Browse through the questions here to see if your own can be answered. If you have any more questions, contact me at guardianargreg@yahoo.com.
1. How long have you been in business for?
Off and on for ten years. Makes for a good amount of practice time.
2. What tools and hosting companies do you work with?
I like to keep my tools and the services I work with affordable. That way, I can make my services affordable to my customers.
My web publishing software of choice is First Page 2006, by Evrsoft(http://www.evrsoft.com/). It started out as 1st Page 2000, as free web publishing software. Both the old and the modern versions have every single type of webdesign tool that you could possibly thnk of, including a free FTP plugin, to help you make great webpages. It has full support for HTML, XHTML, PHP, ASP, Cold Fusion, Javascript, CSS, SSI and Perl. (I haven't even used all of the tools this thing has yet). The latest version, while free, has a reminder window, letting you know that for a small purchase fee, you can also gain access to a plethora of web templates. (Am reserving judgement on that one).
For graphics design and rendering, I use three programs for that. First and foremost is IrfanView(http://www.irfanview.com/). this viewer can handle just about any and every type of graphics file there is(BMP, JPG, GIF, TIFF, PSD, EPS, PNG, PCX, MP3, AVI, MOV, ICO, LWF, JPG2000, PSP, SWF, CLP, XSM... Get the picture?)It also lets you convert, view, optimize, create slideshows, and a host of other functions. My backup picture editor is Picasa by Google(http://picasa.google.com/). It has a few more advanced effects that I can use to edit images for sites I create.
For FTP, when I'm not using the First Page plugin, I use CoffeeCup Free FTP(). It has more of the FTP functions I need, lets me edit files easily both online and off, allows me to view files before I upload them(to make sure I have the right ones), and it's all around just that much more fun to use.
The important thing, though is what hosting companies I use. For free hosting, I use 0catch.com(http://www.0catch.com/). They're simple, neat, to the point, and easy to use. They have plenty of pricing plans as well if you want rid of banners and such. When it comes to just having your address reflect your name and nothing else, for an affordable yearly price, that's where directNIC(http://www.directnic.com/) comes in. Starting at $15.00/year, you get your own space, your own personalized address, 24/7 support, and is secure and reliable.
When it comes to accepting credit cards for business sites, I've taken the stance of recommending PayPal(https://www.paypal.com/) to my clients. PayPal is another one of those online tools I've found to be easy to use. You can choose to link your account with your bank account to receive your funds that way, have a check sent to you, or apply for a PayPal credit or debit card. Also, PayPal is secure, which is something you'll want when dealing with monetary transactions online.
3. Are there any programming languages you're adverse to using?
About the only one I have any problem with is Java, because of how iot seems to have slowed down systems in the past. But that was the past, when systems didn't have the power they do now. So I'm looking into using Java again. Other than that, I'm always open to learning a new trick or two.
4. Are your services strictly for the magickal community?
No. I'll make webpages for anyone who needs help with them. Though I draw the line at scams, pyramid schemes, hate sites, religious bashing, supression of free will, or anything that steps a toe against my morals. While I'm open-minded, with a "Live and Let Live" view of things, that only goes so far with me.
5. How did you get started in making webpages, and why do you still do it?
For the one thing, it was by accident. My first webpage I did as a drag-and-drop menu function at Angelfire(). One day, the accident came in the form of my hitting the wrong button, and the interface being permanently switched to HTML. After I got over the "horror" of it all, I started going through the code, learning what I could, and I got hooked.
For the other thing, why do I still do it? Because I love being creative. And making websites is about the one medium online where you can truly be creative.
