Brave The Storm

Hey, How do I find a webdesigner?

2006-08-16T14:31:00.000-07:00

Once you have a domain name, you now have to either find a webdesigner in order to have your page designed or you can design it yourself.

When you go to get a page designed the first question you should ask a designer is, "may I see some of your work". A webdesigner's portfolio is the most important thing when choosing someone to design your page. If you don't like the pages they have designed then keep looking around.

Make sure anytime you get a webpage created you ask for a copy of the webpage burned onto a cd and sent to you. Again, I know of many instances when someone decided to leave a server and the webdesigner just erased the webpage and the client was left with nothing. Webdesigners should help you move your page to the new server, but like any other profession on occasion you will run across a few bad eggs.

What should you be paying for a webpage? The price ranges depending on the skill level and experience of the webdesigner. You can pay anywhere from $100 to $1,000 depending on what you type of webpage you want. If you want flash and/or custom graphics the page is going to be more expensive than if you just buy a run of the mill template. Scripts can add significantly to the cost of the site, they also require a certain amount of expertise to install and manage, which either your webdesigner will know or you will have to pay the script developer to implement. Scripts include chat software, bulletin boards, blogs.

When it comes to webpages most the time you get what you pay for. If you pay $75.00 for a website you can't expect it to look like a $1,000 site.

If you see an authors website you adore, scroll down the bottom of the site. Most webdesigner have a link somewhere on the bottom of the site to their page or a contact email. Ask them for a quote. They will want to know exactly the type of webpage you have in mind. It helps if you go around and find similar pages to what you are looking for. It gives the webdesigner an idea about your taste and likes.

Be leary of anyone who asked for all the money upfront for a webpage. Most webdesigner will ask for a percentage or half before starting the project. Then upon completion they will ask for the remainder of monies due.

I have met a few people who paid hundreds of dollars up front for a webpage and never got the page they were promised. It's difficult tracking people down on the Internet. Most people don't live in the same state as you do and it's hard to try and get your money back via email. So be smart and keep partial until you see the end result.

Hey, How do I build my own webpage?

2006-08-16T14:28:00.000-07:00

I can give you some tips for getting started. When I first started a couldn't afford an HTML editor, so I learned to code from scratch. I would suggest that you read up a bit on HTML and how it works even if you decide to go straight for the HTML Editor. The reason I suggest this is in every editor you get some funky things that sometimes happen. If you know a bit about HTML then you can sometimes trouble shoot what's going on. You don't have to know alot about it, but knowing a bit about how HTML codes work will really help you keep from throwing you computer out the window at some point in the future ;-)

LEARNING HTML - You can create a webpage on your own by learning HTML and using the program NOTEPAD, which every computer comes with. Well, I should clarify and say - ever PC comes with. Don't ask me about MACs - I am clueless about Mac computers ;-)
Keep in mind HTML will take a couple months to learn. Greatest html resource ever!- http://www.htmlgoodies.com

Once you go thru goodies try this site for cheat sheets- http://cedesign.net/help2j.htm
BUYING AN HTML EDITOR - This is by far the fastest way to make your own page. There is still a learning curve, but you don't have to strain your brain with typing in codes. Instead you use menus to click and have things happen ;-) It's HTML made easy.

Some hosting packages come with an online HTML editor. Yahoo hosting is one of them. They HTML editor is build it and you can access it and build you page from the net. If you don't have a hosting with its own HTML editor than you have to buy one.

There are tons of HTML editors out there. And they vary in price from $99.00 to $299.00.I have friends that love Coffee Cup. I know people that swear by FrontPage. If you ask me what I use I will have to admit I am a software snob. I started coding html from scratch but then when
I started to get some clients I saved up and bought the software that alot of professional webdesigners use - MacroMedia's Dreamweaver. The only problem is it's expensive - $299.00 f0r regular version. I was teaching at the college so I could get the academic version - $99.00
Tip: If you are taking a class or you are a teacher you can buy academic software anytime - http://www.studentdiscounts.com/.

But alot of people say that dreamweaver is very hard for them to use. Really what I would do is look around for the 30 day trials of different HTML editors. Download a bunch of HTML free 30 trial software and see which you like best.

You have to find what works best for you.

Hey, How do I find a place to host my webpage?

2006-08-16T14:23:00.000-07:00

You bought your domain name now you also have to find a server to host the webpage. It's like you bought a car and now you need a parking garage for it.

As an author you are now considered a commercial webpage. You are selling your books through your webpage, so you can no longer use free places like geocities to host your page. You can use them but you must now use their pay hosting. Every hosting place has strict policies about commercial sites. So if you had a webpage on a free server and now you are a published author selling your work through you webpage, double check your hosting places requirements.
Server costs vary considerably.

For instance, if you have a mortgage company page and you need the server to have a database and special bells and whistles for your page you will have to pay alot more than if you have a regular webpage from which you are selling your books.

The hosting of an authors website should cost between $10.00 - $40.00 a month. If you have ALOT of traffic you may be paying more for extra bandwidth. If you have alot of bells and whistle on your page you could end up paying more depending what software you site needs. But an average 5-10 author website, with info about your, your books, reviews, news, contest etc. - should be within the price range I talked about above.

Here are some things to consider when looking for a hosting place:

Be wary of any one time fee for a lifetime of server space. This sounds great but I know of over a dozen of these places that went under. The people who paid $300.00 and were counting on having a server for life were left in the lurch.

Most servers will ask for a one time set up fee, but be wary if it's more than the fees for one month.

Check around and find out how long the server you are looking at has been in business. Honestly anyone can put up a server (I have alot of friends who run them out of their houses) and if they decide they aren't making any money they can just close up shop and your webpage is suddenly down. So look for servers that have been around for five or six years (this would mean they survived the big Internet shake up of the last few years).
Go daddy has hosting servers. So does Yahoo. Many webdesigners have their own hosting.

Questions you should ask if you are hosting with a webdesigner - Are webpage updates included in the monthly hosting price? If not how much do you charge hourly?

Make sure you know the terms of your hosting plan. Some places require you to pay monthly, while others want a two year contract.

Hey, How do I get a Domain name?

2006-08-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

It used to be that all domain names were bought from one governing body for $35.00 a year, but that group was deregulated and now you can find tons of places selling domain names at really low prices.

The cheapest and most reliable group I know is Go Daddy - http://www.godaddy.com It will cost you $8.00 to buy a domain name. And then $8.00 every year to reserve your name. For a a few additional dollars you can ask them to make the listing private so someone can't use WhoIs to look you up and see your contact info. It's a good idea, because in normal registration they list your first and last name and your address. If you don't want a stalker showing up at your door, I would suggest making your listing private ;-)

If you have a name in mind for your website go right now and see if it's available. You will be surprised how many names are taken. If it's available, reserve it today! You can not imagine how many times I have heard people tell me they had a name they planned on using, but they waited only to find the name snatched up by someone else. It's best to reserve the name and keep it safe for later use. If you aren't ready to put your webpage up, but you want to keep your name safe, you can buy your name from godaddy and ask them to park it there until you find a server to host your page. But remember the moment you stop paying the yearly renewal fee someone else can pick up the name.

If you don't buy the name yourself make sure any group, such as a webdesigner who buys one for you, lists you as the owner and themselves as the technical advisor. The reason I mention this is some webdesigners register themselves as the owner of the domain name. Clients don't realize until they go to move their page to another hosting service that their page is held hostage - not owned by them, but actually owned by the current webdesigner or hosting service.

Finally found something to blog about ;-)

2006-08-16T14:04:00.000-07:00

Everyone has a blog and talks about their daily or weekly life. The problem is I work all the time ;-) Really I have a very boring life of sitting at the computer and either working on my writing as Samantha Storm or working on Romance Junkies as Chaoscat.

It's true I do get out once or twice a week to go to dinner and a movie, but other than that, my butt is stuck in this chair looking at my monitor.

I realized I sucked at blogging because I really didn't have anything to talk about. Then it hit me. I could talk about something I spend alot of time doing - webdesign. I am sure there are people out there working away on their webpages or looking to get one that have questions.

So the plan is I am going to pass on tips, things of interest on the net regarding webdesign and if you ask a question I will answer it. ;-)

Now I am not just a webdesigner I am also a graphic artist. Which means I use graphic programs to make the graphics for my webpage. So shout out any questions about graphic stuff.

I am going to go and post each section as its own post..that way its easeir for you to find and ask questions on each area.

Finally I found something to blog about ;-)

Samantha Storm - http://www.samanthastorm.com/
Eye of the Storm - Available Now! http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/eyeofthestorm.htm
Murder, Mayhem & Mistletoe - coming soon NCP*.¸¸.·´¨`*.¸¸.·´¨`*.¸¸.·´¨`*.¸¸.·´¨`* `·.·´ *.¸¸.·´¨`*.¸¸.·´¨`*