How do I get started w/my website?

Discussion in 'Fashion and Crafts' started by elfie, Oct 1, 2005.

  1. elfie

    elfie Member

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    So I'm finally geting it together to put all my crafty projects on a website. I just got the domain name, but I am new to computers so I have no clue what to do next. Do I make the site myself or do I have a webhoster (I don't even know what that is!!!)

    I'm do research and my hubby is helping, so I guess what I'm asking for is any tips you may have, any things you wish you would have/ would have not done??

    Thanks all!!!

    -here are just 2 of my peyote stitches that I'm most happy with , I'l post pics of my jewelry later and I'm in the process of sewing up some simple hand-dyed hemp skirts. What else??? hand dyed silk scarves, some kids clothes/batiks and then some felted wall hangings and toys.
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
     
    elfie, Oct 1, 2005
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  3. Cre

    Cre Senior Member

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    Yay!! Hey mama!!!

    Hey ya'll, I love this mama's stitches..*especially* the last one! hehe

    [​IMG]

    Check out my site.. I used the folks at shoppingcartsplus.com I am THE most computer stoopid person there is and I created my entire site myself. :D THey make it super easy and the customer support is great.
     
    Cre, Oct 1, 2005
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  5. soaringeagle

    soaringeagle Senior Member

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    ok, for the website, i suggest using dreamweaver, its fairly easy to use..but not the easiest.. but the essier ones screw up the code every time, dreamweaver is the only software i know of that wont cause some issues at times..
    um, i can give you alot of tips & tricks, however there may be too many to post here
    once you have a basic layout & design worked out though, you'll want to optimize the site for the varius search engines..
    the key to that is word counts in varius sections
    you want to use the right number of keywords in the page title, url, keyword & description meta tags, as well as in the actual body of the page..
    headings & ink texts are also imprtant,
    its slightly complicated & the specific word counts chage often, you can do some research & just use an average & hope for the best, or you can use software like webposition gold which updates daily & helps keep your site near the top for specific keywords

    what is the domain name you got? the domain name is also important & should contain your main keywords
    as for hosting a biz site i like www.bizland.com they are cheap, & make setting up a storefront easy, & have all the e-commerce tools you need
    they also have an easy to use page creater, which should be good enough to get you started if you cant afford dreamweaver & webposition right away
    & if u need more help just scream
    hey in fact, if u were local & coud custom make a big fat tam that could hold my dreads & not pop off in 15 min, i'd do the whole site for ya ;)
     
    soaringeagle, Oct 1, 2005
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  7. elfie

    elfie Member

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    hey Cre! he he he I was hoping you wouldn't mind me flashin that stitch----I love it and it just looks great on you! My daughter is LOVIN that bag, and many folks have asked me where I got it!;)


    SoaringEagle - hey I'm about 1.5 hours from Philly! I'm a beginner knitter, working on that though but i have a friend who is a master at it and I'm sure she could make one up for me to trade with ya - at least a lot faster than I could.... cuz I'm not sure I understand even half your post :D I'm so clueless!

    my domain name is www.riversedgecreations.com
     
    elfie, Oct 1, 2005
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  9. soaringeagle

    soaringeagle Senior Member

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    ok, thats not the best domain name for search engines, but you can always get multiple domain names & have them auto-forward to the main site..bizland often also has domain names for like 1/2 price or less
    yur local huh? hey i'll pm ya
     
    soaringeagle, Oct 1, 2005
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  11. drumminmama

    drumminmama Super Moderator Super Moderator

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    get a digital camera. My neighbor has been riding around with what he calls a disposable digital (huh?) so the cheapies are out there.
    You must, simply must, have GOOD product shots of CURRENT stock if you make ahead (and if you can, I suggest you do until you have a custom demand that is strong and steady). It also helps to have an area of past custom work.
    A gallery will make the difference between a trickle of us buying your stuff or many people finding the perfect item via web surfing.

    A web host is the company that has the space where you "park" your site.
    I use this tres cool company in Nederland, Co called Planetmind Internetworks.
    www.planetmind.net.
    Its not a big conglomerate and they charge about $150/yr INCLUDING two domain names. We work a trade with them.
    The office is off the grid. The servers are in Boulder using Windsource, the best we can get for wind power. (a small percentage is renewable.)
    They can design your site, but it looks like Eagle can fix you right up.

    Save the code on a disc, because you might start out on a big biznet kind of host, but you will eventually face the "should I help small businesses?" question. If you have the dream weaver or page mill or front page HTML (programming language. The book HTML for Dummies is a lifesaver) on a disc, you will be able to move hosts easily if you have troubles.
    Skip has Hip Markets, too, so that could be a good trial space.

    For us, it is ethically worth it to pay planetmind to host the site.
     
    drumminmama, Oct 1, 2005
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  13. soaringeagle

    soaringeagle Senior Member

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    hmm, i hadnt heard of planetmind, i may concider that, bizland i started with cause at the time it was free.. & offered a lot of space for free, they did away with the free sites however but theyre stil only 5-10$ a month depending how much space & emails u need, ..but even the cheapest u get unlimmeted email aliases which can be assigned to different actual addresses..the way i have mine set up now anythingandeverything@phillyrainbowfamily.org gets sent to my main email.
    planetmind does sound very interesting & i'll look into tha..
    your best bet though is look at all the availible features & even if you wont need some right away, think sabout ewether they'll be helpful down the road a bit (like credit card processing, order tracking, & that kinda stuff)
    as fatr as designing software, front page is easier, however it uses special extentions which not every server supports, dreamweaver is the best i think.
    its also relatively easy to set it up so you dont have to edit the actual site, just small files for each product, so u can just paste in image names & descriptions & whatever & not risk messing up the site itself
    you then just upload those files & theyre automaticaly included into the site.. just to make updates easy & painless

    i wasa VISTA with a non profit hosting companyy for a year, & managed 200+ volunteer designers of varius skill levels so i learned alot of tricks to reduce the number of screw ups while editing & updating
     
    soaringeagle, Oct 1, 2005
    #7
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