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ajw
New member
I'm posting this because every now and then I get PMs from members asking about my website and how they can go about making one of their own. While I'm more than happy to respond via PM, I thought this thread might be a good place for others to share their accumulated experience and wisdom.
As I tell people when they PM me, I'm more than happy to chat with collectors that are interested in building their own website. If you'd like to do that, feel free to PM me and I'll send you my Gmail chat and AIM screen names, so we can chat that way.
To be honest, I think my site is really pretty simple. As far as I'm concerned, there are a few keys to any nice site. I've learned a lot through trial and error over the years, and I'm happy to help out as much as I can.
Most importantly: I'm not at all a techie or a web guy, so if I can do it, so can you!
First, a few thoughts on the great benefits of having your own website. In other words, this is why you go through the time and effort to put your cards on line.
1. Photobucket sucks. Well, I use it too, but it's a really lousy way to store, display or (most importantly) view a collection. You put a lot of time, effort and money into your collection, right? Show it off!
2. It really helps you connect with your collection. Everyone goes through ups and downs as a collector, and the process of scanning and preparing your website will really help you connect. I mean, when was the last time you actually handled and looked at all of your cards? You'll need to do that, and it's sort of nice.
3. It helps connect you with other collectors and fans. I get emails all the time from other Will Clark collectors and fans. Here's one I got last week: "Great Will Clark gallery. He was my favorite player only wish he had played a little bit longer. Loved the eye black and intensity he brought to the game." I get them all the time, and they're always a treat. (I also get a few emails from people that think I am Will Clark, which is pretty funny.
4. It's a great checklist and virtual collection. I can view my entire collection from any computer and most phones. How cool is that? If I'm at a card show and can't remember if I have a particular card, I can easily surf to my website on my phone and check.
Here are my thoughts on actually creating your own website. This isn't a step-by-step "How To" but more of a list of ideas and thoughts on how to really show off your collection. If you have more nuts and bolts questions about the actual construction process, feel free to PM. (Or, maybe that will be another post, if there's interest.)
1. Good, clear, consistent scans. That's the reason we're at your website, so take the time to do it nice. Buy a good scanner and do them yourself. Don't simply take the eBay scans, either. Be sure your scans are consistent. If you have the lid up and a black background (as I prefer), do that for ALL your scans. Also, you really should take the cards out of their toploaders/penny sleeves. Show us the cards! That's why we're visiting. Be sure that you resize the images consistently. I have lots of mini and jumbo items, and I reduce everything to 40% of the original scan size. That way, the odd sized items are still the same relative size when compared to standard issues.
2. Keep your site simple and uncluttered. I'm partial to lots of white space and a simple main page. The various exploding whatevers, spinning somethingelses and other random web page clutter does nothing but make a page look amateurish, I think.
3. Graphics. I honestly think that many of the compliments I get are due to the graphics on the main page. I wish I could take credit for those, but a good friend does them for me. I tell him what I want, send him an image, and he does his thing. I suspect it's not a ton of work to make some nice graphics, but I haven't taken the time. Good, original graphics will make your page stand out, as they will appear only on your site, making it look more professional and serious.
4. Card presentation. I use a free program called Jalbum Jalbum to prepare the pages that display each of the card images. Jalbum is a fantastic program that is incredibly customizable. I know a bit about it, but still use maybe 5% of its capabilities. However you choose to display your scans, I really think it's important to have the cards clearly labeled. One thing I hate about photobucket is that it truncates the image title, so you can't see the whole thing. On my page, you can easily us CNTL-F to search for a particular card on that year's page. I find this really helpful for my own purposes, as it serves as my own checklist, allowing me to easily learn if I have or need a particular card.
One thing you may want to consider is including scans of your cards' backs. While I do not, many great collector sites do, and I think it's a nice touch. For me, it's mainly a function of cost v. benefit, as it would take me a loooong time to scan the backs. Still, it is something I may do down the road.
I'd also strongly suggest including both thumbnails and then larger images. I've been to some pages with only tiny images that are really difficult to see. Again, your visitors are at your site because they want to see your cards...so show them off!
5. Tell us something about you and why you collect what you do. I took a fair amount of time writing the "Info" page on my website, and I hope that others enjoy it. Gracecollector also has a nice intro to his website.
6. Get your own domain name and server space. I know freewebs (or whatever people are using now) is free, but I'd strongly suggest getting your own domain name, as it will make your website look more professional and serious. You spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars a year on cardboard, you can afford a couple of $20 bills on a domain name and server space.
Ok, I guess that's about it for now. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts and ideas, and I hope that others add their own thoughts, lessons, suggestions and ideas. Please remember that my thoughts above are what worked (and work) for me. You may have completely different ideas, and I hope you follow them. Find what works for you, and for your collection. There are tons of things I'd like to change and improve on my own site, and I think it will always be a work in progress. It's been nothing but fun from day one, though.
Really, it's shockingly easy.
Good luck, and have fun!
Drew
As I tell people when they PM me, I'm more than happy to chat with collectors that are interested in building their own website. If you'd like to do that, feel free to PM me and I'll send you my Gmail chat and AIM screen names, so we can chat that way.
To be honest, I think my site is really pretty simple. As far as I'm concerned, there are a few keys to any nice site. I've learned a lot through trial and error over the years, and I'm happy to help out as much as I can.
Most importantly: I'm not at all a techie or a web guy, so if I can do it, so can you!
First, a few thoughts on the great benefits of having your own website. In other words, this is why you go through the time and effort to put your cards on line.
1. Photobucket sucks. Well, I use it too, but it's a really lousy way to store, display or (most importantly) view a collection. You put a lot of time, effort and money into your collection, right? Show it off!
2. It really helps you connect with your collection. Everyone goes through ups and downs as a collector, and the process of scanning and preparing your website will really help you connect. I mean, when was the last time you actually handled and looked at all of your cards? You'll need to do that, and it's sort of nice.
3. It helps connect you with other collectors and fans. I get emails all the time from other Will Clark collectors and fans. Here's one I got last week: "Great Will Clark gallery. He was my favorite player only wish he had played a little bit longer. Loved the eye black and intensity he brought to the game." I get them all the time, and they're always a treat. (I also get a few emails from people that think I am Will Clark, which is pretty funny.
4. It's a great checklist and virtual collection. I can view my entire collection from any computer and most phones. How cool is that? If I'm at a card show and can't remember if I have a particular card, I can easily surf to my website on my phone and check.
Here are my thoughts on actually creating your own website. This isn't a step-by-step "How To" but more of a list of ideas and thoughts on how to really show off your collection. If you have more nuts and bolts questions about the actual construction process, feel free to PM. (Or, maybe that will be another post, if there's interest.)
1. Good, clear, consistent scans. That's the reason we're at your website, so take the time to do it nice. Buy a good scanner and do them yourself. Don't simply take the eBay scans, either. Be sure your scans are consistent. If you have the lid up and a black background (as I prefer), do that for ALL your scans. Also, you really should take the cards out of their toploaders/penny sleeves. Show us the cards! That's why we're visiting. Be sure that you resize the images consistently. I have lots of mini and jumbo items, and I reduce everything to 40% of the original scan size. That way, the odd sized items are still the same relative size when compared to standard issues.
2. Keep your site simple and uncluttered. I'm partial to lots of white space and a simple main page. The various exploding whatevers, spinning somethingelses and other random web page clutter does nothing but make a page look amateurish, I think.
3. Graphics. I honestly think that many of the compliments I get are due to the graphics on the main page. I wish I could take credit for those, but a good friend does them for me. I tell him what I want, send him an image, and he does his thing. I suspect it's not a ton of work to make some nice graphics, but I haven't taken the time. Good, original graphics will make your page stand out, as they will appear only on your site, making it look more professional and serious.
4. Card presentation. I use a free program called Jalbum Jalbum to prepare the pages that display each of the card images. Jalbum is a fantastic program that is incredibly customizable. I know a bit about it, but still use maybe 5% of its capabilities. However you choose to display your scans, I really think it's important to have the cards clearly labeled. One thing I hate about photobucket is that it truncates the image title, so you can't see the whole thing. On my page, you can easily us CNTL-F to search for a particular card on that year's page. I find this really helpful for my own purposes, as it serves as my own checklist, allowing me to easily learn if I have or need a particular card.
One thing you may want to consider is including scans of your cards' backs. While I do not, many great collector sites do, and I think it's a nice touch. For me, it's mainly a function of cost v. benefit, as it would take me a loooong time to scan the backs. Still, it is something I may do down the road.
I'd also strongly suggest including both thumbnails and then larger images. I've been to some pages with only tiny images that are really difficult to see. Again, your visitors are at your site because they want to see your cards...so show them off!
5. Tell us something about you and why you collect what you do. I took a fair amount of time writing the "Info" page on my website, and I hope that others enjoy it. Gracecollector also has a nice intro to his website.
6. Get your own domain name and server space. I know freewebs (or whatever people are using now) is free, but I'd strongly suggest getting your own domain name, as it will make your website look more professional and serious. You spend hundreds (or thousands) of dollars a year on cardboard, you can afford a couple of $20 bills on a domain name and server space.
Ok, I guess that's about it for now. I'm sure I'll have more thoughts and ideas, and I hope that others add their own thoughts, lessons, suggestions and ideas. Please remember that my thoughts above are what worked (and work) for me. You may have completely different ideas, and I hope you follow them. Find what works for you, and for your collection. There are tons of things I'd like to change and improve on my own site, and I think it will always be a work in progress. It's been nothing but fun from day one, though.
Really, it's shockingly easy.
Good luck, and have fun!
Drew
