I've been getting back into the 'swing' of things lately, so I've been looking at more and more provider's websites. Since I'm in the business, I thought I'd just pass on a few things that may help everyone involved. I'm not trying to sell anything, just sharing info.

1. Music Playing: please stop. while it may seem fun and festive, it can (a) slow down the site and (b) potentially get someone in trouble when music starts playing out of nowhere

2. Email Address: if at all possible, attach it to your domain name. Some free email providers (AOL and Hotmail being the worst) have over-active spam filters that could be causing potential clients to be unable to get a hold of you. Most webhosts offer this for free, and if not you can set up your email via Google Apps for free (involves some web nerdery, but it's pretty simple).

3. Pictures: small thumbnails are hard for everyone to see. if you're concerned about people stealing your images, adding a watermark and disabling the right-click & save feature is pretty straight forward.

4. Mobile Phones: a lot of us hobbyists now have smartphones and can view your site on there...if you've set it up that way.

5. Phone Number: if you can get one, check out Google Voice (free). You get a local number that you can direct to any phone you want, control when you get calls, block individuals, etc. It's still in invite-mode, but they can be found (I have 2 invites if anyone wants one).

6. Free Webhosts: be careful. Consider this - if you're using a free webhost, you most likely don't actually 'own' your content, so they could pull the site at any time, or include ads without your consent to make money. A domain name is $10 bucks a year, and a good host is $5 a month. Not a bad deal in the long run to have ownership.