weebly review

The first thing I want to say about Weebly is that it really does offer completely free web hosting. There is an available upgrade, of course, but the basic plan is free. No cash. No ads. No pop ups. No anoying Weebly banner. The site has a good reputation, too, and has been around for some time. It was listed near the top of Time Magazines 50 best websites in 07 and seems to be holding its own. I transferred my dot come to the site last night and am feeling pretty good about it. This is my URL: bijoulerie.com if you'd like to see how it came out.

Starting out on Weebly is easy. If you don't want Weebly in your URL, you can buy a dot com through the site or bring your own from wherever it is parked. Buying one from Weebly is encouraged and you will be warned that transferring an existing dot com is complicated. There is a tutorial however o the Weebly website and it is understandable. I found the process relatively easy though I did hit a snag towards the end. Even so, transferring my dot com from GoDaddy to Weebly took probably 15 minutes or less.

Making your website is painless thanks to Weebly's user friendly drag and drop widget type interface. Widgets include the usual text and picture applications as well as contact form and Google AdSense. Google AdSense allows you to sell things directly from your site but as I understand it, a huge bite is taken out of any money you make. Because I link my site directly to Etsy via Etsy Mini this doesn't effect me but for many people it would be a definite draw back. There is an advanced editing mode for anyone who wants to write there own html. but there are also around 50 different templates to choose from. You can upload your own banner as well.

My site went up in 2-3 multi-tasking hours and, aside from the other stuff I had to do, it was a fun 2-3 hours. I found nothing in the Weebly interface that was frustrating or confusing. and I'm pretty easily frustrated. I'm not sure how Weebly stacks up against other similar sites but it seems like a nice fit for me so far. I'll include updates as I progress.

my etsy order and its packaging

I haven't been on etsy long but I have already bought quite a lot of stuff. I love jewelry after all (or I wouldn't make it) and while I almost never buy finished pieces, I do buy a lot of beads, and vintage findings. And on etsy, how could I not?

Anyway, I ordered some antique bead caps and vintage olive briolettes (not cheap but worth their price in my opinion) and they arrived today. The caps are great, especially the two smaller copper ones, and the briolettes are lovely.

The packaging was nice too. The outside was decorated with cute stickers and colorful stamps. Inside, were some really pretty cards and a handwritten thank you. I enjoyed opening this package and will certainly put the card somewhere visible. Check out the seller who sent it, My Shangrila, if you have the time. She has some lovely things and a really incredible banner.

making an etsy storefront banner pt. 2

This is the just for fun banner I talked about in my previous post. I think it creates a very different mood. I chose a very subtle patterned background in this banner. It required a little tweaking but was not hard to do.

I'm hoping my boyfriend will decide to use it for his etsy shop. He has mostly used ebay but I have persuaded him to try etsy. We buy and sell vintage items together so I think it will work well. I may put some vintage items in my own shop but am planning to mostly work with him on his.

To make this banner I chose another free vector graphic but placed the decorative scroll work on each end of the banner by cutting, pasting and rotating design elements to frame the font. In addition to placing the scroll work on the page I copied, pasted, and altered the background of the original graphic to fill in the banner background.

This banner was a little more work but also fun to do. I think it has a nice vintage look.

Making Your own Etsy Storefront Banner

I had time to make the banner for my store this weekend. It wasn't difficult and I think it turned out pretty well. I enjoyed doing it so much that I actually made two. One for me and one for fun. Both are fairly simple but I think they work.

My first banner is posted above. If you'd like something similar and think you might and need help doing it, this article should talk you through the process of creating your own custom banner. It is a basic article aimed at people who aren't familiar with computer graphics. If you have a background you may get impatient with the detail.

There are only 5 straightforward steps. Creating a banner will take some tweaking. Remember that your banner is, essentially, a sign. And just like a 'real' sign, it's the first thing your customers will notice when they look at your store. You should reflect something about you and your shop.

You'll need a commercial graphics editing program like PhotoShop or a free program like Gimp. If you're not familiar with the tools in the tool box of your graphics editor you can just google any questions as you go along. Making a banner will be a good opportunity to become familiar with your application.

1. The first step is to select an image that you can as a focal point for your banner. View this project as you would a collage, decoupage or scrap booking project. Find something you like. I chose a free vector graphic of a woman and edited it. I added a dress, jewelry, hair, and rose petals. Resize your image to a height of 100 pixels. Save the jpeg to your computer as graphic_1 or whatever name you choose.

2. Create a new image in your graphics editor. Set the dimensions to 100 x 760 pixels and save it as banner_1.

3. Create the background for your banner. Choose a color for your background. I chose white because I wanted something that wouldn't clash with the etsy banner (which will display directly above your banner) but a color can be nice. Use the eyedropper to coordinate with your pic or choose a different color entirely. Keep in mind that the rust and gray (not all that attractive) etsy banner is one of the design elements of your storefront.

4. Pick a font and letter the name of your shop. This part is fun and just as important as selecting your image Use your graphics editing program to find a font that goes with your design and sets the mood of your shop. You will want to experiment with different fonts and different sizes. Use the eyedropper tool to pick a color from your design element that strongly contrasts with your back ground or pick your own color.

5. When you come up with a font that you like decide on a size and position and save it as banner + name of font. When you're done, you'll have at least a couple different versions to choose from.

Post your finished banner on etsy! It may not be the glitziest banner going, or maybe it is. Either way it's a one of kind design, reflecting your own creativity. I hope you are as happy with your banner as I am with mine!