Building a website from the ground up is a lot of work. Sometimes seems as if I'll never get it all done ... I just know I'm going to forget something important, forget to create a link, overlook a typographical error in the wording somewhere, upload a page with the wrong picture or phone number or something ... overlooking even minor things can have a big impact when the site gets published (and viewed by the people you are trying to make yourself appealing to.) It's like trying to put together a 5000 piece jigsaw puzzle. Good thing I like jigsaw puzzles!
You start with deciding on the general lay-out of the site, and then all the pages have to be designed. You spend a lot of time up close and personal with Photoshop. Design, re-design, and re-design again until you get something you like, something you feel good about; something you feel represents the company well and accurately conveys who you are and what you're about. And, when there are partners in the business you have to make sure what you have created is something they feel good about, too. There is much to that old adage - You only get one chance to make a first impression. In business, it's crucial.
Then you get to the nitty-gritty, gathering up all your puzzle pieces into real, workable images. Hex or RGB color codes, GIFs or JPEGs, kerning and/or horizontal tracing, photography (which is a whole 'nuther kettle of fish!), pixels and vectors and dithering, outside links, etc. The list goes on, and on. When all that's done, you go back and check it all again. Chances are, you get to make a whole slew of changes, several times.
Every day I sit for hours in front of the computer; me, Photoshop and cups of coffee. I go to bed at night and lay there thinking about the gazillion things still ahead to be done. I watch the days tick by on the calender, getting ever closer to the deadline, and think that if I don't get this worked out I'm gonna' end up in a corner somewhere babbling incoherently and chewing on my hair.
The day I sent the proof pages to Peggy (our dear skinfood creator!) I walked around the house in a sweat. I couldn't sit still for more than a few minutes at a time, waiting to get her response. Did she like the colors? Did she like the lay-out? Did she like the product shots? Did she like the way I wrote our company philosophy? I stressed myself out. I can't help it, I'm a perfectionist. I'm an artist. I'm holding the responsibility of putting a "face" to the product Peggy created and sticking it on the internet where everybody and their cousin is gonna' see it. I knew I probably wouldn't hear back from her for at least a day or so.
Was really, really happy to find out she liked it.
Of course, there are still some changes to take care of, re-word some stuff, use a different picture on one page, fix a typo here and there, and so forth, but the design/page construction is basically done. Now I can begin the process of breaking it all down and uploaded it to the web. Once there, I'll set up all the links and navigation stuff that will help viewers move around through the site, or connect to the other places we will be located ... our CafePress store where you can get our t-shirts, tote bags, hats and other groovy stuff. Get us linked up to our FaceBook, Twitter, Linked-In, and other social networking sites. Yep, still lots to do.
But, it's worth it. My partners, Peggy and Rena, are worth it. The product is worth it.
So, to all of you who have been waiting for us to get this thing up and going, I hope you will continue to have just a little more patience with us ... we're so close!
Namaste, y'all ...
Carol
