Hi all,

I have designed a few websites for friends and c0-workers. As I have mentioned before I am not new to web design but I am fairly new to designing with CSS.

Anyway, I am starting to do a website for myself, but I am not sure which direction to take it. With designing a site for other people they have an idea and I can help them with all aspects of this. The problem is should I make my site a "Web design" page or a personal page. What I mean by web design is, offering simple web design for people. With a personal page it would be for sharing photo's with friends, my fav links etc.

I have run into a wall with this. I can't decide which way to go.

I know there is vast experience in the forum and maybe someone can kick start me in the right direction.

Thanks

I would separate the personal and business page completely. At least it seems to me very unprofessional if I end up watching family photos when I'm searching for a webdesigner. Even if you take web designing more than a hobby than a profession, I would separate them.

Two questions.

Can you provide a reliable web design service?

What do you want to share about yourself on a personal site?

The key to either site is to have it up to date and used frequently. If you feel that you will make a site and then do nothing with it then there really is little point in developing the website in the first place.

I feel like I can offer a reliable web service.

"What do you want to share about yourself on a personal site?"

That is the problem with a personal web site, I am not sure if I go that route what to put on it?????

There are many web design business that have the company/portfolio site and link in their menu to a blog.

For the personal page you could always use MySpace or some other social networking site to see if you actually enjoy putting up photos and info about yourself.

If you have skills as a web designer, I'd probably go that route.

I am not sure what you mean by this. Can you post up an example pls

ok ... well ... going on cssmania in the web-design topics

http://www.digiwize.com/
http://leslyg.com/
http://www.seoptimise.com/

see the Blog link in their menus

Yeah, I think that might be a good idea for you. Why don't you build you a nice website and then have a sub-domain where you can blog about personal events and post up photos.

Thanks for all of that folks. That advice is great

Why not have a personal site and a business site?.
I have a personal one and i have the web design site. But then im not a freelance. I work for a web design business.
Just an idea.

Successful sites are ones where the idea comes first. If you have no ideas then bother creating a website. Your energies would be better expended elsewhere.

If you want to pursue web design then you MUST have a portfolio site. This site should have about/portfolio/contact pages.

If you are serious about trying to get more customers, your blog should be completely seperate.

EG - My blog/E-Portfolio go together, but I'm not serious about finding lots of work right now, but if I was looking for a designer and saw a blog like that, I wouldn't get in touch with them.

I would disagree, by having a technical blog you can get extra hits to your website which will get more people to your website. For example, if you have a blog with tutorials. Then post the tutorial on digg. You can get far more hits from there than you could through Google.

While many of these hits may not lead to more work, you are opening up your website to more visitors. By bringing more visitors to the site you are increasing the chance of retaining some of these users so when they require web design services you may be top of their list.

Everyone wants to design a website, but no one takes the time to decide what they want the website for.

That's why there are so many trash sites out there.

Sit down with a pen and paper and outline your skills, what you want people to know about you, and how you want to present the information to them. Then decide you want to design a website...

-Jasontor

I agree with everyone above who says to seperate business from your personal sites, but keep a personal and unique view in your business sites. It always helps to calm a perspective client and sway them in your favor.

This is exactly why I wanted to ask for you guys help, thanx