Starting New Sites or Revamps

[Destinie]

@Masao that's ok! Everyone works differently. Sometimes it's easier to do the work when you can visualize it. ;)

For me, before I start anything, I absolutely have to have a name. I cannot make a shrine without it having a name first.

[SnowRayjah]

I try to outline the writing and make a wire frame for the outline. Though 90% of the time, I lose those documents and wing it. I more or less know what I want to do when I start making something new. As I'm not very good at visualizing what I want in way of web design and in way of making my wireframes and sites match up to what I want, I tend to go with a "close enough" approach as long as the site can be navigated easily. For me, the writing is the most important part so I take great care to work on it. It also drives me crazy if I don't have a site name. I can't work on a site unless it has a name. xD

For revamps I edit and revise, I try and see what worked and what didn't. I generally make a new layout and try and do something different and organize better.

[Mayumi]

Having a name before doing all else is first for me, then I plan to do the layout second, then the content (sub-sections first which always freezes me up and makes me drop the work in the process). But sometimes, I would do the content second, but makes it difficult to see how the site in general would look which sometimes gives me a headache.

@Todd: Your plan seems like a good plan. :)

[Camy]

For new sites, I do the layout first. Always. Then I do the content. The layout takes THE longest since, well, I wait till inspiration hits me. I don't know how or why, but it happens every time. I once forced myself to make a new layout for KM or SC but it just - it wouldn't work since I am way too picky |D

As for revamps, I just wait. And wait, until an idea for a new layout comes into my head and Photoshop is opened and the magic happens! It's how I did KM's new layout, nice and simple and I got the idea from looking back at the Chevy Impala vector I made. I went abstract >DD -shot-

Tl;dr Layout. All the way! XD

[Megan]

For new sites, I do the layout first. Always. Then I do the content. The layout takes THE longest since, well, I wait till inspiration hits me. I don't know how or why, but it happens every time. I once forced myself to make a new layout for KM or SC but it just - it wouldn't work since I am way too picky |D

As for revamps, I just wait. And wait, until an idea for a new layout comes into my head and Photoshop is opened and the magic happens! It's how I did KM's new layout, nice and simple and I got the idea from looking back at the Chevy Impala vector I made. I went abstract >DD -shot-

Tl;dr Layout. All the way! XD

This always happens with me as well! I always figure out my layout first before I even start my content. Either that, or avatars. I feel like the graphics really motivate me to work hard on any site, new or old.

I think it's easier to start a new site then to revamp an old one... Revamps take a lot more energy because you have to go through all of your old information, rewrite it to make it sound better and less choppy at times. I also think its a lot more fun to make new ones as well. I do like to go back and update the media and new information if a new game or info comes out about the subject, though. :3

[Crystal]

(Why have I not posted here yet?! I am fixing this now...)

For me, when I'm making a new site I generally like to have a title in mind first (on the rare occasion I'll make the layout first). After that is decided upon I will then make the layout. As for the content I'll basically write up ideas of what I want to write about and then wing it from there. Sometimes I'll add/remove stuff as I go along, but overall I'm generally happy with the end result.

As for revamps, I can't really say much as I'm still generally new to being serious in shrining (as in actually having a shrine mostly, if not 100%, complete instead of only a little bit complete), but I'll definitely make a new layout and probably rewrite some content if I feel the need to.

I think it's easier to start a new site then to revamp an old one... Revamps take a lot more energy because you have to go through all of your old information, rewrite it to make it sound better and less choppy at times. I also think its a lot more fun to make new ones as well. I do like to go back and update the media and new information if a new game or info comes out about the subject, though. :3

Basically my thoughts as well. I'm finding this very much the case in Lyn's revamp.

[anon]

I think it's easier to start a new site then to revamp an old one... Revamps take a lot more energy because you have to go through all of your old information, rewrite it to make it sound better and less choppy at times. I also think its a lot more fun to make new ones as well. I do like to go back and update the media and new information if a new game or info comes out about the subject, though. :3

That's totally true! At the same time, if you have your old information backed up, you wouldn't have to do all that research since it's right there!

[Jessica]

My choice to even consider to make a new shrine for something is pretty much based on two things. How much I like/connect with the character and if I actually have anything of substance to talk about on the character. I really liked the character Kuroh from the anime K, but could I actually talk about anything thing substance to warrant a shine? Probably not. (I think this is why I've been so bad at actually uploading a new shrine, because I can't find enough to talk about that satisfies me)

And if I actually find something, then I pretty much always make the layout first. I need that visual to organize my thoughts on what I want to talk about and cover on the subject.

[Sofia]

Being the organisation freak that I am, I always outline my content. Actually I usually prepare some sort of "documentation" before doing anything else. It may take a while to collect all the files/books/references/etc... that I need, but this process helps me a lot in defining how to organise the content later.

After the documentation is done I may already have a clear idea of all the pages to write (as it happened for my Serial Experiments Lain shrine), although most of the times I come up with a potential list of pages that can change as I develop the content. I also keep notes on each page's status, especially if the site is scheduled to be updated or revised in the future. I find that revamps can be extremely time-consuming so having some sort of idea of what needs to be done is useful to speed up the process.

I used to start making the layout first because I'm terribly slow at them, but it happened more than once that, by the time the site was ready to be published, I no longer liked the layout I had made...and I had to re-do it from scratch -.- I do like to have a site title before beginning to work on a new project, though. I'm not good at picking titles on the fly and a couple of times I risked to drop out from a marathon because I didn't have a title to put on the layout...not nice!

[neo]

I have a notebook I purchased specifically for my domain (:
At the top of each page I write which site it's for and write down anything I want to include or add to the site, as well as a 'to do list'.

I doodle a couple of ideas for layouts and write down different CSS tricks I'd like to do or try out.

I also write out what I will transfer to the actual files before I type anything.

Archaic, but it works for me ;D.