Free Site Workshop - Let's Get Building!

[basschick]

What do you get by taking part in the Gaydemon.Biz Freesite Workshop? Well, every site that follows the rules and includes a Gaydemon recip will be listed at Gaydemon. And this is also about helping each other so we can learn, so everyone will get feedback and assistance. Ready?

Okay, let's get started!

The sites will consist of:
* A warning page with a clear easy-to-find enter link and easy to spot recips to the directories you plan to list your site at.
* At least 25 pics or 8 video clips (more depending on the rules of the lists you want to submit to).

You can include a main page but it isn't required.

Many link lists and directories require their recip be on the warning page, easy to find, and some require that their recips be above the enter link. Be sure and read the rules of the sites you plan to submit to.

If you want your site listed at Gaydemon, you can find the banners here:
http://www.gaydemon.com/banners/ (http://www.gaydemon.com/cgi-bin/directory/add.cgi?service=free#banners)
or a nice text link can be used.

You can find the rules here:
http://www.gaydemon.com/rules.html

And please, no content from ************************************, gaylessons or boyscollection.

Okay, I'm off to start my site :)

[dzinerbear]

Patti,

How is this going to work? Do we post the link to our freesite here and people will comment on them? Or do we each post our own thread?

Michael

[basschick]

right here would be good. that way, it'll always be easy to find all the freesites at a glance.

[Bec]

:bang: What's with this 25 pic requirement? A three row table/4 image per row layout =12 x 2 pages equals 24. If you're really wanting a 3 row table at 5 pics per just say 30 pics and be done with it.

[basschick]

you can do more ;)


At least 25 pics or 8 video clips (more depending on the rules of the lists you want to submit to).

[Bec]

The point of my rant is I don't want to do MORE, but less, like 24. I'm so sick of giving away half of my friggin content in a free site just to meet these rules to get listed.

[dzinerbear]

Okay ... here's my freesite for the tutorial.

Horny College Guys (http://www.gay-porn-pig.com/freesites/collegedudes/horny-college-guys/index.html)

I'm looking forward to the comments and feedback.

Michael

[basschick]

michael, your site is spectacularly clean and looks good. has this style been accepted for you at all the sites you have recips for? i'm asking because i have posted to directories that definitely would turn it down for the amount of real estate given to the ad on the warning and main page, as well as for the thumbs linked to the sponsor at the bottom of this one
http://www.gay-porn-pig.com/freesites/collegedudes/horny-college-guys/01.html

bec, those are the gaydemon rules, so you'd have to ask bjorn. most of the lists i submit to have a minimum of either 30 or 50.

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

I was thinking of getting into this buildathon but to be honest I don't think I can even come close to what you folks can do. Honestly. Perhaps I'll just sit back and learn this time around.

[abostonboy]

The point of my rant is I don't want to do MORE, but less, like 24. I'm so sick of giving away half of my friggin content in a free site just to meet these rules to get listed.

More gallery pages = more ad spots!

I like ads!

[basschick]

if you can make galleries, you can make a freesite. c'mon, jeff! my freesites are my absolute worst thing and i'm doing this. hopefully i can get some pointers.

I was thinking of getting into this buildathon but to be honest I don't think I can even come close to what you folks can do. Honestly. Perhaps I'll just sit back and learn this time around.

[marcjacob]

Heres mine.

HARD SCALLY COCK (http://www.hardcoregaygalleries.com/free/hothardscallycock/)

I do 60 pic, usually 4 x 15 or 3 x 20 so I can get listed at alta gay links.

[dzinerbear]

has this style been accepted for you at all the sites you have recips for? i'm asking because i have posted to directories that definitely would turn it down for the amount of real estate given to the ad on the warning and main page, as well as for the thumbs linked to the sponsor at the bottom of this one

This was a fairly new template that I used only a few times and mainly for this sponsor. And then, I launched into my Joomla project, so I never got a chance to check for its acceptance. However, this template sold many more memberships than my previous one, so I'm assuming it got good acceptance.

By the way, why does a link list care how big a banner is? On Gay Porn Pig I couldn't give a horse's ass how big your banner is. Give me a recip, don't trick the surfers, and provide reasonable content and I'll approve your freesite. Once the surfer is off the main warning page, the link list has lost the opportunity to get them to their hub. At this point, if a freesite sells then the webmaster is happy, and happy webmasters keep submitting. Am I missing something?

Thanks
Michael

[dzinerbear]

i'm asking because i have posted to directories that definitely would turn it down for the amount of real estate given to the ad on the warning

I was confused by this ... I have a 468 banner on the warning page and a text link. The images above aren't a part of the link, they're just showing the guys on this freesite.

Michael

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

if you can make galleries, you can make a freesite. c'mon, jeff! my freesites are my absolute worst thing and i'm doing this. hopefully i can get some pointers.

Ok..perhaps I'll give it a try lol What have I got to lose? $15 for a domain? Is anyone doing one for any of Gunzblazing's stuff? They're my faves and I think I'd like to look into one for them.

[rudeboxxx]

I've made one promoting Blake Mason :D

Sexy British Lads Fuck In The Ass (http://www.rudeboxxx.com/free/blakemason/04)

I *think* it complies with all the rules hehe. Please do comment :)

[Bec]

Ok..perhaps I'll give it a try lol What have I got to lose? $15 for a domain? Is anyone doing one for any of Gunzblazing's stuff? They're my faves and I think I'd like to look into one for them.

You don't need to buy a domain for each free site, just do subfolders for them like this: yourdomain.com/categories/fake-site-name/index.html

Most do free sites on a domain they probably have as a main "hub" site.

[dzinerbear]

I've made one promoting Blake Mason

Sexy British Lads Fuck In The Ass (http://www.rudeboxxx.com/free/blakemason/04)

I *think* it complies with all the rules hehe. Please do comment :)

I like your stuff. It's very blocky, linear, and balance, like everything was laid out with a ruler. And I'm always attracted to that kind of stuff.

I also love your colours. They're bold and they really grab you.

I'm a little disappointed with the thumbsize. I don't know if bigger thumbs sell better, but my first impression when I saw them was, "Oh this guy is cheap." That may not get a surfer in the mood to buy. Don't know, let's see what others say.

Question: Why is some of the your link text underline and some not? Not criticizing, just wanting to know if there's a sales reason for it.

The other thing I think would make your site better is if you didn't use the Blake Mason banners. I'd make my own. It's a bother, but I think it's worth it as those 468x60s get over used pretty quickly. I usually just use them on my warning page, but everything else, I try and make custom.

The only other thing I might suggest is providing a link to somehow get your surfers into the rest of freesites. I know you have one on the front page, I might put something else on your gallery page at the bottom. I usually link to a couple of names galleries, i.e. Big Hard Cocks and Straight Naked Studs, just to help with SEO. I also figure the longer I can keep someone on my own properties, the better my chances when a surfer gets horny enough.

Michael

[dzinerbear]

Heres mine.

HARD SCALLY COCK (http://www.hardcoregaygalleries.com/free/hothardscallycock/)

I do 60 pic, usually 4 x 15 or 3 x 20 so I can get listed at alta gay links.

I'd space out your top of page text on your gallery page. It was a little squished together, and I'd bold all of it because my eye tended to gloss over the non-bolded stuff.

I like the big preview pics on the gallery page, but again, I found the thumbs a bit on the small side.

I'd love to hear what others have to say about mixing landscape and portrait thumbs. I hate it myself and find it hard on my eyes. But maybe it also slows down surfers ... I don't know.

And if you're going to have text on every page, I'd vary it. I know it's a pain, but once I read it a second time and find out it's the same, it tends to have a hypnotizing effect — "Don't read my text it's all the same and repetitive." So, I'd maybe put most of the text on the gallery page and then just use a come-on line at the top of every other page. And I'd change the "Click Here to See the Video ..." text too. It's all just a bit too repetitive and I think a surfer's eye will just gloss over it.

Maybe use CSS and put some borders around your pictures, it might help focus them on the white background. Put a couple of pixels of padding and then a border around them, that effect looks quite nice.

Cheers,
Michael

[Mickey]

Sexy British Lads Fuck In The Ass (http://www.rudeboxxx.com/free/blakemason/04)


I am by no means an expert on this but imo the use of the red color for the warning box is a bad choise, i know you might want to signal stop/read this but red on blue is a clash of colors that will draw all the attention to something that we all have on the pages but to be honest we dont expect people to read etc - so i would probably go with another more neutral color there...

beyound that i think the site is very nice...

[basschick]

i can only comment on mixing landscape and portrait thumbs from a gallery posting perspective - and our sales dropped 50% doing it, even when they were organized so they were all the same height.

[rudeboxxx]

Thanks for your comments dzinerbear...

I think I might experiment with thumb size in the future.

I've only hyperlinked the text which says Blake Mason, which is why only some of it is underlined. What do you think about that?

I would like to try making my own banners and think I might spend some time on that for each of my favourite sponsors.

The link back to my hub is a good idea - thanks for that.

I like your stuff. It's very blocky, linear, and balance, like everything was laid out with a ruler. And I'm always attracted to that kind of stuff.

I also love your colours. They're bold and they really grab you.

I'm a little disappointed with the thumbsize. I don't know if bigger thumbs sell better, but my first impression when I saw them was, "Oh this guy is cheap." That may not get a surfer in the mood to buy. Don't know, let's see what others say.

Question: Why is some of the your link text underline and some not? Not criticizing, just wanting to know if there's a sales reason for it.

The other thing I think would make your site better is if you didn't use the Blake Mason banners. I'd make my own. It's a bother, but I think it's worth it as those 468x60s get over used pretty quickly. I usually just use them on my warning page, but everything else, I try and make custom.

The only other thing I might suggest is providing a link to somehow get your surfers into the rest of freesites. I know you have one on the front page, I might put something else on your gallery page at the bottom. I usually link to a couple of names galleries, i.e. Big Hard Cocks and Straight Naked Studs, just to help with SEO. I also figure the longer I can keep someone on my own properties, the better my chances when a surfer gets horny enough.

Michael

Thanks for your comments too Mickey.

I might try just a simple ADULT CONTENT, 18+ ONLY warning instead.

I am by no means an expert on this but imo the use of the red color for the warning box is a bad choise, i know you might want to signal stop/read this but red on blue is a clash of colors that will draw all the attention to something that we all have on the pages but to be honest we dont expect people to read etc - so i would probably go with another more neutral color there...

beyound that i think the site is very nice...

[gaydemon]

Ok,

I'm not a great free site builder or even know what sells on a free site. So anything I mentioned on here is just what I presonally feel or like. Not at all what might work best on site..

The thing is, the 3 sites we have on here.. there are all actually very good. Compared to what I see on a daily basis these 3 stand out very much from the rest.

[gaydemon]

Okay ... here's my freesite for the tutorial.

Horny College Guys (http://www.gay-porn-pig.com/freesites/collegedudes/horny-college-guys/index.html)

I'm looking forward to the comments and feedback.

Michael

Ok, Michael. here is my critisism of your site. I will only say what I dont like since in general it looks very nice. This is my view as a surfer and directory owner. Not a site builder or what might be good for sales.


I would have liked the "Enter Horny College Guys here" link at the bottom of warning page to be bigger.
Preferably the links and thumbs that leads to the galleries should be higher up. At the moment its below the fold (you have to scroll to see any sign of a free gallery) and anything above the fold is adverts only.
On the galleries, both the thumbs leading to the full picture and the thumbs at the bottom which are infact an advert, are indentical. How can a surfer see the difference?I would definitly list this site on gaydemon, even with the things I mentioned in mind.

[gaydemon]

Heres mine.

HARD SCALLY COCK (http://www.hardcoregaygalleries.com/free/hothardscallycock/)

I do 60 pic, usually 4 x 15 or 3 x 20 so I can get listed at alta gay links.

Ok, Marcjacob. Again like i mentioned before. I will only say what I dont like since in general it looks very nice.

BUT I got to say I really like the warning page. Its a perfect example of a good, straight forward and practical warning page. Nothing more or less is needed on it. (Other than maybe some SEO text)

All the text is slightly cramped and the lines are very close to each other. I would increase the line height on all text. Let it breath!
Maybe a bit of color could enhance the pages.
The main thing I would try and improve is using proper meta tags and HTML for the pages as well as Title and Alt tags for images and links. (however thats only for your own gain, it would not make any difference to most surfers or getting accepted to directories).I would definitly list this site on gaydemon.

Meta tags I think can definitly help, if you get it right and together with text on pages you might find you get a bit of traffic from all kinds of places. Not much but more and more applications and spiders etc pick up all kinds of sites but still rely on Meta tags and some sort of descriptive text

Specially Google Images (http://images.google.com) is FAR more important / bigger than most people realize. So by using good Image Alt and Title tags you could get a nice surprise from Google.

[gaydemon]

I've made one promoting Blake Mason :D

Sexy British Lads Fuck In The Ass (http://www.rudeboxxx.com/free/blakemason/04)

I *think* it complies with all the rules hehe. Please do comment :)

Again like i mentioned on the other posts.. ill mostly say what I dont like about the site or what i would improve. I do really like your sites though, love the colors!

Just first, in regards to the red on the warning page. It is true, it attracts attention. I love how it looks though, so I would have used that to your advantage. Draw attention to something else with the help of red. Colors are so VERY important.

Right, this is what i dont like or might have changed:


Not use red for the warning text, use it on the advert part instead to draw attention to the banner / sponsor.
I would leave the hover effect alone, or atleast make it change color when you move your mouse over a link.~
Don't think the simple banners make your gallery any justice. They actually look boring compared to the overall feel of the page itself.
The top title "sexy british lads fuck in the ass", could just as easily be text and still look as nice and not have to be a image. I see more benefit from recreating it as just text instead of creating a image.

[dzinerbear]

On the galleries, both the thumbs leading to the full picture and the thumbs at the bottom which are infact an advert, are indentical. How can a surfer see the difference?[/LIST]I would definitly list this site on gaydemon, even with the things I mentioned in mind.

I guess what you're saying is that the advert at the bottom is deceptive, and it was designed to be. But I hear what you're saying and other link list owners may not be so generous. I'm going to try something a little different.

Thanks for the feedback.

Michael

[rudeboxxx]

Good point about the red, maybe I could use red to border the banners.

I'm not sure what you mean about the hover effect as I haven't used it in the template (I don't think hehe).

I think in the interest of SEO I will have to change the title to text rather than image and sacrifice the text having the white border. So thats a good idea.

[rudeboxxx]

I actually really like that concept. Could you not just entitle it with something like "A preview of what is inside Sponsor Name" to avoid people seeing it as deceptive?

I guess what you're saying is that the advert at the bottom is deceptive, and it was designed to be. But I hear what you're saying and other link list owners may not be so generous. I'm going to try something a little different.

Thanks for the feedback.

Michael

[Ben]

Hello all, I am new to this forum. I got an invitation from Bjorn today and just couldn't refuse it since he's such a nice guy :)


Here are some of my characteristic free sites:

RB:

http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/randymenforallseasons/
http://www.bighornymen.net/sites/dailydoseofcock/
http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/loadedguns/
http://www.bighornymen.net/sites/primalmale/
http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/menofsteel/
http://www.bighornymen.net/sites/extremepenetrations/


BSB:

http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/deepassfucking/
http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/domehard/


Fratmen:

http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/nextdoorfrathunks/


CJB:

http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/hotstraightcum/
http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/hornyashell/


These sites were taken form many different time periods (2004 - 2008). I would love to hear all comments, both negative and positive.

It would be interesting if you tried to guess which of these sites performed best and which made little or no sales on the basis of their design, and I'll tell you if you were right :)

[Fister]

michael, your site is spectacularly clean and looks good. has this style been accepted for you at all the sites you have recips for? i'm asking because i have posted to directories that definitely would turn it down for the amount of real estate given to the ad on the warning and main page, as well as for the thumbs linked to the sponsor at the bottom of this one
http://www.gay-porn-pig.com/freesites/collegedudes/horny-college-guys/01.html
...

I agree that some directories (especially the big super-strict adult directories) may decline Michael's site for either of these reasons. The gay directories tend to be much more webmaster friendly (other than some have an outrageously-high minimum content limit). I really like Michael's free-site graphic design, and his titles and descriptions attract a lot of clicks. (BTW, Michael, I don't show you submitted this site to Latin Men Links yet.)

[Fister]

Heres mine.

HARD SCALLY COCK (http://www.hardcoregaygalleries.com/free/hothardscallycock/)

I do 60 pic, usually 4 x 15 or 3 x 20 so I can get listed at alta gay links.

I also think it would help to vary the advertising text on each page, and add a banner if the sponsor provides one.

[gaydemon]

No, that might be the problem, you just have to create a rule for:

a:hover {
color: #000;
}

Remember it makes a huge difference what order you have a:link, a:hover, a:visited (they need to be in that order in your css)



Good point about the red, maybe I could use red to border the banners.

I'm not sure what you mean about the hover effect as I haven't used it in the template (I don't think hehe).

I think in the interest of SEO I will have to change the title to text rather than image and sacrifice the text having the white border. So thats a good idea.

[gaydemon]

Hi Ben, thanks for joining.

Yes it would be very interesting to see which ones perfermed the best. I bet it will be the ones we think would do worst! lol

Its interesting to see how you linked up between your different gallery sites. Do you find that works better? Doesnt that mean people surf around more for free rather than take the chance to buy?

Hello all, I am new to this forum. I got an invitation from Bjorn today and just couldn't refuse it since he's such a nice guy :)


Here are some of my characteristic free sites:

RB:

http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/randymenforallseasons/
http://www.bighornymen.net/sites/dailydoseofcock/
http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/loadedguns/
http://www.bighornymen.net/sites/primalmale/
http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/menofsteel/
http://www.bighornymen.net/sites/extremepenetrations/


BSB:

http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/deepassfucking/
http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/domehard/


Fratmen:

http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/nextdoorfrathunks/


CJB:

http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/hotstraightcum/
http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/hornyashell/


These sites were taken form many different time periods (2004 - 2008). I would love to hear all comments, both negative and positive.

It would be interesting if you tried to guess which of these sites performed best and which made little or no sales on the basis of their design, and I'll tell you if you were right :)

[marcjacob]

Its interesting to see how you linked up between your different gallery sites. Do you find that works better? Doesnt that mean people surf around more for free rather than take the chance to buy?


Actually people do say it helps. Surfers will surf for porn as long as they want to and we cant stop that. But keeping them in your network of sites means that they are more likely to buy from you rather than someone else. Hopefully they see something they like, get really horny and buy.

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

You don't need to buy a domain for each free site, just do subfolders for them like this: yourdomain.com/categories/fake-site-name/index.html

Most do free sites on a domain they probably have as a main "hub" site.

Yeah thanks Bec. I realized that as soon as I wrote that but didn't get the change to edit the post.


Ok so I'm working on one for Hot Barebacking. Now...we all know how infamous Gunzblazing is for their liberalism when it comes to videos (which I LOVE :D), but is it recommended to have both pics and videos on a free site? I will have 40 pics in total in 4 galleries. Would a video for each gallery help? Or is that overkill?

Thanks much!

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

Ok..........here's my very first "free" site. Please don't laugh too hard. At least...not out loud lol

Tell me what ya think:

http://www.all-gay-porn.com/rawbarebackstuds/index.html

Mucho gracias:D

[RottenRay]

Ben,

There are shitpot of links that go to pages which don't match the link titles in all your sites.

The basic site layout is nothing noteworthy.

Also, is there a reason you skipped embedding ICRA or RTA tags?

The last is something which REALLY pisses me off - there are some parents who take the time to filter their kids' internet experience and we should be meeting them at the halfway point.

[abostonboy]

Its interesting to see how you linked up between your different gallery sites. Do you find that works better? Doesnt that mean people surf around more for free rather than take the chance to buy?

It has always worked for me.

I guess my reasoning always was:

1. The surfer is surfing around for free on the link list anyways. Eventually he may find something.
2. Instead of the link list having him and the other free sites, why not me?
3. It's a good way to filter traffic.

It's really no different than what Rude Box is doing, only executed in a different way. If I were Rude Box, I would provide a link to my main hib on all my sites to filter traffic.

Let's take that Blake Mason site as an example. Maybe the surfer doesn't like the model, but of he says "see all my BM sites here", then the surfer may find a model he likes. And of course it's nice having the surfer spend more time on my domain that the link list or other free sites.

I really try and get my average visit times up. My older free site domains that I didn't hub together have a real lower average visitor time. The newer ones are a bit higher per domain.

[RottenRay]

RDude -

Nice layout and nice navigation. A dark background site that works well...

Comments:

You sort of jump right into nasty stuff, so you might want to make your first page's title read "SEXUALLY EXPLICIT" since that is the first thing filtering software looks at.

You might also want to visit www.icra.org and grab yourself a label.

(No, you won't lose sales when a 10 year old's computer won't play your page...)

--- "That you are at least 18 years of age or older" ---

should be "That you are at least 18 years of age, unless your local laws say you should be older"


Overall, one of the nicest free sites I've seen in a long time - no crap, right to the point, nice layout!


.

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

RDude -

Nice layout and nice navigation. A dark background site that works well...

Comments:

You sort of jump right into nasty stuff, so you might want to make your first page's title read "SEXUALLY EXPLICIT" since that is the first thing filtering software looks at.

You might also want to visit www.icra.org and grab yourself a label.

(No, you won't lose sales when a 10 year old's computer won't play your page...)

--- "That you are at least 18 years of age or older" ---

should be "That you are at least 18 years of age, unless your local laws say you should be older"


Overall, one of the nicest free sites I've seen in a long time - no crap, right to the point, nice layout!


.

Thanks man, glad ya like it.

Although it is my first free site - according to the standards we're going by here - I've built many sites so I guess I just needed a better understanding of what this kind of page entails. This thread has helped me immensely.

So I should put up Sexually Explicit on the warning page or the actual gallery link page? I'm assuming you mean the galler link page.

As far as 10 year olds getting to this site - I truly do not want that and am most certainly not worried about losing sales as a result of them not seeing it lol ;)

I will change the warning text to your recommendations asap. I'm doing up the label right now.

Thanks much!

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

Is it safe to give the ICRA your ftp information? They're asking for it and I have to say that I'm pretty skiddish about handing that out.

Thanks

[Gaystoryman]

Is it safe to give the ICRA your ftp information? They're asking for it and I have to say that I'm pretty skiddish about handing that out.

Thanks

Only IF YOU want them to upload it... I'd just have them email or download the files, then FTP IT myself... least it is what I do. :cool: It is strictly YOUR choice. not mandatory.

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

Oh ok thanks man. I think I'm quite capable of uploading it myself lol

[dzinerbear]

Ok..........here's my very first "free" site. Please don't laugh too hard. At least...not out loud lol Tell me what ya think:
http://www.all-gay-porn.com/rawbarebackstuds/index.html


Looks pretty good ... here are some thoughts / suggestions.

Watch black backgrounds and your choice of text colours. Red looks great if you can see it, but apparently most colour-blind men can't see red on black.

You're going to want more recips on your warning page, it's the only way you'll get traffic and sales.

On your gallery page I'd put a Hot Barebacking link somewhere above the fold. And I'd use text rather than a banner. In fact, I'd use the sponsor banners sparingly as they will be well circulated.

While sponsors will appreciate it, don't put any recips on any other pages than your warning page. You don't need the "traffic leaks."

Your text links could need some work. "HEAD OVER TO HOT BAREBACKING FOR MORE RAW STUDS" is okay, it's pretty generic. I'd write a separate one for each page and I'd write something like this "WATCH COCK-HUNGRY PIGS SWAPPING JUICY CUM LOADS."

Most gay link lists require 30, some are as low as 20, but a few are 40 and 50. The most I do is 40, I think 50 is too much, and even 40 is a lot.

The grey on grey text doesn't really stand out to me.

Good effort ... I think it's a pretty good template. You've got the hang of it. I think with some of the suggestions I've made, you'll definitely make sales. And of course, don't be afraid to test out new things yourself.

Cheers
Michael

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

Looks pretty good ... here are some thoughts / suggestions.

Watch black backgrounds and your choice of text colours. Red looks great if you can see it, but apparently most colour-blind men can't see red on black.

You're going to want more recips on your warning page, it's the only way you'll get traffic and sales.

On your gallery page I'd put a Hot Barebacking link somewhere above the fold. And I'd use text rather than a banner. In fact, I'd use the sponsor banners sparingly as they will be well circulated.

While sponsors will appreciate it, don't put any recips on any other pages than your warning page. You don't need the "traffic leaks."

Your text links could need some work. "HEAD OVER TO HOT BAREBACKING FOR MORE RAW STUDS" is okay, it's pretty generic. I'd write a separate one for each page and I'd write something like this "WATCH COCK-HUNGRY PIGS SWAPPING JUICY CUM LOADS."

Most gay link lists require 30, some are as low as 20, but a few are 40 and 50. The most I do is 40, I think 50 is too much, and even 40 is a lot.

The grey on grey text doesn't really stand out to me.

Good effort ... I think it's a pretty good template. You've got the hang of it. I think with some of the suggestions I've made, you'll definitely make sales. And of course, don't be afraid to test out new things yourself.

Cheers
Michael

Thanks for the suggestions Michael.

I assume you're referring to the red Sexually Explicit at the top of the warning page. I'm actually going blind myself lol a little bit, although not colour blind per say. I can see it fine. But I will take your suggestion nevertheless. I would like to have it a different colour than the site title header though. Perhaps gold will work.

As far as reciprocal links on the warning page, I haven't received any yet as I just built the site for everyone to take a look at first. I haven't even got any keywords up yet lol But I will look at getting more. In the event I get it looking "better" will you be willing to make some link trades yourself at all?

I thought about using text instead of a banner and I will change that. And leaks can be a problem I know so I will change. I don't know if Bjorn wants a banner on each page or not. Bjorn?

I'm making all the changes right now and am using more unique link text. I darkened the gallery link page tables too so the grey shows up much better. I've tried having the tables black as well but they look much better as a different colour than the main page background.

I like the template too. Especially since I just opened up notepad and typed it in. I can't stand webpage makers. All that extra html and crap. Yuck. I always seem to come up with something better than what those applications can create IMO.

Thanks for the tips and compliments:D

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

Most gay link lists require 30, some are as low as 20, but a few are 40 and 50. The most I do is 40, I think 50 is too much, and even 40 is a lot.



Yes, 40-50 free images is an awful lot. Is it really advisable to use that many? Does getting listed at a big link list override the amount of surfers that will get off on your free pics without even getting to the sponsor?lol
Might be a silly question but I am still pretty new to this.

I only did up a 28 image site as it does pass Gaydemon's specs. However, I would like to get listed at more sites as well. Perhaps 2 more galleries will fit the bill. 42 pics in total. Man, it sucks what you have to give away for free in order to make sales.

Thanks

[abostonboy]

Yes, 40-50 free images is an awful lot. Is it really advisable to use that many?


You really need to think about it. Using a low amount of pics is "old school". Look at how many free pics are on the new link list at gaydemon.If they don;t get off on your site, they will on one of the next ones.

Some webmasters will say don't show a cumshot. I love cumshots. But, videos of them. Show me two good cum shots and say the the video has it captured in all it's glory and I will join. WOW me with 50 high quality pics and get me horny and I will join for the video.

A sufer can jerk off to one pic just as easily as he can to 60. He's going to find one pic that he likes and bust a nut no matter if you have 20 or 60. Now, if you have only 20 and he doesn't find a pic he like, chances are he ain't gonna bust a nut. But chances are that the surfer who wants to find a pic and join a site for the videos ain't gonna find it either.

Let surfers bust a nut. It's good for branding.

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

Yeah that certainly makes sense Lloyd now that you mention it and I ponder it. I've updated the site to 42 pics but am considering even more. Alta Gay Links wants a site to have at least 60 pics and I'd like to get listed with them. I'm listed with a few lists now so I'll get some traffic to start up with. We'll see how it goes. I can live with 60 pics or so. But when do you draw the line?

[Mickey]

Ok..........here's my very first "free" site. Please don't laugh too hard. At least...not out loud lol

Tell me what ya think:

http://www.all-gay-porn.com/rawbarebackstuds/index.html

Mucho gracias:D
To be honest with you i think this template is too clean , too little advertisment on both the main page and the galleries... Unless i missed it you only have 1 link going to the sponsor placed all the way at the bottom of the main page.

i would remove the text link and make an "ad box" between the gallery 2-3 and again 4-5 to try and sell the sponsor... The main page is the page on your site that the surfer will view the most as he use it to navigate between galleries so you have to try and sell him on the sponsor when he is on the main page..

so good template etc but way to clean in my opinion.

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

To be honest with you i think this template is too clean , too little advertisment on both the main page and the galleries... Unless i missed it you only have 1 link going to the sponsor placed all the way at the bottom of the main page.

i would remove the text link and make an "ad box" between the gallery 2-3 and again 4-5 to try and sell the sponsor... The main page is the page on your site that the surfer will view the most as he use it to navigate between galleries so you have to try and sell him on the sponsor when he is on the main page..

so good template etc but way to clean in my opinion.

From my experience a surfer wants to see the pics before they head off to the sponsor site. If they feel overwhelmed with all the ads and crap, they'll just bugger off. I know I do if I feel this way.

There are 6 galleries for them to check out and a link to the sponsor site on each page. They will have no problems getting there I'm sure.

I think what the problem is is that we're all so used to seeing tons of crap on these free sites that we think it's the norm. What's wrong with a little change?

Lastly, most link lists don't want you to have more than 3 links to sponsors on each page. Gaydemon specifically. Which is where I wanted the site listed for the most part.

[abostonboy]

Yeah that certainly makes sense Lloyd now that you mention it and I ponder it. I've updated the site to 42 pics but am considering even more. Alta Gay Links wants a site to have at least 60 pics and I'd like to get listed with them. I'm listed with a few lists now so I'll get some traffic to start up with. We'll see how it goes. I can live with 60 pics or so. But when do you draw the line?

I had a free site on it's own domain once and it had like 1,000 pics and I updated it all the time. Conversions were good.

A hub, which every webmaster should have, is just 1,000s of free pics.

http://freegaypix.com/

That site has been online forever. It makes sales.

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

Wow cool Lloyd. Perhaps I'll add lots more pics then. Got nothing to lose really and if it converts well then what the heck eh? I think I'll look into a few more bareback sponsors too.

Thanks for the link. Cool site. Nice and clean and I think I've even umm...cum across that site in the past lol

[abostonboy]

I will post about each free site in a bit. One thing that I noticed is that they all pretty much lack personality. Hard to explain, but I have always done best when I make a "personal" connection with the surfer that is "funny" in some way.

For example, if I was to create a site for BlakeMason, one thing I would ask on the site is, "Who the fuck is this dude Blake Mason?". Or for a site that has no DRM, I may say, "Are these guys fucking nuts, they let you download the whole site!!!"

Those can be very powerful.

To me, I REALLY try and make it a strong point that I actually visited the site.

OH SHIT! Let me do a free site.......

[abostonboy]

Wow cool Lloyd. Perhaps I'll add lots more pics then. Got nothing to lose really and if it converts well then what the heck eh? I think I'll look into a few more bareback sponsors too.

Thanks for the link. Cool site. Nice and clean and I think I've even umm...cum across that site in the past lol

It's not my site btw. I just know the guys that run it...

http://www.freegaypix.com/sitereviews/index.php

Hehehe. A little shameless plug for BlakeMason!

[basschick]

jeff, i'd remove those pics that show anything below the waist from the warning page and get some advertising above the fold on the main page. btw, all that text you are using to describe each gallery is different for a free site, and it totally overwhelms the one-line link to the site.

remember, the reason the surfers go here is to see free porn, but the reason you are posting it is to advertise the site, so to you the ads are the MOST important thing on the page. at the very least, put one at the top and one at the bottom of the page and maybe use at least 2 lines for the sponsor - after all, you've given a BIG thumb, 9 lines plus a link to each gallery. shouldn't your sponsor links stand out?

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

Well I have to say that I'm pretty confused here. According to the rules for this buildathon, only 3 links to sponsors are allowed on each page. Albeit, these can all be different for each page so I guess that would constitute lots of advertising. But the way I'm hearing this is that it's being suggested to me I put a huge amount of advertising up. ?????

Now I understand that I should perhaps put more links up to Hot Barebacking. Which I'll do. And yeah, I guess I'll create another collage for the warning page with only pics from the waist up. Although, I have to say that I can't see how that will entice anyone to enter the site. Perhaps the term "Bareback" will take care of itself.

btw, all that text you are using to describe each gallery is different for a free site, and it totally overwhelms the one-line link to the site.

Ok...so what do I do? Not put in a description about each gallery? I mean, I should at least introduce the players in each gallery shouldn't I?


I know perhaps there are certain rules for a free site. But I'm afraid it's going to look like every other boring banner farm one out there. I mean, most of the ones that I see - other than most of the ones shown in this thread - I find it hard to even figure out where to enter the site from all the advertising. I would imagine that most people are like me and just hit the back button out of frustration. I don't want that happening with my site.

[abostonboy]

Jeff,

One problem that you have is the amount of pics per gallery. It will be hard for you to get three ads on you gallery pages without overwhelming the page...

Here is a good start to create a gallery page -

Site Title

Ad Space

2 Rows of thumbs

Ad Space

2 Rows of thumbs

Ad Space

That's 20 pics. Each row being 5 pics. Times three galleries, that's 12 ad spaces. Add your main gallery page and you have another three for 15. Toss three on your warning page and you have 18 ad spots.

I use to make 25% or more of my sales off my warning pages.

With your writing skills, I wouldn't worry about the ads overwhelming the content. You could come up with some KILLER text to send surfers to the site. Pre-sell the site with your own original text.

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

Thanks Lloyd. That sounds like a pretty cool layout. It will take some work but I think I can manage it.

[basschick]

your main page currently has 1 link. that means you have room for more.

but also, more importantly, there's room for unlinked text to turn them on or describe what they'll find at your sponsor's site.

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

I'm on it.

[dzinerbear]

Now I understand that I should perhaps put more links up to Hot Barebacking. Which I'll do. And yeah, I guess I'll create another collage for the warning page with only pics from the waist up. Although, I have to say that I can't see how that will entice anyone to enter the site. Perhaps the term "Bareback" will take care of itself.

The purpose of the warning page is to warn people that there is nudity inside, therefore, many link lists don't allow nudity on the front page. Don't worry, the surfers know that the frontpage is BS and 99.9% will click through your enter link at the bottom. They're familiar with the whole freesite concept and know how to use them.

Cheers
Michael

[Ben]

Ben,

There are shitpot of links that go to pages which don't match the link titles in all your sites.



Such as...? Please give me an example.



The basic site layout is nothing noteworthy.


Thanks for the sincerity.
I will be changing it soon.
It has, however, stood the test of time and does sell well, so apart from the fact that I got bored with it, I don't see any other reason to change it.


Also, is there a reason you skipped embedding ICRA or RTA tags?

The last is something which REALLY pisses me off - there are some parents who take the time to filter their kids' internet experience and we should be meeting them at the halfway point.



I think you're going a bit too far with this. The site is clearly porn oriented, and if those parents have any intention to filter porn sites, their software will tell them my site is a porn site. I am NOT obsessed with the delusional idea that porn is somehow the greatest evil for the kids.

I will embed an ICRA label, but certainly not on every single site (only on the hub). Actually I embedded them on my AVS hub almost 3 years ago.

[basschick]

the thing that makes it obvious to filtering software that the site is porn oriented is the ICRA or RTA tag on every single page in your site. it's easy to do this, takes almost no time at all, so why not do it on every page?

I think you're going a bit too far with this. The site is clearly porn oriented, and if those parents have any intention to filter porn sites, their software will tell them my site is a porn site. I am NOT obsessed with the delusional idea that porn is somehow the greatest evil for the kids.

I will embed an ICRA label, but certainly not on every single site (only on the hub). Actually I embedded them on my AVS hub almost 3 years ago.

[Ben]

the thing that makes it obvious to filtering software that the site is porn oriented is the ICRA or RTA tag on every single page in your site. it's easy to do this, takes almost no time at all, so why not do it on every page?

Patti,

I will consider putting ICRA label on every page in my sites. However, you must know by now that even general search engines, let alone adult filtering software CAN recognize a porn site even without ICRA or RTA label, solely on the basis on its more than obvious text and probably other methods (but I can't go into that now).

As for my sites, there is the word "porn" in the name of the domain; titles, meta tags and the text on each and every page of every site clearly show that the site is porn oriented.

Even before I put an ICRA label on one of my other sites, virtually all search engines and even ALEXA knew that that site was adult oriented.

[abostonboy]

The purpose of the warning page is to warn people that there is nudity inside, therefore, many link lists don't allow nudity on the front page. Don't worry, the surfers know that the frontpage is BS and 99.9% will click through your enter link at the bottom. They're familiar with the whole freesite concept and know how to use them.

Cheers
Michael

The purpose of a warning page for me it to make sales. :)

[RDude_BarebackMasters]

The purpose of a warning page for me it to make sales. :)

Interesting. I never thought of a warning page as the place to makes sales from lol

[RottenRay]

ICRA & RTA Labels...

Folks, I didn't mean to touch off a powderkeg here. But face the facts - there ARE extreme right-wingers who DO consider porn to be the root of all evil.

It's not hard to include the metatag (<link rel="meta" href="http://www.realamateursproject.com/labels.rdf" type="application/rdf+xml" title="ICRA labels" />) in your header, and when every page you spew has it, it simply makes the industry look more responsible.

[gaydemon]

and getting back on track.. build build workshop.. remember! ;) So being a bit more constructive.

Ben, a few points with what I like and dont like about for example this one of your free sites:

http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/randymenforallseasons/

I LIKED this:


I like how you used a lot of text at the start of each page. Few people actually make the effort anymore and i think it is worth it. Plus it also provides you with good and easy descriptions to use when you submit the sites to directories. (even if the text is from sponsors)
Nice and clear enter links on the warning page.
All pages through out the site is very clean and especially. By You have by organizing it properly with the help of a grid / table made it feel less cluttered or messy even with all the ads / thumbs.I did NOT like this:


The layout or design is a bit basic, i think you could have used a bit more imagenation and made it a bit more fun or exciting.
A bit too much free content all in one site for my liking.
I would never have hardcore or even fully nude pictures on the warning pages. Having hardcore sex on a warning page sort of defeats the purpose of that page.Anyway thats some of what i could think of. And i would definitly list the sites as they are now on gaydemon.

[Ben]

Ben, a few points with what I like and dont like about for example this one of your free sites:

http://www.free-porn-masters.com/sites/randymenforallseasons/

I LIKED this:


I like how you used a lot of text at the start of each page. Few people actually make the effort anymore and i think it is worth it. Plus it also provides you with good and easy descriptions to use when you submit the sites to directories. (even if the text is from sponsors)
Nice and clear enter links on the warning page.
All pages through out the site is very clean and especially. By You have by organizing it properly with the help of a grid / table made it feel less cluttered or messy even with all the ads / thumbs.



Did you think about the text on every page for every individual set (that's sponsor's text), or about the text on the first (index) page? I recently discovered that although most of my freesites are indexed by Google, all that is indexed is my warning page text :( and it seems it doesn't go further into the sites. So I started making my unique text for index pages. I don't know if that will help my SEO.


I did NOT like this:

The layout or design is a bit basic, i think you could have used a bit more imagenation and made it a bit more fun or exciting.


Could you please give a few examples of free sites whose design you really like? For instance I like Dzinerbear's, Marcjacob's and Rudeboxx's freesites but they are so unique that I can't make something too similar, it would be mere copying ;)

I realize my design is not anything special but I figured it's just a freesite, people want to see porn so what's the use of elaborate design. Anyhow I'll be submitting a new site to you soon which will have less banners and a different color scheme (but it will still be a variation on one of my earlier templetes). Then after I get inspiration I'll make different templates.

I must say that this particular template sells very well. I made it almost as a joke on the spur of a moment on one sunny day in summer 2005 and was pleasantly surprised it made a ton of RB sales. Since then I used it as a sort of a blueprint for pretty much all my other freesites. This particular free site has made four RB sales so far.


A bit too much free content all in one site for my liking.

I would never have hardcore or even fully nude pictures on the warning pages. Having hardcore sex on a warning page sort of defeats the purpose of that page.


As for too much content, I agree - but this approach also has worked well, who knows why. I should definitely experiment with less content.

Hardcore sex on the warning page - I completely agree. It's a habit I got from building AVS sites. However, I censored everything there.



Anyway thats some of what i could think of. And i would definitly list the sites as they are now on gaydemon.


Thanks for the review! And of course I thank you for listing my sites on Gaydemon. :)

[gaydemon]

Didnt think of that in regards to the text through out the site or not. Any real text created for a site is great no matter what page its used on. Better yet if its also used in Meta tags. I think using your own text is definitly a benefit and im sure worth the time. Even if its only on the warning page.

When I mean basic, i simply meant that being a designer i can easily spot that its a table grid where you put everything into. Spicing it up maybe with some shaded backgrounds, some little lines and shadows.. just anythign really. And since its a template you would only have to do that once.

Rudebox is probably my favorite design wise, but Micheals are great content wise because you can easily see how much time he spend on each and every site / gallery. While still creating 10 or so a week.

Its the kind of effort that people used to put into doing sites in the past but you dont see often anymore.


Did you think about the text on every page for every individual set (that's sponsor's text), or about the text on the first (index) page? I recently discovered that although most of my freesites are indexed by Google, all that is indexed is my warning page text :( and it seems it doesn't go further into the sites. So I started making my unique text for index pages. I don't know if that will help my SEO.



Could you please give a few examples of free sites whose design you really like? For instance I like Dzinerbear's, Marcjacob's and Rudeboxx's freesites but they are so unique that I can't make something too similar, it would be mere copying ;)

I realize my design is not anything special but I figured it's just a freesite, people want to see porn so what's the use of elaborate design. Anyhow I'll be submitting a new site to you soon which will have less banners and a different color scheme (but it will still be a variation on one of my earlier templetes). Then after I get inspiration I'll make different templates.

I must say that this particular template sells very well. I made it almost as a joke on the spur of a moment on one sunny day in summer 2005 and was pleasantly surprised it made a ton of RB sales. Since then I used it as a sort of a blueprint for pretty much all my other freesites. This particular free site has made four RB sales so far.



As for too much content, I agree - but this approach also has worked well, who knows why. I should definitely experiment with less content.

Hardcore sex on the warning page - I completely agree. It's a habit I got from building AVS sites. However, I censored everything there.




Thanks for the review! And of course I thank you for listing my sites on Gaydemon. :)

[rudeboxxx]

I'm not sure whether the free site workshop is finished or not, but I found it really useful.

Would be great to have another workshop, and I vote for ad text :D

[dzinerbear]

Yes, I was happy to get some feedback, too.

I wish more people had participated and made comments. But I guess if you don't make freesites, you wouldn't know what to say.

What might be an interested experiment would be for us all to use the same photo set, submit in our own styles and then share the results.

Michael

[Gaystoryman]

Yes, I was happy to get some feedback, too.

I wish more people had participated and made comments. But I guess if you don't make freesites, you wouldn't know what to say.

What might be an interested experiment would be for us all to use the same photo set, submit in our own styles and then share the results.

Michael

I am a lurker on this one, but I have to say, I would have liked to have seen the submissions not all thrown together, but separated, which would have made it easier for me to follow and not be soo confused whistle

Heck, it might have spurred me onto actually trying to do one. :bang:

[abostonboy]

I am a lurker on this one, but I have to say, I would have liked to have seen the submissions not all thrown together, but separated, which would have made it easier for me to follow and not be soo confused whistle

Heck, it might have spurred me onto actually trying to do one. :bang:

You bring up a good point. I was going to comment on them, but i got very confused as to what said who about what site.

[dzinerbear]

Yes I agree, it would have been better to have each in a separate thread. I think Ben got lost in the discussion and didn't get a lot of feedback, I think.

Michael

[marcjacob]

Yes I enjoyed it too and got some cool tips. I find it hard to comment on peoples free sites when I dont really know what im doing myself though lol

[basschick]

we could try that next time, but i think that some people's posts would end up buried so they wouldn't get the same attention as others. that's why i decided to do it on a single thread.

thoughts?

I am a lurker on this one, but I have to say, I would have liked to have seen the submissions not all thrown together, but separated, which would have made it easier for me to follow and not be soo confused whistle

Heck, it might have spurred me onto actually trying to do one. :bang:

[marcjacob]

If they were sticky threads while the thingy was running they might not get so lost.

[gaydemon_jr]

Unless there was a seperate area for the current workshop. So on the front page the list would look like this:

Webmaster Discussion
General webmaster chat

Workshop: Free Sites
The current workshop is free sites

etc...

Then inside that section, each participant has their own thread, they post their entry and all comments go under there.

At the end, the threads become unsticky and the new workshop subject takes over.

Would that work?

[dzinerbear]

I think it's better to have each submitter in their own thread.

1. Ben came in late and I don't think he got as much feedback.

2. Someone who has just arrived at the thread is unlikely to read a 7-page thread, but they might read smaller threads. I have to admit once the thread started getting into several pages, I was less interested in sifting through it.

3. It's just easier to keep everything organized.

Michael

[abostonboy]

My idea is to have a "Workshop forum" if we plan on doing regular workshops. We can sticky that we are doing a workshop in the main forum. Then the worksop forum can have 20 threads each with their own site, blog post example, etc. without overwhelming the main board and none will get buried.

[basschick]

that's what i thought about the member introductions thread...

okay, we'll try a workshop forum and see how it goes :)

I think it's better to have each submitter in their own thread.

1. Ben came in late and I don't think he got as much feedback.

2. Someone who has just arrived at the thread is unlikely to read a 7-page thread, but they might read smaller threads. I have to admit once the thread started getting into several pages, I was less interested in sifting through it.

3. It's just easier to keep everything organized.

Michael

[dzinerbear]

that's what i thought about the member introductions thread...

I haven't looked at those either since they went beyond two pages.

Michael

[basschick]

when i noticed that happening, i unstuck it but bjorn, lloyd and ian wanted it back up. maybe i'll unstick it again... :rolleyes:

that way, each new member can start his or her own thread and get individual attention.

I haven't looked at those either since they went beyond two pages.

Michael

[gaydemon_jr]

Lol. I have to agree. I check the new members thread daily. Its nice to see the new people saying hi, in the same place.

Keep it sticky :D

Lloyd's idea for a workshop forum sounds great.

[marcjacob]

I felt the same as Micheal. I didnt notice it, but after a few pages I automaticly became less interested in it. I do agree that Ben didnt get as much attention. I hope he will take part in the next one. Ben is alot like me in the sense that he is very keen to learn.

[gaydemon]

Ok, lets open another seperate category / forum for site building only. I think you are right its easy for any new site to be lost.

I'll create a forum now.