So You Want to Have a Website, part one by Megan Sawyer The internet is a wonderful thing: an information hub and home to everything under the sun that can fit on a screen. One of the nicest things to come from the internet is the ability to share things with someone just by putting things up on a website for everyone to view. Things such as a portfolio. Ahhh! But you don't have a portfolio online, yet, do you? So you don't have an online portfolio, the kid down the street makes fun of you for being weird, and you could use the extra exposure. Well, I'm gonna help you with two out of three. There are two ways to get an awesome website. One is to build it yourself. The other is to hire someone. Building one yourself is recommended if you've got the time to learn, a knack for computer programs or coding. Hiring someone can cost slightly more money (although if you do it yourself, some of the design programs can be very costly) but will save you time, and frustration. This article will be focusing on hiring someone, and the second part posted later on will give you tips on how to make your own. Starting Out: Hiring your Web Designer The first thing is hiring your partner in crime, the webdesigner.There are several places you can look for one:
There are a few things to consider when placing your ad. Do you have a budget? Most webdesigners work on an hourly rate, ranging from $10 an hour to $45+ an hour, depending on their level of experience, how complex the page is, and most importantly, what the cost of living in your are is. Some work on flat rates, such as $499 for an entire site with up to eight pages. One way to handle this is to ask in your ad for designers to send you a quote for a portfolio site when replying. (Random aside on cost - Do not post an ad looking for a free website from a college student/beginner. It has become a trend for people to post ads looking for free work, and in exchange the designer can use it in their portfolio. If you want a good website, and not to get a lot of hate mail from starving designers, do not do this.) Do you want to work with someone remotely, or in person? If you're willing to work with someone remotely, you will most certainly have a wider range of designers to choose from, however a lot of people have trouble communicating what they want to designers over the phone or through email. As an artist, I tend to be a very visual person, and prefer meeting with clients face to face, rather than remotely. You should state this in your ad that you're either open to remote work or that you'd prefer a local designer. Looking
for a specific 'look' to your page? When asking for a price quote, you
can also ask if designers can send you samples of previous work. If you
want Flash, make sure they know Flash. If you want just plain html, make
sure they can do that as well.
Not all of these programs are necessary, but for a portfolio website, your designer should know a bare minimum of html and one photo editing program. You've interviewed your coworker's neighbor's kid and decided they're your designer. Now to get to work! Working with your WebDesigner First things first, have a meeting with your webdesigner (over the phone, or in person) to discuss what you need. You're an artist, so you need a quality portfolio site to show clients. You need something that's clean, easy to navigate, and shows off your work in a nice way. Your designer will hopefully ask you a lot of questions about what you specifically want for your page: color scheme, content, contact information, layout, and technical info such as how big your portfolio is, whether you need them to purchase webspace for you or whether you already have it, and whether you want Flash or animated doodads. Many designers work differently from this point, but all of them are going to need the same information from you, so it helps to have that ready in advance, or know that you'll need to gather it. Here is a rough list of what they'll need from you:
These are the basic things that most portfolio sites contain. You can add more or less, depending on your needs, such as hiring information rates, areas you work, a picture of yourself, how far you're willing to travel, etc. Remember that this is your portfolio website, not your personal page. It's a good idea to let your personality show through, but keep personal items such as pictures of your kids and your online journal away from your portfolio. There are additional things you can do that will help you get the best results possible from your designer. Ask your designer to estimate a deadline, so that you know what and when to expect things from them, and when they need information from you. That will ensure your site gets done in a timely manner. This is also a good time to discuss when the designer will be paid. Research! Find portfolio sites that you really like, and write down what you like about them. Then find portfolio websites that you really hate, and write down why you don't like them. Talk about this list with your designer in the beginning stages so that both of you really have a feel of what you want in your page. Spend a lot of time grooming your portfolio. This is the main content on the site, and as such, will be the focus of attention. I like to apply the phrase "Everyone likes a show-off!" to building an online portfolio. You want it to be eye catching and appealing to look through. Most rules that apply to physical portfolio's apply here as well. Some of the common rules being
Image stealing can be a problem on the web, so make sure you have a good disclaimer on your website (I have an excellent one my lawyer friend wrote for me which you can find here, and if possible, see if your designer can watermark your images for you. If you have a scanner, scan the photographs for your designer. The images should be 72 dpi, at least 480 x 640 pixels. If you don't have a scanner or access to one, discuss this with your designer in the beginning to make sure they can take care of this. All of these things are hopefully things your webdesigner will have taken care of. This way you will be prepared and know how to get exactly what you want out of your experience. Your webpage is done! Fantastic! Your page is finished, and ready to go somewhere. Either you or your designer has purchased webspace somewhere where your webpage will sit, along with your domain name. Think of it as renting a little space on someone's machine where all of your files sit. I use cyberpixels.com, but there are many affordable, reliable hosts out there. Your designer can put your website up for you, or if you know how, they can give it to you on disk for you to put up. Either way, ask for a backup copy of your site on disk for you to keep. So it's up, it's ready! Yay, exciting! Yell it from the rooftops, write it in the sand on the beach, and most importantly, put the URL in your .signature file for your business emails, and include it on your business cards. This is all about exposure, so if you meet anyone who is remotely interested in SFX, give them your website. It's a quick way to give people an idea of what you can do, and a very easy thing for people to pass along to one another. So there you have it! You're a few hundred dollars poorer,(although it may be tax deductible as a business expense - ask your accountant!) but richer in the knowledge that you've got a great website that will potentially get you some really cool jobs! --- Stay tuned for next time, when I'll give you tips on how to build your own fabulous website. If you have any specific questions, feel free to contact me and ask away!
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