Hoosier Hunter

I have to admit that I too have written down many of these suggestions. There are some sites out there I never knew about.

I voted for having both due to the fact that I have different things on different machines. We have two laptops here, five desktops, and a designated server. Of course, my kids homeschool so they all have their own station during school hours, but we have spares that have various OS for programs. We even have one set up with 98 so that it can use DOS based and older programs. This one gets used A LOT!

What is your method for content? Do you purchase it, hire a freelancer, work with free content for link sites? Do it yourself?

But in that method, at least your site looks more natural in its rank climb.

If your site is not SEO'd or search engine friendly, the site will not get rank. You also need link pr.

Have you ever had people think that since you were a freelancer they could drag you around for payment? The wife is a writer. She is often unhappy because people cheat her on payments sometimes, but lately, she's been reselling commissioned content that the jobs haven't paid for and blacklisting certain clients as well as telling them to be sure and not post any content they did not pay for. How do you guys handle no pay?

It really depends on the website. If the subject matter requires the use of graphics, I tend to build around the graphics. I try not to stick with particular colorschemes, although I'd admit I seem to have a preference for earth tones.

You're reading my mind. My wife is worse. If she sees a movie that drops the ball she tells me how she would have done it better. For example, AI. She would have ended the movie with the beings making him robots of his parents so that he was not alone any more. Instead they ended it cruddy.

It's good to have the balance of someone else. I figure that is one of the most valuable types of people to have around. For myself, my wife keeps me grounded and logical. She's a good egg and brings out the good in me. If something isn't working for me, I ask her to take a look and try to be receptive. But as far as ugly or rough websites go, maybe that spare person is what that webmaster is lacking.

Ah, sorry I don't take pictures of sports. I'm a nature photography guy. I wish I could help out. Have you tried stock photo forums for contestants?

Nice start, but a little bit generic. I tend to browse sites that are a little more user friendly without looking like a list of links. Try buttons, colors, perhaps changing the white to parchment or some sort of textured background.

I have to say that I'm guilty of the one-upper method of inspiration. It frustrates me to see things that could be so much better and you just wonder where the creator went so wrong.

Hey if it's really good and a good blogger gets ahold of it, it will definitely get traffic.

You have to look at it from a stock photographer's point of view to decide which site has the most versatility. If you're looking for freebie pictures, there are literally dozens of these types of sites if you google "royalty free stock photo". For specific images, you might want to try shutterstock, but I heard bigstockphoto is decent as well. I also found this stock photo site, which is really cool national images.

I like to pour a bubblebath for two and soak with my wife. She's full of ideas -- a pisces with a creative heart. We throw ideas back and forth a lot, and when I'm facing her in a tub of bubbles, I don't worry about block so much.

First step, huh? Well, I have to agree that you should have SEO in mind when planning if you want any sort of rank, but you have to think of why you are creating a website in the first place. If it's to make an income, SEO should be part of the birth of your site. If income is a byproduct or if there is another reason behind your site, then subject matter and ease of use for readers is essential. You simply must decide where your passion lies.