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A.Wise

CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
Joined
Jul 16, 2002
Posts
130
Location
Wadsworth, Oh
I'm going to be getting a web page for my business. Any ideas on things to add or leave off? Things that have worked well and things that haven't?
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Thanks A.Wise. I too am treading down that path, and I too am looking at the blank page of Dream Weaver and drawing a blank.... And all I need is a front page with links to the five Venders that I rep for and a photo book.....
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For the life of me I can't figure out how to plug in a wall paper....
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I'll be watching this thread closely.... as many other too, I would suppose.
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As for the "how-to" I can't help you. I delegated that to someone who knows what they're doing. But I did retain "creative control' (so if you don't like anything about mine, it's all my fault - and I stand by that.)

But, the one piece of advice I will give is - visit lots and lots of other sites, framers and nonframers. As you're doing this, make 2 lists - "things I like" and "things I don't like" about this site. That will help to direct you to creating your own "personal" site that truly reflects your personality.

For me, that's the key - get to know the business through the "atmosphere" of the web site. Your website is the "bridge" from your advertising to your business. Do it well, and make it inviting and many people will "cross over."

Betty
 
Probably the easiest program to use is Web Studio 4 It doesn't need any real knowledge of web design or programing. There is also a superb forum where help can be obtained..
Have recently produced my first website using it,and only just scratching the surface of what it is capable of.
I looked at Dream Weaver and discarded it as to complicated.
Mick
http://www.pictureframing-uk.com/
 
I have someone designing the web site. He does it professionally. I'm looking for some advice for things to look for as he is designing the site. Maybe things that you have tried that didn't work and we shouldn't bother with. Or ideas of things that have made the web site worth having. Or some legal things we may not think of.
 
Make sure it is easy to navigate and easy to read and it has your location and hours. One would think this would be a given, but alas, it is not!

I have an artist friend whose website is a nightmare of wonderful artsy design and "mystery meat" navigation. I went to a site about links to other sites about eye problems and it had teensy brown lettering on a purple background! I tried to find a gallery's hours or location on their website and found...nothing!

When I was making my website I looked at dozens of other sites (framers and non-framers) just to make that list Betty mentioned.

And make sure you can be contacted from your site. That eye site (!) I mentioned had no such feature. Hello - I have eye problems - I can't even begin to read your information!

And don't forget LOTS of PICTURES of your creations!!!

And have fun with it! Don't make it to cut and dried! (unless your business is!)
 
Originally posted by Baer Charlton:
...and I too am looking at the blank page of Dream Weaver and drawing a blank....For the life of me I can't figure out how to plug in a wall paper....
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Baer,

Similar to the fact that many of your customers don't know how to blind hinge mount their engraving to conservation material!

Like Betty suggested, and A. Wise is doing, work with a professional. As Betty mentioned, monitoring and having control is still important.


I taught my "20 Tips in Website Design" in Las Vegas in January, and next offer it in Boston at the PPFA Chapter on March 21st. It will also be offered at the Specialty Soft Users Conference in North Carolina in May. The material is useful.


John
 
First and formost reserve a domain name, yours may already be gone! you can get one or at least check to see if the one you want is available at(www.godaddy.com) A couple main key factors is that you should design a webpage for someone who knows nothing about what you do or offer. Use very generic terms and talk about what the benefits are to them and why they should use you. Ease of navigation is key!!! you should be able to order something from your site with only about two- three clicks worth to get to the ordering process if you have this function? If you don't make things easy and user friendly people will leave and very quickly, the average person will leave a site within 30 seconds if they don't find what they want. Another main thing about webpages are you need to drive traffic to them or your wasting your money. There are several ways to achieve this but start with the basics and put your webpage or website address on all your promotional materials. You will no doubt have a ton of questions, should I do this? or that or have this or not?.....do the research or hire someone to design the site. I designed my site and have found that continuos tweaking is always needed. (www.bigdoorart.com) You refine as you go. Like I said, I designed mine but had my webguy/HTML coder make it work, which is a great option if you can do it. I found it easier but you need to be somewhat expereinced in design programs. If you already know your way around a design program then check others sites. Someone has already mentioned this I know, but take parts that you like and implement them. Something also to keep in mind is that if you think you might want to expand your site later on down the road.. consider options that will make it easy for you to do it, create your website to be database driven so that you can edit easily and update your site quickly and effeciently without having to be HTML savvy, it's also cheaper in the long run. This also helps if you have a lot of images, your site will load up a lot quicker.

This is just the tip of the ice berg, but you need to start somewhere and posting a question is a step in the right direction. There is a lot to know and it can be a little overwhelming in the beginning...

Hope this helps? or am I just babbling? Regardless Good luck.
 
I endorse all that BigDoor has said.
Also keep away from all the bells and whistles,(these are those dreadful flashing/moving images etc).Adverts that appear on the screen when people leave you website etc.
This is one of my favourite sites. http://www.baxtersframeworks.com/
It is easy to navigate,informative and uncluttered
Also put the url on all posts to forums that you use,like this: http://www.pictureframing-uk.com/, my website. Bet you just have to have a look :) Don't be to critical,it all my own work,and I am getting a bit long in the tooth :)
Incorporate in you signature on ALL emails that you send.
Be aware it can take some time for search engines to scan your site, and for it to show up. Try and get some links to other framers/artists etc, a quick polite email usually works and offer to reciprocate.
Use a spell checker, a site with lots of spelling mistakes shows up as a sloppy workman.
Hope this helps
Mick
http://www.pictureframing-uk.com/
 
For those of us who have sites, I’ll bet we all think we have one of the niftiest designs in the whole www. Obviously, some are better than others.

To get ideas, visit as many picture framing/gallery sites as you can. Note what you like and what you don’t; then incorporate what you like.

Before you get someone to start authoring your site, do some homework. Check out a local bookstore. There are lots of books on designing web sites. While your site designer may be good (check out some of the work they have done!!!), he/she may be locked into a certain mindset about the structure of web pages. Don’t be sucked into their standard “template” unless you <u>really</u> like their work.

Check out a few sites. They can be very enlightening.

http://www.htmlgoodies.com/

http://www.webreference.com/authoring/design/

Once you’re on-line, will your designer allow you to make minor changes or will he demand that he make them for you? If the later, how much will he charge you? Those costs may kill you.

Make sure the site is absolutely perfect before you upload it. There is nothing that will turn off visitors to you site more quickly than broken links and missing pages and images.
 
Oh, I forgot …

I suggest that you subscribe to SiteProNews.

They will send you a daily newsletter, some of which are blatantly self-serving, but every now and again, they have some very neat ideas. On their site, they have some very useful links, too.
 
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