My first website
Since joining WA in August I’ve been very busy turning a hobby of mine into a website… with the hope of turning it into a business. I don’t know how this is going to happen yet and what paths/twists/turns my website will take, but I’m taking a leap of faith and putting it out there to the universe that it will!
My hobby is collecting platform shoes. I didn’t even realize it was a hobby, I just love platform shoes! But over the years I’ve realized I’ve collected a LOT of shoes!!
At first I was unsure of how to turn this hobby in to a website, far less how to make it lucrative, but I just decided to follow my instincts. It’s turned into a fun process and something I’ve really enjoyed working on, from putting all my most fabulous shoes together, to taking photos of them all, to creating designs and then on to content, realizing along the way how to ’grow’ the website with more engaging/informative content. It’s still very much a work in progress, but I feel I’ve made a good start.
Then of course there’s the WA community. I’ve come across some amazing, like-minded, talented and positive people here who make this process even more enjoyable. It helps to know there’s so many of us out there who share the same goals and aspirations.
So, if you can spare a few minutes please check out fabulousplatformshoes.com and see what you think. If you like it please feel free to leave a comment. I’d really appreciate it.
Thanks to everyone here at WA and wishing you lots of luck and success :)
Recent Comments
22
Love your site Jo, but unfortunately I'm a man ;), indeed an excellent 'platform' for further develop! Well done, Desmond.
Wow I signed up less than 24 hours ago. I was prepared to be disappointed when I went to your site. An old man looking at a ladies shoe site? But what I found was amazing. How professional looking. How funny the shoe quotes that made me actually laugh out loud. (for those who don't know what that means, i'ts LOL). Also I thought the way you plugged your affiliate advertising was phenomenal. I'd have never guessed
before I signed up that you would earn money from them that way. I appreciate the learning experience I gained from your site. Hope your results are all I would imagine and more. :)
Thanks so much Woogle! These are the most amazing comments I've had about my website so far :) I try to work on my site every day in the hope that one day I can leave my day job... hopefully in the not too distant future!! I'm also really happy it helped you in some way with your learning experience here at WA, and if I can in any way help further just let me know. Take care :))
Your site looks great! I have a feeling you will be able to make a prosperous business with it. Shoe lovers are passionate about their shoes and will be the ones who find your site and buy through you. Great job!
Jo, I told you I would be predisposed to like your website. What I wasn't prepared for is how much work you've put into it so quickly. Quite amazing, and very well done.
My wife would love your website, however that "Shoe Of The Week" just about nixed any chance that I would ever let her see it.
I don't have to wish you luck, you have success written all over you.
Phil
You're the best Mr. Travolta! Seriously, thanks so much for your kind words Phil, means a lot :)
I guess you didn't believe me when I said I would not let my wife anywhere near your website.
Ahhhh, you're probably right, I'll show it to after she gets home and before she starts drinking.
Looks good! As you know, Jo, I do flats. Another gal here does hoochie heels. I'm gonna make a new page on Very Dressy Flats and feature the both of you. Right now, I'm having trouble with the site, but I think I've got it. Gonna try a new post this afternoon. I love the site. My only thing I think you should do is add a small pic to the top of each post. Kyle talks about a pic "above the fold." It may draw more people if you have a cute pair of applicable shoes on each post snippet. You know I wish you lots of luck with this one!
Hi Carla - do I need to add a plugin to get a small pic added to each blog/post? I've been trying to figure it out but am getting myself confused :)
Does your theme have a featured image? It would be located at the very bottom right-hand side, under tags. Check that first, K?
Thanks Carla! It does have a featured image, only problem is I can't get it to scale down. At the moment it's far too big. I've tried reducing the thumbnail size down in the media settings to 50x50 but that's not helped. Do you know if this is something I'll have to change in the code?
That's a bit beyond me, Jo. I don't know much about code, I'm afraid. Have you tried resizing the photos very small in a photo program and then reloading them into the media tool in WordPress? That's about all I can think of right now.
Yep, I've tried doing that but then there's a huge space between the image and the text. I've done a bit of research and it seems to be a code thing, and affects themes differently, but I don't want to mess about with this. I contacted WA web help but they said they can only help with hosting related technical issues and to try and get help from the WA community. But I've searched and there doesn't seem to be a definite answer. They also said to try contacting Kyle and Carson, which is what I'll do now. Thanks for trying though, it all helps!
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It's so cool that you made your hobby a niche, I did the same thing. This inspires me! Gonna check out your site :)