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Cost of setting up a website.

  • 17-04-2008 6:35pm
    #1
    shawnee
    Registered Users Posts: 1,830 ✭✭✭


    I am setting up an alternative health business and I want to set up a website . The site will be probably about three to five pages and will be an information only site, which will show my telephone number. As I am costing this venture at present, any ideas where I can get a quality site set up without spending over 500 euro. I want it to be easily found on Google and yahoo. Would appreciate any ideas or help.


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Comments

  • #2
    heggie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,879 ✭✭✭heggie


    to be blunt, you can't.


  • #3
    mrfreddred
    Closed Accounts Posts: 44 ✭mrfreddred


    To be a bit less blunt.....domain reg and hosting will cost circa 150 euro and webpage design for a 5 page site will normally be about 1k mark at least. SEO (search engine optimisation) is the magical stuff that gets your website listed in Google and this will cost some more.....

    That's not to say that you cant get a website for 500 eur but it wont look great or get many hits.

    I advise doing a Google search for web designers in yiour region or going to someone who has already had one done....


  • #4
    Adam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,866 ✭✭✭Adam


    Quite to the contrary, you could get a very nice looking site. There are freelancers in the states that will design and code very nicely on both accounts for circa the $100 mark. SEO etc. I agree with you, but with some decent research you could do it yourself. There are no hidden secrets, it's all well documented.

    I guess my point is, there are always options.


  • #5
    Feelgood
    Registered Users Posts: 2,191 ✭✭✭Feelgood


    Web Hosting = €150 (max).

    Pre-built professional templates for a website can be bought for around €30 and all you have to do is fill in your own details and possibly edit a jpeg or two using photoshop. (http://www.templatemonster.com/)

    Total Cost: €180


  • #6
    Bob the Builder
    Registered Users Posts: 2,919 ✭✭✭Bob the Builder


    well you'l have a continous running cost of about 120 to 150 euro per year for website hosting... there's designers out there that will do one for 200 euro, a decent, nice basic website...


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  • #7
    heggie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,879 ✭✭✭heggie


    you're all missing the key word : QUALITY


  • #8
    zokrez
    Closed Accounts Posts: 565 ✭✭✭zokrez


    Have a look at kildeal.ie. I know nothing about them but found them on adwords. Alternatively If you look at blacknight or hosting 365 or one of the other hosters they have site builders that you can do your self. I am presuming if you rang the help desk they would help you get the site online. I have never done it myself though.


  • #9
    m83
    Registered Users Posts: 2,021 ✭✭✭m83


    heggie wrote: »
    you're all missing the key word : QUALITY

    Irish prices can easily be beaten when out sourcing to foreign developers. This is a simple fact that has nothing to do with quality.


  • #10
    shawnee
    Registered Users Posts: 1,830 ✭✭✭shawnee


    Reading the replies given , I am still confused. I do not feel qualified to set up one myself, however thanks for the information and I will check out the sites and I am aware what information I want on the site. So perhaps it is not quite as difficult as I think it is. I have no difficulty with paying for hosting and I am prepared to pay for the site to gain priority in searches. I don't want to pay 1500 for something that could be done for half that price. I am setting this up and need to be conscious of the costs.


  • #11
    smemon
    Registered Users Posts: 3,467 ✭✭✭smemon


    Quality is in the eye of the beholder. Because you're paying €500 to an Irish company doesn't mean you're getting quality.

    A basic 5 page site could be done for under $200. Fact. Quality also.

    You could get hosting for under $100/year.

    $300 i reckon would get you a professional site. Custom built. Hosting and all. You'd also be a fool NOT to go american with the current exchange rates...

    pm me if you want more info on how & where to start looking :)


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  • #12
    heggie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,879 ✭✭✭heggie


    why pm? show me a quality site done for 200. OP, honestly you're wasting your 500 euro, wait until you can afford a proper service.


  • #13
    tricky D
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,700 ✭✭✭tricky D


    I can't get the words 'false economy' out of my head. Your time is valuable (your website should also be) - especially when in start-up mode - you have many things to do. Do you want to be trying to half learn about coding, graphics, readability, form submission scripts, search engine optimisation and so on? This all takes more time than you think and is a significant opportunity cost against you. While comparing to 'bricks and mortar' it is not perfect, would you construct your premises to suit your business needs or get a builder?

    If I was doing this at this kind of price (on v the cheap to be blunt), I would have a quick chat on the phone, tell you to send me biz plan and any brochure stuff. If you have some good content, you won't spend at the very least 100euros extra - quality seo oriented content costs a lot, no matter who develops it. If you don't have your logo and identity sorted, you're in a different league - add hundreds at least. You'd get a very basic template, lucky to get any significant redesign. Basic form, basic search engine processing, basic graphic treatment, basic everything. Considering hosting costs too, $120, subtracted from 500 bucks, I wouldn't get out of bed if it was going to take more than 5 hours dev total (established in that first brief phonecall). You could find cheaper in Ireland, but quality and time costs. You'll find even cheaper abroad, but with cultural differences and cheapness, you risk quality (good luck there if you so choose).

    In brief, you need to seriously work out how much of your time this is all going cost you, what you could be doing instead, how much time you're going to spend on researching prices and quality, and how much you can rely on that research.

    I could go on, but that'll cost you

    hth
    \r


  • #14
    smemon
    Registered Users Posts: 3,467 ✭✭✭smemon


    heggie wrote: »
    why pm? show me a quality site done for 200. OP, honestly you're wasting your 500 euro, wait until you can afford a proper service.

    I can't off the top of my head think of a particular site which was done for 'x' amount.

    But i've got several designs done through outsourcing and i've been happy with them all. We're talking about students, people getting in to freelance, looking to build up portfolios...

    elance, rentacoder, sitepoint, digitalpoint... all excellent resources with loads of talented people willing to work for peanuts.

    You can't value a site or determine it's quality based on what you spend on it which is what you're suggesting.

    We're talking about a simple 5 page site, with i'm guessing static content...

    Paying more than €500 for that is insane imo. The OP wants bang for the buck, like everyone does. I'm telling him he'll get that if he looks outside Ireland and away from professional companies.

    If the site is custom designed to the OP's liking, validates properly and is well SEO'd, it's job done.

    I'm saying if i were to come along wanting a site like this i could get it done for $300 comfortably.

    Decent custom design - $70.
    Slicing and dicing/coding - $50.
    SEO - $20.
    Hosting - $100.
    .com Domain - $6.


  • #15
    tricky D
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,700 ✭✭✭tricky D


    from your blog
    smemon wrote: »
    I got 43% in an xhtml exam which is pretty pathetic really.
    Quality:rolleyes:


  • #16
    smemon
    Registered Users Posts: 3,467 ✭✭✭smemon


    tricky D wrote: »
    from your blog


    Quality:rolleyes:

    And? we all gotta start somewhere and i'm sure you weren't born with xhtml yourself.

    Anyway, that has nothing to do with anything... i didn't say *I* do coding or design at that price, i specifically said i outsourced it and could easily get 100% valid XHTML & CSS at that price.

    To show you the gulf in prices OP, just look for a dot com domain name in Ireland (with an Irish company). You'll pay about €6 minimum -v- $6 in the US which is about €4.

    Instant saving, all be it on a tiny scale. But that's what you gotta look at if you're on a budget - save wherever you can.


  • #17
    heggie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,879 ✭✭✭heggie


    smemon wrote: »
    You can't value a site or determine it's quality based on what you spend on it which is what you're suggesting.

    Not at all, and I never suggested that, there are cowboys who charge 200, and there are cowboys who charge 2000. I didn't think you could list any sites, the beer site in your sig, if that is one you are referring to, looks like it cost 200. Just because someone has the software, or coding skills doesn't make a good design.

    Anyway, I'm sure the OP has enough information to make a choice on which route they want to go. I would just like to say, that a website costing 500 may damage your business more than having no website at all.


  • #18
    Axwell
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators, Computer Games Moderators Posts: 10,461 Mod ✭✭✭✭Axwell


    Not to go way off topic or thred hijack either but you say on your site "beerchief" that you are creating the worlds only online pub. Hardly true since anyone else could come up with the same idea, so maybe you should say first online pub. But then after a search on google i found that wasnt true either http://www.fubar.com/ - just thought you would like to know in case you want to change your wording.


  • #19
    Adam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,866 ✭✭✭Adam


    Axwell wrote: »
    Not to go way off topic or thred hijack either but you say on your site "beerchief" that you are creating the worlds only online pub. Hardly true since anyone else could come up with the same idea, so maybe you should say first online pub. But then after a search on google i found that wasnt true either http://www.fubar.com/ - just thought you would like to know in case you want to change your wording.
    Oh don't worry, we know all about fubar.com, just weren't really worried with the wording. They claim to be an online bar, we went with pub, I doubt they're going to kick up much of a fuss!


  • #20
    EKRIUQ
    Registered Users Posts: 4,386 ✭✭✭EKRIUQ


    But in the current age of opensource its very easy to get a very powerful CMS website with a nice design set up very cheaply.

    Hosting package with an install script for a content management system and there you go! a customisable website for under €100 All you have to do is replace the header image and its a starting point

    Web designers are getting overtaken by advances in the internet and the need for a huge knowledge of xhtml and css is less relevant to people editing there website and with the flood of cheap website templates any body can have a professional website at a very cheap site.

    A lot of web designers aren’t happy with this and any body can be a web designer these days.


  • #21
    heggie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,879 ✭✭✭heggie


    BingoBongo wrote: »
    A lot of web designers aren’t happy with this and any body can be a web designer these days.

    The thing is, they cant, and it shows. You're naive to think that just because you can through something up on the web means it's a professional bespoke website, and templates? Come on! The web industry in Ireland is going very well, and I don't thing anyone that knows their salt is affected by the above post.


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  • #22
    niceirishfella
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,538 ✭✭✭niceirishfella


    BingoBongo wrote: »
    But in the current age of opensource its very easy to get a very powerful CMS website with a nice design set up very cheaply.

    Hosting package with an install script for a content management system and there you go! a customisable website for under €100 All you have to do is replace the header image and its a starting point

    Web designers are getting overtaken by advances in the internet and the need for a huge knowledge of xhtml and css is less relevant to people editing there website and with the flood of cheap website templates any body can have a professional website at a very cheap site.

    A lot of web designers aren’t happy with this and any body can be a web designer these days.

    +1 - Totally agree.
    Companies like Bluevoda and the like are good in my experience and host my site and one of their freelance designers did my site for me. There's a rip off culture out there in irish web design as they thought for a long time that no-one could do what they do so lets charge 1 or 2k for a site....i've had those figures thrown at me but with a simple google search - you'll find what you need for a fraction of the cost..........fancy or no fancy website


  • #23
    Adam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,866 ✭✭✭Adam


    niceirishfella wrote: »
    +1 - Totally agree.
    Companies like Bluevoda and the like are good in my experience and host my site and one of their freelance designers did my site for me. There's a rip off culture out there in irish web design as they thought for a long time that no-one could do what they do so lets charge 1 or 2k for a site....i've had those figures thrown at me but with a simple google search - you'll find what you need for a fraction of the cost..........fancy or no fancy website
    +1 also

    I find whenever a discussion regarding prices in Ireland crop up, it's the one's that make their money from the industry in Ireland that get overly defensive, and critical of anything that costs less than 'x' amount of money. They can't/won't accept the fact that there are people out there that are as good/better than them and yet are under cutting them price wise. It's a touch immature in my opinion. If you can live off it, great. But don't try and tell anyone that comes along that you just can't get it cheaper, and if you do it will be crap. This is not true.


  • #24
    heggie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,879 ✭✭✭heggie


    really Mirror? still waiting for ONE example from anyone

    It's not about anyone getting defensive, it's about educating people that good design has value, and design is a concept that most people who have posted here seem to have missed. I'm yet to see any counter to that argument


  • #25
    tricky D
    Closed Accounts Posts: 9,700 ✭✭✭tricky D


    Providing web business solutions >>> web design


  • #26
    niceirishfella
    Closed Accounts Posts: 5,538 ✭✭✭niceirishfella


    heggie wrote: »
    really Mirror? still waiting for ONE example from anyone

    It's not about anyone getting defensive, it's about educating people that good design has value, and design is a concept that most people who have posted here seem to have missed. I'm yet to see any counter to that argument

    Heggie, you're wrong - and you are being Defensive - and shure why would'nt you be?! - your livliehood is at stake here cos people are copping on.........the game is up...........sorry, but don't shoot the messenger.


  • #27
    heggie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,879 ✭✭✭heggie


    post of the day well done! :D


  • #28
    Adam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,866 ✭✭✭Adam


    heggie wrote: »
    really Mirror? still waiting for ONE example from anyone

    It's not about anyone getting defensive, it's about educating people that good design has value, and design is a concept that most people who have posted here seem to have missed. I'm yet to see any counter to that argument
    One example of what, exactly? If you're going to get so uppity about it. Come down off your high horse there and come to terms with what you're asking for. Do you expect me to say 'Ok, here's a site I got an Irish crowd to build. And here's the same site, built by a company in Romania!'. Why would I have that? And therefore, how would I have hard examples?

    I can tell you, I'm having something built that I wrote up a technical specifications document for well in advance of and in great detail. It's being built by an outsourced company, for under one fifth of that quoted by several Irish counterparts.


  • #29
    nikimere
    Registered Users Posts: 467 ✭✭nikimere


    Damn i better start looking for a new job... :rolleyes:

    Do you people think Ireland being more expensive for services than other countries in something nobody knew about!? lol!
    Of course it is cheaper in other countries, the cost of living and doing business in other countries is also cheaper.


  • #30
    Adam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 8,866 ✭✭✭Adam


    niceirishfella wrote: »
    Heggie, you're wrong - and you are being Defensive - and shure why would'nt you be?! - your livliehood is at stake here cos people are copping on.........the game is up...........sorry, but don't shoot the messenger.
    heggie wrote: »
    post of the day well done! :D

    Freudian slip in post form methinks... :rolleyes:


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  • #31
    heggie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,879 ✭✭✭heggie


    An example of a sub 500 euro website. either one of your own, or outsourced, or whatever


This discussion has been closed.
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