webplan
Overview
The creation of a website is just one
small part of a larger puzzle. I will break down the various components
for you, list them, and expand upon each one.
Following is a step-by-step overview toward achieving a fully functional
website. Each component is discussed in detail following the overview.
Software
You'll need some sort of web production software such as PageMill or Dreamweaver
plus Image editing software such as Photoshop or Photo deluxe. If you
have a scanner chances are it came with enough image editing software
to get started with.
Hardware
A scanner a modem and a computer. If
you don't have a scanner Kodak provides software for use with the photo
cd that may suffice.
Design
I favor a simple design but it's your
website. Draw what you want it to look like.
Where?
Do you want a server, or your existing ISP?
Remember the whole thing may go on your space provided by your internet service
provider and it wouldn't cost anything more than your paying now. Aol
even has publishing software for free. Do you want your own domain name?
What is a domain name?
Advertise
Once the pages are up they need to get
listed with the search engines. Depending on your purposes this could
be vital. You can spend a lot of time and energy on this or just trade
links with other folks and list the site in your mailings.
Maintenance
Every month you'll want to change a certain
amount of the content. This is something you want to do yourself. If
someone creates your website and hosts it you will have to pay them
each time you want to update.
What I'll do
I'll work for $40.00 an hour teaching
you at your computer or designing and setting it up from here and teaching
maintenance. More pricing and information here at www.scotstyle.com
Things to do now
Create a mission statement and
stick to it.
Think of any easy to type and remember
name to go with and see if it's available. This will be your domain
name. www.______.com You can check the availability here-domain
search
Start listing terms, words, phrases,
that you would want your site to respond to in a search. Keywords
you would use to search for your site on the internet.
Buy the software
Draw what you want the site to
look like.
Sort out what you want as far as
content goes so you can cut and paste into the web software. Get
your bio, artist statement, and a collection of images ready for
the web.
Design
Designing Your Art Website
Put yourself into your user's shoes
before planning your site's content. Why would they come to your
site and what can you do to make sure their visit is rewarded? Ask
yourself some basic questions. What is the goal of my site? Am I
aiming it toward gallery owners as a presentation package? Is this
an e-commerce site to sell paintings on the web? What will the viewer
be looking for and how can I make it easier for them to find? Write
a mission statement and stick to it. A good website requires forethought.
It will save you a lot of time and energy in the long run if you
plan the entire site on paper before beginning.
Make a List of Areas on the Site
For example; Home Page, biography,
Artist Statement, a list of exhibitions, paintings, sculptures, thumbnails,
slideshow. Include a photograph of yourself, your address and phone
number (you'd put it in a brochure wouldn't you?), and your email
link or response form. Don't clutter the site with anything that
doesn't compliment your written goal. If you want a personal page
make one, but don't confuse it with your art page. There is a school
of thought along the lines of enticing folks to repeatedly return
to your site. Why would they want to come back if not to look at
the work again? I know someone who has a contest to name her paintings.
The winner gets a print or something and meanwhile folks are writing
to her and visiting the site time and time again. Be creative but
keep in mind your mission statement.
What will it look like?
Each page should have some elements
that remain the same. Navigation, title and contact information work
for me. Draw what you want on 4 x 5 index cards. This way you can
shuffle them about and lay them on the table showing their relationships
to each other. It's like a big tree with branches crossing and all
coming from the title page root. Be specific in your drawing and
show relationships on the page between text, images, and negative
space. Make it look good -- remember you are an artist. Layout the
page as if it were a painting. Make sure the composition is designed
well.
Draw the title page as an introductory / contents
page.
We know in the print world we get
a cover, credits, title, and then maybe the contents page, but here
in cyberspace we don't have time for all that rigmarole. We are an
impatient lot who want the goods up front or we'll just go somewhere
else. The title can be a logo GIF but don't make it too big. (See "speed" at http://scotstyle.com/scotstylege/Readme5.html for
information on using images on the web.) The title can also be text
but use a font common to most everyone or their computer will substitute
the default font. This title page is the first thing the visitor
will see. It better load quickly or the visitor may just leave. It
should tell about where we are right up front. This is an artist's
website. Here is the artist's name. Here is a link to the artist's
bio. Here is a link to the artist's work. Within that framework there
are many variables. Use your creativity, but use it sparingly. A
good idea is to include an image of your best work to date and change
it often. This may be all that gets seen.
Navigation bars
The content of your site should
be hyperlinked from each page. A clean, clear, easily read list is
my favorite. These links are often placed as GIFS in a column on
the left as well as side-by-side text at the bottom of every page,
along with a link back to the title page and an email link. It's
important to make the navigation bar standard on each page. You don't
want the viewer to have to search for it.
Art on the web
There are a couple of ways to present
your work.
A list of works would have the
names linked to pages of the work, and a slideshow would have one
image page with buttons forward and back to prompt the replacement
of the image on the page. Don't forget to include size and medium
with images of your work. I've seen work online with no size or medium
-- it could be three feet or three inches and it makes a big difference.
If you use thumbnails make sure
there are not too many or too large. I hate using them because they
are small, poor representations of large paintings. I can't imagine
anyone wanting to see the larger image after seeing that, but they
do let folks know where the blue paintings are. If the work is representational
and pretty clear they can offer an idea of what's behind them.
What's behind them?
Each thumbnail is a link to the
page with the actual image you're using complete with sizes and medium.
You can even include a note and link the final image to a detail
which I find very helpful considering I've reduced a six-foot painting
to three inches of colored lights as it is. The image pages should
present the image to its advantage with size and medium and a few
short words describing inspiration, production or an anecdote. People
love to read about the art.
What does it look like?
Before you take out an ad in the Times have
some friends visit your website. Make sure it looks good in all browsers.
Make sure it makes sense. Realize that the site will be viewed with
all sorts of different computers. Don't get too hung up on the color
but make sure it fits in the smallest window. 623 pixels x 278 pixels
-- that's the size of the web browser window on the smallest computer
after leaving space for toolbars and such. Frames don't always work
and when they do a lot of folks don't like them. Animation is cute
but if it doesn't stop it can be annoying. Ads are unprofessional,
and free web servers aren't worth it for you. There are web safe
colors -- make sure you use them. The information pages (bio, statement,
CV) should be easy to read and updated regularly.
Changes are you have been around
for a while without a web page. Give yourself some time before publishing.
Take it easy and enjoy the process.
Production
Software
You'll need some sort of web production software such as PageMill or Dreamweaver
and some Image
editing software such as Photoshop or Photo Deluxe. Whatever you do stay
away from Front Page
Here is a link to some web software prices.
http://www.scotstyle.com/scotstylege/webware$.html
Here are two links to software reviewers
http://www8.zdnet.com/products/
http://www.pcworld.com/
or direct to web authoring product guides
http://www8.zdnet.com/products/filter/guide/0,7267,6006713,00.html
Here is a link to find out who has the best price
at the moment.
http://www.pricescan.com/
If you are on aol you have access to free software as well as web space.
Go to keyword homepage. Most internet service providers provide some
sort of help in this area to get you started with a simple page.
You can learn HTML language. It's the code that tells the
viewers computer what size the text should be where the image goes
and where to get it among other things. The software lets you set
it up the way you want it and then writes the code for you. There
are a couple of things to be done that the software may not cover.
It helps to familiarize yourself with the code a little. Sometimes
I'll see a web page and say "How'd they do that?" By
pressing my mouse button in the web page and holding it I get a
drop down list which includes the option "View Source" Try
right clicking or shift clicking or something till you find the
option then see what's going on behind the scenes.
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Hardware
You will need a computer,scanner,and a modem.
Slides make the best images so try to get a slide scanner. The slide scanners
are expensive ($1,500) and the cheap ones don't work so well for that
reason I recomend Kodak Photo CD Get at least the 56k modem or if possible
cable or DSL .
I ask clients to provide me with a Kodak photo
CD for web production. For $2.25 per image plus $8.00 for the CD
they will scan your slides for you giving you an archive of your
work on photo CD plus an easily accessible source of images for the
web. I go to Showbran for this scanning. It takes 1 day and I've
never had a problem with them. Other places have tried to give me
a portfolio or professional CD which is overkill for the web and
others have scanned with dust and backwards images.
Showbran Inc.
1385 Broadway
New York, NY 10018 USA
Phone: 212-768-3872
If you live somewhere else
I'm sorry., but there are other places go here and
do a search.
http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/locators/piw/piwSites.shtml
Here are two links to hardware reviewers
http://www8.zdnet.com/products/
http://www.pcworld.com/
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Upload
To do this properly you need to buy a domain name
$19- $35.00 per year first two years must be paid
up front
and rent web space
app. $25.00 monthly
Once you find an server they
may take care of registering the domain name and pointing it to your
web space. It is strongly advised that you find the server first
and have them register the domain name otherwise things can get complicated.
http://www.networksolutions.com/
Think of any easy to type and remember name to go with.and see if it's available
here.
To find out more read this page
http://www.1x.com/advisor/maher4.htm
Remember your internet service provider may allow web space and may even
have scripts and an editor available.
Where do I put it?
In this area we deal with the
stuff that makes my head spin. If it doesn't make any sense to you
read something else and come back to it. If you still can't get it
don't hesitate to email me at I'll
be pleased to help and answer questions for free.
Where do I put my new web page?
If you are on AOL you have access to
free space as well as software. Go to keyword homepage. Most ISP's
provide some sort of help in this area to get you started with a simple
page. This is also a good place to put your page up and see how it
works before shelling out any real money.
What's an ISP?
ISP = Internet Service Provider. This
is the company (i.e. Mindspring, AOL) that provides access to the world
wide web. This is the place your computer calls when it makes your
modem squeal and beep. Your ISP probably offers to host your web pages.
Find out how much it costs, and if they allow you to use your own domain
name. You can probably get it free if you are willing to keep it small
and use your ISP's domain name in the URL (your internet address.)
For example your address could be, www.member.aol.com/yourname If you
want your own domain name as in www.yourname.com they charge about
$30 a month. In that case they become your web host.
What's a web host?
You have your web site all ready to go
on your home computer. Everything looks great but only you can see
it. You have to send the whole thing to a server where anyone can type
in the address (URL)and see your pages. Basically a huge computer that's
on all the time with a giant phone line, no waiting. This is where
your pages will reside where everyone can see them from anywhere in
the world 24hrs a day. Theoretically you could keep them on your computer
and keep it on and hooked up to the internet all the time and hope
too many people don't try to look at the same time. Not very practical
unless you have a computer designed to be a server..
What do I want?
There is a school of thought that suggests
using a web host who is not also an internet service provider. The
reasoning behind this theory is the host is not also providing internet
access to a bunch of folk who might clog up the lines and make access
to your page a little slow. This web host's sole business is hosting.
Once you find a host they may take care of registering the domain name and
pointing it to your web space. That's the best way to do it
What's a domain name?
This is the name that goes between the
www and the dot com. It' is not what the search engine looks for (that'll
be discussed next topic)but it is found by the search engine spiders
so it should be descriptive of your site. It does help to make it catchy
and simple, and if you can get your name that's great. Think of any
easy to type and remember name and see if it's available here. domain
search It's kind of like picking a vanity
license plate. A lot of the good ones are taken.
The domain is registered and paid for two years at registration. At $19 a
year this will cost you a total of $38. The domain name has to be "pointed" to
the server space at your web host which is not easy. I suggest you find a
service provider (web host) who will take care of domain registration and "pointing" it
for you at the same time. I recomend Verio here.
To find out more read this page:-
http://www.1x.com/advisor/maher4.htm
Check out these pages to find out what you might need in the way of a web
host:-
http://www.builder.com/Servers/Publish/Business/ss01a.html
http://www.cnet.com/Content/Reports/Special/ISP/index.html
http://www.hostindex.com/
Remember your internet service provider may allow web space and may even
have scripts and an editor available. Check with them and email me if
you have any problems.
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Advertise
Once your web site is up and you
are satisfied with it you need to arrange for listing it with the search
engines. Depending on your purposes this could be vital. The search
engine is the place where you go to find something on the web. You
type in a key word or two and the engine searches it's database for
sites using those words. There is a ton of information to be found
on search engines. It seems that every day new engines are created
which work in new ways. I won't go into how they work here, but if
you need to know that, plus in depth info about all aspects of registering
and designing for optimum recognition, it can be found here: http://searchenginewatch.com/
Basically the goal is to have your site
be the one that responds to a search for certain words and phrases.
It would be great if every time someone searched for the word Art your
site showed up. Although this is impractical to expect with the amount
of sites out there you can optimize toward that end.
The title of your page would be Art;
the first word on the page would be Art; the description of
the site, both in the hidden Meta tags and on the page, would use
the word Art a few times; and the keywords would lead with
and even duplicate the word Art.
Visual Artists need to be aware that search
engines look for words on the actual page as well as in the code
(Meta tags). We are often interested in the images and favor them
over the text. I advise you to write something about the work using
the keywords. These keywords can be at the bottom of the page if
necessary to take advantage of the search engine's hunger for words.
Each image has the ability to hold Alt tags which are generally words
describing that image to browsers without image capability or with
that capability turned off. You can often see these tags as the image
page loads and often they are not taken advantage of. Put a couple
of keywords here as well as the name of the painting.
Some smart guys put in text that is the
same color as the background so they can respond to the search engines
without it being seen and cluttering up the page esthetic, but the
search engines are now wise to this move as well as a lot of other
shortcuts. If you're caught using tricks such as too many keywords
or repeated too many times this is called spamming and they won't
list you.
One of the best strategies is to view
the source codes of the Top 10 or Top 25 sites that appear under
keywords that fit your site. Study their titles, Meta tags, comment
tags, keyword density, alt image tags etc. looking for common things
among the top ranking pages. In AOL for MAC I hold down the mouse
button in the background of a page and I get a window with an option
to view source. In Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator the view
menu at the top of the screen has a source option. The Meta tags
are at the top of the page of source code.
Search engines work in a few different
ways and you could spend all your time trying to tailor your pages
to match each one's search habits and submitting over and over to
keep on top. Weigh your need. At the very least include your web
address in all of your correspondence.
You can spend a lot of time money, and
energy on search engines or just trade links with other web pages.
Linking is one of the keys to being noticed. A recent conference
on the subject of search engines determined linking to other sites
to be the best way to be found. Once you link with popular pages
the search engine spiders can find you and begin to list you.
Each engine has a place, usually at the
bottom of the search page, to submit your URL. Use this feature on
at least your favorite engines and fill in the information requested.
Be prepared with your own keywords and a description of your site
using those keywords.
The following is a list of the major search
engines:
AllTheWeb.com (FAST
Search)
http://www.alltheweb.com
AOL Search
http://search.aol.com/
AltaVista
http://www.altavista.com/
Ask Jeeves
http://www.askjeeves.com/
Google
http://www.google.com/
HotBot
http://www.hotbot.com/
Inktomi
http://www.inktomi.com/
LookSmart
http://www.looksmart.com/
Lycos
http://www.lycos.com/
MSN Search
http://search.msn.com/
Netscape Search
http://search.netscape.com/
Open Directory
http://dmoz.org/
Yahoo
http://www.yahoo.com/
Paid Placement
In April of 1999 Alta Vista announced
it would begin to auction off popular search terms. For example,
you could pay to have your site show up in a search for the word "art".
The plan was quickly shelved as consumers became aware of it and
feared they wouldn't be able to tell the difference between these
paid advertisement searches and real searches. It's like when you
see a full page in the newspaper that looks like news but has a small
disclaimer stating that this is a paid advertisement. Consumers don't
like being tricked. Of course if you don't know what's going on you
will go to the site with the most advertising money every time. Goto.com
has been doing this all along. All the results have been paid for.
They put the price next to the result, but I'll bet a lot of folk
don't know what that means.
Manual Submission
Danny Sullivan, Editor of SearchEngineWatch.com
says search engine marketers prefer manual submission to auto-submit
tools. In a March 20th article from his website Danny
posted the results of a survey of web site marketers which found
that most prefer to submit manually to search engines rather than
use auto-submission tools. Most marketers said that this was because
they "know" manual submission is more effective. Most respondents
also said that they optimize their web pages for crawler-based search
engines and submit only "when necessary." Those who do use auto-submit
tools preferred software packages over web-based services.
Software
http://www.webposition.com/
Web Based
Submission
http://www.submitplus.bc.ca
http://selfpromotion.com
http://submitit.com
Ask yourself these questions:
- Do you want to be found in a search?
- Do you just want a business card on
the web?
- Do you just want a place to send people
to?
- What kind of search do you want to
turn up in?
- Do you want to be found with a search
for your name? (easy)
- Do you want to be found under a general
search by topic? (more difficult) to
maintain)
Links to information:
Search engine watch
http://searchenginewatch.com/
The ultimate on search engines
Free Search Engine Secrets
http://www.kaleidoscope-dts.com/secrets.html
This page shows exactly where and how to put in those keywords and phrases.
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for
artists, by artists
