Web Design for Sex Workers

A basic web page can be an excellant marketing tool, no matter which aspect of the adult industry you are involved in.

Strippers can use it to let clients which clubs they are featuring at, Massage attendants to keep their hours or parlours current, and escorts can market themselves to the kind of clientelle that has never read an adult newspaper.

Do it Your-Self Design

A web page doesn't have to be complex or flashy. In fact, KISS (keep it simple, stupid) is the watch word of web design. A simple site with contact details, a few photos, and your schedule and bio is usually all that is needed. Most web hosting companies now offer build it yourself templates that plug your content into a basic site, in just a few minutes. Better still is the option of taking an introductory course in web design. It's not half as complicated as it sounds (or as some web designers would like you to believe), and almost every YMCA, learning annex, community college or community center offers a course that will teach you, in just a few nights, how to create a basic site that you can be proud of.

I always recommend designing your own site, whenever possible. Your website is who you are - it's vitally important to be able to control as much of it as possible, without having to rely on other people. Learning the basic skills needed to build and update your own website will save you time, protect your investment in your on line ad source, and save lots of headaches down the road.

Hiring a Professional

For those who prefer not to design their own website, there are numerous 'web designers' out there willing to design and create a site for you. The problem with this is that many of the companies and individuals who specifically target sex workers are just plain horrid at what they do. A lot of them are also unethical, literally blackmailing girls for services in exchange for sites. Be careful who you choose to design your site.

Questions to ask before hiring a professional web designer:

  • Ask for references from other sex workers.
  • Ask what background and education they have in the field.
  • Ask to see site samples.
  • Make sure that the designer clearly spells out what is included in their quote.
  • Ask specific questions about site hosting - is it included? For how long? How much is hosting per month or year after the initial time period ends?
  • Ask about site updates. How many updates and/or changes to your site are you allowed? Are they included in your quote? If not, how much per hour or change are they?
  • Don't feel you are limited to companies which only do 'adult web design'. Many smaller web designers will be happy to design a site for you - they just need to be asked.
  • Some female sex workers feel more comfortable using a female web designer, but this is a matter of your own personal choice.

Most importantly, never EVER allow your webdesigner to register your domain name in their name. In other words, if you choose to have a site called www.missythesexworker.com, make sure that YOU are the registered owner of this domain name. Insist on this - otherwise, if there is any dispute with your web designer, they can take your entire domain and put whatever content on it that they want, including defamatory statements (we know of cases where this has happened). Ensure that your contract (and yes, you and your web designer should have a detailed contract spelling out all of the above points) specifies that YOU are the registered owner and maintainer of this domain name.

 

A few tips for a good website

- avoid Flash. Clients hate it, it takes forever to load, and it is annoyingly slow for anyone using less than high speed access. No matter how pretty it looks, your web site should be a marketing tool, not a toy.

- NO BLINKY GRAPHICS! For the love of God, ditch the blinky text, spinning graphics, and flaming backgrounds. Nothing says 'trashy' like a site covered in a dizzying array of blinking, whirring icons.

- Skip the music! Yes, we know you love Usher - and now so does your client's entire office, thanks to his speakers. Again, you're not designing this to please just yourself - 90% of clients surveyed detest sites with music, and will not return to visit them again. Why alienate the very people you're trying to attract?

- A few really good photos are better than 500 crappy ones. Self edit - skip the ones taken with that out of focus web cam, even if you do think it makes your eyes look 'pretty'. Your photos are the image you portray to your clients. A little tasteful nudity, and a few well done photos are always the best choice. However, there's a downfall in making your photos look so perfect, and so airbrushed of all flaws and imperfections, that clients don't recognize you when they arrive at your door. Balance is key.

- Be honest! You might not like your hips, but removing them from your photos with photoshop is not only going to annoy the client who wants a hip-less barbie doll - it's also going to make you miss out on the clients who love a woman with curves. Accurate height, weight, and breast size will do more to attract and keep clients than a sanitized version of who you are.

WARNING Permanent Site Archiving

You can stop internet archiving (aka the wayback machine) by putting a robot.txt file into your script. Basically, you create a simple text form specifying which robots may or may not crawl your site. You can set it to specifically exclude archive.org and the waybackmachine.

Link here:

http://www.archive.org/about/faqs.php#14

More details:

http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/robotstxt.shtml