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Thought I'd share my thoughts and suggestions for having and creating a dollie website of your own. I've been doing this since the early 2000's and I am still just as excited about dollies and graphics as I was back then. Hope you enjoy reading! ♥
Naming Your Website
This can be fun! There are so many word combinations you can do. Think of things you like and enjoy (colors, foods, animals, music etc.). Play around with the words until you feel happy with it. If you will be buying a domain, be sure that the name is something you are certain about (since it may not be easy to switch it up and get a new one).
Planning Layout & Color Scheme
For me, this process can be a frustrating one because I can have an idea of what I want but then when I put it into work, I am not happy with it. But this may not always be the case for others. It can be fun to experiment with styles and designs. I use Frames for two of my websites. I just find it so much easier to work with and it helps to keep things looking neat. And of coarse, this is how many of the doll websites were designed back then (iFrames became popular later).
As for colors, it is good to keep your visitors in mind. Colors can match or mismatch depending on your creative style and design. Using all light or dark colors may be hard on the eyes and make text hard to read on your pages. Also, make sure your text and links do not have the same colors, as that would make it hard to determine what is a link.
Creating Content
Really, it is up to you on what type of things you'd like to offer your visitors but dolls should definitely be one of the focuses. ♥ There are still some websites out there that have dollmakers you can use. If you have a knack for dolling (drawing/making your own dolls), that is also something you can consider.
Many websites offer graphic resources, which can be useful in the making of your content. Try your best to create things that are different and/or unique. I remember visiting websites that offered the same content as others and websites that had a bunch of collected content from other websites (many not giving credit or letting visitors know it is not their work or creations). This may cause your website to lose visitors and we wouldn't want that to happen. ♥
Something else to keep in mind is quality vs. quantity. Not everyone may own a graphics editing program like Paint Shop Pro or Photoshop (to name a few) or have access to one, to help in the making of their creations. Use whatever you may have and try to "clean up" or edit your work as best as possible. In my opinion, a website that offers a few decent looking creations is much better than one that offers a lot of "not so decent" creations.
What Not To Do
The biggest "no no", in my opinion, is stealing. This can be stealing page coding, layout design, content or even bandwidth! As a website owner and content creator, it is so frustrating to know that someone has taken things you've worked so hard on and stealing your website's bandwidth (especially from those that pay for their hosting).
If you visit a website, don't just start "saving" things to your computer or use their content. It is always best to read their TOU (terms of use) and/or Rules. In doing so, you are respecting the website owner's hard work and time. This also inspires us to keep creating for you! ♥
Grand Opening
Before opening your website, be sure to have plenty of content ready for your visitors and pages for them to view and enjoy. Visitors will keep coming back if your website stands out. A guestbook or comment area is a great way to interact with your visitors. Their input can be helpful in knowing what types of goodies they enjoy and would like to see more of.
And Voila!
I hope this gave you inspiration to create your own website or perhaps you already have one and this gave you some great tips. Whatever the case may be, I hope you will let me know your thoughts and be sure to link me to your website.
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