I've been doing a lot of web designing lately. It's funny how life takes turns as you go along. I really never planned on being a professional web designer, but that's where life has taken me. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy it. There's nothing like the feeling I get when I look at the finished product, and the customer is happy too. I started out back in 2000 just building a few sites for myself. As the years rolled by and websites came and went, more and more people asked me to build their sites. In 2008 I wound up making about thirty sites for other people, plus about twenty of my own (some of which I sold). And now, it's all I do.
It's amazing how nice some of my new web designs are turning out. There's a lot you can do with CSS (cascade style sheets), it keeps a theme throughout all of your pages, it really looks sleek, and best of all, the templates are free. Take a look at this one and some of the sites listed on the right. I think they're my best work yet.
I've re-designed a few of my most popular websites over the last couple of weeks and already Google has indexed them. I have a little trick I use to get Google (and others) to index my sites quickly, plus it automatically gives me a page-rank 2 or better.
If you need a website, shoot me an email. I will work with you every step of the way and have you up and running in a day or two.
First, we agree on a price and time-frame, then exchange phone numbers and email. This way, I can show you every step I take, you can approve or disapprove and I'll make changes according to your vision as we go along. Before we are finished, I will teach you how to keep it going and make future changes yourself.
Depending on how much content you want, how much content I have to write, how many pages you need, how many images you need, and how much coding there is to be done, it can take anywhere from a day or two, to a week or three (for catalog type sites). I can make a typical website with five pages, one or two images per page, content you sent me, and set it up with Google Adsense so you can make some money, in two days. What takes extra time is, when I have to research subjects and do my own writing, create special forms for your visitors to fill out, set up products for sale with secure click-and-buy procedures in place, and other complicated coding procedures.
A quick, easy, two-day website usually goes something like this...
- You buy a domain name ($10 a year) and server ($4 a month), then give me the password.
- You pick a template from hundreds I will show you.
- Tell me what you'd like to change about it.
- I make those changes.
- You approve (or disapprove, then I change it to your liking).
- I research keywords to determine what words are most commonly searched for in your subject.
- I make your five pages based on those keywords and what subjects you want to cover.
- Again, you approve or disapprove, and I make more changes.
- When it is complete, I tell you how to change your password and maintain it yourself.
- If you ever have any questions you can always call or email me.
When we are done, I'll submit it to the search engines. In a month or two they will index your site in the search results (when people search for the keywords we designed it around). Then I'll tell you a few other tricks I use to help your rankings in the search engines.
Ever since I was a kid I always wanted to be a writer. Through my web designing and blogging, the Internet has offered me that opportunity. Of course, I've been published in "real" publications too, like Ten Four Magazine, where I've been writing a monthly column since 2000.
I also like to write vigilante stories, weird stories, tough-guy stories, true stories, and stories with twists. I put one complete book online here- a story about a guy who finds out he's dying, has no family or legacy to leave, and in his quest to find meaning in his life, he winds up killing some bad-guys. If you liked death Wish and Taxi Driver, you'll love Killer Killer.
I am working on at least ten more full-length novels, and hope to someday make my living by simply writing books. In the meantime, I am doing a lot of web designing and article writing to pay my bills.
Some of you that read my Ten Four Magazine column may know that I am a twenty-year veteran trucker and have been selling a CD on my other website, BigCityDriver.com. Well, at the urging of many of my customers, I finally made a video out of it! It's been getting rave reviews too.