Setting up a website...
I don't know anything about HTML coding, so I'll probably use Dreamweaver. What considerations do I need to take into account, how I find out about the following:
-obtaining a domain name
-obtaining reliable hosting with sufficient space and low cost
-copyright protection of images on the site
-promoting the site
-anything else I should know about
Let's hear from your experiences, anecdotes, mistakes.
-obtaining a domain name
-obtaining reliable hosting with sufficient space and low cost
-copyright protection of images on the site
-promoting the site
-anything else I should know about
Let's hear from your experiences, anecdotes, mistakes.
Comments
Originally posted by LiquidR
I don't know anything about HTML coding, so I'll probably use Dreamweaver. What considerations do I need to take into account, how I find out about the following:
-obtaining a domain name
-obtaining reliable hosting with sufficient space and low cost
-copyright protection of images on the site
-promoting the site
-anything else I should know about
Let's hear from your experiences, anecdotes, mistakes.
Hi, In this order:
1. think of a unique domain name - one that fits your model. I cannot stress how this can make a difference! make it short enough for the target audience to remember. (www.pleasecometomysiteforagreatdealoncars.com VS www.CarDeals)
2. Go to www.dotster.com and register your domain name. It will only cost you 15.00 USD for one year.
3. If you dont have a DNS server to enter, let dotster host your DNS as well.
4. Reliable Hosting options will differ. Will you be wanting to run CGI scripts (perl etc.), PHP, MySql? Or will it just be a static layout. (meaning no dynamic element - no Database backend) This will dictate how much they charge per month.
5. Promoting your site will depend on what type of site it is.
6. Use diclaimers and copyright notices at the bottom of your site.
7. In reality, there are too many options to list here. When it all comes down to it, a successful site will have a target audience (of course) that it caters to. And these days, you have to have a niche to stay competitive. Good marketing, Good Layout, fast response time, giving the viewer a reason to return ... all thi plus more should get you started. Oh yeah, pick up a few books. Good Luck
edit: of course, this doesn't prevent people from copying the images to their server and using them. You could get a program like photoshop and put a watermark in them. I think one of Stone's programs do that too.
Keep the stuff coming and thank you.
www.homepage.mac.com/nofeer
Paintings
Try your hardest to find a company that you know will be around 5 years from now, so your site won't be tied up offline while your hosting company is in litigation talks with other companies to get bought out.
why not .mac. it's simple and works well. there is a topic i started to share .mac homepages somewhere in AI but here's mine
www.homepage.mac.com/nofeer
I did consider that but with what I have planned I think I'll need considerable more space than offered through .mac. Beatiful family by the way.
originally posted by Mr. Beardsley
Well if you are going to be displaying a portfolio, I think learning some flash would be good. It always helps to have a really snazzy looking site the gets people's attention. Here is a site my painter friend put together to show his paintings.
Paintings
Beautiful stuff. I especially dig the lighting and the monochromatic portraits.
Actually I do plan on learning Flash, I have a couple of multimedia projects in the works, one deals with portraits and an interview of someone.
originally posted by MacUsers
Oh yes i forgot to tell you LiquidR, if you purchase hosting from Itsamac (i posted about then above) then after you purchase i can cut your payment by 25% with a special discount code, my group members get a hosting discount from them.
Thanx man, actually it'll be some time aways before I actually star getting everything together for the site, probably at the beginning of next summer as I approach graduation. But I will keep it in mind.
I've got a lot of promotional tactics that I can use but thats really just me so I cant tell you specifically how to promote it.
Cheap ($7 a YEAR), depedable, and big enough a company that things actually get done.
If you are expecting that your website will not be the biggest hitter a day (like if your website is a personal website that you don't expect to recieve much traffic), I would strongly suggest that you look into hosting it yourself. WARNING: Only consider this if you have a fairly good machine (or a seconday machine, recommended), a stable DSL connection, and this handy piece of software (only necessary with a dynamic IP).
Your choice to use Dreamweaver is intelligent, but I find that Dreamweaver really shines when used with Fireworks MX as an web graphics program. Dreamweaver MX and Fireworks MX are seamless; double-click on a graphic in DW, and FW will launch and allow you to edit that image. I use Fireworks for GIFs, drop down menus...it is a pleasure to use.
Register with Hostway!
Cheap ($7 a YEAR), depedable, and big enough a company that things actually get done.
If you are expecting that your website will not be the biggest hitter a day (like if your website is a personal website that you don't expect to recieve much traffic), I would strongly suggest that you look into hosting it yourself. WARNING: Only consider this if you have a fairly good machine (or a seconday machine, recommended), a stable DSL connection, and this handy piece of software (only necessary with a dynamic IP).
Your choice to use Dreamweaver is intelligent, but I find that Dreamweaver really shines when used with Fireworks MX as an web graphics program. Dreamweaver MX and Fireworks MX are seamless; double-click on a graphic in DW, and FW will launch and allow you to edit that image. I use Fireworks for GIFs, drop down menus...it is a pleasure to use.
Actually I'm planning a basic professional site, something that I can refer possible clients to, or something that might attract clients to me.
I really don't think I'd have the know how to maintain a second machine to handle my hosting and I don't think I'd want to try to make my book into a server so I'll buy hosting from someone else.
Goodthing I picked up the Macromedia Studio, even if I didn't know at first what I needed it for. A friend of mine advised me on it awhile back.