Basic Info Needed

thomas98798

Hi guys, need to set up a business website for my new start up.

Just need some info because I really don't know allot about websites and webdesign.

Here are my quick questions:

1) How do I buy a domain name. Need .com and .ie

2) When I buy one do I own it for life. Or must I renew and rebuy every year.

3) Who would I need to contact to build my website. I have my company logo (but it would need updating) and literature for a website.

4) What would the cost be roughly. Lets say a simple 10 page website. Would need a feature where customers can send me their details.

5) Can I design my own website, as I said I don't know allot about it but I'm a quick learner. Are there any free or cheap software packages I would need to do so.

Thanks

Thomas.

VMotion

Hi Thomas,

1. It's easy to buy .com (just choose the name, pay and you have it in few minutes), it is tricky with .ie, there are regulations on what name you can register. You will have to submit either yours or your company docs, or a letter for discretionary name (you can read about it in details here .ie registration requirements).
2. Domain is registered usually for 1 year and then your renew it (pay) every year.
3. This can be tricky. It all depends on what kind of site you need and how much of your own effort you can put into it.
You can go with any ready-to-go engines like Wordpress or Joomla, find free or premium template for it (something like this Wordpress theme) and then just update texts and pages to match your needs.
"Literature" I suppose is the content. You either write it yourself, find online and repost if it is allowed or hire a copywriter.
4. If you go with template solution you can fit into €200 budget (including domain name and a year of hosting) If you go with design studio, you will have to ring for quotes but it will be anything from €300-400 and above
5. I would advise against it. If you are a startup, you need to concentrate on growing your business and make sure your website looks professionally.

Where are you located?

Good luck!

Trojan

Not a review request, moving this to Design.

Trojan

thomas98798 wrote: »

1) How do I buy a domain name. Need .com and .ie

Do a search for domain name registrar, or just search ".com" or ".ie" - you'll get plenty of choices.

thomas98798 wrote: »

2) When I buy one do I own it for life. Or must I renew and rebuy every year.

No, you don't own them for life. Some domains you can register for up to 10 years, but some only 1 year at most. Another thing you'll need to get is web hosting for the site.

thomas98798 wrote: »

3) Who would I need to contact to build my website. I have my company logo (but it would need updating) and literature for a website.

Contact a web design or web development company, web search and word of mouth will help you find a few.

thomas98798 wrote: »

4) What would the cost be roughly. Lets say a simple 10 page website. Would need a feature where customers can send me their details.

How long is a piece of string?

Number of pages is rarely directly related to cost.

What you're talking about in the last point is known as a "contact form".

thomas98798 wrote: »

5) Can I design my own website, as I said I don't know allot about it but I'm a quick learner. Are there any free or cheap software packages I would need to do so.

From your post above I'd guess that you can't design the site yourself - unless you have some graphic design skills you didn't mention - but you can build the site yourself if you're willing to learn (in fact, given enough time, determination and some natural ability, you could probably design it too). There are free content management systems (website frameworks that help you create and manage your site content design & functionality) - popular ones are WordPress, Drupal and Joomla.

tommycahir

have a look at http://www.gettingbusinessonline.ie/ it is really designed for getting your basic brochure type website online and is free for Irish businesses.

VMotion

tommycahir wrote: »

and is free for Irish businesses.

For the first 12 months only. After that you are a regular paying customer.

tommycahir

VMotion wrote: »

For the first 12 months only. After that you are a regular paying customer.

Yes, noticed that alright but it is still better than nothing for alot of small businesses starting out and gets them thinking about their web presence and how it can be enhanced to further develop their business.

Nothing stopping a company using the 1st 12 months for free and later moving to another platform to enhance/ extend their web presence.

willows

Here are my quick questions:

1) How do I buy a domain name. Need .com and .ie,
register this with a hosting company, then your hosting and domains are at the same place. Easy for billing in the future.

2) When I buy one do I own it for life. Or must I renew and rebuy every year.
typically renew it each year, there are long term discounts available.

3) Who would I need to contact to build my website. I have my company logo (but it would need updating) and literature for a website.
Depends on the finish you require, cheap and cheery or expensive lush or some where in between.

4) What would the cost be roughly. Lets say a simple 10 page website. Would need a feature where customers can send me their details.

for a good quality design 1450 up. most sites are built with no limits on the number of pages.

5) Can I design my own website, as I said I don't know allot about it but I'm a quick learner. Are there any free or cheap software packages I would need to do so.
most hosting packages come with a website builder in them. these have prebuilt designs you can choose from. Question yourself : what do you think when you see an iffy looing design or site ? others will think the same of your site if it looks like this.

You get what you pay for, always remember to have a set of deliverables and expectations you need from the site when getting a quote. Agree with the appointed web design company the deliverables and be anal about it. Get a sign off and agree milestones and delivery dates. Without these you'll have missed deadlines and a horror. Some web designers are quite a disorganised in their management of work so you need to be a bit of a ball breaker to get the site you want . Lastly get names and numbers of references so you can call them up, key question is : would you use them again.

I hope this helps.