Thread: How did you do your website?

Hi, I am a web designer and a dancer. I am setting up my portfolio now, hopefully to get some jobs. I would like to know how did you do your website? Did you hire somebody? a friend did it or you did yourself?

How much did you pay or are willing to pay for a designer for a pro website (5 pages or so)? Do you think the look of the website affect your business?
Thank you for your thoughts, appreciate it.

Speaking as somebody who finally got a website after years of procrastination...I tried all the DIY options out there and ultimately got frustrated with the way they looked. Said "to heck with it!" and hired a pro.

I paid just over $1600 for my site. IMO, it's been worth every penny. Not only did I recuperate the cost after a summer of gigging, but the site is set up in such a user-friendly way, I'm actually saving a ton of money on future updates. My gallery is synched with Flickr, so I can literally update as soon as I get home from a gig or a photo shoot!

My site has had an awesome impact on how clients and prospects see me. They love the blog, the Twitter feed and the gallery, and tell me that my site makes me appear professional yet approachable.

I wish you tons of success with your new business!

I made my first websites in HTML and recently leaped into open source CMS with wordpress and Joomla!. Congratulations on creating a portfolio and attracting more work as a designer.

For me, a couple of things are important:
- does the website look professional and pretty?
- is it easy to maintain/update?
- can I put everything I want online? Pictures, video, schedule, class schedules, that sort of thing

I would definitely pay a designer to design my website, but I would expect a package deal to make sure that the website will be online after paying for the design. I'm not sure if you offer techsupport?

The look of my website makes a huge difference, I often get remarks from clients that they picked or remembered me because my website looked different then the other sites they visited.

At the moment my site is totally self built. It's not the most professional looking site, I know, but for me it's about the information, not about the look. It's not a vanity site, it's not about gigging, it's about providing people with information, about dance, about my classes and about me.

Having said that, I do want to update my site and make it look better, and I've asked my best friend, who happens to be a multimedia designer (amongst her many other skills) to help me with this, because she would be extremely hurt if I asked anyone else to do it. She's said yes, but I'm really conscious how busy she is, and that she is a professional and I'm asking for her services out of love, and if she were doing the same job for anyone else, she would be charging them normal market rates.

I did the background design using Photoshop and created the website with .css and plain html.. Took me a while to get it right, but am now finally happy with the general design and flexibility of the content.. whenever I want an update I just edit the .html and upload the page with fireftp.

As for paying somebody for a web design: I would have gladly paid someone to do it had I had the funds for it at the time.. the design is what has cost me most of my time.

As for your other question: Yes!! The look certainly makes a difference, so good pictures, clear information and a professional look are very important! Lots of clients search the Internets nowadays when looking for a dancer and compare websites before they decide who to contact.

Best wishes and good luck!
Khalida

I do the html for our web site with Textpad, edit pix with Photoshop. The site includes dozens and dozens of pages: I control the format with CSS.

I feel many other things besides 'the look' of the website impact the customers decision to stay and buy or move on: our emphasis is on fast download, fast navigation, zero requests by the browser to install plug-ins or to run javascript, compatability with older browsers, lots of up-to-date information and an attempt to make sure that what people see is what they get. People don't go to the website looking for ambiance but for information. Every year a larger proportion of new students come to us from Internet searches.

No, we would not be willing to pay someone to do this for us; the site is constantly being added to,subtracted from, redesigned, etc, sometimes on three minutes notice. We like having complete control and the price is right!

Hello, When you're ready with your portfolio, you should post it on the Retail swap meet so that dancers can find your services.

As for me, I started out with Google Page Creator and used WYSISYG. Then Page Creator was phased out and a new Google sites was created, which I just hate, so I decided to get a real site with web hosting. I was able to download my complete site in html format and upload it to the new site without a glitch. It was awesome.

Over time I have been fancying up pages and doing more with it than I ever could before. The downside is that the css is in each html head, instead of being a separate peice that links to all documents, so it took awhile to make everything consistent. I really like it though.

My partner is a Web developer and I have designed my new site in Photoshop, I am just waiting for him to have time to code it for me. So yeah, that's my story!

Andalee Belly Dance - Professional Belly Dance in Durham, NC

Originally Posted by maurazebra

I do the html for our web site with Textpad, edit pix with Photoshop. The site includes dozens and dozens of pages: I control the format with CSS.

I feel many other things besides 'the look' of the website impact the customers decision to stay and buy or move on: our emphasis is on fast download, fast navigation, zero requests by the browser to install plug-ins or to run javascript, compatability with older browsers, lots of up-to-date information and an attempt to make sure that what people see is what they get. People don't go to the website looking for ambiance but for information. Every year a larger proportion of new students come to us from Internet searches.

No, we would not be willing to pay someone to do this for us; the site is constantly being added to,subtracted from, redesigned, etc, sometimes on three minutes notice. We like having complete control and the price is right!

This is pretty much me as well.

Thank you ALL!! That is some very nice inputs.

I did mine myself in iWeb, which came on my MacBook. It is very easy to use, I can make any changes I like easily, and I can upload it to the server myself anytime. I like that my site is uncluttered and easy to navigate, and that is what I was going for; I suppose if one wants a lot of fancy gizmos like a cursor that turns into a butterfly, or you need an online store, then obviously iWeb would be sub-par, but I've been very satisfied thus far.

My site is completely self built. I don't even know html, I just use the program Yahoo webshosting provides and I love it. It's very user friendly, I know I recommended it to other belly dancers, and they all love it.
My site is not the prettiest or the best (that's is not even my goal) but works for me, and received tons of compliments. All the work has definitely paid off - I had it now for over 3 years, and get hired through it all the time.

I don't think I would pay anyone to do it for me, even if they create one 10 times better because what I have works for me. I am a firm believer of "do it yourself if you can" - but that's just me.
The most important parts for me are
1. I have total control over the design and content
2. I have total control over updates, they don't cost me anything and I can do it anytime. As a result my website is always updated to the last minute.
I now dancers whose sites are always out of date, because they have to wait on someone else to update it for them, and that takes a couple of weeks.

Originally Posted by Marianna

My site is completely self built. I don't even know html, I just use the program Yahoo webshosting provides and I love it. It's very user friendly, I know I recommended it to other belly dancers, and they all love it.
My site is not the prettiest or the best (that's is not even my goal) but works for me, and received tons of compliments. All the work has definitely paid off - I had it now for over 3 years, and get hired through it all the time.

I don't think I would pay anyone to do it for me, even if they create one 10 times better because what I have works for me. I am a firm believer of "do it yourself if you can" - but that's just me.
The most important parts for me are
1. I have total control over the design and content
2. I have total control over updates, they don't cost me anything and I can do it anytime. As a result my website is always updated to the last minute.
I now dancers whose sites are always out of date, because they have to wait on someone else to update it for them, and that takes a couple of weeks.

This pretty much describes me, except I use GoDaddy's Website Tonight page builder. In my market, only a few dancers even have websites - and with only one exception, I have the most robust and highly ranked ones! If my site had to compete with a bunch of beautifully designed sites, I'd probably have either paid a pro to design it or gotten up off my duff and learned how to make something fabulous myself (along with purchasing the related software).

Aesthetically, I'd love to have a prettier site, but I love having the money and time to spend on other advertising, workshops, lessons and costumes more.

Also, I have 20 or more pages on my site, and have enough "room" to add another 20 or more, a lot of videos, etc. I would not like to be boxed into a deal that says you will have 5 pages, and all future updates will cost x dollars. $12 / month for all the freedom I have is very very good :)

Originally Posted by cindytong

Hi, I am a web designer and a dancer. I am setting up my portfolio now, hopefully to get some jobs. I would like to know how did you do your website? Did you hire somebody? a friend did it or you did yourself?

How much did you pay or are willing to pay for a designer for a pro website (5 pages or so)? Do you think the look of the website affect your business?

Hi Cindy! Welcome to bhuz!

I did my two web sites (All About Belly Dancing! Learn About Belly Dance! Shira's Bellydance Site and Bellydance for Plus-Sized Women, Belly Dance for Full-Figured Women, and Bellydancing for Big Beautiful Women (BBW)) myself, using Dreamweaver.

Yes, I think the look of a web site affects visitors' perception of professionalism, and in turn affects the dancer's business. I think it's easier for a dancer to be taken seriously when demanding $250 for a private party gig if her web site oozes professionalism out of every pore. A cheap-looking web site will make a potential client believe the dancer is cheap quality, and could be a deterrent to those clients willing to pay the premium price for a high-quality dancer.

Because I'm technical enough to know how to use Dreamweaver and Photoshop, I think the primary things that would tempt me into paying someone else to create a web site for me would be:

1. A desire to have a professional graphics designer create my site's look and feel. Ie, I'd pay for graphics design expertise, but I wouldn't pay for html skills.

2. A desire to have some serious programming be done on my site, such as writing a database application.

If I were to hire a designer, I would do so with the expectation that after the site has been built I would personally take on responsibility for all the updates over time. Ie, I'd want long-term control over my site. I would expect the designer to turn over to me all Photoshop PSD files, all Adobe Illustrator AI files, all html files, all Dreamweaver template files, etc.

Because of horrible things I've seen happen to other dancers when their web site contractors went out of business, I would insist that all domain name registrations be done in my own name, using my contact info, and I would insist on veto power over any web hosting company being considered. (In deciding whether to exercise my veto power, I would insist on a provider that is on solid financial footing and not likely to go out of business abruptly, a provider that has sufficient bandwidth leading into the Internet to deliver acceptable load times, a provider that has a sensible disaster recovery plan/infrastructure, a provider that offers telephone support, a provider that lets me put my own applications on the server, a provider that does NOT use Microsoft-based web servers, etc.)

I'm probably fussier than most, but thought I'd offer you the perspective. Good luck with your business plans!

Like Andalee, I started out on Google Pages, which did have enough capabilities to make a good looking page (for what it was...you can only do so much with WYSIWYG). I currently have my old Google Pages hosted on my friend's server with my own URL. Over the next month, I'm going to design my site, and the same friend (who is a photographer/webdesigner at RAZUMMEDIA - Architectural Photography and Website Design) is going to code it and make it pretty. We're doing an exchange for his part of the work, but I think his regular fees would probably amount to what Satin paid, or more, depending on the complexity

In China, we do a website cheap, about USD200-300, and the designer can make your website perfect, then you can safeguard the website by your self, it's very easy I think.

I did my own website: www.jeremyshanephotography.com and also did my friends: AlimaDusana.com using iWeb for both, with some tinkering.

Don't know how it effects my business, I think being a photographer having a nice website pays off. I get compliments on the lens slideshow on the homepage idea a lot. Mostly I just try to make the sites easy to navigate around since you might have non-internet savvy people checking them out as often as those of us online a lot.

I LOVE SatinWorship's site though. Very nice.

I did my own out of necessity because I simply can't afford to hire someone to do it for me. Once things pick up for me and I can afford to hire someone to "trick it out" for me, I will.

But considering that I did my site myself, it's very professional- looking and everyone who has seen it loves it. Though I'm pretty computer savvy and can teach myself to code, I just didn't want to deal with it and used a free site with templates, added pictures, made my own logo and certain effects in Power Point and bought my domain.

The only thing I paid for with my site is the cost of buying my domain. So my site only cost me $15.

I created my websites (mine, troupe's, annual events, other dancers) in dreamweaver and use dreamhost for my server. I'm pretty much all self-taught on the dreamweaver and have used many tips I've gathered from online discussions to update and improve my sites.

I've gotten only positive feedback on all of my websites. They're not super fancy, but they're easy to navigate and attractive and give all the necessary information. User-friendliness is key!

YES having a website is important, but it's just one part of my online presence - I also actively use Facebook, and MySpace. So far Facebook is the winner as far as sourcing new students and gigs are concerned.

My site is self-built. ~* Belynda Azhaar *~ International Bellydance Artist based in Seoul, Korea I use a text editor to hand code html and Javascript, Photoshop for the graphics, and Swish for the flash. If I had the money I might pay someone else to do it, but graphic/web design are some of the things I do, and I enjoy it! :) Also, I like being totally in control and able to make changes whenever I like, such as updates and advertising events. (You can requests designers to set up your site to allow for you to make changes/additions, but it's expensive.)

Because I own/manage several sites (my own, spouse, and various businesses) I host them all on one server with HostingZoom. So, all I had to pay for was the domain rego (GoDaddy) and the hosting. The rest is just my time and energy. ;)

Originally Posted by JShane

I did my own website: www.jeremyshanephotography.com and also did my friends: AlimaDusana.com using iWeb for both, with some tinkering.

Don't know how it effects my business, I think being a photographer having a nice website pays off. I get compliments on the lens slideshow on the homepage idea a lot.

Perhaps because the slideshow is DA BOMB? Seriously, VERY nice. ..g.:

Originally Posted by azhaar

Perhaps because the slideshow is DA BOMB? Seriously, VERY nice. ..g.:

thank you! ..g.:

I did all my websites myself....all in HTML coding...they are pretty basic though...I wish I had more skills....


Bellydance Performer in NC ~ North Carolina Bellydance ~ Bellydance in Cary NC~ Bellydance in Raleigh NC

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~Colorful Waves Bellydance

I happened upon this thread accidentally, and I was so proud to read that so many of us have learned to design our own websites. So impressed!