VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[BBeen]

Due to a limited budget, and lack of programming skills, I have decided to attempt to build my own website using tools provided by Tipod. I have a free account at the moment, and will upgrade when I have finished. I guess I am just curious about this type of website as opposed to others that are professionally designed. Just looking for a web presence to host my demos and contact info, and give some basic info about myself. Any thoughts or suggestions??

[Frank F]

I guess I should not be one to comment as I do not have a personal site up at present. However, my thoughts are...(for what it's worth) K.I.S.S. - Keep It Simple Silly - and I'm Silly.

Sites which integrate lots of Flash and pomp and circumstance tend to send me away feeling - used. I am longing for something which I did not get from the site.

So, with that in mind, one of the easiest simple sites I have seen for a talent is by a Woman named Linda Kanuch (look her u. Very simple two page site with buttons for demos, etc.

Good Luck with the site BBean!

Frank F

[billelder]

Try visiting some of the sites that are of members on this board. I'll bet you'll see something that "speaks" to you as far as how you'd like to be presented.

I don't know about banner ads with tripod, but maybe you already have another free web space account with your ISP? Worth checking into and no banner ads.

[chezdan]

Be very, very careful about the company you keep when it comes to creating an internet web presence. My son tried to use a *.tk service for his band and it was a disaster. The site inserted a million pop up ads and it made the site very frustrating to look at. I think Bill is right, Tripod may do the same thing.

Just remember the old saw: "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR" or maybe "NOTHING IS EVER FREE" or possibly "KEEP YOUR ARMS AND LEGS INSIDE THE TRAM WHILE IN MOTION".

...something like that.

You can create and edit webpages in Microsoft Word - which isn't the most powerful tool available, but sometimes simple is best. Just create a basic page that looks like a Word doc and then upload it to your site. I have Comcast cable for my provider and they offer free (but limited) web site hosting. I've been thinking of getting around to putting a site together for myself, but keep procrastinating. There are several places on the web that offer web hosting for as little as $10.95/month. That will give you at least 2GB of storage and 400GB bandwidth (two important considerations if you are going to post your demos, expect others to hear them, and maybe even transfer your *.mp3 files to clients via ftp).

[kgenus]

Simple ... a picture, your demos ... done. I actually built mine over a weekend and I'm still not happy with it, but then I'm too lazy to take the time to redo it because I did somethings by "accident" which actually turned out pretty good.

Kevin
_________________
Genus

[billelder]

[Frank F]

Hey Bill,

Why do you think I have on sunglasses and a hat? I have a face for radio, and even the listeners find it tough to look it....

Frank F

[Charlie Channel]

[Debbie]

Hi,



If you're looking for a quick and relatively easy option - have you thought about using a template? There are free templates available at many sites on the net (nope - i'm not affiliated with any) but I think you might find something you like (give yourself a weekend to surf and find something, there's THOUSANDS!).



Here's just one link - it's the first that came up for me on a search in Google so it might start you off at least. http://freesitetemplates.com/



I agree with Frank regarding the sites that have Flash etc ... I know a lot of people are on fast connections, BUT it's still takes a little bit longer for the flash etc to load and if your prospective client is in a hurry (which they usually are), they're not likely to wait around to see your site. Text and minor use of graphics can tell your story enough to give them time to have a quick look and make an instant decision.



Don't forget though - you can have a website, but unless it's listed in search engines, you may as well not bother.



It's taken me about five years to be listed and even then my listing changes all the time - down and up - all over the place in fact. I know that has something to do with the fact that I'm not updating my keywords or metatags to suit the ever changing needs of search engine spiders etc - but I just don't have the time. As it is, I've gained a lot of clients from my website so I'm happy in that regard.



Once you get your website up and running, if you have the money, I'd recommend either paying for a spot on Google's right-hand side section or pay someone to get you listed in the correct locations. The web is basically the same as any other advertising - you have a target audience and they're the ones you want to see your site.



I hope this helped, even if just a bit.



Deb

[chezdan]

[BBeen]

rflol chezdan... site is now under official construction..by an outside party to be named and bragged upon at a later date...thanks for all the input. i too have a face for radio that will not be seen on the site.

[Charlie Channel]

OK. My website's finsihed, for now. Feedback is welcomed. The URL's posted in the other group. Is it Friday yet?

Oh, and here's another thought on the subject. If you've got high speed connectivity, you can probably get away with running your own "in-house" server. Just put a webserver on your machine and that's that. You can get a "free" domain name.

http://www.thefreecountry.com/webmaster/freedns.shtml

By using a domain name server, you get around the issue of dynamic ip address assignment. And, you can actually choose a "name" that's somewhat memorable for marketing purposes.

For my in-house machine (which I also use for playing around), I have the domain name http://thevoice.gotdns.com/. I primarily use it to deliver content and I shut it off when I go to sleep. However, one time -- when my ISP's host went crazy -- I actually used the in-house machine as my primary server. It worked fine, and was even captured and listed by Google.

C

[lisaloo]

FWIW . . .

my designer configured my site to recognize the connection speed of the visitor and instantaneously direct them to either the full Flash site or the HTML.

As to how he did that, I do not know. This is why I employ a web designer.



Lisa