Making a website

  As part of this module I need an outfacing web presence for professionals to see and view my work. So firstly I needed a domain name this is so it would be easier to find me on google search. I brought my domain name from One.com as I could get cheap hosting with my domain name free for the first year all I would pay is the set up fee, after looking at my options I brought 5GB of hosting with the domain name alexlloydillustraion.co.uk. I did this as it was my cheapest option because I needed to think about affording other costs like my banner and paper.
  At the moment I have linked my domain name to a tumblr, witch is my temporary website until I move home and sort out building a website from scratch with my brother who has a degree in computer science. Because of this I wont have to pay to have a nice website that is professionally built, we will work together on design and then I will learn how to update and maintain the website so I wont need help in the future. I am hoping to have a built website by the end of July then I will transfer my domain name over so it links to the correct site. At the moment I am undecided what to do with my tumblr once I have a built site as its a good networking site for sharing work and finding contacts.

Designs
  Here are just a few layouts I thought about when building my tumblr site.

I have also considered what I want my real website to look like.

Tumblr
  I have found tumblr easy to use and edit witch is what I need as I am not that computer savvy. It also allows me to see how many followers and how my work is being shared. Further there is an easy hash tag system helping my images turn up more in the search bar. The only problem I have found with tumblr is I cant edit it as much as I like due to I don't know HTML.My ideal tumblr layout would be my design 1 but I cant get the video to constantly stay at the top, so i had to upload it last. I have compromised by having to change my template.

  This was my original layout but I couldn't add pages and this wasn't ideal. Although I liked this one more have to change to the layout underneath as I could add pages, but I still couldn't lock the video at the top. I will have a lot more freedom once I have built my own website and wont have to stick to restraints like with tumblr. 

  For my website that will be built I really like design 1 or design 5, I will have separate pages for my portfolio, Facebook, blog, contact , and a CV. I would rather have an online CV as I will be able to update and change it more often, under the page portfolio there will be to tabs children's book and young adult. This is so they don't get mixed up and can see two different ways I work. I may also have an editorial tab were I put other works like editorial and greetings cards. I will have an opening video on my about me /home page that will show I hand cut all my work and makes my website feel more friendly like the one on my website at the moment. I want my website to feel casual but professional I want a link with my followers so they know that I run and update the site not anyone else. I will also have an area where I promote my next event or upcoming works, this is so people can see what I am up to without having to check on my blog. 

This is the video I made to help showcase my work for my website, due to bad lighting I will redo this video for my real website but created this as a sample, but I still like this video and how it shows how I create my work.

  Here are a few screenshot I put together to show what my real website may look like. I am still choosing a final design but made this from one of my favoured designs as it is simple and easy to navigate.

Home page

Portfolio page, section children's book