friend or a professional graphic/Web designer, who may not come cheap. That's where you need to think about the design. High-tech pages are cool, but require a lot of up front image, coding and/or software work (depending on how you work, through software or writing code).

And yet another consideration is maintenance and updates. Web sites can take time to keep updated with content and design. There are advantages to each type of Web site design, from a structure of pages to a complete script-generated site. Each have their own demands for time. How much time do you plan to schedule for your Web site?

In short, think through the Web site and pages before you even start the actual work. Time there saves a lot of time later. But that doesn't mean you can't develop ideas with software. There's quite a few good packages and on-line sites to develop your Web sites and pages and some people think and work best with a computer than pencil/paper.

As for your questions. I have some Web design and development experience from my previous work (1995-2005 Web site/data manager with the USGS), all of which was using Sun Solaris (Unix) system for Web pages as pages or through databases (programs provided). I've since converted to GoLive and BBEdit on a Mac tested with Safari and Firefox and with friends' PC and IE. I prefer simpler designs and independent pages around a central organization and structure to keep things simple to add and update, and not have to rely on additional software (flash, etc.), but I use javascript for enhancements and am moving to css for better consistency and management. It's all a continuous learning curve.

I'll add a final note I've seen with many Web sites, and something to consider. Web (html, xhtml, xml, etc.) changes and you have to keep that in mind to make your pages current and backward compatible. Web browsers are fairly robust, but some older flavors aren't necessarily forward compatible, and that's where many designs don't display correctly. And remember many users can override your settings, so you can only design so far. But in any case make sure it's W3C compliant, it's a handy excuse if their browser fails to display correctly (Yeah, right).

Sorry for the lengthy response. That's my suggestions and experience. And remember your audience and customers. Good luck.

Ralph Barker

12-Jun-2006, 10:52

Another thought on your hosting service, John. At the most basic level, there are two things to consider:

1. storage, and
2. bandwidth

Storage is obvious - how much disk space your files consume. Most sites don't actually consume a great amount of storage, so 5GB is "huge" for most purposes. Bandwidth, usually expressed in terms of GB/month, is the measure of the traffic generated by visitors viewing pages and images, and is difficult to predict. Site design and efficient image re-sizing will have a considerable effect on keeping bandwidth usage to a reasonable level. Some hosting services start with a reasonably-priced package with a fairly low bandwidth allotment, and then really zing you for bandwidth upgrades - if such upgrades are even available with them.

Depending on the site design, you may also need specific software to be supported on the server. So, it's a good idea to coordinate that aspect between the hosting service and whoever does your design.

darr

12-Jun-2006, 11:29

I design sites for others and can recommend an inexpensive commerce-based option (can turn it off as well) gallery template program called photokorn (http://www.telekorn.com/cms/front_content.php?idcatart=32&changelang=1). I have used it for a gallery/museum here (http://cratelabelmuseum.com/) where the commerce is turned off. Just a suggestion to help get you started.

Graham Patterson

12-Jun-2006, 12:08

You need:

Site purpose
Site design
Site design implementation (the actual page markup and images)
Site maintenance (updates to content, updates to the pages and any support services)

The purpose of the site is important - it dictates the services you will need now and in the future, and the style you choose. Full e-commerce may not be necessary. I believe many personal sites are best used to support personal contacts. The photography buying public is not likely to stumble across your site from a search unless they are looking for you specifically. If you are already a commercial name, then the need for something more than an email address for purchasing becomes more important. You can start with something simple, and add the bells and whistles as you go.

The design can be separate from the implementation - maybe you can sketch it based on things you like and get someone else to make it live.

Doing a good job coding a site really takes training as well as practice. If you are going to get a knowledgable friend or a commercial company to do it, get some examples of their work before signing an agreement.

Who is going to maintain it? I have seen a lot of sites (I work for a university) which were built with student labour and poorly documented. A couple of years later and the site is showing the signs of poor maintenance. Either pay someone or learn to do it yourself.

Personally, I am better at maintaining a site than I am at original design 8-)

QT Luong

12-Jun-2006, 12:11

Here is a very readable primer:
http://bobatkins.com/photography/tutorials/website/planning_website.html

One important thing that I'd like to stress is not to set your expectations too high (and budget money and time appropriately, considering those expectations). It takes me a considerable amount of traffic to be able to sell, like several tens of thousands of visits per print sold. Many photographer sites do not even receive that amount of traffic in an entire year.

John Brady

12-Jun-2006, 12:38

Thank you all for the great feedback and ideas. After reading all of this it is becoming obvious to me that I have a mountain in front of me.
I would still like to find a do-it-myself method if possible. It is not critical to have my site set up to handle comerce.
What other off the shelf programs would you reccomend to aid in this project.
Ralph, I see you do not reccomend front page which is a program I would have considered.
QT, thanks for the primer. I have completed the first basic steps he points out but now the real fun begins.
Please show examples of sites any of you have created yourselfs with off the shelf software. Thanks again....

Scott Knowles

12-Jun-2006, 16:12

John, what PC do you have? The software you need depends on the PC and your skills to learn it and/or Web (html) code. Before you actually begin, I'll reiterate the suggestion to design it first, it will save a lot of time redoing your Web sites and pages to accommodate changes and new stuff. That's why the suggestion to look at a lot of sites to see how they organized, how they present the material and information, the presentation, and so on.

I would also suggestt you view the source code to see what's behind them. A lot of Web sites look really cool, until you see they use flash or other technology or a lot of script and/or programs, and replicating a similar design is a lot of work. Also, almost all use some sort of javascript, and if you're not at least literate at either writing or adapting it to your site, it's hard to make things work.

Last of all, there are lots of Web page design software, the key is how you work and think, because you have to learn the software along with developing your Web pages. Many are wysiwyg, meaning you design using the tools and it writes the code, which is why some don't recommend Frontpage, so you have to see how you work with software. And I'll get back to the push to be W3C compliant, the software should have a code/syntax checker to varying standards.

As for specifics, as I've said, I use BBEdit and GoLive for mine at www.wsrphoto.com which is still in the initial development stages.

Good luck.

Lon Overacker

12-Jun-2006, 19:20

John,

As has been said, you'll get a wide variety of answers - each of them correct in their own way. I've had a web presence for over 10 years, but that doesn't mean it's provided any real benefit to me. I'll be the first to admit, that unless you are relentless in pursuing your web presence, search engine rankings, etc.... selling art on the web is tough business. While I put hundreds and hundreds of hours of time in researching, creating, building and editing my website (3rd generation), without the marketing and business savy, I've only had a trickle of sales opportunities and mostly a series of ooh's and ahh's from surfer's.
Having said that, for me, just like photography, it's a labor of love. The fact that I built and created my website gives me plenty of satisfaction. Anything resulting from the website in terms of exposure and sales is icing on the cake. If I made a living from it, I would most certainly pay someone to ensure I would get the maximum exposure on the web.

None of this is meant to discourage you. I would encourage anyone with an eye for photographic art to have a web presence. In my opinion, you have 3 choices for getting yourself a website:
1. Design, build and maintain your own website. this of course requires the most time and know-how on your part. But you have the most control. I chose this route and have a hosting service for $99/yr. Storage amount should be considered, but even at the 500mb limit that I have.... you can have 1000 images at 50k for web viewing...
This option obviously requires knowledge, or a learning curve with html (ok, add asp, php, jsp, xml, java, abchtmtl... :-).....
2. Canned photo templates. Lot's of software - including PS, where you can easily create a website and upload to a hosting service. Easy entry to getting a website with minimal coding experience. And today, some very nice presentations with lots of fancy graphics and navigational gimics.
3. Professional design and hosting. Obviously most expensive, but depending on your goals and aspirations is certainly a viable option. What you get here is not only the professionally designed site, e-commerce and support, you get the marketing know-how to get your images seen and visible in searches and search engines. But you get what you pay for - if you want to spend the money.

In my opinion and experience, the most successful photographers and webistes are those who already had a business of photography and/or client base. In other words, for someone to pay $$$ for a 30x40 inch archival print from someone, they would have to have had some connection or previous viewing of the work in order to purchase it online. Think about it, would you buy a painting from an artist you didn't know and/or had never seen the work in person? Stock and royalty-free are different discussions.. there are also plenty of sites on the web where you can market your work in stock, rights-limited or royalty-free arrangements. (These too, offer great ways to get your work exposed - just be very savy in understanding these arrangements.)

So, as other's have said, be clear on your goals and objectives. Decide what you want to accomplish and make your decision on that. Even a mediocre site like mine will bring you traffic and many inquiries. Keep it simple, clean and professional. I started off with music and slide shows.... but ulimately, those who will be browsing and finding your site, are mostly interested in great photography... fancy navigation and gimmics just get in the way and will turn people away. Unless of course, you have eye-dropping, mouth-opening images... then people might stick around...

Good luck and go for it.
Regards,
Lon

Sanders McNew

12-Jun-2006, 20:37

It doesn't have to be that hard. Go check out www.jalbum.net -- it is a ridiculously easy to use web photo site generator, with dozens of "skins" by which you can customize the look and structure of the site. I know nothing about HTML or web site construction, but was able to build my own in an evening. Check out these directories at my site, which I built with jalbum:

www.mcnew.net/portraits
www.mcnew.net/new
www.mcnew.net/6x6

And not only is it easy to use -- it's free as well.

Honestly, before spending money to hire somebody to do it for you, or sinking money into software and HTML tutorials, give jalbum a try.

Sanders McNew
www.mcnew.net

Michael Hewson

12-Jun-2006, 21:42

If all want is a "display" site and
1) you know how to dump JPGs from photoshop; and
2) you are familiar with MS word; and
3) time is on your side,
sitting down with a Macromedia Dreamweaver text book and a glass of wine and a modicum of cost (for Dreamweaver) will set you right.
If you want something more (ie print order) - all/some of the the above refers.

Michael Hewson

JW Dewdney

12-Jun-2006, 21:48

In my opinion - absolutely the best way to get started learning how to build a website is to rip off someone else's (just try to make sure it's a simple one!). Just start substituting their content for yours on your local drive (of course - you have do download their source first - and make sure you have the folder structure right). Honestly - I think it's a great way to learn. Start subbing out their images and text for yours - you start to get a feel for what sort of changes you can make easily and what works. You can also maybe learn a few little tricks (using spacers in graphics, etc...). The best part of this is that you start with a fully functional web page (that's not your own, of course!). By the time you're finished, however - the content and structure will be 100% (or at least 85% hopefully) your own. You'll learn WAY more, more rapidly, than any other web authoring program can teach you.

Just an opinion.

darr

12-Jun-2006, 22:15

In my opinion - absolutely the best way to get started learning how to build a website is to rip off someone else's ...

Sounds like your real creative. :rolleyes:

--

I would recommend to look at a lot of sites in action (not necessarily all photo) and then pick a few you like. Maybe it's the color scheme, fonts, structure, accessibility, etc. you like. Save the links to the sites and then get a feel for what you are going for.

Then look at some prefabbed programs you can find on sites like HotScripts (http://www.hotscripts.com/) by using their search function and input terms like: photo, graphics, gallery, etc.

This process can get you started if you work at it. You will need to upload trial programs and play with them some to see if they will work for you. As a designer I have worked this way for years.

JW Dewdney

12-Jun-2006, 23:40

Why not? It's how 99.9% of people learn photography... I think you're taking my words out of context (literally!) without really thinking about what I'm suggesting. it doesn't mean that your website's going to, in any way, resemble the one that you started out with.

Darin Boville

13-Jun-2006, 00:22

If you are on a Mac try iWeb or RapidWeaver. easy, easy, easy.

--Darin

julian

13-Jun-2006, 00:38

he used a designer:

http://tylerboley.com/FineArtPhotography/index.html

Very clean and easy to navigate. Interested buyers just need to email for prices and such...

Carolyn Frayn, who did Tyler's site, is a great designer. If I can every afford someone to redo my site, she'll be who I'll call. She is also a great photographer and printer in her own right. She won inkjetmalls 'print' competion a while back

Scott Knowles

13-Jun-2006, 06:19

Sounds like your real creative.

Not at all, that's a good way to learn. Why reinvent the wheel? When you find Web site you like for the design and presentation, look at the source code. You can see the html code used to define the display, any javascript, flash and other stuff used, along with the colors and such. You can judge how hard it will be to make yours.

Many learned to design Web pages under html 1.0 long before Web design software and some still write pages in code. If you're comfortable with that method, it's sometimes easier to design pages or keep current ones updated. If you want to use javascripts, there's Web sites with sample scripts, but operating Web sites also provide scripts that you can see how they work and you can judge how hard it would be to use in your Web site. Creativity isn't just creating something from scratch, it's also about making something work.

John Brady

13-Jun-2006, 08:38

Wow!!!! Tons of great advice, thank you all.

Scott, I should have mentioned I am using a dual core pentium with 2gb ram.

Darr, great advice on looking at lots of sites and determining the look and features needed.

Michael, I will check out dreamweaver. The best part of it sounded like the glass of wine that goes with it.

As I think this through, my primary objective is to build an easy to navigate but attractive online gallery. I don't need lots of tricked up stuff. I am not looking to create a web based business but instead have a place to showcase some work.

Thanks again to all of you.

Scott Knowles

13-Jun-2006, 12:41

Wow!!!! Tons of great advice, thank you all.

Michael, I will check out dreamweaver. The best part of it sounded like the glass of wine that goes with it.

Thanks again to all of you.

When you look at the Web design sofware packages, remember some are designed for commercial Web sites so they're also a Web site, page and data management system either as a host or through an ISP (using ftp) in addition to being a Web page design package. You have to find your comfort level with this along with the Web page design tools. Dreamweaver is a good one used by some federal agencies. GoLive in CS2 is another. If they're not what you want there are less extensive packages, such as BBEdit.

Robert Oliver

13-Jun-2006, 14:58

www.uselargeformat.com (http://www.uselargeformat.com)

created using freeware html editors and photoshop CS2 web templates..

Doug Dolde

17-Jun-2006, 19:33

http://www.fluidgalleries.com/

Ole Tjugen

18-Jun-2006, 02:30

http://www.bruraholo.no/tomler
was made in ten minutes using IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com) and notepad.

Frank Petronio

18-Jun-2006, 04:54

Paul Coppin

18-Jun-2006, 06:38

If you're willing to take the time to learn to handle some code, an excellent freeware editor for (x)html is HTML-KIT. This is an open source package with oodles of accessories, or use just the editor. Available here. (http://www.chami.com)

Scott Knowles

18-Jun-2006, 07:47

You know what? This could almost be a tutorial on how not to create a website.

At best the poor guy is going to be overwhelmed with choices. At worst we'll just click through a couple of really clumsy pages before we bail.

If you take pride in your work and have already spent a lot of money on your photography, do yourself a favor and get a professional to help you do it right... Especially when the website will be the main way that people see your work.

There is a lot to say about this, and after reading your philosophy of Web design (http://cleanpage.com/archive/my_web_design_philosophy.html), there is a lot of merit to the words. But they don't account for what many new Web sites have in the development of a Web site, money for a professional. It does, however, raise the question of time versus money.

What's the cost of a good Web designer or company? Many new enterprises decide it's money better spent on other things, but they fail to account for the their time in learning Web design and development. It's nice to say you have "your" Web site, but if it doesn't work for the customer, you've missed the whole point of having a Web site.

Sometimes it's very easy to get caught up in the idea of learning Web tools and we forget what the goal is, to build a Web site. And simply because you think you know Web design doesn't make it so. I saw that in my former position where scientists and managers who knew science and publications thought they knew Web design. Ding, wrong.

That's why I suggested wandering around the Web and look at a lot of Web sites, especially both photography and non-photography sites, and think about how you look at the site and what you like and don't like about each one. And take a look at the code behind them. If it something you can do, then go for it, but if not, think what help you'll need or what you want to learn. Or think about having a professional get your Web site started where you can learn and update it.

Remember time building your Web site isn't time doing photography or producing images. On the other side, professional could build a Web site you can't manage, that is keep updated easily and efficiently, not without their help. In the long run you'll spend more time managing and updating your Web site than creating it, which is why you have to account for routine professional Web support or your time.

And one final thought on a Sunday morning (watching the last hour of LeMans - sorry childhood memory of being there in 1964), simplicity. If you work to develop a clean, simply Web site, it's a lot easier to maintain. Remember all the bells and whistles get replaced as new technology and sofware packages gets upgraded, and may not be backward compatible. Do you want your customers to have to keep up with you? At what price? And if they don't?

In short, account for your Web site design and costs in your business plan, and where it belongs in your business, customers, interests and money. Just some thoughts, and now back to your regular broadcast.

robc

18-Jun-2006, 08:53

I might as well throw in my opinion.

Ask yourself a few simple questions. Do you think that you are going to develop a really top notch web site on your first attempt? Now be honest, because many graphic designers study for several years before being let loose on the web design market.
Do you think you have the technical HTML, CSS or Javascript skills that many study for years at college before being let loose on the web builder market.

My guess is no. That doesn't mean you can't do it but it does mean that your first attempt is not likely to be your last attempt. Now ask yourself if you have the time to rewrite your web site several times before getting it the way you want it.

Now consider that if your first attempt isn't going to include e-commerce, then when you come to add e-commerce to it, you will find that the design may not be suitable because it wasn't thought of first time round and you didn't have the required expertise to design it with e-commerce in mind. Then consider how sophisticated you want that e-commerce to be. Simple list of prices on a separate page from the images and a simple form to take details or image pages priced individually with options for framing, sizes, shipping costs to different regions or countries etc etc.

It gets much less than trivial once you start trying to sell online and you will need to know and understand server side scripting to handle anything more than a paypal button. That means learning PHP or ASP and how to handle security etc etc.

Personally I would suggest that you just help yourself to one of the free and simple to implement photography web site products and set it up and see how you go with it for a while. Then when you have a better feel for what you really want you may want to edit the code of the freebie product or build your own from scratch. But when you consider the cost of an off the shelf product and its many features against the time it would take you to build it yourself, you may think its better to go with an off the shelf product.

Freebies:

http://gallery.menalto.com/

http://coppermine-gallery.net/index.php

I like coppermine and it now has a simple e-commerce plugin.

Alternatively there are some good e-commerce ready products on the market which you only need to worry about designing a template for and which have content management systems built into them. If your site is only going to have a few images then content management is not a major concern, but if its going to have hundreds or thousands of images then content management is a major concern and requires expert knowledge in server side scripting to write your self assuming you want something that works well and automatically generates pages from uploaded images with pricing and buy now buttons etc etc.

Commercial:

http://www.lightboxphoto.com/
http://www.imagefolio.com/commerce/

Also google "image asset management" and you will find lots more.

Frank Petronio

18-Jun-2006, 09:48

Rob C is right on as well. Some of the better places have really great templates (blogger's templates are nice -- they were done by some of the industry's best). But sooner or later you'll want something of your own, and that's when you get a good designer.

Or better yet someone who actually thinks about how you market and present your entire venture, from how the phone is answered to your business cards to your internet presence.

Of course that person usually has to be yourself.

And FWIW, a lot of ad agencies and graphic designers have lousy websites because they start with the assumption they are trying to make things look like print or a CD or something else. There are very few really good, successful web designers out there.

Here are a few:
http://www.stopdesign.com/
http://www.coudal.com/
http://www.zeldman.com/

Of course you may hate these websites and say, "Phffft, these suck" or think they are bland and boring.

But hang out on this Interweb long enough - and talk to the very best people, making the most money, highest successes, however you measure it - and you'll come around again.

Marko

18-Jun-2006, 10:05

Scott,

That's a pretty good assesment of the market you gave there. Web design is a lot like photography - everybody knows how to do it, but few know what it really takes and even fewer can do it really right.

Many users are unaware of how much a professional is going to charge and many self-proclaimed "experts" recklessly recommend complicated new packages "that do everything for you" but dismiss the cost of client's own time.

The key to successfully get a web site up and running is to approach it exactly as you would photography: first and foremost, you determine goals and expectations, immediately followed by the scope and reach of the site.

If what you need is a professional, commercial site, and you are not a professional web developer, then hire one and expense the cost, whatever it is.

If, on the other hand, all you need is a "personal web page", to keep in touch with friends and family, get one of the "packages" by all means, but forget all the bells and whistles and get the simplest one that gets the job done.

Finally, for those in the big gray "not-quite" area, meaning not quite commercial and not-quite personal, threat it with the same seriousness as you would want others to treat you and your area of expertise. If you want to do it yourself, that's great, but be ready to get really involved. If you don't want to waste your time, it's your call again, but do yourself a big favour and hire the best you can get. No matter how expensive it gets initially, it will pay for itself if you hire the right professional.

That gets me to the only point I disagree with you, Scott. Well, sort of - you did use conditional here.

Remember time building your Web site isn't time doing photography or producing images. On the other side, professional could build a Web site you can't manage, that is keep updated easily and efficiently, not without their help. In the long run you'll spend more time managing and updating your Web site than creating it, which is why you have to account for routine professional Web support or your time.

A real professional should ask you questions before he even begins and he should easily determine the scope, reach and capabilities you really need. If your desires clash with your needs, he should tell you so. He should also evaluate your abilities for maintenance and give you the various options for going forward.

To hire a real professional, you need to interview at least a few of the prospects, and the one who in return interviews you and outlines all your options should get your business, provided that you like his portfolio, of course.

Just another thought for Sunday morning, and now back to watching World Cup. :)

Scott Knowles

18-Jun-2006, 10:47

Scott,

That gets me to the only point I disagree with you, Scott. Well, sort of - you did use conditional here.

A real professional should ask you questions before he even begins and he should easily determine the scope, reach and capabilities you really need. If your desires clash with your needs, he should tell you so. He should also evaluate your abilities for maintenance and give you the various options for going forward.

To hire a real professional, you need to interview at least a few of the prospects, and the one who in return interviews you and outlines all your options should get your business, provided that you like his portfolio, of course.

Just another thought for Sunday morning, and now back to watching World Cup. :)

Excellent point, something I forgot. It does take a few interviews and looking at their results (Web site presentation and code) to determine a good professional. And ask lots of questions about their ideas and products. They might have good Web pages but difficult to update, meaning more work and time.

That's where it helps to have some ideas of your Web site, especially for the content. They should ask you about that and where it may take a few discussions to sort out everything you want. The other points by Robc and Frank are good. Your Web site will be an evolution and iterations of content and design. You might be able to use the on-line Web sites or free/low cost Web production packages to sort out your ideas before talking with a professional.

World Cup? What happened to the US? They're still alive but...

Marko

18-Jun-2006, 16:17

World Cup? What happened to the US? They're still alive but...

Heh, honest answer - the very fact they qualified is a success. Judging by the english-speaking comentators, it'd be best if Norteamericanos stick to baseball. Best for them and best for football (as it is known everywhere else).

The players are at least trying, but the comentators are simply and utterly clueless. Watching the games here woud be a torture if it weren't for the spanish-speaking channels. I mean those guys know what they are talking about and they certainly know how to do it too!

:D

Kirk Gittings

18-Jun-2006, 19:11

I bought a very flexible template which allowed me to get into something decent looking with little time invested or knowledge. This kind of "black box" approach can be expensive but my time is worth allot more than the cost of this service. For me it was a good trade off.

http://www.sitewelder.com/

Gary Nylander

19-Jun-2006, 23:05

Hi John,

As you can see by the responses posted here, there are a lot of different ways to present your work on the net, and a good deal of reading ! as for myself I always wanted a website, but simply didn't have the money to afford one professionally made, so I made my own, I used CS2 and ImageReady, not the greatest way to build a site, but it works for me.

Gary Nylander
http://www.garynylander.com

Da Food Dude

22-Jun-2006, 10:14

Then there's the whole concept of SEO, or the ability for the search engines to look into your site. Having a page is one thing, having people find it is another. If you want to have people find your site (that you didn't send to it yourself...) stay away from flash.

DFD

Jack Brady

8-Aug-2006, 05:25

Update: I purchased Dreamweaver, spent an afternoon studying it and have my first draft web site up and running.
If you wish to view it, it's found at:
http://www.jackbradyphotography.com

robc

8-Aug-2006, 05:49

Update: I purchased Dreamweaver, spent an afternoon studying it and have my first draft web site up and running.
If you wish to view it, it's found at:
http://www.jackbradyphotography.com

Just had a quick look and it looks like your image preparation for the web is very good.

Are you looking for a review of design/layout or not?

Charles

8-Aug-2006, 06:27

One aspect that hasn't been discussed in detail is hosting. I've had less than stellar experiences with two hosting companies. The first let my domain name lapse instead of renewing it as promised. Never agree to let your hosting company automatically renew your domain name. There are too many individuals, myself included, who have lost domain names because of an inept hosing company. In my case a firm in Hong Kong grabbed it and tried to ransom it. I changed the name slightly and re-registered.

Also, avoid Yahoo hosting at all costs. Judging from discussions on forums, quite a large number of people have had the experience of having their password arbitrarily change on Yahoo either from system faults or having their site hacked. In my case my password was changed without my knowledge. I went through the process of trying to obtain a new password with a Yahoo customer center in Houston. After my security information was confirmed, I was then transferred to the call center in the Philippines responsible for reassigning a new password. At that point their computer system indicated an incorrect zip code. I had apprently mistyped the zip code originally and in spite of the fact that my other security information was verified, and their billing center which had my correct zip, bankcard number etc., I have been unable to get a new password. The Yahoo system does not allow a new password to be issued unless each security question is answered in sequence and their various departments are isolated from each other. Their billing department was unable to speak with the department responsible for passwords. A bigtime Catch 22. I will now have to let my service lapse on Yahoo and replace my site online at a new host at the time Yahoo takes it off line. My only other possible option is to start legal action against Yahoo...not a pleasant thought.

Finally, there are many hosting companies that are far less expensive per month than Yahoo.

My .02cents.

Charles Wood

darr

8-Aug-2006, 06:40

One aspect that hasn't been discussed in detail is hosting.

I can recommend One World Hosting: http://oneworldhosting.com/ .

Part of our business is website building and at present we have over fifteen websites on OWH servers. We have received outstanding service, even on the weekends when you would think no one would respond via their support desk. We began moving some of our sites over in 2003 after a few years of disappointing service from another hosting company. As far as domain name registration goes, if you receive a package that includes a free registration, take it, but then move it over to a company like register.com. You can control domain services better through a service like this and if you really want to keep a name, register it for seven years or more if it is allowed.

paulr

8-Aug-2006, 07:42

i have a few thoughts to offer on design--none on coding, which is an entirely different topic. In fact I've never met anyone who's great at both.

If your site is for marketing your work (selling prints, services, licensing, getting famous, etc.) then it's worth thinking about it as one part of a larger strategy.

It's incredibly helpful to anyone trying to remember who you are if all your materials look alike. Businesses call this "identity," but you don't have to get that Freudian about it. Just think of the advantages of having a consistent look across all your materials--website, letterhead, business card, resumes and statements, CD-Rom portfolios, etc. etc.

You'll appear a lot more serious and professional, and it will be much easier for people who kind of remember you to really remember you. They won't have the jarring experience of getting a package in the mail from you, then looking you up online and seeing something with completely different colors, type, and style, and wondering if this is the same guy.

So if you do hire a designer (or decide to become one) it's helpful to think in terms of designing a whole campaign and not just a website. In fact, it might be helpful to hire a designer just for the basics--a typeface, a logo, a color scheme, a general style--that you can then run with. Sadly, the web is full of logos that people designed themselves, and we all suffer for it!

Marko

8-Aug-2006, 09:05

It's incredibly helpful to anyone trying to remember who you are if all your materials look alike. Businesses call this "identity," but you don't have to get that Freudian about it. Just think of the advantages of having a consistent look across all your materials--website, letterhead, business card, resumes and statements, CD-Rom portfolios, etc. etc.

You'll appear a lot more serious and professional, and it will be much easier for people who kind of remember you to really remember you. They won't have the jarring experience of getting a package in the mail from you, then looking you up online and seeing something with completely different colors, type, and style, and wondering if this is the same guy.

Absolutely. It's called Branding and should be one of the first planned expenses for any serious business. Do yourself a favor and hire a good designer for that. No matter how expensive they are, it's money well spent. No, I take it back, it's money well invested.

Sadly, the web is full of logos that people designed themselves, and we all suffer for it!

Yes, and the product photos shot with p&s. People have that strange notion that they can do anything given the right, usually cheap, tools. Some people like to eat in good restaurants because of the food and service, others prefer the local roach-coach because it's cheap.

Well, you get what you pay for. In print, on the web, your computer, your car...