How to set up website

dublinlawyer

I want to set up a website with my name as the address. A few questions
- should I go for the .ie or is the .com just as good. I want it to show up on google searches.
- do i have to pay google or something to ensure it shows up on a google search
- i have to pay a web hosting service i presume. any recommendations here and what i might expect to pay
- is it easy to create the page myself. i just want to put up a very simple page. I suppose id like to develop it over time with links etc.

Thanks.

You might get some helpful links/people over at teh Webmaster forum.

dublinlawyer

After looking through about 15 providers sites the cheapest for registering a .ie address and hosting seems to be digiweb. Im looking for one that will provide the software that will help me to easily create a simple webpage too so not sure which is the best for that but it seems digiweb give you access to software with it, but not sure how that software compares with other providers.

Dmtiling

I can help you out with any questions you have. I can design you a simple site for a very low cost. Please pm me and we can discuss things further.

mneylon

dublinlawyer wrote: »

I want to set up a website with my name as the address. A few questions
- should I go for the .ie or is the .com just as good. I want it to show up on google searches.

You haven't said what it's for.

.ie domains - shows you're Irish and you'll also have more choice.

dublinlawyer wrote: »

- do i have to pay google or something to ensure it shows up on a google search

Yes and no. You might need to pay someone to help you get your site higher in the results etc., but a lot will depend on what you are trying to sell / market

dublinlawyer wrote: »

- i have to pay a web hosting service i presume. any recommendations here and what i might expect to pay

Prices vary a lot, but you can probably get an entry level hosting plan for about 30 - 40 euro / year.

If the site is for a business the cost of the hosting shouldn't be the main concern

dublinlawyer wrote: »

- is it easy to create the page myself. i just want to put up a very simple page. I suppose id like to develop it over time with links etc.

That would depend a lot on your own skillset

heggie

its funny how with some people design is an afterthought, if you really want dublinlawyer, you can host it too on your on connection

thefox84

i would say
- .ie is better for any irish business
- check out blacknight for hosting and domain registration
- if I were you I would someone design & build the site (couple hundred euro will see this sorted) as its not worth hassel also the site needs to be designed in such a way as to do well on the search engines

Dub-Dub

dublinlawyer wrote: »

I want to set up a website with my name as the address. A few questions
- should I go for the .ie or is the .com just as good. I want it to show up on google searches.
- do i have to pay google or something to ensure it shows up on a google search
- i have to pay a web hosting service i presume. any recommendations here and what i might expect to pay
- is it easy to create the page myself. i just want to put up a very simple page. I suppose id like to develop it over time with links etc.

Thanks.

Try this http://www.freewebs.com

My six year old built his first site there, now he is 8 years old and has his own (Name) .ie address which costs 48 Euro per year but gets it back a hundred fold per week.

forbairt

As blacknight said ... pretty much ....
As heggie said pretty much

Basic costs ...
- Domain name - 30 - 40 EUR
- Hosting - 30 - 40 EUR
- Design software .. you seem to be going the cheapest you can so maybe try out NVU ...
- Graphics Software ... against cheapest option would be Gimp
- Your time ... a hell of a lot

Time to make something 1 day - 1 month for you as you figure out most of the stuff ...

Will it look good ... probably not (sorry but I'm being releastic)

If its a business ... Its a bit silly to design it yourself
If its personal ... its fun

Advert 2 inch x 3 inch in the local rag here ... cost around 500 EUR
thats for and advert for 1 day ... a website is for the year and then a small hosting fee / support charge depending per year

for 500 eur you can probably get a website thats semi decent put together for you

Getting up there on google ... a good bit of link building a good bit of work and effort

Getting up there on google on the Pay Per Click ... depending on what it is you're selling / marketing ... 1 to 3 eur per click (probably)

All figures are rough ...

Hosting Recommendations today will be - Blacknight see his sig for link

Good luck with the project

Amberman

wow...this is such a typical thread for a newbie setting up a site. Loads of advice on how to build your site (think of it like a shop) and little good advice on where (location...aka marketing) of the site. I think someone threw out 1-3 euros a click...lol!

There are a ton of great resources out there that make each easier than its ever been to set up a site. The first thing I would say to you is NOT to lsiten to a designer/programmer as they normally have no clue about teh most important thing in website success...traffic, persuasion architecture and conversion. Go out and buy 'Call to action' by Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg before you spend your first euro. If you want to know how web businesses work, try THE top internet business online, Ken Evoys SBI. http://www.sitesell.com/

PM me if you want any help.

torregolf

Has anyone ever use SBI? Is it possible for a complete beginner to buy this and build a decent website - do they offer support?

prospect

I am developing a website at the minute:

I registered a .ie Domain which is €50 I think.

I used HostGator, US$8 per month for hosting

And I used getafreelancer.com to source a website designer & builder for a fraction of the cost in Ireland.

Amberman

torregolf wrote: »

Has anyone ever use SBI? Is it possible for a complete beginner to buy this and build a decent website - do they offer support?

Tons of support...its in the top 1000 sites on the entire internet with a superb forum.

http://www.alexa.com/search?q=www.sitesell.com&x=0&y=0

Sully

- Irish Domain names are better for SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) - for Irish sites.

-Doing well on Google depends on a lot of factors - including the quality of the website. A number of areas surrounding websites are important for the areas of SEO.

-.ie domain prices vary, I think the cheapest is about €30 with Digiweb if I am not mistaken.

-Other domains like .com can be purchased for €10 or less.

-Go with a professional site design. Don't go building one yourself. The same applies for advertising material.

-Hosting, I don't use Ireland at the moment for a number of reasons. Its an area that I may consider again in the future, but I think hosting in the states is fine for now.

Any other questions, just shout.

Briongloid-M

Some very good advice on this thread.

Regarding dot-ies vs dotcoms. I guess it all depends on what you're going to use the site for. By your username I presume this is a site for your legal practice, and so a dot-ie would suit best, though they are more expensive and the registration process takes longer so maybe it's worth your while getting a .eu instead. If you get a .ie it means you're just in Ireland but if you get a .eu you're international.

Last time I checked Blacknight was selling .eu domains for a fiver. I personally recommend his service and his support team are FAR more helpful than other hosting companies I could (but won't) mention.

As for promoting your site, unlike Yahoo, you can't just pay Google to feature your site, but you can pay them to feature small ads for your site. Next time you do a Google search, look at the ads on the right hand side of the screen. Webmasters pay Google to feature these ads, they pay Google every time someone clicks on the ad. I've an article on Google AdWords which explains it in more detail. Basically these ads can be a great way to bring traffic to your site but, since you pay for every visit, it's important that you have a good website to help convert those visits into revenue otherwise you're just making money for Google and loosing your own.

This is considered, by many, to be the fast way to building web traffic, but it doesn't raise the profile of the site itself. The slower, but ultimately more beneficial long-term method is to build good quality links and have a site that is properly optimised so that the search engines can scan through each page and index it without being impeded by sloppy code or poor structure.

For this reason I would discourage doing the job yourself or using some bespoke editor or "make-your-own website" services. Avoid, also, the sorts of companies who favour big smarmy flash intro screens followed by a few pawlty pages with a sentence or two of text. Sites like that end up going nowhere.

What you need is a professionally-designed site, created by someone who can optimise everything from your text and keywords to your design, layout and web code for the search engines. Then help you develop the site itself and assist in its expansion and promotion, with link building and networking, advertising campaigns, site traffic analysis and more.

If you're looking for someone who can do all that, without charging an arm and a leg, look no further than the link in my sig.

Or if you just want any help or advise on the subject you're welcome to pm me.