Hello I hope it is okay to start another thread. I had a question and wasn't sure it was along the same lines of where the conversation was going. It seemed to be talking about how much writers were getting paid -- which is cool. I would love to start a couple of websites to earn money. What seems to get in my way in the "techy" and graphic stuff. I feel like if I designed a website, well it would probably look better if a grade school kid did it. I'm concerned about making something attractive. Any tips/suggestions on learning the tech stuff? Anything that is easy, a way to get started if you (and I am speaking for myself...don't know about anyone else....) feel intimidated by the techy stuff? Thanks for sharing! Abby
I would put your question in the web development/design area of the forum. Might get better answers there. Derek
What is a DBA? I don’t know any easy way to learn tec stuff it has always had a big learning curve for me. You could always get a template post your stuff in it and then build sites until you get one you think looks good enough to put all your stuff in and put it up on the web. I think it is a lot easier to play with sites you aren’t using then when you mess up you can just delete and start over with out pulling your hair out.
EspressoChick, I don't either understand what you mean by DBA. I have developed many websites to make money on the Internet but mostly like a hobby or part of my learning at school, however I'm just about to launch my first professional website and for such task I was advised in the domains forum that it's always better work on a new domain name that reflects my niche (writing) rather than developing a generic (market) I already own. For this task I'm taking the advice of Webgal along with the feedback from several fellow DP'ers suggesting me to install Word Press for this project at which I'm planning to present my portfolio, rates, useful information and strategic advertising to another two new domains, one media related (for advertising broadcasting) and another for driving traffic so I can make money from organic leads. Webgal' PDF has useful advice I'm not detailing here because I would suggest visit her site and get this free ebook to learn more on your own
Basic web design is not that difficult, it just takes time to learn. But there's a lot of trial and error involved. The best way is just to dive in at the deep end and set up a website or blog and then either use a How To book, or search on the net for tutorials on how to do what you want. There are loads of great free tutorials out there.
DBA = "doing business as" Whether you need to file depends on a few things, such as whether the site is your business (in my case for example, I don't file, b/c the sites are "projects" under my larger business and not treated as separate entities in any way) and where you live. Different states have different rules, fees, and filing procedures. Check with your state's Dept. of Revenue or whoever handles it where you are. And if you're worried about designing stuff, use templates or hire a designer. I use free and paid templates mostly - I've only designed 2 or 3 sites from scratch in the past. And I earn plenty regardless of that fact. It's also much quicker to find a template with the structure you want, and then simply edit it to fit your visual needs a bit (like changing graphics and color schemes). By playing with templates early on, you'll also be learning hands-on about the HTML, CSS, etc. that will eventually help you create new designs yourself.
For a start, you can sse free templates, themes, graphics etc which are available on the internet. You can always find stuff that suits your website with some searching, unless you are a perfectionist. Once you know the basics and earn enough income and experience, then you can buy some books on design or html and study design and coding yourself or maybe hire others to design your sites professionally.
@Michelle - thank you, I'll check out Webgal's ebook & site, that sounds really cool. Very nice that she offers that for everyone. @Emily - thank you, I'll look for How to books and sites. @Jenn - thank you for the template tips. Your sites look great and it gives me confidence that they were done with templates. I tend to think of templates as sort of "clunky" so maybe I've just seen the wrong templates. lol @lightless - thank you, yes, I think I've been acting like a bad perfectionist in that I've been doing nothing because I can't do exactly what pleases me. So you hit the nail on the head. The tips about the templates make a lot of sense. You guys always help me out so much!!!! Thanks a million!!!! Now I've got to figure out what kind of sites I'd like to make.....lol Abby
Celebrity gossip. Girls tend to do it well PS - so manny pretty girls posted in your thread, Abby. Never happens to me
Hey EspressoChick. I just sent you a PM with some info about the service I used to build a website. I didn't post it here because I don't want anybody to think I'm trying to sell something! It's just a service for total novices that has worked great for me so far-- because I don't know a thing about HTML and web building and all that, either. -Karen
I'm not intimidated by technie stuff, but I don't feel like it's worth the time when there are easier ways to build and manage a site. From a content management standoint, I like WordPress the absolute best, even for more static sites. It's a lot easier to manage the content and design of your pages than having a bunch of HTML or CSS sites. Whenver I see a website I like, I scroll to the bottom to see if there's information about the template or the designer. Then visit the website and get the design. I have other templates from Blog Oh! Blog, the Wordpress theme directory, and one designed by GoofyGirl Designs.
I can't bring A LOT to the table as i have minimal experience in the website building field, only one website and a few blogger sites wrapped up in adsense... But one thing ic an suggest graphic-wise is that you explore online stock photography to get good graphics for your site at very low prices. Try dreamstime.com i have used that as a photographer to sell my work. -Noah