Guide to owning and running a coding shop

[qeu9nveq7vn]

Thanks for doing this ZeyDaan, is it okay if I post a link to this in my coding shop?
{also super happy that I'm on that list of shops c:}

[Goostarion]

Thanks for doing this ZeyDaan, is it okay if I post a link to this in my coding shop?
{also super happy that I'm on that list of shops c:}

Yeah go for it!
If this gets spread around, hopefully it will help get the whole coding community to be a bit nicer to each other than it currently is. Thank you for your interest!
(I took the screenshot of the front page about half an hour before I posted the post, think of it as a shoutout haha)

[qeu9nveq7vn]

SHARED CODING SHOP GUIDE!

Running a coding shop with other people is a quite a good idea - more people means more advertising, so you'll generally get more customers, and it can be fun to work with other people rather than alone.

Hiring Coders

After deciding you want more people to work with you, where will you get them from? The easiest way to do this is to either advertise yourself as a shared shop:

or to post an announcement like "hiring coders/mods" in your thread title:

You should then leave instructions on how to become a coder in your thread, like a form & where to post it.
Your form should include questions like;

• How many orders can you complete in a week?
• How good would you rate your coding out of ten/what is your coding ability?
• Show me some examples of your work!
• What can & can't you do?

The questions you ask should give you a good idea of whether you want that person working alongside you. To save you some time, I've premade a form you can use:

Code: Select all

Username:
How long have you been bbcoding for?:
Do you have a solo coding shop? (If so, link me it!):
What can you make? (Signatures, avatars, trade rules, character forms, thread layouts?):
What is your coding ability?:
Link me some examples of your work. (At least one of every thing you can make.):

Another way of getting applications is to make potential coders make a signature with images, quotes, etc set by you, like Kristen has;

This ensures that any applicants are serious about wanting to work at your shop, and gives you a chance to sample their coding!

Requirements

Many shops will accept any coder who wants to join them, while others will want only certain coders. (Respect these rules as a coder, there are plenty of shops to join!) Some examples of common requirements include.

• Being active.
• Having a corner (see "Managing Coders".
• Making a certain type of code (signatures mainly).
• Being an experienced coder.
• Not being banned/having a strike from their shop.

Once you've got a potential coder who has followed those rules and seems like a good addition to you, you'll need to add them into your coding shop!

Managing Coders

The easiest & most common way of doing this is to have some "reserve posts" (simply reply to your thread multiple times, saying "reserve"), and to edit the post's owner to the coder (report it with the message "Please transfer post ownership to (person's profile url), thanks!") and the message to the coder's corner.
What's a corner, I hear you ask? A corner is a post of a coding shop dedicated to one person, usually including their prices, slots/queue, examples, can's & cant's & any other info, but things like rules and forms should be left to the main shop. Some good examples of corners include:

As you can see, these examples look attractive, yet are still organised and contain lots of information. It is not your responsibility as a code/signature shop owner to make your coder's corners! Some of the best corners:

• Are organised - use text boxes to clearly sort different subjects!
• Use interesting layouts. I know I'm a bit of a hypocrite with how plain looking this tutorial is, but many customers will be less inclined to order from someone whose corner is a wall of text. You don't have to be a super advanced coder either - use the left left technique to make columns separated by simple borders!
• Are easily readable. Text like this and this are difficult to read. Stick to black/dark colours for your main text, and go crazy on big titles & images!
• Aren't too flashy. Stick to a few gifs, otherwise it all gets a bit too distracting.
• Are easily editable. Things like your queue must be edited a lot, so make sure it's text & can have articles simply removed. With Kristen, they've made things that are semi-permanent like prices images (to do overlays on), while their slots are actual text.
• Show their makers ability. Spend some time on your corner, it's one of the first things your potential customers see!

It's also a good idea to have a section of rules for accepted coders, like I have:

You should also present yourself as an approachable person to your coder - leave your pms open for them, and answer any problems they may have!

[taffy;]

This is great Zey! I wished
I had something like this when
I first opened my shop c:

[yinsum]

:: mark! c:

[rocoboq]

Mark!

[riftintime]

This is super helpful! Mark :)

[Goostarion]

Three apples fell from the sky.

One for the hero of our story,
one for the scribe who wrote his tale,
one to the reader who understood the moral of our journey.

Word Count: 700/700

Back to the beginning

[TheBeeGirls]

Mark!

[zambo]

Mark c: