New website needed. Any recommendations

qu1nn7

Hi All,

I've got a small business and am looking to set up a decent brochure website. I don't have the time to look into doing it myself and there seem to be a neverending supply of companies who advertise that they do it but I've been promised a lot by companies, in all industries, before only to be let down after.
So I was hoping for some recommendations as to a good one to use.

Also, has anyone used the gettingbusinessonline.ie free website builder
and how did you find it?

Anyway, hope you can help,
Cheers
Alan

John_Mc

Best off hiring a decent graphic designer to come up with a good logo, layout and brand. Then hire a freelance developer to convert the design into a HTML brochure website.

I would avoid the self-build websites as it's a one-size-fits-all and that can only mean making compromises with what you want and need.

qu1nn7 wrote: »

Hi All,

I've got a small business and am looking to set up a decent brochure website. I don't have the time to look into doing it myself and there seem to be a neverending supply of companies who advertise that they do it but I've been promised a lot by companies, in all industries, before only to be let down after.
So I was hoping for some recommendations as to a good one to use.

Also, has anyone used the gettingbusinessonline.ie free website builder
and how did you find it?

Anyway, hope you can help,
Cheers
Alan

qu1nn7

Cheers for the reply John. Do you think it would be a lot more expensive to do it that way instead of just going to an all in website developer?

Cos I'd say I've a maximum budget of about 800-1000

John_Mc

qu1nn7 wrote: »

Cheers for the reply John. Do you think it would be a lot more expensive to do it that way instead of just going to an all in website developer?

Cos I'd say I've a maximum budget of about 800-1000

Hi,

Designing and developing are two different skills and it's rare enough to find a person who's equally good at both.

Once you have the design, it's very easy to convert that into standards compliant HTML, so the biggest cost should be your designer.

A good developer can produce a html version of the design in a few hours (depending on the complexity of the design), so he/she can't charge that much.

Doing it this way will reduce your costs rather than increase them and you'll know exactly where the costs are going.

How often will your content be changing? If you're not any good at HTML then I would suggest using Wordpress (or similar) as a content management system. If you were to do this, you'd be looking for the developer to convert the design into a wordpress template, which should not cost that much more than a static brochure design.

qu1nn7

thanks john

screengrab_web

Just look around at a few portfolios thats a good indicator. You get what you pay for for sure and the more direction you can give a developer the better.

If you can provide logos and images that takes down the cost too.

midiverb

I think what's been said so far is pretty solid advice. There are bus loads of companies/ freelancers doing web design & development right now ... Some better than others, like anything really.. Just spend some time looking into their work & ringing around . As always you get what you pay for ... but I think 800-1000 should get you a nice site.

In relation to gettingbusinessonline.ie , I had a look and it seems like it's for people who don't have a budget, It looks like it's just to get people online and make money from hosting & advertisement later.I could be wrong.

The free site looks awful.

Also the sites that look ok under "Success Stories" don't seem to be the free sites.?? So I'd advise caution.

If they give you a free .ie domain maybe you can get the design & development done else where like what John_Mc said but that might be complicated.

Hope that helps

vikingroma

800 is more than enough as a budget , infarct 100 is enough for a decent brochure site , but 300 would get you a good quality site

i can get you a good deal pm me for details.

Liam Byrne

vikingroma wrote: »

800 is more than enough as a budget , infarct 100 is enough for a decent brochure site , but 300 would get you a good quality site

i can get you a good deal pm me for details.

Let's assume that €100 is a baseline figure for a day's work.

Do you SERIOUSLY suggest that someone could get (a) a requirements spec (b) design - including sign-off (c) implementation (d) content propagation and (e) full cross-browser testing done IN A DAY ?

Ridiculous!

I've managed sites within 4 (non-consecutive) days at an absolute push, and so suggesting someone could do a decent, professional site within a day is ridiculous.

vikingroma

yes pal , I seriously do actually, making a decent site say 5 pages , gallery , and other things takes a max of 5 hrs if you sat and spent that long at a pc , and all content is managed by a custom cms , over 1000 euro is ridiculous , and if somebody was to charge that much they should be ashamed. i am 17 and run extremely profitable web design company that i started in ty . the profit margins are insane it costs less than 50 to actually do a site time is the only other cost.

that's my opinion anyway , only companies that have a very impressive portfolio are entitled to charge loads, anyone else is just stuck for money.

tricky D

Would I be right in saying you did the Premier Car Valeting site that you shilled in another thread http://premiercarvaleting.net/main/ and that your own sightsite is http://www.tywebsites.com/ and you are Seb.....n?

One of your sites isn't loading, the other 2 aren't worth €100 and 3 cheap sites does not make an 'extremely profitable web design company'. The reality is you are a student doing cheap nixers including one for your parents, which is fine if you can admit that, especially to yourself.

2 x Guestbook
No contact form
Animated cat waterskiing
blink tag
Comic sans
No useful SEO
No commercial experience

and a long, long list of other things I could list.

You are not yet producing quality professional websites and you have a lot to learn. Have a good look around this and the website reviews forum, you'll learn from it. Do keep trying and you should get there eventually, but you have a long, long way to go yet.

########

@qu1nn7

Advice from a recent thread:

Try to provide as much information as possible.

• Do you already have a logo?
• Have you already got the photos you need? Are they good quality?
• Have you good copywritten text?
• What sort of functionality will you require? Shop, CC processing, newsletters, DB integration, user accounts, support... (can probably do without most of these for a brochure site)
• What sort of other marketing are you doing which might affect the job?
• Will you be actively blogging and using other social media?
• Are you using Rich and/or Interactive Media?
• Will you need a Content Management System?

And anything lese which is relevant - the devil is in the detail.

Remember, the old maxim generally applies: you usually get what you pay for, so beware of selling yourself and your business short. The web can be a very powerful business and marketing tool, so try to budget and plan accordingly.

Then post a quote request in this thread: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055802922

murphaph

They're some pretty amateur looking sites to be fair. As a business owner I'd prefer no internet presence than one that made my firm look amateur/cowboylike. Customers aren't stupid...a cheap site can be spotted a mile away. Customers then (perhaps rightly) extrapolate that to the rest of the company's offerings....cheap/shoddy/best avoided etc.

A decent landing page could take 5 hours, never mind a whole site. Blink tags and other such junk are not recommended as some browsers (IE!) doesn't render it as it's not w3 compliant. I like the quote on this page:

The dreaded blink tag:

<blink>Wow</blink>

is a sign that well-travelled web surfers take as "avoid this page -- the person that wrote it just learned HTML from a bubble gum wrapper."

As has already been said...saying x amount is expensive for a site is like saying x amount is expensive for a house/car etc. Websites are pretty unique things and a good one can reap massive rewards.

Liam Byrne

vikingroma wrote: »

yes pal , I seriously do actually, making a decent sight say 5 pages , gallery , and other things takes a max of 5 hrs if you sat and spent that long at a pc , and all content is managed by a custom cms , over 1000 euro is ridiculous , and if somebody was to charge that much they should be ashamed. i am 17 and run extremely profitable web design company that i started in ty . the profit margins are insane it costs less than 50 to actually do a site time is the only other cost.

that's my opinion anyway , only companies that have a very impressive portfolio are entitled to charge loads, anyone else is just stuck for money.

Bull**** if the highest order.

Are you living at home? Do you need to pay bills / rent / mortgage ?

If not, you're far from clued in about reality.

I've done a few sites for €450 - €600 and I'm not 100% happy with them, because the client's budget constraints meant I couldn't put them to a high enough standard that I'd be happy with.

Yes, you can do a very decent site between €1,000 and €1,500 - but throwing something together in 4 hours is not professional.

Do you check the spelling on your "sights" ? Do you test them on different browsers and screens ?

I don't work to make a profit; I work to make a living - that's my philosophy. But reading someone claiming that I'm making massive profits by pricing my time as fairly as I can would be insulting if it wasn't so pathetically incorrect.

P.S. I can provide many, many references from professionals stating that they believe I undercharge, but by keeping overheads low I can get by.

So try moving out, renting an office, paying broadband and electricity, taxes, an accountant and maybe THEN come back and lecture us on what you have left over! :mad:

Liam Byrne

vikingroma wrote: »

i am 17 and run extremely profitable web design company that i started in ty . the profit margins are insane it costs less than 50 to actually do a site time is the only other cost.

Interesting that the CRO knows nothing about your "company".

Your Company and Business Name search for "Ty media" yielded no result.

When was your company's ARD so that we can see how profitable it is?

vikingroma

just out of curiosity how did you know that no im not seba....n , yes we agree that our site is crap , and currently we are creating a new one with our updated portfolio, also my company is operated by pleasing the consumer, its wrong to say design and the company's name is Transform Your Website, Please feel free to mail me and ill send you on a list of stuff we have done and are currently doing.

The CRO Question, i don't have to register for tax until i earn a good bit of pocket money,

The am i living at home question, yes i am ,

Do you pay rent , have an office , overheads , yes i do , please feel free too pm and ill tell you where it is.

Liam Byrne

vikingroma wrote: »

also my company is operated by pleasing the consumer

As is mine.

, its wrong to say design

No idea what this means

and the company's name is Transform Your Website,

How can you "transform" something that you're creating for the first time? And how do you "transform" an existing site? It's "Transition Year Websites" - just admit it (you already said that you started it "during TY" ( your abbreviation, not mine). But I'd love if you would stop referring to it as a "company", because it's not.

The CRO Question, i don't have to register for tax until i earn a good bit of pocket money,

The am i living at home question, yes i am

CRO and tax are different. In order to state that it's a company without lying you need to be registered with the CRO.

Two posts ago it was "extremely profitable", and now it's not even making you enough "pocket money" to warrant tax?

And you're valuing your time based on not having to pay rent or a mortgage?

I don't mean to be overly hard on your efforts, and best of luck in your endeavours - genuinely, everyone has to start somewhere and the 2 sites shown are what my students would throw together after their City & Guilds course (which is years out of date) but the reason I'm harping on is your earlier post claiming that proper professionals are ripping people off with profit margins if they charge €1,000 for a decent site. That is simply not true, and undermines your stance on starting out in the real world.

Come back and comment when - like other professionals - you are paying your own way with rent and food and bills, and are an actual company with the resulting paperwork and a proper value on your time spent on a properly spec'd, professional website.

murphaph

vikingroma wrote: »

The CRO Question, i don't have to register for tax until i earn a good bit of pocket money,

Well you have to register for VAT after 17k p/a in turnover as a service orientated business and as Liam says, a company MUST be registered with the CRO regardless of how little (even 0) it turns over. If it's not registered with the CRO in some shape or form, it's NOT a company. If you're not turning even 17k over when you can "knock out a site in 5 hours" (and presumably charge at least 100 quid for it) then I don't think you can really talk about how profitable or otherwise your venture is. Don't get me wrong mate, I wish you well and have the utmost respect for entrepreneurs, but coming on here lecturing experienced business people about pricing, while living at home with no rent to pay or food to buy is actually pretty cheeky and looks very immature. You'll win no customers that way.

vikingroma

as i said earlier i have an office and overheads , Liam much respect to you i do see where your coming from , and i will take on all advice , and we have zero qualifications. My business partner is a genius in the field of websites and everything internet. Home taught web design. It is my personal opinion that webdesign is over priced for what it is , and i agree that information gathering is a pain in the neck but if somebody paying you to do something its worth the wait. I don't believe in charging people for stuff like that i give them a price and stick to it.

donegal2011

You need website contact CheeryBeery.com, the best deal you ever get. they website http://website.cheerybeery.com/

hearny

Its getting a bit off topic here, The Getting Business Online is a great initiative but as stated seems to be aimed at just getting your details up online more for companies who will not spend anything.

There are plenty of places that will give you a great website for that budget, as stated ring around and investigate any companies sites to see if they are ranked well.

Did you try talk to your local Enterprise Board to see if you are entitled to a grant for the website.

vikingroma

i live near limerick and they will pay half the price of a site up to a max of 500E , i don't know about the rest of the country though.

tricky D

vikingroma wrote: »

It is my personal opinion that webdesign is over priced for what it is , and i agree that information gathering is a pain in the neck but if somebody paying you to do something its worth the wait. I don't believe in charging people for stuff like that i give them a price and stick to it.

You have little experience so don't appreciate all that is involved in making quality web presences. There's a huge amount of skills, processes, technologies etc involved. With more experience, you'll come to realise what is beyond the tip of the iceberg.

donegal2011 wrote: »

You need website contact CheeryBeery.com, the best deal you ever get. they website http://website.cheerybeery.com/

Cripes, all the text in graphics = Avoid.

vikingroma

Send me your work and we will see who is better , you talk a big game, show us what you've done that makes you great enough to undermine everybody's work.

tricky D

Not a chance.

My contributions to this forum speak for themselves.

murphaph

tricky D wrote: »

Cripes, all the text in graphics = Avoid.

Wow, I'm relatively new to this game but I can't believe what some people are charging for.

It's not actually that difficult to produce semantically correct HTML and then progressively enhance it, so why do so many websites look absolute sh!te before they even start with "fancy stuff" and making the site dynamic. If a person can't even write semantically correct and clean HTML/CSS, would anyone trust them with javascript, php etc? :eek:

midiverb

ummm... I thought this guy was a troll his comments were so nonsensical.

Professional web design is one of the most demanding jobs there is.Fact.

To do it for a living you need to have a thorough understanding of:

Copywriting
Spelling & Grammar??
Fundamental Design Theory
Typography
UI
UX
HTML
CSS
PHP
JavaScript
Social Media

Each discipline a career in itself.

Added to that the industry moves lighting fast in every direction , so much so that everything you know changes about every 12mth's.

Professional web design is not over priced at all & anyone offering "sights" for €100 is not a Professional web designer they're hacks.

p.s

vikingroma your young & I think it's great your making a go at earning money for yourself, but your not an industry professional yet. I'm not trying to put you off a challenging and rewarding career. keep at it.

Liam Byrne

vikingroma wrote: »

Send me your work and we will see who is better , you talk a big game, show us what you've done that makes you great enough to undermine everybody's work.

I'd advise toning down the cockiness, giving the fact that all of your earlier claims have been proven to be false.

You DON'T have a "company"
You DON'T make a profit, or even a wage
You DON'T produce professional-level websites
You are in absolutely no position to say what constitutes a fair price for a professional website

Those are all facts.

Now, everyone starts somewhere, and a few of us were attempting to encourage you while pointing out to anyone who wants a professional site that your statement was false.

However if you post cocky bull**** having been caught out on lies then you'll soon get brought down to size.

I could do your sites in 15 mins, but I wouldn't have the neck to charge for them.

Keep earning your pocket money, and tell mammy & daddy we said hi.

aidan_walsh

</trainwreck>