How Did I Do... THIS?
A lot of people ask me how I did this. How did I build this website? How did I make it so popular? How did I become so patient? How am I so awesome? (yes, some actually asked me that once... XD) I thought this page was in order, and I felt like typing a big abstract mess, so here are your answers!
It all started when I just WANTED A WEBSITE! I had no clue what about, but I wanted one. I also didn't know HTML and didn't really want to learn... (silly me; I know it now) and I couldn't think of anything to make it about. I thought about a blog site but I was darn sure I was too boring to focus a site on ME. I thought about a site on old books, since I love old books, but there's already one that basically does everything I could do and more. I thought about making a fan site about my favorite TV show, but I knew that would be hard to succeed at. There's already this one, this one, this one, and this one, and that's just four out of about 30 I know of.
Besides, if I do something, it has to be something that's always changing because I get bored with routine. I needed something that would give me an ever-changing environment.
Any of the previous site ideas I had, I knew that I would give up sooner or later. The blog/about me site? You can only say so much about yourself. The book site? There's only so many old books in my "genre". The TV show site? There's only so far you can go with a fan site, and besides, it wasn't like there would be updates on the show to post, seeing as it went off the air in late 1969.
Now, enter Howrse. I had played it off an on since its open in 2007. I switched around on the different servers, let my accounts get deleted and then made new ones, etc etc, never really placed much importance on it, although I remember all the old Howrse stuff- Rivenwood, when horses looked like they did before the update, before the DA or GA or MB or any of the BMIs really, before diamonds.... the beginning. I just wasn't very consistent. It wasn't until February 2013 that I made my last account- thewarrenranch on the international server. I started to re learn the ropes after a HUGE slue of updates I had missed, but I got back into the groove, and started out again. I started breeding Arabians and trying to complete my objectives, logging daily even if I didn't have time to play just to get more seniority- yes, I was Howrse addicted.
Then I started finding other Howrse Help sites. Like Howrse Helper and Ultimate Howrse and so many others...
I have this thing where I look at stuff I like and want to do THAT. I can't turn it off. When I was a kid, I'd read a newspaper and prompltly go start my own "newspaper". I read a lot of books and would "write" my own "books". I can't seem to help myself, I just want to do everything. The trouble is, I always end up looking at the world a little differently than most, so these projects are usually quite time consuming.
I couldn't help but look at these other sites and say "yeah, this is helpful, but most of it's out of date and the author keeps saying she's working on it but it's not happening..." and I'd look at them and say "This has a lot of great stuff, but because it's in blog format it is hard to navigate and can't be updated very well..." and I kept thinking of all the things their respective authors could do to make their sites way better.
Once I realized I might be able to help people in a more efficient way than the others were at the time, I realized I could have my website and I could be of use to people- two things I really enjoy (the internet and helping people) and I could combine them. This, of course, piqued my curiosity, but I didn't know that I wanted to commit to something like that.
But I kept seeing sites like this one or this one and seeing that they were last updated like 2008 and had never been finished and no had ever really tried. I just couldn't help but think, "Why did they stop now? They were off to such a good start! I know what they should've done...." And finally I felt like I had all this knowledge on how to do something in my head, so I might as well just do it.... which was a little conceited of me, but worked out I suppose. :p
So I decided that was it. I was going to make a Howrse Help site.
I got out a spiral notebook and a pen and started writing. I came up with a title, a slogan, some places to start, a game plan on how to popularize it, how to make it stand apart from the 50+ sites I had seen before. Then I started cruising around on the internet, looking for a free web host that would look good.. I had seen freewebs, a popular web host, but from what I had seen, websites made with that host just looked... wrong. I can't explain it. Webs sites look like an obvious, amateur, free, you-get-what-you-pay-for attempts at something that failed.
So I decided I didn't want THAT.
And I started shopping around for a better one. And I found... Weebly.
I remembered a few of the websites I knew having been made with weebly. I hunted around them and found them to be very professional looking- there were some things that screamed "fashion statement gone wrong!" but that seemed to be a user error, not a program error, so I signed up for a free account and made my first pages: the How To Care For your horses, training help, skilling help, passes help, equus help, blog, and BLUPing guide. Every evening I sat down and added more to the site. Eventually Weebly started grouping my extra pages under this special "more..." tab, and I started learning how to keep the menu organized and clean, yet easy to use. I wanted professional.
A month later I had lots of stuff here but nobody was visiting, even with the link on my Howrse page. I made an account on each English speaking server and put links there too. Still nothing. So, I decided I needed to get on this new problem. I started researching SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and learned how to make search engines rank TBH. I joined all the social media I could find and started being active.
red_chick94 on the INT. server of Howrse saw it and PMed me with some awesome advice, and thanks to her, TBH got some serious traffic.
Then, I started trying to think out of the box. When I would see a player in the game play forum ask a question "because they were returning" I would PM them, apologize for appearing to be spamming, explain that I wanted to help them out, and send them to link to TBH- and also the link to HH, of course. I started PMing people who posted in chrissyh's advertising topic about having an ad put up on my site, telling them to feel free to "check it out first" and gave them the link. Word was starting to spread; my SEO and popularity was rising. I started trying to think of other innovative things that would make it stand out- like a forum, a live chat, a quiz section, and, thanks to red_chick94 I was able to draw in more TBHers with her player interviews. I didn't get permission from all the players she had interviewed, but a few agreed that I could make a section, so I did. I had to also, make sure that I was accessible. Many players don't have email, so I made sure to put links to the accounts on my other servers. Just in case you preferred the email, or had an account on a server of another language, I made sure to create an email account, and made sure to make it accessible. I made sure to try and make a new blog post every other week, because the more new content your site has, the more likely search engines are to display your site. If a promo lasted longer than that, I would find a random Howrse topic to make a blog post on, just to keep the wheels turning.
Then, I decided the site was missing something. What did other sites have that TBH didn't? It took me a while; but I found "just what I needed" to quote The Car's song: Graphics. Graphics will take you a long ways when it comes to Howrse. I found an editor, online, that would do what I needed to, I learned HTML, I started doing simple pre cut manips, and I've also started learning to do other stuff- buttons, for instance, were new. Several big updates in the graphics department are on their way, of course, because this is a recent development.
Then I found out that TBHers were interested in ME, too, so I made a section for me, and finally a sister site for my blog. More updates. More success.
And then one day, I was looking at the stats for TBH because I realized I'd forgotten about that section of Weebly, and lo and behold, over 700 people a day were coming....
...And I realized I'd done it!
As of now, I have more wonderful TBHers than I can count- yes, all of you- and I am so happy that you're all so supportive of this site, and of me- I have OVER 2000 some odd people coming here a day, I have people messaging me just to tell me how awesome the site is, how awesome the graphics are, to ask questions and make suggestions...
And I have to say, thank you. It's a lot of work but it's worth it. And I still am not done. I'll never be done- there is always something new. I have several BIG updates on the way- the kind of updates that are taking forever to do because they are so big and ambitious, and the few people I have told- well, a few of them think I can't do it.
But I can.
And I will.
I always have.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
It all started when I just WANTED A WEBSITE! I had no clue what about, but I wanted one. I also didn't know HTML and didn't really want to learn... (silly me; I know it now) and I couldn't think of anything to make it about. I thought about a blog site but I was darn sure I was too boring to focus a site on ME. I thought about a site on old books, since I love old books, but there's already one that basically does everything I could do and more. I thought about making a fan site about my favorite TV show, but I knew that would be hard to succeed at. There's already this one, this one, this one, and this one, and that's just four out of about 30 I know of.
Besides, if I do something, it has to be something that's always changing because I get bored with routine. I needed something that would give me an ever-changing environment.
Any of the previous site ideas I had, I knew that I would give up sooner or later. The blog/about me site? You can only say so much about yourself. The book site? There's only so many old books in my "genre". The TV show site? There's only so far you can go with a fan site, and besides, it wasn't like there would be updates on the show to post, seeing as it went off the air in late 1969.
Now, enter Howrse. I had played it off an on since its open in 2007. I switched around on the different servers, let my accounts get deleted and then made new ones, etc etc, never really placed much importance on it, although I remember all the old Howrse stuff- Rivenwood, when horses looked like they did before the update, before the DA or GA or MB or any of the BMIs really, before diamonds.... the beginning. I just wasn't very consistent. It wasn't until February 2013 that I made my last account- thewarrenranch on the international server. I started to re learn the ropes after a HUGE slue of updates I had missed, but I got back into the groove, and started out again. I started breeding Arabians and trying to complete my objectives, logging daily even if I didn't have time to play just to get more seniority- yes, I was Howrse addicted.
Then I started finding other Howrse Help sites. Like Howrse Helper and Ultimate Howrse and so many others...
I have this thing where I look at stuff I like and want to do THAT. I can't turn it off. When I was a kid, I'd read a newspaper and prompltly go start my own "newspaper". I read a lot of books and would "write" my own "books". I can't seem to help myself, I just want to do everything. The trouble is, I always end up looking at the world a little differently than most, so these projects are usually quite time consuming.
I couldn't help but look at these other sites and say "yeah, this is helpful, but most of it's out of date and the author keeps saying she's working on it but it's not happening..." and I'd look at them and say "This has a lot of great stuff, but because it's in blog format it is hard to navigate and can't be updated very well..." and I kept thinking of all the things their respective authors could do to make their sites way better.
Once I realized I might be able to help people in a more efficient way than the others were at the time, I realized I could have my website and I could be of use to people- two things I really enjoy (the internet and helping people) and I could combine them. This, of course, piqued my curiosity, but I didn't know that I wanted to commit to something like that.
But I kept seeing sites like this one or this one and seeing that they were last updated like 2008 and had never been finished and no had ever really tried. I just couldn't help but think, "Why did they stop now? They were off to such a good start! I know what they should've done...." And finally I felt like I had all this knowledge on how to do something in my head, so I might as well just do it.... which was a little conceited of me, but worked out I suppose. :p
So I decided that was it. I was going to make a Howrse Help site.
I got out a spiral notebook and a pen and started writing. I came up with a title, a slogan, some places to start, a game plan on how to popularize it, how to make it stand apart from the 50+ sites I had seen before. Then I started cruising around on the internet, looking for a free web host that would look good.. I had seen freewebs, a popular web host, but from what I had seen, websites made with that host just looked... wrong. I can't explain it. Webs sites look like an obvious, amateur, free, you-get-what-you-pay-for attempts at something that failed.
So I decided I didn't want THAT.
And I started shopping around for a better one. And I found... Weebly.
I remembered a few of the websites I knew having been made with weebly. I hunted around them and found them to be very professional looking- there were some things that screamed "fashion statement gone wrong!" but that seemed to be a user error, not a program error, so I signed up for a free account and made my first pages: the How To Care For your horses, training help, skilling help, passes help, equus help, blog, and BLUPing guide. Every evening I sat down and added more to the site. Eventually Weebly started grouping my extra pages under this special "more..." tab, and I started learning how to keep the menu organized and clean, yet easy to use. I wanted professional.
A month later I had lots of stuff here but nobody was visiting, even with the link on my Howrse page. I made an account on each English speaking server and put links there too. Still nothing. So, I decided I needed to get on this new problem. I started researching SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and learned how to make search engines rank TBH. I joined all the social media I could find and started being active.
red_chick94 on the INT. server of Howrse saw it and PMed me with some awesome advice, and thanks to her, TBH got some serious traffic.
Then, I started trying to think out of the box. When I would see a player in the game play forum ask a question "because they were returning" I would PM them, apologize for appearing to be spamming, explain that I wanted to help them out, and send them to link to TBH- and also the link to HH, of course. I started PMing people who posted in chrissyh's advertising topic about having an ad put up on my site, telling them to feel free to "check it out first" and gave them the link. Word was starting to spread; my SEO and popularity was rising. I started trying to think of other innovative things that would make it stand out- like a forum, a live chat, a quiz section, and, thanks to red_chick94 I was able to draw in more TBHers with her player interviews. I didn't get permission from all the players she had interviewed, but a few agreed that I could make a section, so I did. I had to also, make sure that I was accessible. Many players don't have email, so I made sure to put links to the accounts on my other servers. Just in case you preferred the email, or had an account on a server of another language, I made sure to create an email account, and made sure to make it accessible. I made sure to try and make a new blog post every other week, because the more new content your site has, the more likely search engines are to display your site. If a promo lasted longer than that, I would find a random Howrse topic to make a blog post on, just to keep the wheels turning.
Then, I decided the site was missing something. What did other sites have that TBH didn't? It took me a while; but I found "just what I needed" to quote The Car's song: Graphics. Graphics will take you a long ways when it comes to Howrse. I found an editor, online, that would do what I needed to, I learned HTML, I started doing simple pre cut manips, and I've also started learning to do other stuff- buttons, for instance, were new. Several big updates in the graphics department are on their way, of course, because this is a recent development.
Then I found out that TBHers were interested in ME, too, so I made a section for me, and finally a sister site for my blog. More updates. More success.
And then one day, I was looking at the stats for TBH because I realized I'd forgotten about that section of Weebly, and lo and behold, over 700 people a day were coming....
...And I realized I'd done it!
As of now, I have more wonderful TBHers than I can count- yes, all of you- and I am so happy that you're all so supportive of this site, and of me- I have OVER 2000 some odd people coming here a day, I have people messaging me just to tell me how awesome the site is, how awesome the graphics are, to ask questions and make suggestions...
And I have to say, thank you. It's a lot of work but it's worth it. And I still am not done. I'll never be done- there is always something new. I have several BIG updates on the way- the kind of updates that are taking forever to do because they are so big and ambitious, and the few people I have told- well, a few of them think I can't do it.
But I can.
And I will.
I always have.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Can I Do This?
Of course you can! But it isn't for everybody.
How much time do you want to devote to it? (because it takes a L.O.T. of time). How innovative are you? How determined are you? How reliable are you? How patient are you? How willing are you to put everybody else FIRST? To have an account on each server of a language you speak and check it often for messages? To be active in social media? To learn a little about HTML and graphics making (it really helps)? To research and utilize SEO?
You can do this too. Just set out with determination, innovation, and motivation.
If you start a site, contact me, or post a comment on the guide or below, with the site URL and I will add it to the TBH Links page!
Click here if you want m guide to your Howrse help website (it should work for other sites too!) <COMING SOON!
How much time do you want to devote to it? (because it takes a L.O.T. of time). How innovative are you? How determined are you? How reliable are you? How patient are you? How willing are you to put everybody else FIRST? To have an account on each server of a language you speak and check it often for messages? To be active in social media? To learn a little about HTML and graphics making (it really helps)? To research and utilize SEO?
You can do this too. Just set out with determination, innovation, and motivation.
If you start a site, contact me, or post a comment on the guide or below, with the site URL and I will add it to the TBH Links page!
Click here if you want m guide to your Howrse help website (it should work for other sites too!) <COMING SOON!
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