Amassment Message Board

So, I thought it'd be cool to have a topic where those of us who have made a few sites and have been doing this a while can give some advice to people who are newer to shrines, or have not made a shrine at all yet. Post your wealth of knowledge here!

I'll start:

1) DREAM big, but start your sites small. I think the biggest mistake new shrine makers make is they outline a beast of a site, and it ends up being too much work for them. They end up unsatisfied with their site because it's unfinished, or they never get around to uploading a site because it will never be finished.

I've made some big sites myself, but I already had shrines under my belt, and so I had already established my way of doing things -- content is a lot easier once you already have a technique down. I think to learn and grow as a webmaster, it's better to start small, and develop your skills and technique.

It's perfectly okay for a site to grow over time, as well. Finish the BASICS of the shrine, so that it appears complete, and don't link planned articles that aren't up yet. You can keep a list of those planned articles yourself and add them as you have time to write them. This also gives your sites updates, and everyone loves updates.

Ohhh, this is a good idea for sure. :)

I agree with everything that Todd has already said as well as keep your number of projects limited. It's a lot easier to get a site done when you only have one or two projects, rather than feeling like you have so many things you want to do and you don't know what to work on! (I know this from experience, haha...)

My only other advice would be to make the site when you are feeling most passionate about the subject and not to force yourself to continue to work on something if you are wanting to write about another subject more. I have this problem somewhat frequently because I like so many things... I may be working on X project but suddenly have the urge to play a different game. After playing the game I may want to work on Y project more than X because I feel really passionate about the subject. I've found that it's really hard to write about one subject when you are thinking about another at the same time. @_@;

When you make a site, be sure to listen to SOMETHING while making it. It gets old really fast when the layout is taking forever, the coding is being a butt without meaning to (it's always ONE silly " or a { } that you miss), and, what I hate the most recently with my host: The cache will go "LOL NOT REFESHING".

Not everything happens perfect on the run go, and that's fine. Just keep it going. I usually listen to something funny or music that has a good rhythm that makes me want to work while making websites, design or coding or both, so that it will make me comfortable and listen to my computer's fans hum like crazy.

Also, be sure to take breaks. Watch a movie, play a game, do something besides looking at that WIP site along with that window of code that is calling to you to have it finish. That way your brain won't feel so fried after finishing it - which usually can take till 3AM if you're like me since I just HAVE TO FINISH ONE THING xD

Last thing is to have fun. Don't beat yourself when something isn't working. At best, look up the problem via Google or w3schools OR come here to the boards to get some help. Sometimes you can't fix it and you need to find a way to make it work since not every plan goes accordingly.

I dunno what else I can add. Everything everyone has said I pretty much do myself.

Although I suppose something I can add is always ask for other people's opinions. I love getting feedback from other people and bouncing ideas off each other. Oftentimes the other person will think of something I may have not thought about and then decide to use it (of course, this was for a fanfic but it still works for shrines to methinks).

Everything that everyone said, and:

Do not fear making a site because there's too much material or too little material or it would just be ramblings or no one would care or something like that. If you want to make a site about something you're passionate about, MAKE IT!

And on the same note - fear not obscure subjects! If you happen to be a fan of some forgotten adventure game from the early nineties and want to write about it, please do it! Don't think that just because it's not Pokémon or Final Fantasy or Kingdom Hearts no one cares! You'd be surprised how much people do care!

I consider myself a new shrine maker, so I find these tips all very helpful. I think that the most important things for me have been to work on something I have a passion for. Rather I feel most productive when the passion for the subject is high. For instance right after playing Parasite Eve I needed a subject for a school project. As I still wanted to be engulfed in PE, I made a character study for Aya. Same with Guardian and Hijikata.

For me, it’s a lot like writing. I have to work on the things that are constantly poking at me (plot bunnies, so to say). I get discouraged sometimes (with graphics and coding) but I do find that music helps keep a positive mood. I also find that sometimes the weirdest songs inspire sites or make me want to work on particular shrines more often.

That being said, the only advice I give about anything art related: Do what you love!

Thanks for all the tips, everyone! :D <3

1) Don't get discouraged by looking at what other people do and thinking what you have isn't good enough. If you want to make something then you should just do it, I guarantee there will be people out there who will enjoy it. And just because someone else has a site to the same character, that doesn't mean you shouldn't make yours. If anything, that's another reason you should make it! Networking with similar shrines is fun!

2) Look at a lot of sites that you like and get inspiration from many different places.

3) Don't be afraid if you're writing or layout isn't "good enough". Find a good point or reason for your site and focus on that instead. Your reason could be anything from "I want to tell everyone how much I like this character" to "I just felt like making a site".

4) There are no wrong ways to make a site.

5) Find your personal style and perfect it. Whether your style is what type of content you write, how you write, how you organize your sites, whatever, just work on it!

6) HAVE FUN. If you're not having fun, you should stop and refresh yourself, then come back to it later.

Destinie wrote:And just because someone else has a site to the same character, that doesn't mean you shouldn't make yours. If anything, that's another reason you should make it! Networking with similar shrines is fun!

Even though I'm not a new site maker, this used to often stop me from making sites. If a character had multiple sites, I kind of shyed off from making one too. I guess part of me didn't see the point. XD;; I'm better about it now...But I never made a site for Riku from Kingdom Hearts for that reason. I've always kind of regretted it, so I definitely agree with this advice. :)

Samantha wrote:

Destinie wrote:And just because someone else has a site to the same character, that doesn't mean you shouldn't make yours. If anything, that's another reason you should make it! Networking with similar shrines is fun!

Even though I'm not a new site maker, this used to often stop me from making sites. If a character had multiple sites, I kind of shyed off from making one too. I guess part of me didn't see the point. XD;; I'm better about it now...But I never made a site for Riku from Kingdom Hearts for that reason. I've always kind of regretted it, so I definitely agree with this advice. :)

It happened to me, where I almost didn't make my Lloyd shrine because, at the time, there were several other ones I thought were better than mine. I went ahead and made it anyway, I'm glad I did!

Maybe some day you will make that Riku shrine??

Destinie wrote: Maybe some day you will make that Riku shrine??

Haha, maybe. I'm not really up-to-date on Riku after KHII so I'd have to do a lot of reading/watching videos and stuff. I stopped paying attention to him to ignore how much I liked his character <___<; *bad*