Need to know about website operation...

tigerwoods99 · June 23, 2002 2:41PM

So we have finally decided to get things in full-scale operation for my company, and one of the biggest things on my mind is a website. I want to register a <a href="http://www.whatever.com"; target="_blank">www.whatever.com</a> and how much I have to pay. We're willing to pay for the site definitely, but how can I get sponsors to help out with the fees?

Second thing, I've never designed a web page before, so I'm interested in getting the best software to make professional quality websites. Probably either Macromedia or Adobe so whichever one is better and easier to use would be great. Also, I will be using Photoshop 7 to create a lot of stuff.

Also, a big part of the website will be a messageboard, so I'm wondering what free message board software there is that I can use for the site. Any good ones that aren't free I would also consider.

last thing, I'm wondering what your piece of advice is on getting the trademark registered. Do you think it would be best to do this NOW before we get started on everything, or afterwards and concentrate on getting the website up. Should I not be too concerned and just use the ? symbol right now?

Also, any experienced web designers out there holla at me. My AIM is supermacG9, or you can reply here and I'll give you my email addy.

Thanks a lot.

tigerwoods99 · June 23, 2002 2:42PM

that's a website too LOL

cooop · June 23, 2002 3:47PM

I might be interested (if I have the time); what kind of company are you running?

My email is cooop @ mac . com

splinemodel · June 23, 2002 4:05PM

I have a lot of experience in web design, and the best advice I can give you is that if you can only have 3 pieces of software you want:

1) BBEdit

2) Photoshop

3) Illustrator

There's always Flash, if you're into that stuff, but 9 times out of 10 it's just a pain in the ass. I have done all of my coding by hand, but I'm a little odd, I presume. Anyway, I'd love to help you out if I can be convinced that your idea will sell. send email.

[ 06-23-2002: Message edited by: Splinemodel ]

tigerwoods99 · June 23, 2002 4:40PM

Hmm cool so I can do it with just Illustrator & Photoshop?

I don't know if I wanna reveal too much about it here, but I think we know what we're doing.

I'll email you both with concepts.

graphiteman · June 23, 2002 5:09PM

[quote]Originally posted by Splinemodel:

I have a lot of experience in web design, and the best advice I can give you is that if you can only have 3 pieces of software you want:

1) BBEdit

2) Photoshop

3) Illustrator

There's always Flash, if you're into that stuff, but 9 times out of 10 it's just a pain in the ass. I have done all of my coding by hand, but I'm a little odd, I presume. Anyway, I'd love to help you out if I can be convinced that your idea will sell. send email.

[ 06-23-2002: Message edited by: Splinemodel ]<hr></blockquote>

We're not odd, everyone else who uses WYSIWYG programs are odd!

Seriously though, I code by hand too. I just can't stand these poorly coded websites that are generated by web page design programs.

tigerwoods99 · June 23, 2002 7:06PM

Code by hand...hmm....dont think I could do that so maybe getting someone whos good with designing websites would be a nice idea, although I kinda wanna learn how.

cooop · June 23, 2002 7:20PM

I code by hand but I also use GoLive to construct complex tables. I am interested in hearing more about your operation; email me the specifics when you get a chance and I'll try to throw a preliminary design up for you.

splinemodel · June 23, 2002 8:23PM

[quote]Originally posted by cooop:

I code by hand but I also use GoLive to construct complex tables. I am interested in hearing more about your operation; email me the specifics when you get a chance and I'll try to throw a preliminary design up for you.<hr></blockquote>

Bah. complex tables make it interesting.

After writing Activeboardz, I'm actually faster at making complex tables by code.

Yeah. . . . I'm a big, dorky loser. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />

mount_my_floppy · June 23, 2002 11:47PM

BBedit is a savior I was forced to code all by hand after switching to X it was the only thing I could use. Now it also makes it easier to do php as well.

aussie john · June 24, 2002 3:19AM

I am in process of building my first web site.

It is for a firm of architects I work for and is reasonably complex. I've used dreamweaver MX and found the learning curve not too steep.

Text control is crap but i assume all the proggies are like that. Unlike page layout there are no styles for texts and i find that unfortunate.

Aside from that i quite like it.

[ 06-24-2002: Message edited by: Aussie John ]

stroszek · June 24, 2002 3:55AM

That's not entirely true, Aussie John. Use CSS to comtrol your text. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be glad you did. Open DW help, and search for CSS. If you still can't figure it out, my email is in my profile, feel free to contact me.

aussie john · June 24, 2002 4:08AM

thanks- I'll look at that

I've wondered what cascading style sheets are

[ 06-24-2002: Message edited by: Aussie John ]

stroszek · June 24, 2002 4:26AM

Well, they're good for a lot more than controlling text, but that's a good place to start...

jambo · June 24, 2002 5:40AM

I've told a lot of our students to download a trial copy of Dreamweaver and complete the tutorials which include CSS. They've found them very useful.

J :cool:

progmac · June 24, 2002 7:30AM

[quote]Originally posted by TigerWoods99:



Also, a big part of the website will be a messageboard, so I'm wondering what free message board software there is that I can use for the site. Any good ones that aren't free I would also consider.<hr></blockquote>

my website uses php bb2 which you can get from <a href="http://www.phpbb.com"; target="_blank">http://www.phpbb.com</a>; for free. it is amazing software, but as the name suggests, your server needs to support php. for the most part it is a breeze to set up. there are some other bulletin boards such as ultimate bulletin board that cost something like $200, but i think php bb is every bit as good. if you want to see what it looks like, checkout <a href="http://www.ohiorocks.com/forums"; target="_blank">http://www.ohiorocks.com/forums</a>;

we modified the color scheme, which is a pain i will admit. the default color scheme looks good though too, and one of them is at <a href="http://www.nerd-out.com"; target="_blank">http://www.nerd-out.com</a>;

[quote]

last thing, I'm wondering what your piece of advice is on getting the trademark registered. Do you think it would be best to do this NOW before we get started on everything, or afterwards and concentrate on getting the website up. Should I not be too concerned and just use the ? symbol right now?

<hr></blockquote>

it is perfectly legal and enforceable to use the copyright symbol without registering anything with anyone. if a descrepency were to arrise, you would simply need to prove that you had it first, which would not be hard. i'm not sure about the TM thing though...

[ 06-24-2002: Message edited by: sickmiller ]

macmedia · June 24, 2002 2:55PM

Tiger,

I don't think that an "important" site is the one to cut your teeth on really. At the very least, hire someone with experience as a consultant - you'll be happy you did.

Like others here I use BBedit, Photoshop and Illustrator. I do use DW for dumping text into long tables.

Use CSS for text and keep it simple, don't try to overcontrol the situation.

Where is the site going to be hosted? Many of the ISPs offer some BBS support for free.

Put a copyright symbol on the site. That will take care of most things. Check out <a href="http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/tac/doc/basic/"; target="_blank">the US Gov. page on trademarks</a> for some good info.

Get some quotes from a few pros so that you understand the costs and how long it will take. It may take you a lot longer than someone with experience.

If you're going to do it yourself, you're best bet is probalby DW or GoLive since you're a newbie. I dislike them for the crappy code they write and I still think it's faster doing it the old-fashioned way.

Web designers are not all the same. Some are great designers only, some are great at coding/construction and some do both very well. If you are a good designer you might find it worth your while to turn over layered PSD docs to them and let them build the site for you. It's another option for someone like you.

Good luck,

Chas

macintoshuk · June 24, 2002 3:54PM

I'm doing a similar thing for our non - profit organisation and was considering UBB and WebX but when I emailed my hosting provider to see if UBB would work on our server he suggested I look at ikonboard.com instead of paying for one.

I'd never heard of it before but now we're seriously considering it. Its free and just requires Perl support on the server.

Tigerwoods - my advice is don't reveal too much about your idea or TM's if you can avoid it and be prepared to have to pay a fair bit for a good domain name.

I paid £1700 ($2000) for ours and you may pay even more for a .com but if you've got a good idea and the will power to make it work its worth it.

tigerwoods99 · June 24, 2002 4:15PM

Yeah, I will tend to disclose a lot. I did e-mail a couple of you and gave some details, I think I can trust them however.

That's the biggest hurdle I'm afraid of, getting into legal mess with someone stealing my very idea. I wouldn't like getting into some big lawyer battle or what not.

I definitely want the website that I want, and I'm pretty sure I am willing to pay. I have heard that to get a .com domain runs about $75 a month, which we could manage. I think that putting ads on your website helps pay for it right? I wouldn't want too many ads, but maybe I could talk to a few places I frequent about linking to their pages.

There are lots of good ideas flying off the top of my head, and I've had them for quite some time now. Right now I've finally said "Ok, let's do it now". I guess it's good since I'm 18 (considered an adult now). Me and my friend have a good sense of how we want to push the company and the direction we'd like to take it, as well as a good marketing sense. I definitely have the will power to make it work.

I knkow where to go to get everything funded.

"The hardest part is actually starting"

tigerwoods99 · June 24, 2002 4:26PM

Oh, and I will send anybody a free promo t-shirt if they would like.

spart · June 24, 2002 4:39PM

I'd be willing to make you a site, either very cheaply or for free since I have way too much free time on my hands during the summer. <img src="graemlins/smokin.gif" border="0" alt="[Chilling]" />

My two latest pieces of "work":

<a href="http://homepage.mac.com/spartianwarlord/concept3.jpg"; target="_blank">iCFS Concept</a>

<a href="http://homepage.mac.com/spartianwarlord/mylogin.jpg"; target="_blank">Login Desktop</a>

<a href="http://mailto:[email protected]"; target="_blank">[email protected]</a>

PS: I use Dreamweaver and Photoshop, no Illustrator though. BBEdit to clean up DW code.

BTW, if you are want to host the website from your own computer you can get a domain for 13.95 a year that cloaks your page (i.e. loads your page within a frame that takes up the entire page, no ads or any of that BS.)

Need to know about website operation...

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