Help with a New Years resolution

I made a resolution this year to get my own personal webpage up and running. Its getting tiresome whenever someone asks if they can see some of my work and I have to direct them to photohosting websites like Flickr or Photobucket. I've spent the last couple of weeks checking out and admiring many of you guys websites. How did you get it started? I know next to nothing about creating/building my own webpage. Did you have to learn how to write code? Is there some software that does it?? Did you enlist the service of someone else to help create your webpage?? Any and all help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Hey Doug! You can go either way on this depending on how serious you want to get with it. If you just want to put up a few photos to show people, you can design your own website using a program like Microsoft FrontPage, Dream Weaver or other. These programs allow you to setup the site visually rather than by using code. I leaned how to use them by buying Dummies guides or other books on Amazon. If you want to not only display your work but also sell it or if you don't feel you have the design skill and want someone else to do it, then I would suggest you contact Jack Brauer. He can give you a complete package which will not only make your photos shine, but which has all the bells and whistles you will probably need for years. If you have the $ his services are well worth it.

I would recommend using a program like Dreamweaver, GoLive or something similar, but also picking up a book on writing HTML. You can also find tons of tutorials online to help you with HTML basics. Most programs use a WYSIWYG interface, but it's helpful to know how to tweak it if you have to.

I started working on web pages about 10 years ago, when you still had to write all the code yourself, and I still do for the most part. If I need to do something I don't know how to do, I just look it up online and find a tutorial.

Aside from designing your own page, it will need to live somewhere, too. That is a whole other discussion entirely, unless you want it to be a part of this thread.

Doug,

I think Erik gave you great advice. I'll share with you my experiences. I have just been going thru this process in my *spare time* with 3 young children at home and a full-time job to boot

I found a great open source (free) gallery building software called Coppermine to be pretty full featured. It doesn't require programming skills and they have a support forum and FAQ to help you get setup. Of course some knowledge of basic web page design help you to customize the look. But their software automates the backend data storage, image upload process, etc... So it has similar functionality to photo hosting sites. Once setup, you upload images and textural content and it does the rest. You can check it out here:
http://coppermine-gallery.net/
They even have shopping cart plugins if you eventually want to sell stuff. Currently I have a basic layout done, but I am still playing with the look and feel, colors, content, etc... You can see it here:
http://www.lightquestphoto.com/
I have been creating a couple of custom themes, one using shades of greys, another using blues.

Once functionality is setup you have to think about the look you want. All this *Does* takes time. So depending on how much time versus $ you have, paying someone might be the best option. If so Jack B. is 'Da Man.' He does very professional and cool looking websites.

Note also that some do not like template based software like Coppermine because it can limit complete control over design layout. I find it adequate, but it does take some tweaking to get a look I want. If you want more flexibility without automation (eg - auto thumbnail and gallery page(s) creation ) then a simple static HTML based website may be a good way to go.

Hi Doug,
We really know nothing about code or anything like that, but we just got our website up and going. We are using officelive.com. The basic plan is free, but you use their design. Because we are not ready to spend money, this was a wonderful option for us. We were able to get it going in a couple days and we like the look and the ease of navigation. It really is good. Walks you through everything. Hope that helps.
Jim and Karen

I was in your situation last Fall.
I bought MS FrontPage for $6, FrontPage for dummies for $20, signed up for 1 year of hosting with Accuwebhosting.com (for $50, includes a domain name). A few days later, I published the first version of my website. It was actually quite fun to do it all by myself. I got a lot of good advice with website design on this forum ( ), then made final changes, and that's it. I can modify/expand my website very quickly and easily.
Now, if you have the money, other people have already mentioned who you should contact. Good luck and have fun.

Im going through the same thing you are right now--building a new website (not for my photos but for music) should have it up in a couple weeks. Im a computer idiot, but i really like to have total control over my site, and so the best way to do that is build it from the ground up by yourself--then you know everything that is there and you can modify/add/subtract whenever or wherever. Basic HTML takes 30 minutes to learn (online tutorials or buy a book) and then to get a little fancier i used nvu (free html editor) and borrowed dreamweaver to add some java script. I prefer basic to fancy but the sky is the limit these days. Momo--how do you get frontpage legally for $6?? Anyhow, good luck, email me if you run into problems cause i'm probably going through those same problems right now
Humorous aside: i had to edit this, since when i first typed j a v a s cript it wouldn't post--the posting script thought i was really puttin in some code!

Hi Stan.
Microsoft ran a promotion for their business software back in September last year. It was all free, and it included FrontPage 2003. All I had to pay for was shipping ($6). I was very lucky. I heard that they are discontinuing FrontPage, so maybe that's why they were giving away the software.

I originally went the "build and maintain my site on my own" (with much help from Scott Bacon) route. I had some interest in web design but not enough to devote the endless hours required to do the things I wanted to do. In the end, I opted to use Foliosnap (www.foliosnap.com). Foliosnap allows you to build your own site using their basic templates with simple point and click browser-based tools. It couldn't have been any easier. And, I can modify galleries and custom pages any time I want without having to study books or software manuals. Gives me the professional online presence that I needed and freed up my time for shooting and marketing.

Alternatively, Jesse Speer does amazing graphics work. I've used his services in the past and have always been pleased with the results.

Like "Nike" I say, "Just Do It" My firstpiece of advice is to look at as many sites as you can and walk away with the elements of design you like from only those you are greatly impressed by. The sites that are inviting even before you see the photography. Identify those elements and use them to your own advantage.

My second piece of advice is to ask each website owner what they ud to build their site too. It may help you pick out what you want to use.

Third you could have someone build the framework and basic elements of the site then take over the rest for yourself if you have the tools.

There is a lot to consider when building a site. I know for myself it was a LONG yet purposful process of trying one thing then another unil I found just what I wanted.

The key is simplicity. Simplicity of design, navigation and information. You could go through those of us here who have sites and see some common ground while each of us have our own individual flavor and style.

You just need to define what you want to get out of it and how it will be the best place for friends, family and most importantly, buyers to get what they want, if you plan to use it as a business platform.

WOW, you guys rock!! There's a lotta good suggestions and stuff in here. Should keep me busy for awhile. Mucho appreciated.