Hello all.

So I think that I have sold my first site and I am happy to be done with it.

But i have learned a lot from so many people here.

I want to build something new. But in a way I would like to start working on a portfolio of sites.

So I am looking for some general ideas and help on how to build websites for non profit organizations like churches and such that I can make a site maybe they can pay me for hosting and webmaster fees, but where I can practise my skills.

So I am looking for some of your ideas, like what have you done to get noticed or going as a webmaster

Did you just start making small sites or go to college?

I would like to learn some tricks of the trade.

Like do you make small websites that are no more than 10 pages on free web hosts? and if so what do you watch out for or look for?

So I just want to see what got you started as a webmaster and what tips do you have.

Thank you all
Chris

I started out making a pair of humour sites, and a client caught onto what I was doing and liked it.

Funny thing was that I haven't done anything for myself other than SEFL since.

Wow that's cool

I would love to be a webmaster for some huge company someday, but sometimes starting small and developing friendships are great too

Most people have to start out doing just what you're doing make a couple of sites and if the owners don't mind (if you're doing them for free they won't) put your name on the bottom of the site maybe a link that says visit the webmaster's site here and on your site have screenshots of what you have done and so on get your name out there and a way for people who like what you've done to contact you and you should be set as far as getting started. Also doing them for charity will help spread your name by word of mouth especially if they like what you've done. For non-profit organizations they are only "non-profit" after they pay their employees so many of them have plenty of money to pay for a nice website that will further their cause...

Chirs I've probably already mentioned it to you, but I basically just started building sites. I read how and then read how to do it better and try new things to see what does and doesn't work.

Based on what I've seen with your site (congrats on selling it by the way) I think you're doing things right. It really is a matter of learning something new and then applying it to a real site and then working out the bugs.

It also takes a little time. I'm certainly better at this than I was a few years ago when I was first getting started.

One of the things that had helped me the most is fixing problems when they come up. When something doesn't work like I thnk it should I try to figure it out on my own and then search online for an answer. When I find a solution that works I also try to understand why it worked. The why helps with problems yet unencountered.

I know forums like his are here to help answer questions, but if you want to learn spend time trying to solve the problem first without asking. Some problems you'll figure out on your own, but even when you don't the answers here and at other forums will make more sense if you've put the time in on your own first. I think you do this anyway, but figured I would mention it.

Mostly just keep at it. I think you're on the right path in all this and it really might come down to a matter of time. You definitiely know more now than you did a few months back.

i got my start simply by accident. I used to work in sales for another company that sold web/print/computers/etc. At the time i had no real clue what i was doing.

After a while i decided that i wanted to play with the programs a little just to learn them.

After a while, I started creating sites for my sports teams, and man were they awful! Actually my first site is still up http://home.golden.net/~jfieldin/hitmen.htm

Then i just started learning new things, and evolved from frontpage to dreamweaver.

The business side of things was the easy part for me. I talked to everybody i knew at the time and drummed up business that way. It was a little tough because the internet was still fairly new, and selling people on the "wave of the future" was a little tough at times.

I'd suggest that you just get out and talk to people, and don't be afraid to ask your current client(s) for referrals. That's basically how I run now.

Don't hold yourself back because you think you don't have the ability, which is what I did. Surround yourself with people that can help you get projects done (and pay them.)

Nobody has to know it's just you working away in your basement office.

The first sale gives you an amazing rush eh?! Just wait until you get the biggest sale, it get's even better!

Good luck!

Wow that is very inspiring that you so much for commenting

I have only made a few websites and it's so hard to find the time around my job and other activities.

I wish I had got into earlier in my life so I could have found a job involved in it somehow!

I started doing webdesign about 8 years ago - I had been doing print and document production before. I started by doing a site for an existing client and through work of mouth my portfolio and client list grew. (keystrokes.net) I have designed nearly 100 sites and currently maintain about 25. Personally, I would not want to be a webmaster for a large company. I prefer the flexibility of picking my projects and my hours.

When I first got on the net the first thing I wondered was how web pages were made, so I sat down and learnt the basics using many html resource sites and have never looked back.

I made my first site in 1999 which is still going today. It started out as a links directory with manually updated pages. As the number of links grew I was spending more and more time updating so I did some research and discovered a Perl cgi script which automated submissions (these were the days before php was popular!) - so I installed it to make my life easier. Over the years I kept on tweaking the site, and adding new features - all this was a great learning experience.

My first "break" was building a site for my girlfriends business. That site started out as simple static catalogue pages for her products but we soon ventured into online ordering, and it was on that site that I first delved into ecommerce. Another great learning period!

Once the word got around that I could build a working ecommerce site I started to get work offers from her friends which I took up, and the experience I gained placed me in an ideal situation to go freelance which I still do today.

If I have any tips I would say practice as much as you can. If you want to know how something is done go and learn it, there are plenty of resources on the net to help. Being a web designer throws up a lot of challenges so the more you know the more you can offer potential clients.