where did you do your website?

[crumpetmuncher]

ok so i took the weekend off from looking for web design software i have the domain names which i brought through 123.reg i also have an email which i have no idea how to work :cheesy:

i wondered where everyone else got their sites from or what they used to build them and a ball park figure of what it costs.

ive had a pretty crappy start to the week and now i really have no budget for the website as weve had tighten our belts as my maternity allowance has run out 2 weeks sooner than i thought it would :gly:

i really could do with some help the only way i can change our money situation is to get on with a site of some sort and get selling as much as i can.
The companies have started to send me the albums of stationery i shall be selling and i shall hopefully get the CD roms with the art work this week sometime so i have to get sorted.

i only need the site to show the designs , have a price chart and then have a screen for them to use to pay me on once i have done a full quote. can you password this?

as i said it needs to be as cheap as possible but still looking professional.

im off to try and get some stuff on ebay to hopefully earn some cash to sort something out. fingers crossed

shelly xx

[funkydorydawn]

When I first started out, Arianna did my site using Zen Cart. She was really, really helpful and very reasonable price-wise.

I've also used website builders:

www.store2go.net (a bit of html knowledge helps here if you want your home page to look good, but it's very easy to teach yourself basic html tags - just google basic html tutorials.)

I now use EKM Powershop - no HTML needed, very easy to use, and has a very active forum.

I've also had a fiddle with doyourownsite.co.uk

There are free web-site builders out there, but I've never tried them.

I think unless you use a free site builder, then you might struggle to find one that doesn't need at least a bit of money up front tbh.

hth
dawn

[Powerlines]

Hi

There are loads of free website builders out there, or you can learn to build your own by teaching yourself html, css, PHP etc.

The most common at the moment for building your own is Wordpress as it is free and fairly adaptive to needs and most hosts will be happy to install it.

There are plus and minus points to doing it yourself. Price is a big plus however DIY does require some time put in on your part. To learn even the simplest of systems takes a little work and don’t forget keeping it up to date. If you have the time to put in thought then this is the way to go.

E-commerce systems like Zen cart are great but can be a little overkill when something like a paypal cart will do just as well and is so much easier to set up.

As a rough guide I charge clients £120 for a brochure site and from £400 for a basic site with E-commerce. The biggest thing my clients seem to go for thought is a management option which means that they don’t have the hassle of updating there site they just send the stuff to me.

Whatever you choose make sure you get a full breakdown of what a designer is offering you for your money and don’t be swayed by big promises of SEO (search engine optimisation) greatness.

i only need the site to show the designs , have a price chart and then have a screen for them to use to pay me on once i have done a full quote.

It would seem to me that if your customers are not going to be ordering through your site (i.e. adding to a cart then paying at the end, think Amazon) as you need to create a quote then you would only need a brochure site (images, copy, price list, contact details etc.) and then invoice them using Paypal (like paying on eBay).
This would seem to me to be a simple and easy option.

J

[crumpetmuncher]

It would seem to me that if your customers are not going to be ordering through your site (i.e. adding to a cart then paying at the end, think Amazon) as you need to create a quote then you would only need a brochure site (images, copy, price list, contact details etc.) and then invoice them using Paypal (like paying on eBay).
This would seem to me to be a simple and easy option.

J

so if i invoice through paypal they dont need to be a member of paypal? would it just go through on an email? do you think itd look professional enough? my only worry is that paypal takes forever to download to your bank so theyll pay me and i cant order the goods for over a week until the cash is in my account. i think ill have to get some paypal cash in there to start with to give me a buffer to use .

what do yu think of sites like MrSite? theres another one like it i see in PC world but the name esapes me something 7 i think it was.

[crumpetmuncher]

when you say youve used all of those how do you mve the site etc? as i was thinking for now i could get a MrSite maybe as its all included and then get one built over the next12 mths then swap them when the years up could i do that? at least i could get started and then take my time learning how to do it properly myself

oh its such a minefield isnt it !!

[Powerlines]

Hi

so if i invoice through paypal they dont need to be a member of paypal?

Not if they are paying with a credit card/debit card.
If they are paying with e-chq or cash transfer then yes. They also do chip and pin card readers if you are doing shows.

would it just go through on an email?

The invoice gets emailed to them by paypal and they pay through paypals secure servers. Covers you under data protection as you dont have to hold any bank details and is all insured.

do you think itd look professional enough?

Paypal is the biggest, most well known and most secure merchant service in the world used by millions of companies worldwide. It is well known and respected.
You can also customise your invoices :clapping:

my only worry is that paypal takes forever to download to your bank so theyll pay me and i cant order the goods for over a week until the cash is in my account. i think ill have to get some paypal cash in there to start with to give me a buffer to use .

Yes that can be a little bit of a pain (but no longer than being paid by chq) Would probably be best to hold a float in there to cover yourself.

The best thing would for you to go and have a read through there help files on the different options as there are a few. check the rates etc.

Doubt you need a full business account just a verified one.

Just my 2 pennies worth. smiledance

J

[Powerlines]

what do yu think of sites like MrSite? theres another one like it i see in PC world but the name esapes me something 7 i think it was.

I think they are great but you do need to learn to use them and you need to spend time getting things to look right.

[Powerlines]

when you say youve used all of those how do you mve the site etc? as i was thinking for now i could get a MrSite maybe as its all included and then get one built over the next12 mths then swap them when the years up could i do that? at least i could get started and then take my time learning how to do it properly myself

oh its such a minefield isnt it !!

I dont think you would be able to use the Mrsite servers to host a site that wasn't built using there software.

[crumpetmuncher]

I dont think you would be able to use the Mrsite servers to host a site that wasn't built using there software.

i was thinking of using different hosting as theirs is quite expensive after your 1st yr, so id literally move eveything is that possible?

[Katiequiggle]

Daffodil Design which is our very own lovely Daffs on here did mine and lots of others on here too. But, she also sells her Penguin shops which are fab and could be just what you are looking for. http://www.penguinshops.com/ Some other girls have had them on MZ for businesses and they look great too.

[crumpetmuncher]

Daffodil Design which is our very own lovely Daffs on here did mine and lots of others on here too. But, she also sells her Penguin shops which are fab and could be just what you are looking for. http://www.penguinshops.com/ Some other girls have had them on MZ for businesses and they look great too.

i know daffs very well and she did my old website when she first started out but i cant afford to get one of the penguin shops and as much as i love her work i just cant afford it its a shame as my old site would have been perfect for the new business with just a little tweak lol ahh well

[Powerlines]

i was thinking of using different hosting as theirs is quite expensive after your 1st yr, so id literally move eveything is that possible?

What you do is build or have your site built on a new server and just switch the domain to the new server when it is ready.

[Candeez]

You could create one yourself using synthasite.com. Simple to use, free hosting, free site. Helpful back up service.

[partybabe]

freewebs do free websites, only problem is that you have their advertising all over it. You can pay and it is removed so might be a good place to start out. I have used them, then moved to store2go.net and now have hosting with www.qiq.co.uk and have a zen cart install which I did all the work on myself.

I think if you don't know much about the files side of a web site then a package deal like Mr Site or store2go is a good idea. I however much prefer my zen cart that I have now and I am slowly getting more and more confident with doing it myself.

[crumpetmuncher]

i just joined synthasite and im not sure this is going to work . ive picked a web style and looked on it but you dont get a choice of colours etc is this normal?

im so fed up now i really am. i really wish i could afford to just get it done but ive looked online and theres noone who will do monthly installments i could do £10 a mth but nothings out there at all.

im up for learning how to build my own site i just havent a clue where to start. i think the site builders arent for me , their either way to busy like the ekm powershop ones or too restrictive colour wise like the synthasite ones.

or am i missing something ?

im so stressed right now i need a miracle right now if i could learn whatto do overnight id be happy lol

[funkydorydawn]

For a premium store (where you'd use your domain name as opposed to a store2go.net/domain name web address), you'd pay £6.50 per month. You pay this quarterly, so roughly £20.00 per month - via Pay Pal. So you can start setting up a store from £20.00 today.

The templates are all very simple and easy to do. You can change the colours and styles very easily, can can get a very clean, modern look if that's what you want.

The administration areas are also really good.

Take a look at their portfolio:

http://www.store2go.net/store_builder/portfolio.php

[LittleSnuggler]

I did both of mine with Mr Site. It's cheap and basic but works fine for me and I've got good rankings too.

[crumpetmuncher]

thanks dawn i think ill have a go at that

[crumpetmuncher]

I did both of mine with Mr Site. It's cheap and basic but works fine for me and I've got good rankings too.

really? i couldnt get on with it i brought one for something else about 18mths ago and it jst drove me insane trying to work out what to do.

[Powerlines]

im so fed up now i really am. i really wish i could afford to just get it done but ive looked online and theres noone who will do monthly installments i could do £10 a mth but nothings out there at all.

You dont know unless you ask.

Some of the Smaller companies might do you a deal it depends on what you feel you need.