What's the best approach for an Info Page

[Neil_Whitehorn]

I have a webcomic ... sort of ... well it's a work in progress

wanted to add an info page with many of the characters that appear through out the webcomic

however im not certain what the best approach to implement would be.

I could build something with flash, but that's a bit chunky ... and complex ... with all the AS3. it doesnt seem like something i could update easily

i thought about going with some sort of a Wiki page, Wiki's seem to be pretty popular ... i have no idea how to build a wiki page for something like this ... but what i figured i could do is find a wiki site that i like kind of like avatar legend of korra, and copy and modify the content. basically use another wiki as a type of template

I could put together some sort of HTML page for this do some basic HTML work with something like dreamweaver, some webcomic sites seem to like doing that.

... i dunno ...

[Kaxen]

Don't do flash. It's too clunky and annoying.

Wiki mark-up is not hard to learn, but unless you have your own website and can add a wiki to it, I think using a wiki on another site like wikia or the other free wiki-makers would be kind of annoying. I don't wanna need to go to a different website to get some info about your comic.

Just add an info page with HTML to your website.

I don't think your info page needs to be all that fancy...

[Chibicat16]

do one and.name it story...do another and name if characters...do another and name it manga...and put the intro in a paragraph on the top and then a start your manga on that page.

[Ethma]

It depends on what you're using. If you're on smackjeves or just a hand coded website, do it with HTML. If you're using Wordpress+Easel on your own domain, however, there's shortcode that'll automatically generate it for you.

[Neil_Whitehorn]

here are some examples of html pages i was looking at

http://www.bittersweetcandybowl.com/about.html
http://www.taikiwebcomic.com/cast.html
http://heard-comic.com/cast/
http://www.straysonline.com/characters/
http://requiem.seraph-inn.com/characters.html
http://hotarugari.smackjeeves.com/characters/

i kind of like how taiki did things but worried about space management (i have many characters)
heard, strays and hotarugari are kind of similiar
is this some sort of web comic standard?

[Ethma]

My cast page currently has 25 characters on it, and it's only going to get bigger. Most of it is generated automatically by easel's shortcode, but you can do something similar with html and css pretty easily. My solution for a large cast page is to divide characters into groups or factions and then make jump links at the top using anchor text.

[Neil_Whitehorn]

oh snap, its the end

i know of the end i seen it on hiveworks

i cant believe the end is contacting me on gaia :O

"easel" ?
"jumplinks"?
"anchor text"?

what in blazes are you talking about?
(sorry, im not very webdesign savvy crying )

[Ashenflame]

I've got quite a few on my cast page. A long time back, I used to have the character index page just list the characters' names and then you'd click on one to go to their individual page. After about 40 on the roster, I decided to go back to the all-in-one format. I like lengthy character bios, so I didn't opt for the thumbnails like Sarah Ellerton. Plus, I'm an in an art exchange where the participants like length bios so they can get a good grip on the character. My page is hand-coded.

W3 Schools is a good place to start learning the coding. I started off on Web Design for Dummies nearly ten years ago.

[Ethma]

Neil_Whitehorn

oh snap, its the end

i know of the end i seen it on hiveworks

i cant believe the end is contacting me on gaia :O

"easel" ?
"jumplinks"?
"anchor text"?

what in blazes are you talking about?
(sorry, im not very webdesign savvy crying )

Sorry, I keep forgetting that not everyone was around back when you pretty much had to learn html/css to make a halfway decent website. Most platforms have smart editors now that do most of that for you.

Easel = Comic Easel. It is a plugin for wordpress, which is a self-hosting solution.

jumplinks & anchor text = If you know how to make a link in html, then you already know how to make a jumplink. Instead of linking to an external webpage, you link to a keyword you decide on that is hidden lower on the same page, so when you click it, it just brings you to the right placer on the page you are already on. If you look at my character page, if you click any of the links at the top, it automatically scrolls you down to the right place on the page instead of taking you somewhere else. Here is a tutorial.

[Rockabuddy]

In all brutal honesty, don't make the info page until you have an actual readership worth sitting down and making the info page for.

[Ethma]

Rockabuddy

In all brutal honesty, don't make the info page until you have an actual readership worth sitting down and making the info page for.

Yeah, this is also a reasonable assessment. If you absolutely need one, only post brief info, and only for characters who have already shown up on actual comic pages. Nothing bothers me more than going to a character page and finding 20 characters who have never been in the comic on it.

[Neil_Whitehorn]

Rockabuddy

In all brutal honesty, don't make the info page until you have an actual readership worth sitting down and making the info page for.

what exactly would constitute as "have an actual readership worth sitting down and making the info page for"?

how do you build readership?