Dolls Sites - Pros and Cons

I'm thinking in open a doll site again and this time I decided see pros and cons of a doll site before open mine, since now i have some
'experience' with these website and i know how it's hard:

PROS:
1. Lot of funny doing pixelated layouts.
2. Separate my dolls from my other work (wich is all together in DA).
3. Make some new friends.

CONS:
1. Coding problems again
2. the (big) chance of my site don't turn popular or be boring for people.

And what about you guys, wich are the pros and cons you found in your sites?

Hmmm...I have gone through so many different doll sites so I have some strange experiences.

PROS:
1. People tend to like to see the effort you put in your site.
2. Being able to customize your site the way you want is nice.
3. I like seeing people's personal style.

CONS:
1. Getting bored of your layout.
2. The trouble with updating the thing.
3. dA is so much easier.

Updating dA with doll dumps is so much easier than using a personal website but personal websites so much more personality.

ooh i'd love to see your site re-opened! =) dollsites = <3.

PROS:
- as you said, having lots of fun making the layouts! <3
- learning how to code ;P i think that's fun, too. :3
- showing ppl what you can do.. making a nice layout is much more work than just making a doll ;3
- see different styles.. on da everything looks so "stiff" and "uniform". bah!

CONS:
- web2.0 sites like da are distracting ppl a LOT from visiting dollsites.. :/ (that's one of the reasons why i put my bases on my website only and not on da ;P)
- updating it might take longer than updating a da gallery
- it's a lot easier to make friends on gallery sites like da.. and you can get comments a lot easier. adding in a comment function to a dollsite might be complicated.
- if you get bored of your layout, you will have to make a new one.. else you might not feel like updating it with new dolls and stuff >.>

i think it'd be nice to see more dollsites again.. like it was "back then" when da wasn't as popular in the dolling scene as it is now. let's boycott it a bit! MAKE YOUR OWN WEBSITES GUYS! :D

I avoid alot of the trouble of the website by using livejournal as my basis. It's a little unorthodox, but I find their layouts very easy to customize and the pages easier to edit as journal entries. It takes a little work and figuring out how lj works, but once you do that, it's a lot easier than some of the website making tools and free websites i've tried (I also have a webs account for my professional pixel art and it's SO difficult to customize, you pretty much have to just go with the layouts they have, but it works for my purposes there.)

PROS:
- You get your stuff out there!
- You can keep everything organized (i'm neurotic about organization!) in an attractive way that others can see too
- You can hold contests (it's easier when people know who you are and you have a nicely organized place to do it
- Other dollers and friends can link to you and adopt your work

CONS
- Constant upkeep
- Fighting with whatever layout style you have
- You don't need it to make friends/socialize - forums do all that.

I agree with Mouldy - I don't like deviantart for a bunch of reasons: 1) I personally cannot figure out how to post a gif image, it won't let me. 2) the layout et al isn't customizable. it doesn't feel like me. 3) it takes longer to load than most other things. 4) you have to be logged in to see bases sometimes.

personally, I would love to see your stuff on a "real" website

I agree with all you said guys! DA is easy to use but isn't like have your own site! I'm blogger since 2007 and I know how is good have your own space.

Something that I really miss are the links exchanges I love link the sites I most like and now I can't do that in DA!!

What we need is discover the funny side of a doll site again!

I think mainly I love to keep my work up to look back at it, but the thing I like about DA is that its easier to update and its easier to find other dollers. I haven't updated my site in like forever, but I really should. XD

If 2 is important to you: don't make a dolls site. Making a site and expecting it to be popular overnight, or even after a year or so, is the wrong way of going about it. You should make a site because you enjoy it, and because you feel you have something to say. If people find it boring, they can go elsewhere! Do it because you want to. Not because other people have an opinion about it.


I can name a lot of pros though.

- You learn something useful. Coding, how far you take it, is a useful skill. Learning how to use content management systems or wordpress, that is a useful skill too.

- You can show people your stuff the way YOU want to to be seen. You have utter control over it.

- A site makes it fun to make new dolls, and think up new things to add to your site.

- It's fun.

- It's challenging.

- It's unique.

- Did I mention it is fun??

I enjoy making the site more than making dolls, tbh. Well, I enjoy making the dolls to show on my site. I've gone from handcoding in notepad to tweaking a template for Joomla. I have to say it is easier to update a site that has a decent back end. But even when I was still handcoding my pages, updating and changing was never that difficult.

It all depends on if you can find joy and fun in making a website. If you're passion lies more with just making loads of dolls (which is a good thing and takes a lot of time!) then dA might simply be enough.

But if you can't wait to start up notepad to make a new layout and get excited over div layers and css tricks... *drool* then go, and make a site.

It's just funny that I wrote a little something about starting a website... It may give you inspiration? *click here*

you know, I alread have a site Mad Strawberry, so, if i made a Dolls Site it will be to show these kind of work and not (only) for new coding experiences, that's why people opnion is so important to me

but I think I will open a new pixel site, I REALLY miss my little "dolls space"

Pros:
1.) Once you become an HTML God and are able to create any layout you imagine, it's pretty amazing.
2.) The finished product can be something to be proud of.

Cons:
1.) Time.
2.) Money. (unless you want strict limitations, which I believe go against the purpose of having a self-maintained website in the first place)
3.) If it turns out to be inconvenient and you move, it will bug people. I changed addresses about five times, and I wish I had just stayed on deviantART all along. Now I have a "splash page" ( http://clfcrosswhite.tk/ ) and that's all I EVERRR want to have. Ever again. Seriously. It's so much easier/cheaper to maintain blogs and such.

I find that it's unlikely that most peoples' websites will ever be "popular." You'll probably be happier if you create it for yourself, without the expectation of any attention whatsoever. Trust me, living in your own little world is gratifying enough. :D

Also, note that you will always have a bigger audience than you think. Only 10% of your audience will leave a comment. (fictional statistic, not reliable, do not quote)

I agree!!!! Let's get back to creating our own beautiful sites!! It's such a shame that doll sites have been disappearing... ;__; What' happening to us?! </drama> lol xD

Also...the easiest way isn't always the best way...... :/

It is when you're pressed for time.

Ah, doll sites. Ya love 'em or ya hate 'em.

Pros: It is fun to make a layout! And besides, it makes me happy to see all of my crap conglomerated onto tsaid pretty layout. XD

Cons: The time spent updating. Or remembering to update. >>;

Yes, dA should be boycotted. I use it waaay too much. And it gets old after a while. o.o;

Few weeks ago i was totally addicted by DA, but now has lost his magic...I don't know what happened...