Creating a website

[LeslieG]

Anybody have advice on creating a website for my small business? I don't want anything too cheap looking, but I hate to pay a web design company big bucks if I can do it myself and have it look reasonably good. I've searched the internet and found lots of places that say do it for free or 9.95/month or whatever, but it's so confusing. I need advice.

 

[lindsmom]

I recently used yola.com (formerly synhasite.com) for a girl scout website that I made. If you PM me I'll send you the link so you can see what it looks like. The site is very easy to use, and they have lots of templates to choose from. The website was free, but we could upgrade for just $20 for the year to a reserved name, and I think that includes domain name.

 

[Lashawn131]

There are many sites that you can go to. Godaddy has one that has templates that you just plug in your information and you can choose from different backgrounds. It's really good for people that do not have the web design background. I'm sure there are plenty of others to choose from. Not sure what their pricing is though. Good luck!

 

[digitaldevice]

GODADDY is one of the best now. I host all my accounts there now. Priced right to.

 

[aestapa]

There are some hosting companies designed for WAHMs and they are affiliated with various WAHM web designers. Those designers create unique templates that can look very professional for anywhere from $10 - $600. The average is around $80.

I have 2 baby-related sites. I'm not sure if I can mention my hosting company and designers on the board, so PM me and I can send you their links. I pay $12 and $9 / monthly for each of my sites. They have great community forums and fabulous customer support.

 

[Hoppy]

Depending on what kind of business you have, you might be able to get away with using a blog. Blogger or Wordpress.com offer free blogs.

If you use Macs, iWeb can be used. You can buy your domain name and mask it to the site you create on iWeb.

I highly recommend Cricket's free online classes on SEO (search engine optimization), web design, etc. http://www.gnc-web-creations.com/seo-optimization.htm

I wished I'd found her classes four years ago before putting up my first website.

 

[mountdew1]

Anybody have advice on creating a website for my small business? I don't want anything too cheap looking, but I hate to pay a web design company big bucks if I can do it myself and have it look reasonably good. I've searched the internet and found lots of places that say do it for free or 9.95/month or whatever, but it's so confusing. I need advice.

Be warned, almost any place that offers to design your site for anything cheap, is using templates. Nothing wrong with templates, but its kinda awkward to find another site using the same exact layout to advertise a different product.

Most hosting companies will offer a free 5 page template or some such, which is fine to get up and running, but look to get something better. Look for local designers, or possibly check with a local college, I'm sure you can find a bunch of Computer Science kids willing to do it for fairly cheap for you.

Not knowing what you are planning on putting on the site makes it tough to offer much advice. If you are going with a basic, this is my company, this is what we do, this is how to find us, then you may not have to worry about updates, but keep in mind some places will charge you anytime they need to make updates. Using a website as an method of distributing details to people who already know about your business is fairly easy, and can be done with a simple static site, and even one using solely templates. If you are trying to attract new business from people who don't know you exist, that's a whole different story. It's like running a tv ad. If you do a 15 sec, "Our name is Baskets R Us, we sell Baskets, are located at 14 Main St" you will get a little business. But if you run a full 30 sec ad, clips of your store, examples of your product, along with timely info "We now carry the latest in summer Baskets" you tend to get more business.

Ideally, your web presence should be part of your business plan, just like any other form or marketing/branding. Include it into your monthly expenses. If you plan on making it benefit your business, you will need to invest time and money into your site keeping it relevant and up to date.

 

[kevinmeaney]

The three steps to create a website:

1) Register a domain name
2) Choose a web host
3) Build your website

 

[Swimalie]

I use Fatcow.com. I register my domain name through them for $10 a year, I think. And then pay the $99 a year for the web site. I also use their template for the web site. It's not the most professional looking site but it gets the job done and it's pretty good for the price.

 

[LilSweetPeaPhoto]

http://www.winkletwebdesign.com/

Winklet was very popular w/ photographers, but they offer business sites too. I think you can customize them enough to not look like someone elses

 

[Kate and Pete]

Google has all sorts of free tool - one of which is a website builder. I'm a teacher and use Google for my website - it takes some practice, but it's easy once you get it - and free! Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[dfchelbay]

Everyone I know used GoDaddy. You can also get the how to books to set one up yourself from your local public library.

 

[lukenick1]

My DH has a web business designing logos and websites very professional and very inexpensive. Check out onesteplogo.com
Good luck