[thelist] Finished, at last !

[Kevin Stevens]

Thank you all for your replies, there is a lot of useful information that I
can act on (although the broken link is just plain carelessness, I'm ashamed
to admit).
A couple of things I would like to open up for further comment...

1. I have given prices for a basic site because I realise that small bands
will not have a lot of money. My initial idea is just to offer people a web
presence, and as I am still learning I thought that the cheap price will
perhaps allow me to do a few sites to boost my portfolio, then I can start
charging more money.

2. I, personally, think the site looks colourful and pretty. I don't know
how to do Flash, although I do know people who can do this, and this was one
of the reasons for asking potential clients what sites they like and why.
Then, for example, if they say they like an animated site that uses Flash, I
can get them a price for that, but it will be a lot more than just a few
graphics.

I am trying to get across that a site can look professional and eye-catching
without being too expensive. I go to great lengths to explain that I have
been in a similar situation to my potential customers, and to point out that
the site can grow without
the initial outlay being too great. That was the idea anyway :)
I think though, perhaps you are right in not including a price. But, as a
test, try asking someone who does not produce web sites to estimate how much
one of your sites cost the customer. I have frequently found that people are
often horrified at how much a site costs, and how long it takes to produce!
Of course, this is no reason at all for charging less, but I wanted to
(initially, at least) get some work under my belt, and I thought the best
way to do this was to offer a tempting price.
Because I am not asking anything, or answering a question, here is a tip.

<tip author="Kevin Stevens" type="GIMP">
I'm sure most of you use Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro to do your graphics.
There is a free graphics program called GIMP, originally designed for Linux
but also available for Windows (not sure about Macs), which is quite useful
to have as well, because it has some interesting effects that I have not
seen in PSP. It is a little bit buggy on Windows, but worth having a look
at.
</tip>

Kevin Stevens
kjs at ratking.co.uk