FREE Webcomic CMS for you (list)
By Tracy on February 11th, 2010Posted In: Blog
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WARNING: THIS BLOG IS FULL OF ADVICE.
Well, How-To's, Hacks, and General Discussion, really; but also alot of guidance on how to do things, and on what not to do. It's what I've learned, and what I'm sharing with you.
Much of it is solid. The rest requires more be said. Please weigh what you learn here with other insights to see what works best for you. Thank you.
For more tips and tutorials, see: http://www.reddit.com/r/makecomics
Many shoe-string (budget) webcomickers and cartoonists use Google Blogger and various blog-oriented WordPress themes to display their comics to the public.
In the case of older webcomics, their use of these platforms is often because at the time when they first self published their comics, content management systems (CMS) for webcomics that were both free and compatible for use on free blogging sites did not exist. Their archives may now be too extensive to facilitate a transfer to a CMS-ready site. In the case of newer comics, they simply did not know that free webcomic CMS’s are available.
A Webcomic Content Management System allows you to display a First, Last, Previous, Next and Random button to make navigating your content easy for readers as well as an ‘Archive’ feature.
If you’re interested in starting a webcomic or are considering moving yours, here is a non-comprehensive list of sites that offer FREE hosting of your webcomic:
Smack Jeeves, Webcomic Nation, WebComic Planet, Drunk Duck, Comic Fury, Comic Genius, etc.
For self-hosting publishers, out-of-the-box CMS platforms include:
ComicPress, Inkblot, iManga, iStrip, ComicCMS and others.
Or you can build your own CMS using Drupal.
Happy webcomicking.
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During your marketing efforts it may become necessary to use a media kit capture the attention of those who have the power to reach mass audiences, or mass audiences themselves.
Media kits are a great way to provide relevant, useful information about your site, quickly, conveniently, and with minimal time.
As an online publisher, your media kit can be a single page on your site, such as the ‘About’ page from which you can easily take information for marketing activities such as listing your site on directories, or directing curious people who want to know more.
A media kit for a webcomic or blog should include the following:
• Your site’s logo.
• A banner or button. (See here for standard sizes and here for how to make one).
• Your site’s tagline (50 characters or less).
• A fact sheet. A Fact Sheet states quick facts about your Website. Facts such as: how long your Website has been in operation, the demographics of your audience, and what exactly it is that you do. The fact sheet should be no more than one page in length. It should be organized in a way that allows readers to quickly scan and decimate information to get a general overview of your site. The fact sheet is not the place for “fluff,” sales pitches, or brilliant PR writing. If your media kit is smothered in sales pitches and fluff, it won’t be taken seriously – and neither will anything you say on behalf of your website. A fact sheet may also take the form of a synopsis that is ideally no more than 250 characters in length.
• 3 samples of your content. (i.e.: cartoons / or excerpts of your articles).
• Your contact information.
Even if you do not opt to make a media kit for your site it is highly recommended that you have all or some of the above information displayed somewhere ‘about’ it.
