Comments on: A new portfolio???

By: scual

scual — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:57:37 +0000

Hello, I’ll start my business soon and guess what: in Belgium to, but in the french area If ur clients target are in Belgium, then .be tld and hosting in the same country(or near) is more appropriate for Google and for ur clients, for international targets the .com (5€) is perfect and could redirect to .be. Use “web” in ur .tld name (that gonna help alot) Bramme is easy to remember for the existing clients, the new ones will look after u in Google or something.

Good luck.

By: Bramme.net » Promoting yourself as a Designer or a Developer

Bramme.net » Promoting yourself as a Designer or a Developer — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:19:49 +0000

[...] that need work you love doing? This entire situation relates to one of my previous posts too, about getting a new portfolio. I got some good advice there and made a few decisions since then. I have decided that I’m [...]

By: Arvind

Arvind — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 08:26:36 +0000

Dear Bram,

Filip’s got some good advice! If you’re looking to get work online, you should go for a .com extension (bramme.com’s still available), and a local (country domain) extension, written in the local language, not only because you get priority in the local search listings but also to advertise your services in the local language.

If you’re planning to use bramme.net as your portfolio, you can leave the domain as it is:
0. Make sure your website validates thru: validator.w3.org
1. Do go for the local domain & .com extension.
2. Create a couple of colorful sample templates.
2a. Make sure they validate.
2b. Try getting one on csszengarden.com and display it on bramme.net.
3. Display large thumbs of each sample (w3-markup.com/examples (Highlight your services in such a manner) )
4. Show your contact details. It helps prospects contact you easily.
5-10. Regularly visit design sites & blogs and see what’s the latest buzz. Adapt to that.

If you have lots of time, try doing some search optimization. That helps as well.

Wish you the best.

By: Filip Jukić

Filip Jukić — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 11:27:11 +0000

First, about the domain name. The bramme part is ok but I think you should strive for the .com suffix as it’s much more memorable for your clients as it’s kind of a default. If bramme.com is taken, then you should probably think about getting a new domain, probably some varation on your name and surname. Something not too long and it should be memorable.

As for the portfolio, I’d separate the portfolio part from the blog part. It’s up to you if you want to have a blog where you can write about programming or whatever on your new site or here on bramme.net

I have a similar dillema as you so these are only my current thoughts as I have no experience in these matters.

Good luck with whatever you choose.