Experience:
I had one class in high school in 1982-1983 that taught
the BASIC language. Between 1983 and 1995, I ran my parent's video store
and did all the computer work required for all operations, this
included databases of customers and stock. Although I did not build
the programs themselves, on several occasions I had to trouble shoot
and fix problems that arose with them. These programs ran in DOS.
I began Enchanted Moon in 1995 as a desktop publishing
service. My computer had Windows 95 and I used the programs that
came on the computer for most of the work, figuring out by myself
how to use them. My sister started teaching healthy cooking classes
at the same time and was my first customer. I created flyers and brochures
using Corel Print House, and the recipe packets for her classes
using Microsoft Works. There were other various clients I did
some work for, one example is some signs I created for a small health
food store.
In October of 1999 I logged onto the internet and knew
right then I wanted to create websites. In February of 2000 I created
my first website using BigStep’s free hosting. The site was
for my sister's business, Macro Val, which had now grown to include
her classes on VHS. I created all the printed materials for these tapes
as well (package covers, booklets, labels). The BigStep site lasted
until they started charging for hosting, an amount that was very high.
My sister wanted something more affordable so I then created Val's new
site with Bizhosting, this was my first experience with a web store.
When I started hosting sites, she decided to go with my new hosting
service for her webstore so the Bizhosting site is gone. Her main site
was built with The Web Shop site builder. Her
site is now rebuilt with Dreamweaver.
While I did use online site builders, I realized I needed
to learn the coding of web sites. With the help of Sam's Teach
Yourself Web Publishing with HTML 4, About.com,
ZDNet.com, and a
few other resources, I taught myself HTML 4, XHTML, and acquired an
understanding of how java and other codes worked.
During the same time as the above was happening, I created
2 one page sites for D & M Plumbing and Blue Spruce Trees, using
ZDNet's site builder. I also created the The
Kozi Line site which is built using Bizhosting's site builder as
her business is in the U.P. and she needed to be able to manage some
parts of the site herself.
In June of 2005, I acquired Dreamweaver, the
site builder preferred by professionals. I taught myself how to use
it with "Mastering Dreamweaver 4 and Fireworks". I
have built this site along with the Infinite
Flame site with it. Flying
Cat Productions , which is owned by a friend, is also built with
Dreamweaver. More of my sites built with Dreamweaver are on the Enchanted
Sites page.
In April of 2006 I decided to add hosting to my services.
Hosting is only available for my clients at this time. I am using a
green hosting service, check out my Hosting
Info page to find out about green hosting
and other ways Enchanted Moon is environmentally friendly.
In 2007 I had the opportunity to work with a
friend on her magazine, "The Muse". To do this I had
to learn how to use InDesign CS2 to create the magazine in two weeks!
I purchased "Sandee Cohen's Visual Quickstart Guide InDesign
CS2" and with it beside me, we got the whole magazine done
in two weeks. This first issue has some typos and mistakes due to the
rush, but the second issue came out beautifully. I also used this program
to create an advertising booklet for her festival. You can download
these from the Publications page.
In 2009, I set up Flying
Cat Design's Cafe Press store. Cafe Press is a unique and reasonably
priced way for an artist to get their work printed on many items like
clothing, tote bags, reusable bottles, mouse pads, clocks, and much
more. The online store itself is easy to run, I can help with the set
up and coding for the look-&-feel.
While I have always built my sites with marketing
and search engines in mind, since 2008 it seems that some have tried
to make a career out of marketing web sites. With me, you do not
need a separate marketing agent. As I build your site, I incorporate
SEO (search engine optimization) using legal techniques to help
your site show up with the best possible placement. Key words and
meta tags are built into each page. I help you decide
what best will help your site: blogs, newsletters, social network
pages (like Facebook or MySpace), or Google keyword ads. And I help
you to set these tools up and maintain them.
In 2010 I decided to learn CSS. I have been building
websites with tables, which I am told is not the best way to build them.
While I agree CSS has some advantages, the biggest problem I have with
it is that the placement of objects on a page is not as exact as tables.
There are occasions where a picture or ad appears on top of the text.
I am hoping this issue will be corrected by the time I have mastered
this skill. I am using my own site for my glycerin soap, naked-soaps.com,
for my learning test site.
Also in 2010, I am creating a blog using WordPress.
It is not ready to be viewed yet, I will update with a link soon.
