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Seeking words of wisdom for best place to put together (do-it-yourself) website that is cost effective and any other related advice regarding same? Thanks! |
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Julie, Try Homestead, I have done both my website through them, They have hundreds of templets. You do not have to only use their templets, you can use it as a "base" then add all you own informations, pictures, etc. www.fourseasonstravel.org www.beamazingbath.com |
I've built mine on officelive.com free registration free domain free software the techies say it is a little simplistic, but for me it seemed intuitive and easy took about 4 hours for the intial startup. |
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I recommend Office Live. http://SmallBusiness.OfficeLive.com I actually used googlepages which is also free, but Office Live gives you a domain name as well. LaTisha http://www.whizkidzshuttle.com |
I use Office Live, Free version, its ok but you need to be patient with it, for the price it is the best. Right now Yahoo has a great plan for geting on the web, but the downloaded software package is just so... unimpressive, however they do have a connection to upload frontpage files. I suggest setting up on Yahoo and upload from your fronpage or via FTP, you can get a site up and running for pennies. I myself am trying to set up a nationwide network of artists and designers to work together in advertising and Marketing. Are there any companies like mine that want to connect and create a nationwide design group? |
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check out www.sitepoint.com or elance.com Instead of getting a templated website, by doing it yourself, you can post your requests and get someone to work on a unique solution for you. Logo design is also an option. The prices tend to be very competitive. Localman http://www.simplesalestracking.com |
CoralFly offers completive pricing for small business online starter packages which include logo design, color scheming, online marketing, web design, and hosting. CoralFly offers over 10 years of experience in a variety of industries and will work with you to develop a solution that is modern and geared toward achieving your business goals. http://www.coralfly.com |
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Web Presence Opening up your business to the internet is among the smartest steps you can make for your business. Not only will you have a new way to present your company and your product and services, but you also gain a new global audience. A well-build website not only will allow a worldwide audience to locate and contact you for products and services, it can also help drive your company image. While some companies like local grocery stores may not benefit as much as companies that manufacture a specialty product or offer a service, Web Presense is an important way to reach new customers and can help improve the business image. Once your website is active, you can begin taking some steps outlined in the Web Site Marketing Guide to ensure that your site can be searched for and found by users who are looking for your business, product, or service. |
Typically, a simple five-page website can cost between $400-750 that usually includes conceptualization, design, development, and deployment. Since a web site is a physical presense on the internet, Internet Hosting Companies (Companies that Specialize in delivering your web page to the entire Internet) typically charge between $10-50 per month for their services |
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There are many companies offering web site creation services and internet marketing; most of them can do a decent job. There are also a variety of tools that help you create your own web sites - our recommendation is stay away from those. They make it easy to create a website, but you will lose on the benefits of having a custom-created web site, and it will cost you more money down the line. Here are some more basic tips that can help you create a solid web site: a. Contains well-developed content that is organized in a clear, cohesive manner. b. Contains correct grammar, correct spelling. c. Contains correct syntax (Well-Coded Website). d. Offers users clear Navigation. e. Provides Site Maps. f. Provides an About Us Page with business information including the year g. founded, industry, size, location. h. Provides a Contact Us Page with your company's phone number, address, and email address. 1. The website is not too heavy on graphics. 2. The website employs proper use or Meta Tags (Keywords, Descriptions). 3. The website owner takes advantage of Paid Search Engine Optimization services. 4. The website owner employs Traffic Generation Services. |
I made my website through www.sitecube.com .. I love my website and they give you a free trial to try it out with. It was very easy as well. |
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I had http://www.bluepearl-design.com create a custom site and use Bluehost for my web hosting. It is a bit more work this way, but it is something I enjoy doing. |
OfficeLive is good for the price, considering you get a domain too. I agree with those who say you need to have patience with it though. |
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Hold Everything! Try Microsoft's OfficeLive Basics. It is completely free! www.officelive.com |
I love onewebhosting.com! You can get not only your domain, but your merchant card services going (the online shopping cart!). The content on the web page has both videos and text that you can down load. Lots of support too. Plus the best monthly price around. Excellent recommendations on which services save you the most from most merchant card service processing. I was most surprised to hear that Yahoo's web package takes a small piece of your profits from each transactions in addition to the ones the bank/merchant card services take . Onewebhosting.com doesn't. They work hard to keep as much as the profits going to you. You know how freaking expensive everything is starting up. Everyone is always trying to have you buy into their product along the way, some you need...most you don't need. Regardless, you are always getting hit hard with unknown fees along the way anyway (ie the banks' own set up fees on for online card processing). Didn't want to use Paypal or others as they take even larger chunks of your profits. |
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Microsoft's OffficeLive is a good option, I've recommended it to a few business owners I know but there is some fine print...it's no longer free forever, only the first year. http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/ResourceCenter/FAQ "Whether or not you get charged to renew your domain name depends on the offer available when you signed up for your Office Live Small Business account. If you signed up before February 11, 2008 (for an Office Live Basics, Office Live Essentials, or Office Live Premium account) you will not be charged a renewal fee. If you signed up on or after February 11, 2008, your domain name is free for the first year, then you will be charged $14.95 annually at renewal thereafter. Microsoft will automatically renew your domain name for you each year unless the domain name is canceled prior to the renewal date..." |
I would recommend Homestead.com for the website. They have over 2000 templates for you to choose from. You don't need to know html to create the site. You can use the drop down menu and buttons for all the editing. You can import html files, mp3, mpeg, jpeg. You can try it for 30 days for free. We use to make our site: http://www.aaaMobleTechSupport.com |
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If you are thinking of ecommerce at all, you should consider XSitePro. You don't need to know html. You can create simple sales sites or content sites. It walks you through the process of Search Engine Optimization which makes it easier for you to score well with search engines. It is not online. You buy it for $197, download it to your computer. One advantage is that you create the look and feel and then you create all of your pages. I have built websites with Dreamweaver, FrontPage and using Microsoft Live. I would never consider any of these programs again after using XSitePro. It is so much faster and easier to update with new information. One point: You will have to get your own host, do your own keyword searches and plan your own site. it is not a template but it comes with a great tutorial and 400 page user manual. |
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Homestead also has e-commerce option for your business. It has both the quickstore for feature for less than 100 items. http://www.aaamobiletechsupport.com |
You get what you pay for and as a professional web developer, I can tell you its more than just knowing HTML. Someone mentioned elance previously and I have found that to be a GREAT resource. However, you'll need to know exactly what you need in order to get the best results (since most contractors on elance are from other countries). Come to think of it, you'll need to know precisely what it is that you need to convey in your site, no matter who you work with. If you use comcast as an internet provider, you should already have the free space and the tools to DIY. good luck! Patrick Elward |
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I would always suggest a professional web developer. I would not recommend elance. There are great prices and professionals with great portfolios, but the difficulty is finding portfolios that are legit and finding developers that are actually going to do the work. Often what happens is people post a VERY low bid because they outsource to India, China, etc. Communicating requirements, change requests, property rights, etc are all issues. As Patrick suggested there is more to a site then html. Color, look and feel, usability (navigation), search engine submittal, etc. Good Luck... Micah |
Look at www.volusion.com. After loosing a lot of time and money having a "professional " lol design my first site, and then telling me 'I don't know how to do that " . I looked for another shopping cart, I found Volusion at a trade show , and studied them carefully. It has all I need ( templates,hosting , design,merchant acct. ...etc. ) . |
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We offer custom sites for all types of businesses. The do-it-yourself ones may save you a few dollars initially but IMO will ultimately lose you cash from sales and lack of professional looking exposure in the end. |
Hello: I am not sure what type of business that you need a website for? If you are a small local business looking for a low cost website you may want to review this post from Seth Godin's Blog http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/04/memo_to_the_ver.html The title of the blog post is |
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julieboots - there are 1,001 ways to get a web site built. Many of the aforementioned ideas, thoughts and recommendations are perfectly fine. They answer the question of places to put your site mostly. There is a lot to consider about a web site and it needs to be done thoughtfully so that anyone visiting it (ostensibly potential paying customers) is impressed and feels it is is profesional, run by profeessionals and that the whole experience will be pleasant, easy and, of course, profesional. That said - you have a lot to think about. The first thing to consider is budget. I know it seems backwards, but you need to know what you're working with as far as resources (money in this case) and then go from there. As I am running out of characters, I would encourage you to email me at theshooter {at} gmail [dot] com - I have an excellent description, in great detail on things to consider when setting up a web site. I am a professional designer, but am not seeking business, just want ot help you out - gratis. ~ James |
Glad to be writing to you! First we would like to introduce ourself, we are a group where every individual effort is counted in the companies growth. Just maintaining the high quality we are now ranked amongst the best throughout the website industry. You can check our site at http://www.esolz.net. We would not like to show that we are the best, super experts, etc etc because we believe every step helps us to learn. When judging the performance and selecting a company a lot of factors come into play: 1. Reputation in the market 2. Cost 3. Quality 4. Communication 5. Removing the language barrier Having a optimistic approach is something what we excel on. Our ratings plus great client list speaks for our reputation. Cost is not the cheapest but again its parallel to what the work demands. Quality is maintained on top of cost - we follow all industry standards whether web 2.0 or coding skills and techniques. Communication is 16 hrs a day 5 days a week - until you want more  Language barrier is one of the biggest problem when outsourcing to other countries but all our BDMs, Project Leaders, Team Leaders speak and understand English. Also our portfolio can be viewed at: www.esolz.net Understanding the project and working on detailed specs helps us in maintaining the highest quality and timings instead of providing false promises. We have a entire module of how we work etc, if you want to see the process please do respond back us so we can show the same to you. [Note: Difference is in the details] Thanks Mark Milligan ESolz Technologies Business Development Manager mark@esolz.net www.esolz.net US Toll Free Number: 877-463-7659 |
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I'd like to pose a challenge to all of the people who maintain that small business owners should hire a professional web developer. I know a lot of small business owners who are failing to develop a web presence because they are waiting to have enough money to build "the perfect web site." Many of these businesses will be out of business before that day ever comes. Having even a simple website would open up some marketing opportunities that they lack by limiting their marketing to offline options. With a website, they could take advantage of: And, many internet marketers say websites developed by web design professionals, often focus on design instead of making money. I think most small businesses would be better served creating a low-cost website they can maintain then by waiting to pay a professional for a website that may not meet their needs. |
I use DIYestores.com for my ecommerce website. They don't break the bank and is user friendly. Good Luck! Tina K. Embroidery Gals |
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I would say to try Homestead. You can make a very professional looking website and promote it in a very cost effective way. I just "created" my own website tow nights ago and I am very pleased with the results. Very simple step by step instructions too. sconroy1 http://www.sharingadreamonline.com/ |
It really depends on what you need. Do you need a shopping cart? Do you already have experience with Dreamweaver/website building software? Or are you a newbie? Homestead is a good place to start for newbies who DON'T need a shopping cart because of the templates they have, but they are a little stingy on the storage & bandwidth you get. They are also more expensive. Netfirms is a good alternative to homestead. Lunarpages gives you the biggest bang for your buck. They give you tons of bandwidth, storage space, and a shopping cart system. However, you need to at least have moderate experience with website building. |
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Don't overlook these other simple do-it-yourself website/web presence ideas: 1. Use your profile here at JumpUp. Put in your business details, free. 2. Use a blog at Blogger or WordPress, free. 3. Check out Roxer.com for simple drag and drop designing, free. 4. Build a simple social network at Ning.com around your business, free. 5. Make a lens at Squidoo.com on your subject of expertise, free. Other great tools already mentioned: 1. Microsoft Office Live Small Business, for $12.95 per year after the first year. 2. Google Pages, free. Whichever tool you pick, you can register your own web address (domain name) at GoDaddy.com or any other registrar, and set it to Forward to point to your new page. Cost for your own domain name should be $15 per year or less. |
What we did for our site, in order to keep it a economical as possible is purchase our domain name I think it was from yahoo, then transferred it to a web hosting site. Then the big job began, due to the fact that we were working on such a tight budget we decided to learn how to design a website ourselves instead of paying someone thousands of dollars. We first bought a subscription to a web site that sells templates, both FLASH and HTML. It helped that we are both very experienced in photoshop, but learning how to make our flash website work took a big book "FLASH For Dummies" and alot of reading. we are still learning allot of things but the website is coming along... feel free to check it out and ask any questions... hope i can help www.organocafe.com My suggestion is if you are working with a large budget, just leave it up to the pros, but if not and you are willing to spend some time learning you can do it and save some cash.. |
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It is important that what kind of website your are creating, It means providing services,or of products, or a informational website. Basically the content and quality of website matter the most .Also the landing page should be proper otherwise the visitor will not retain there.Therefore the visits decrease. For more detail please visit : http://marketraise.com/ This will help you more http://www.giftbasketsdelights.com/ |
In regards to creating a website and saving money by doing it yourself, I highly recommend the services of SiteSell. They have an amazing step-by-step assisted program named SiteBuildIt. The system provides all-inclusive tools. They offer great assistance and even analyze your work to produce the best results. You can get more details by visiting their site at http://find.sitesell.com/UnstoppableDreams.html BEST WISHES! |
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I reccomend http://www.freewebs.com/ for a non-professional website, if your looking for a pro site, try http://www.homestead.com/ You have to pay a low price but you can try it out free for 30 days. Good Luck! ~Ashley |
http://www.citymax.com 10 day free trial, $19.98 per month. We hav built 6 sites with them. For each site we even got a free .com name too! |
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Try Weebly or Blinkweb, their easy to manage free website (or blog) has cool features that include drag and drop capability, switch designs on the fly, youtube and google video, custom html, upload images, flikr photo gallery, visitor stats and more. You can also buy a new domain instantly, or host your existing domain for free and make it your own (www.yourown.com) If your looking for something more advanced but still user friendly then try CityMax or Site Builder Designs, they have everything you need in building your own website: domain name registration or domain transfer, web hosting, web builder, site maintenance and email accounts. Everything is laid out in an easy to follow step by step instruction. Some of the features included enable you to add your own themes, videos, images or mp3 music making your site unique to you. Pricing is comparable and affordable too. I hope that helps and answers your question. http://www.weebly.com http://www.my-linker.com/hop/blinkweb http://www.citymax.com http://www.sitebuilderdesigns.com |
Check out http://www.SynthaSite.com - drag and drop site builder, customizable templates, no HTML required. 100% Free (No Catch & no annoying Spam!) - No monthly fees, No Advertising, Unlimited Hosting, Unlimited Transfer - integrated Photo editing with Picnik & over 60,000 widgets, powered by Widgetbox. Sounds to good to be true? Check it out at http://www.synthasite.com Thanks SynthaSite Support |
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