Opening speeches

[dubiousdisc]

With splash pages not existing anymore, it has become common practice to put some sort of welcome message as the first thing your visitors will read on your site.

So: what do you write on the first page of a fansite?

Do you have consistent patterns across all of your sites?
How do you phrase this welcome message?
Do you write this part before or after the rest of the content, or at the same time?
What else do you tend to put on the index page?

[Todd]

Interesting discussion! I don't think we've ever covered this before.

The welcome message is the last thing I generally write on a site. I try to word each one differently, as I expect my sites will sometimes be visited all together if someone is viewing my collective, and it'd be odd if they all sound the same.

In them, I try to let people know what or who the site is dedicated to, a brief reason why I made the site (which I may or may not go in more in-depth later in the site section), and what they can expect to find there, as I have different intentions for each of my sites. Other things I try to include is a spoiler warning, instructions on how to navigate, and a thank you for visiting.

[Saya]

Actually for me there is a patern about the welcome page.

1. welcome
2. explained dedication to the subject (this shrine is dedicated bla bla)
3. Warnings for the unmarked spoilers
4. my love for character in short (there would be section in the shrine for a long love poem for them)
5. Banners to the directories the shrine is part
6. Links to sister sites if they have it...

[dubiousdisc]

I try to word each one differently, as I expect my sites will sometimes be visited all together if someone is viewing my collective, and it'd be odd if they all sound the same.

Huh, I had never thought about that. I do try to phrase them differently through different sites, but just to avoid repeating myself - I had never thought that someone might want to read everything in a row, heh.

Personally, what I try to do in the opening paragraph, besides letting the visitor know what is this site for, is also give a quick introduction to the character and set the general tone of the site. In my case, I think this is most evident by comparing how Anger's introduction sounds so different from anything else I've made, since it was a more serious site with a more serious tone.

Instead of writing why I like the character, I tend to write why is the character interesting in my opinion, but I do that because I have issues with writing too much in the first person; my native language doesn't put as much emphasis on the I as English does, and I find it odd and uncomfortable to write in terms of feelings.

This aside, then as for what I put in the rest of the page I try to be varied. I always put a link to my main collective somewhere in the page. Sometimes I put the disclaimer in the footer too; if necessary, I add navigation instructions, spoiler warnings and the like, and the last update if the site is not completely static.

[Vii]

I tend to use the same format. Something like:

"Welcome to (site name), a tribute to (character name) from (creator's name)'s (series name). A sentence or two about who the character is and why they deserve a shrine. A sentence or two about how the website is filled with ramblings and spoilers and possibly hints of slash, and I hope you enjoy your stay."

It's usually the first thing I write, because I hate having filler text when I'm working with a design xD I feel anything in depth can be said throughout the website :) But I also never thought about how someone might be reading my shrines back to back, maybe I should change it up a little :x

I also make sure my index page has information regarding updates, visitor hits, a link back to the network, and a tiny bit on the layout and resources used in it.

[Mikari]

Ah splash pages... the memories.

Do you have consistent patterns across all of your sites?

They all have an introduction with the name of the site, the main subject and where the character is from. I have pretty simple intro pages.

How do you phrase this welcome message?

Simple and to the point. Something along the lines of "welcome to [site name] a shrine to [character] from [game/series]." Then I talk a little about the site itself so that people have an idea about what they'll find and give spoiler warnings if it applies. It's a pretty short message.

Do you write this part before or after the rest of the content, or at the same time?

I usually write it before, it's the first thing I write as I tend to write the sections in the same order as I have them listed. Although at times I end up editing the last few lines after the content it done.

What else do you tend to put on the index page?

A few lines telling people that they can change the layout if the site has skins and a link back to my network usually found on my name "signed" at the end of the introduction paragraph.



@dubiousdisc: Out of curiosity what is your native language?

[Camy]

Oh goodness, splash pages! I haven't used those since version 18 for Sesshoumaru's Castle which was probably back in...2004ish.


Do you have consistent patterns across all of your sites?
Yes I do xD


How do you phrase this welcome message?
I mostly go like this: Hello and/or Welcome to (site name), a site (small tribute for one page) to (character name), a character from (series here) created by (creator here). Then I'll talk about the character and how I view them and their character and then tell them to get ready by adding in something humorous.


Do you write this part before or after the rest of the content, or at the same time?
Before because I always put this sentence in Photoshop when I make the design so that I know how to style it beforehand (and it sometimes changes in the end). It's a good guide though!


What else do you tend to put on the index page?
Spoilers of course if any along with the information of the design (linked to the full credit area), when it was last updated, link back to the collective and directory links.

[dubiousdisc]

Do you write this part before or after the rest of the content, or at the same time?
Before because I always put this sentence in Photoshop when I make the design so that I know how to style it beforehand (and it sometimes changes in the end). It's a good guide though!

THIS IS ACTUALLY THE MOST EXCELLENT IDEA
/steals

I tend to write it as the last thing but if I cut off the bull's head like that...

Mikari: Italian. Explicit subjects are basically luxury, so you don't end up with this I, I, I...

[Camy]

YEEES, STEAL IT! IT HELPS MAJORLY XDDD

-coughs- But yes, it's a wonderful shortcut~ ;D

[Mikari]

@dubiousdisc: that sounds pretty different. I don't know any Italian, though I had not imagined it to be that different (in terms of context rather than sound I mean). Kind of reminds me of how everything in Spanish has a "gender" and even inanimate objects have a proper feminine or masculine pronoun.

@Camy: I design with my main page as a "preview" too, though only for the coding as I made the graphics separately on Gimp.