NEW website!!!

[fivesixteen86]

So I have what seems like a terrific idea for a website....a non-profit one but one that allows interaction from incoming web browsers.

I'm in college and have taken ONE web design class and am clueless as to how to begin the process.
I realllly don't want this idea to go to waste!
But maybe it's lame...
just someone please help a desperate girl!

THANKS! :)

[Redcore]

Hey, welcome to the forum.

I'd be happy to help you figure out what your idea would require from a technical standpoint. Check my profile for IM contacts or shoot me a PM for my email :)

[Redcore]

PS - if you really believe in your idea, you could protect it by insisting anyone who discusses your idea with you to sign a confidentiality agreement/non-disclosure agreement.

Here's a good reference and starting point to possibly making your own for your idea:
http://inventors.about.com/od/nondis...Agreements.htm

[snowman7000]

I would be happy to hear details, and give suggestions I can.

[fivesixteen86]

Alright so I'm probably the only one who would care to do this so confidentiality is not really an issue.

From a girls' perspective, make-up only lasts so long before it begins to go bad and create infections from contamination from bacteria created through the air. Many girls are unaware of this and those who are, can't remember when they bought their last stick of eyeliner and may be at risk for an eye infection.
My idea is to create a member website where people (probably mainly girls) can log-in, locate the make-up they've recently purchased and add the date they bought it to the site. At this point , the website can calculate the approximate disposal time for their make-up depending on what it is.
I also (obviously) wanted to include places where they could purchase new make-up once theirs has expired and also give them the ability to print a spreadsheet of all the make-up they own and when to toss it.
This website would include beauty products as well such as lotions, hair products, skin products, etc...

I would join. Maybe no one else would but I'd like to see. I have free time like whoa this summer and it would be beneficial to learn how to design a website anyways.

THANKS!

[Redcore]

I may be a dude, but I think this is a good idea. In all honesty, your program idea (the make-up expiration app) and e-shop both help each other. Useful applications will always draw people in - and the shop to buy beauty products makes it more useful plus brings you a source of income for the site. If people buy a product from your site, it could automatically enter that expiration time in the user's "make-up bag" or whatever you'd want to call it. When that expiration date comes along, it would be easy to send that user an email automatically to notify them (you could also do notifications that say "get ready to buy new products!" and include some ads for products listed on your site).

If it were me running this site, I would focus on selling healthy products - which would make sense, since having an expiration application is to keep a person healthy and such a thing would surely attract those who are conscious about their health.

I think it's worth more than you give yourself credit for! :)

[Shinzor]

Hmmz in my opinion has potential... but there are plenty of only places to buy make up and the thought of being able to see when to throw away make up... will be a plus... but how many girls really want to get rid of there favourite lip stick or eye liner... they would prefer to keep it... stuff like this should be pushed by the product developer by placeing small print on products saying expire so and so... but because the cases of infection are generally very limited or to people with rare skin types and rigourous testing is done to make sure no major damage is done to skin expirey dates are not put on make-up products... yeah

LOL i am a guy... just worked in a beauty shop for like 4 years lol whilst I was in college.. but yeah if you need any help i am always glad to help. All possible experience that comes of it can be used positivley but honestly do not give up if someone says I dont think the ideas good... Do it anyway you may proof them wrong and you will gain vital experience...

[fivesixteen86]

Thanks guys!! I'm gonna try and figure out how to get started...I need some kind of appeal because Shinzor is right, I have a hard time parting with $40 mascara I've bought only months ago. But I feel its a good way to keep people aware and connected.
I think my first step is an attempt at design (on paper) to see if there is actually enough material to make a site.

:)

[Shinzor]

fivesixteen... I feel there is more then enough material/content for the website.... but yeah build your own designs on paper... brain storm etc... and let the users here know what you got and maybe we can all go on from there..

[fivesixteen86]

what is the best programming software I could use to begin with?
I've been fooling around on paper and it looks pretty good. But my lack of drawing and graphic skills are getting to me so I want to try it on the computer!

[snowman7000]

Originally Posted by fivesixteen86

what is the best programming software I could use to begin with?
I've been fooling around on paper and it looks pretty good. But my lack of drawing and graphic skills are getting to me so I want to try it on the computer!

That can vary a lot from person to person, I usually mock the entire page up in photoshop then make the images from that, then make the html/css/javascripts to do what I want in Netbeans or MS Web Developer 2008 Express. Another way is to use a program like Adobe Dreamweaver, Microsoft Expression Web, or some other WYSIWYG HTML editor. Whichever way you go I recommend Firefox with the Firebug extension to evaluate the final page to debug problems, then testing in IE and Safari.

Some what will work for you will depend on how your data is stored and accessed. If you are using Java, Netbeans is a good IDE for that. If you are using ASP, Web Developer is good for that. Their are probably some for PHP, Pearl and other languages. Any of them would do for basic pages like html, xml, javascript, or css pages. These are good for mixing the html code with the program language to get it to interact with the database with your information is on but require more knowledge of html and the language you are using. You might look into a CMS system, their are several out and they have a lot of functionality already programed so you do not have to write everything from scratch (the drawback is it makes you more dependent on how their system was designed to function).

The WYSIWYG editors are generally good for doing editing something that looks like the page that will be rendered, but can make it harder to edit code by hand, and I do not know how easy it is to access a database through them if it is possible (Even if it is not you could use the html code it makes and add to it in another program if you liked it's features).

If you are considering microsoft technology the have started allowing students too uses the several of their 'pro' tools for free, probably to compete with open source programs. Warning if you go with a dependency on ASP, IIS and SQL server there are less hosts to choose from and you may pay a more to have it hosted. Here is the link to the site https://downloads.channel8.msdn.com/

I am sorry to ramble on a bit, I hope it was fairly coherent.

[Shinzor]

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH snowman7000 speaks the truth... lol and I thought web design was easy... lol well it is... just depends how you look into it... http://www.w3schools.com/ check this out it will be handy for picking up basic knowledge of coding for websites... looks like a lot to learn but you can pick up the basics of html, xhtml and even some java script by doing like an hour a day for a week... lol

But yeah use a html editor such as frontpage or dreamweaver... if you can get hold of them that is... ok I agree they dont code the code the way most people like it but they do code the code for you... and then allow you to see the code its perfect for someone just starting up.... they help you understand....

As in turn for graphics photoshop for the win to be honest.... but thats a hefty price to pay for a first website idea... so try out GIMP I recommend it hell my university recommends it City University London... well the graphic lecturers do... say they'd go with it over photoshop simply because its FREE....

Well there is a lot of jargon to learn, but dont be scared... and + dont be afraid to ask for help lots of guys out there who would help for free just as long as u let them add the parts they did to there portfolio....

Hope my small words of wisdom help...