Experience:
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 in
2005, 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 until 2005, 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 Ultra Dev
4 and Fireworks 4, the site builder preferred by professionals.
I taught myself how to use it with "Mastering Dreamweaver
4 and Fireworks". Since this time, I have built many sites
with Dreamweaver. Using Dreamweaver instead of online builders gave
me the chance to tweak the code with xhtml. I became more familiar
with Java, css, and php (very little php experience).
In April of 2006 I added hosting to my services.
Hosting is only available for my clients. 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. This gave me more experience with the set up of online
stores.
In 2008 marketing was all the rage.
As I built sites, I always incorporated SEO (search engine optimization)
using legal techniques to help each site show up with the best
possible placement. Key words and meta tags are
built into each page. I would discuss with clients other options like
blogs, newsletters, social network pages (like Facebook or MySpace),
or Google keyword ads. I created newsletters for some clients,
have a FaceBook page for my business.
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.
I am now incorporating CSS into my websites but still
build with tables.
The last few years have seen a huge drop in the economy.
Many of my clients have closed their businesses or dropped the website
as they cut costs. 2011 was a rough year with the death of
my long term boyfriend and my web business suffered as I wasn't up
to finding new clients. I was doing work for the clients I had during
this time. In April of 2014 I had to declare bankruptcy due
to these events and closed Enchanted Moon.
Present: I am looking for more clients for web
design and/or a position with a company designing sites. I have
been cleaning up and updating my own sites while brushing up on my
skills. I am open to learning any program or code that I need to create
sites or graphics if Dreamweaver won't do. My ideal position would
allow me to work at home as I have a chronic back condition
that prevents me from sitting or standing too long.
