As you have probably guessed from the simplicity that is my blog and shop - I'm not exactly brimming with IT expertise. Sometimes when I stop and think that I email, blog, facebook, twitter, skype, have an online shop, own a cool looking Mac computer thingy and a notebook - I think.... FRAUD! Why? because I seriously have the 'black thumb of IT'.
I get so frustrated with all things formatting, HTML, not knowing how to photoshop stuff, have ideas of swish little email newsletters etc, want to do thing with my blog and shop in particular but have N-O I-D-E-A how to go about it.
Soooo, I'm asking a huge favour - what should I do? I know the best way is to get in the experts but I think I should know a little more myself first - what should I be learning - programs etc wise? What courses should I look at investing my time and money in to? HTML for dummies?, Indesign, photoshop, etc etc? - thank you, thank you xx
15 comments:
as someone who has a business that only has an online presence also (I'm a photographer) I've learned that you can do one of three things to improve your site 1) Learn HTML code.... (this is what I did, it's very time consuming, and my site still doesn't look how I want it) 2) Pay someone to do it. After all- we want people to pay us for our services/goods so why would we skimp on our only online presence (I'm finally coming over to this idea) 3) Trade for services. Find someone willing to do it for you for your goods. I have a good friend who owns a Magazine- he has a hard time getting people to buy large ad space for multiple months, so he trades with them.... a $500 gift card to their business for an ad- he's gotten new carpet and some swanky jewels for his lady this way!
Hope that helps!!
Depending on what you think you'll do more of - coding HTML/CSS etc, graphic design? I'd recommend maybe a short course in the Adobe CS package, mostly Photoshop and Indesign, because they are the industry standard for the graphic design industry. As for coding stuff, there are so many great free sites out there that can help you with the basics - google your heart out! Anything more complicated, befriend a nerd!! lol
I will be no help what so ever I'm afraid... I am hopeless! So don't feel bad, I'm practically allergic to all that stuff, so I would absolutely pay someone to do it!
Flick :)
i'm a complete IT dwarf. although among my friends i'm probably a legend at all things IT.
looking forward to reading the advie you get! jx
I recommend buying Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.0 so you can do funky things to photos and make layered pics. Also, you can get free backgrounds for your blog from shabby blogs, and itkupilli (check out my blog for examples)to add a bit of colour to your blog page.
Not sure what else you'd like to do but don't worry about taking a course, just email people who do things you'd like to do in a similar way, and I'm sure they will help you! Wendy xx
Actually, don't even worry about buying Photoshop; just use Foto Flexer.com to edit photos and pics. So easy to use, and Shabby blogs shows you how to use it in their FAQ section. I used it to make the header for my Happy Little Kids blog. Hope this helps! Wendy xx
I am only commenting in support of your predicament. If it is any comfort, I am a total internet gumby and I have had the online shop thingy too. I exist on a need to know basis only and my hubby often marvels at how limited my knowledge is and is flabbergasted at the basic questions I still ask him after all these years. I have so many other things happening, like you!... and time is so precious... IT knowledge base comes last in my priorities. But I'm with you.. I need to upskill too.... it's getting embarassing! A-M xx
I'm in the middle of completing the classes for the Adobe CS. They're great and I can highly recommend them. I loved Photoshop Level 1 and can't wait to do Level 2. Although I'm not on the web yet - I only have my domain name - doing the DreamWeaver course was eye opening. They do touch on the coding but more about reading and fixing issues not coding from the start. Seriously, would you translate your blog using just a dictionary? Leave it to the experts. Bartering for services would be perfect.
I watch youtube videos to learn stuff now. I am a visual learner, that is why it works for me. I wish I was there to help you. In fact that is how I found The Pioneer Woman, she has free photoshop tutorials and she is funny. Photoshop is great, I would head in that direction. Love, Heidi
I'm a bit like you Kimberlee - pretty non-savvy when it comes to the web, and it's frustrating because I like to know what's going on! I've been learning some basic photoshop but when it comes to major stuff, my advice is to pay someone to help you. Find a mailout programme, and get a template designed, and you'll be able to handle the rest. (Well if I can you can!)
Here is my very humble recommendation..I would get somebody very knowledgeable to do the major changes in your blog and teach you the basic 3 or 4 HTML commands that will allow you to fly solo. If I would do it all over I would use wordpress because they have so many templates that there is not much html customization needed...{check it out because they also have a site template that it feels and looks like a common site not a blog! For the photo editor I would use Photoshop if you want to go all the way {and get a basic book on how to sue it}....
Design*Sponge has a link on how to build a site in 5 days or how to build a site using worpress.. maybe it helps..!!
Hope you are having a fabulous week!
hi there,
don't worry too much about all this! the suggestions made before are a huge help, but i'd like to add something:
learn html / css.
it's not that hard, depending on what you plan to do with it! (:
for example: if you just want to "pimp" your already existing blog, learning a view basics of html is really easy. you probably can do that already.
if you want to build your completely own site in html, this isn't to hard either. take your time to practise things and functions.
there are propably a whole bunch of books and pages available in english - for advanced users AND beginners.
don't be afraid to give it a try. if you end up thinking "this is too hard for me!", no big deal! software can help you there, as further posts and comments already suggested.
i found this site, it looks nicely structured and is explained very understandable.
http://htmldog.com/guides/
by the way: there are loads of handy tutorials for postprocessing photos out there.
take some time to take a look at them. you don't need to do everything at once, but maybe an insight here and there might help you out just fine.
even if you decide to not do it all by yourself: having insights and basic knowledge is a good thing.
give it a try! good luck & heads up!
~martini
all good advice. but know this: no matter how much you know, there will always be something you don't know how to do. don't be too hard on yourself, do your best, people will love you. priscilla
Adobe Creative Suite (specifically Photoshop and Indesign) = most valuable skills ever. Definitely worth taking a class.
Or, just hire someone wildly talented to help.
For your site and store you should look into Squarespace.com - its a (nerd word alert)WYSIWYG editor that allows you to build a complex website without having any knowledge of css or html. they have a lot of pretty templates or you can make your own. they give you a 14 day free trial so it's definitely worth checking out & playing with. watch the help videos!
i would also suggest learning some photoshop via youtube! :)
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