Web site beginnings

I met with a website developer earlier this week. This will be my second "try" at starting a website for The Busy Needle, a needlework and yarn shop I own in White House, Tennessee.

While I don't want to go into the horrid specifics of the first try, suffice it to say that if you agree to give someone a chance who's just starting out, you'll get less than what you pay for.

This time I did some research, checked out websites I liked and the people who developed them, and then chose someone who came highly recommended by a computer professional I trust. I'm waiting for the developer's proposal but, at first blush, it looks as though we're going to get along well. Time will tell. I've given him enough time (3 months) for both of us to complete our necessary tasks to get the site up and operational.

Because it's a commercial site with a shopping cart, and because needlework and yarn shops have a LOT of little stuff to sell, we need to get it right the first time. Fortunately, I've won photographic awards (late '70s - seems like another lifetime!) so I'm confident that I can take the photos necessary for the site. The developer will edit out the backgrounds.

So... What's to be on the site? In addition to the aforementioned shopping cart, there will be a newsletter, shop and staff photos, class schedule, wish list, retreat and camp information, as well as an area for free charts (knitting, crochet, cross stitch, needlework, etc.) that we develop. We'll have an "About Us" section, too, as well as an Archive of past newsletters, newspaper columns and articles (I sometimes write about needlework and knitting for our local paper), and anything else noteworthy.

Because I design the majority of our class materials, those patterns will be for sale at some point as we update materials, fibers, and class offerings.

And there will be Sales and Specials sections.

But the most fun, I think, will be that anyone will be able to watch the site unfold before we're online. I know.... Most businesses don't (won't!) do it that way. They want to present a finished professional product to the public. But yarn and fibers are hands-on materials that one crafts into something more, and I believe the website should be viewed the same way - as an UnFinished Object (or UFO, as we sometimes call things.)

If anyone has any suggestions along the way, I'll be glad to hear about them. If there's something you like on another needlework or yarn site, let me know about it. And if there's something you DON'T like I'd appreciate hearing about that as well. Just understand, please, that we may have to pick and choose. What you may want may not be do-able (or it may not be within my budget!)

Anyway, this will be an ongoing project. Come back and see how we're doing!