Design a Website

MonicaBing

Hi guys, i have an idea for a website and im wondering how simple/difficult is it to set up a website? I have no clue about this side of things from who do i get to do it, the cost etc? Any advice would be appreciated, Cheers.

louie

Everything starts with an idea.
Now you will need the following:

1. domain name (.com, .ie, etc)
2. hosting account for your website & email

Once you have the 2 above (you can get some prices from www.blacknight.com ), you are ready to either hire a developer or DIY your website.

fcrossen

You can also use a hosted solution like wordpress.com if you prefer.

Pro: They do all the heavy lifting allowing you to focus on style and content.

Con: You don't have as much flexibility and may not be able to use a custom domain (www.example.com)

Dermo

fcrossen wrote: »

You can also use a hosted solution like wordpress.com if you prefer.

Pro: They do all the heavy lifting allowing you to focus on style and content.

Con: You don't have as much flexibility and may not be able to use a custom domain (www.example.com)

or combine these and install wordpress on your own domain

ablowick

Try and buy a domain name that suits your keyword of you business . The older a domain name the better the Google ranking that it will receive. check out old obsolete domains that are for sale.

fcrossen

internetaware wrote: »

Hi if you need an affordable website we can get you online from 99€ for a single webpage or €299 for a full webpage no strings attached. Check out www.XXXXXXX.ie for our portfolio...

This posting: 1) Violates the AUP of boards.ie (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/faq.php?faq=bie_faq_guidelines#faq_bie_faq_guidelines_advertise) 2) Shows that the commercial entity doesn't even have the manners to read the terms and conditions that they agreed to when they signed up. My main reason for posting (which echoes sentiments expressed elsewhere on boards.ie) is to warn people away from these kind of offers. If you pay nothing, the work you get will be worth nothing. If you pay €99 your website will reflect that too. For the love of jeebus - you'd be prepared to pay a plumber more! Peanuts === Monkeys

internetaware

fcrossen wrote: »

This posting: 1) Violates the AUP of boards.ie (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/faq.php?faq=bie_faq_guidelines#faq_bie_faq_guidelines_advertise) 2) Shows that the commercial entity doesn't even have the manners to read the terms and conditions that they agreed to when they signed up. My main reason for posting (which echoes sentiments expressed elsewhere on boards.ie) is to warn people away from these kind of offers. If you pay nothing, the work you get will be worth nothing. If you pay €99 your website will reflect that too. For the love of jeebus - you'd be prepared to pay a plumber more! Peanuts === Monkeys

I am new to boards and did not realise that this was the wrong section to reply to this so apologies for that

fcrossen

internetaware wrote: »

I am new to boards and did not realise that this was the wrong section to reply to this so apologies for that

Apology accepted. BTW what is the PM about?

internetaware wrote:

I dont appreciate your comments. 99e for a single page websiite is more than enough thank you

(sic.)

Exactly which of my comments did you not like?

internetaware

fcrossen wrote: »

Apology accepted. BTW what is the PM about?

(sic.)

Exactly which of my comments did you not like?

No problem. apologies again..

pay peanuts get monkeys.. Afforbale websites is there to get peoples business online that might not be able to afford a full brochure website. Its simply 99euro for a business card holding page that is seo'd so that if someone searches for a service the least they will get is a contact number and holding page if thats all that your company can afford so that is what the 99euro webpage is..

cormee

internetaware wrote: »

No problem. apologies again..

pay peanuts get monkeys.. Afforbale websites is there to get peoples business online that might not be able to afford a full brochure website. Its simply 99euro for a business card holding page that is seo'd so that if someone searches for a service the least they will get is a contact number and holding page if thats all that your company can afford so that is what the 99euro webpage is..

€99 for about 10 minutes work? Nice work if you can get it.

Cianos

OP, websites can range from anything between free to many thousands of euros. It all depends on what the purpose of the website is. The more complex and resource intensive, the more expensive it will be. A simple website to display information and photographs of a business would be very cheap. The more requirements and features you add (for example, if you want people to purchase online), the higher the cost goes.

Before you begin approaching web developers, get out a big sheet of paper and sketch out the concept. Visualise how the website should work, how people will use it, which pages should link to which, and throw this all out on the page. This will at least give the concept a presence somewhere other than just inside your head! Do a couple of drafts before you have something that accurately represents your idea, and show it to a couple of people and see what they think. When you have something you feel really represents what your idea is, (and you feel that it is still worth continuing with) bring it to developers and start getting quotes. Developers and designers are visually oriented people and they find it much easier to understand an idea sketched out rather than reams and reams of text.

Shop around before you choose someone, the ideal candidate is someone who has talent both in technical ability and an eye for design, as well as price and efficiency. Communication with developers can often be frustrating, and projects can quickly suffer if problems aren't dealt with as they arise. So make sure whoever you're working with can communicate effectively and eagerly.

If your idea is unique you should ask anyone you approach for a signed non-disclosure agreement before you expose your idea.

Best of luck.

fcrossen

internetaware wrote: »

Its simply 99euro for a business card holding page that is seo'd so that if someone searches for a service the least they will get is a contact number and holding page if thats all that your company can afford so that is what the 99euro webpage is..

Well we can save them the trouble. Here's one for free:

[HTML]<html>
<head>
<title>Insert Company name here</title>
</head>
<body>
<h1>Insert Company name here</h1>
<p>insert some blurb here</p>
<h2>Address</h2>
<p>insert address here</p>
<h2>Phone</h2>
<p>insert phone number here</p>
</body>
</html>[/HTML]

Cianos puts it well. There is a fair bit to web design, even if it is for a "business card" site (which I would consider to be bordering on useless).

To lead people to expect a web business presence for €99 is not responsible.

Liam Byrne

cormee wrote: »

€99 for about 10 minutes work? Nice work if you can get it.

To be fair, if it includes registering the domain name, etc, it's at least an hour's work!

My biggest issue would be the way that it's phrased.....

if you need an affordable website we can get you online from 99€ for a single webpage

The €299 is cheap, but do-able if it's a bog-standard Joomla template populated with the basics.

I'd be wary of some of the spelling of the [now removed] link, though, it does scream unprofessional......

We are not like any other companys

You dont have to have a Large buget to get your business onto the Internet

Not to mention :

Click to see example of Online Shopping Website

....which doesn't do anything when you click it.

Plus on all the demo sites (and some of the portfolio sites), the "cutout" around every image is blatantly obvious.

I'm not being over-critical, just stating facts. There is a market for some of the above.

But overall, fcrossen is right; if you cut corners - you do end up getting what you pay for; something's gotta give, be it design, spelling, functionality, uniqueness, testing in multiple browsers, SEO, etc.

I've often broken it down to potential clients as follows :

1) Strong, professional design with impact
2) Proper discussion and spec of requirements
3) Sourcing stock photos if required
4) Populating content and resizing / editing client-provided images
5) Setting up the domain, hosting and email addresses, etc
6) Thorough testing on every cross-browser platform
7) Maximise SEO response
8) CMS / ability to update the site yourself
9) Support and assistance
10) Any "cool" features; even basic plugins like slideshows, etc (although I'd generally integrate them better than a plonked-on generic lightbox)

Even for a "small" site, if most of each of those isn't worth at least €100 to a potential client, they're not serious about having a website.

Phrases like

All our websites are custom designed and unique to your business.

.....are at best misleading; a full graphic design ALONE could easily take 2 or 3 days to-ing and fro-ing as it was tweaked and fleshed out.

Some clients mightn't need all 10 (e.g. #3 or #8, or even #1 if they were happy with a template), but the bottom line is that there is no way a half-decent web presence can be provided for less than €500, which would equate to about 3 days' work if everything goes very, very smoothly.

WebGeek

MonicaBing wrote: »

Hi guys, i have an idea for a website and im wondering how simple/difficult is it to set up a website? I have no clue about this side of things from who do i get to do it, the cost etc? Any advice would be appreciated, Cheers.

Have a look at squarespace.com and sign up for their free trial. Easy to set up your site even for a novice and all other issues like hosting is taken care of.

cormee

Liam Byrne wrote: »

To be fair, if it includes registering the domain name, etc, it's at least an hour's work!

I had included registering a domain and setting up the web server in the 10 minute quote. It takes me about 3 mins to buy a domain on joker.com and about 4 minutes to add hosting to the domain on my hosting control panel.

That leaves a leisurely 3 minutes for the "business card holding page"

Liam Byrne

cormee wrote: »

I had included registering a domain and setting up the web server in the 10 minute quote. It takes me about 3 mins to buy a domain on joker.com and about 4 minutes to add hosting to the domain on my hosting control panel.

That leaves a leisurely 3 minutes for the "business card holding page"

You forgot the 30-minute telephone call while the client is debating whether to use .com or .ie and whether www.ignatiousmacshaughessylandfilldisposal.com is too long!

Trojan

Liam Byrne wrote: »

You forgot the 30-minute telephone call while the client is debating whether to use .com or .ie and whether www.ignatiousmacshaughessylandfilldisposal.com is too long!

I had to check that wasn't a real site, thank $deity it's not.

+1 on everything Liam has said above.

cormee

Trojan wrote: »

I had to check that wasn't a real site, thank $deity it's not.

+1 on everything Liam has said above.

I actually checked to see if it was available. :eek: