New Website Questions

nadia88

Hi,

I need a new website for a new company. Budget is very tight but my requirements are basic. I want a website that looks smart and has pages for "Home", "About Us", "Products", "Case Studies" (not required immediately), "Jobs", "News", "Contact Us". I think it should be quite a easy job for someone to develop, there aren't many layers to it and there isn't a huge amount of content. I'm not hugely concerned by SEO immediately.

Am I better off buying the domain name I want now from somewhere like godaddy while I try to find someone to build the website?

Has anyone got any recommendations on who to use and guide pricing based on the above?

I will do a search through the old threads as I'm sure this has probably been asked but if anyone's got any recommendations that'd be great.

biko

Many places will have ready made site templates with the options you mention. You just need to fill in the info/add pictures.

Note that requirements will change over time so you will need someone to maintain the site as well.

Graham

It really wouldn't hurt to register the domain name now but you might find it easier to register with the same company you eventually use for web hosting.

If you're targeting an Irish market, I'd recommend sticking with an irish host. Hosting with a reputable Irish provider starts at around a fiver a month and many of them offer an automatic install for WordPress which (along with a decent template) would probably suit your requirements and allow you to make changes yourself in the future. You'll usually get email included in the hosting too.

I've used Blacknight in the past without issue (no connection other than as a customer) and they provide all of the above, as do many other Irish hosting companies.

The Apprentice

Personally i would not reccomend godaddy for hosting or either domain name purchasing..
1. For the reasons of **** hosting
2. Because they have been known to not register domain names "accidentally" , and once its gone - its gone !!!!
A right outfit in my books but either way .. your choice

I can reccomend blacknight for both of the above, have used them .. The irish host as opposed to non irish, ?? From a seo perspective its not a major requirement just as long as the load time isnt too abnormal your fine..

I would most certainly reccomend purchasing the domain name now as you can change it too whatever hosting you so please in the future, if its a decent name dont delay - it could be gone !!!

Also depending on what your market is, remember to purchase .ie, .com, co.uk etc |
May be a future thought to get all your ducks in a row regarding which is the major one and which are the redirects etc !!

Best of luck with the venture !!


Cant quite find it .. bugger but this kind of explains both the country divide that doesnt ruin your main site with
A. Duplicate sites which will devalue the main site
B. divided resources between 10 odd euro countries for the same blue widget


http://www.seerinteractive.com/blog/international-seo-strategy-guide?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Establishing+your+International+SEO+Strategy%3A+How+to+Start+your+International+Web+Presence&utm_content=The+Moz+Top+10+-+February+2013%2C+Issue+2&utm_campaign=Moz+Top+10+-+Feb+%232+2.26.13

Pretzill

Another thumbs up for blacknight here - there's also letshost too + like someone else mentioned building the site through wordpress can be quite a user friendly option which means you wouldnt need a designer and they have plenty of advice online

Dazzler88

nadia88 wrote: »

Hi,

I need a new website for a new company. Budget is very tight but my requirements are basic. I want a website that looks smart and has pages for "Home", "About Us", "Products", "Case Studies" (not required immediately), "Jobs", "News", "Contact Us". I think it should be quite a easy job for someone to develop, there aren't many layers to it and there isn't a huge amount of content. I'm not hugely concerned by SEO immediately.

Am I better off buying the domain name I want now from somewhere like godaddy while I try to find someone to build the website?

Has anyone got any recommendations on who to use and guide pricing based on the above?

I will do a search through the old threads as I'm sure this has probably been asked but if anyone's got any recommendations that'd be great.

I recently bought a domain name from Register365,I am going to build the website myself and I am not a web designer. Im using Weebly.com to build it,for a basic site like yours weebly should be good enough. Oh ya forgot to say 'Its Free'.

lucky john

Make sure you personally buy and registered your own site name and any email address you need to go with that. . Dont leave that to your web designer. It can be a nightmare if you ever deside to switch web designers in the future and realise you don't actually own the site name.

Blacknight gets my vote as well and thumbs down for godaddy.

nadia88

Thanks for all the replies. I'll check out Blacknight. I'm not convinced by my own web design skills but I will check out some of the sites mentioned above and see if they meet my needs.

Peterdalkey

This look like what you are looking for free http://www.gettingbusinessonline.ie/websitegallery

bohsfan

Hi OP,

Web design is quite like any service- the level you need depends what level of work you need your site to operate at.

If you are looking to provide some bespoke, or cutting edge, functions then you will need to sit down with some agencies and discuss what options are available to you. This can be particularly true if you are looking for a large element of interactivity, or need the site to make use of large databases etc.

If you are looking for something a bit more basic then using Wordpress as your CMS, certainly to start with, is something I would recommend. You can purchase 'themes' that will have certain levels of functionality and look very professional. You can get an idea of what's available here...

If you go down that route I would still recommend getting a web designer to install Wordpress and the theme for you and perhaps give you a couple of hours training in how to use the CMS. After that, you should be good to go yourself until your business grows and you may need to look at a more bespoke option.

nadia88

Hi,

Has anyone got any tips for SEO with a weebly designed site?

tricky D

Avoid weebly, wix and iweb at all costs.

tricky D wrote: »

For others' future reference Wix, iWeb, weebly are all rubbish and should be avoided.

WP beats the pants off them, blindfolded and only using the left hand.

off.the.walls wrote: »

and using the right hand to fend off a warewolf with a cucumber.... thats how much Wordpress beats em.

jimmii

If you are still looking. I did my pretty basic shop website using the sitemaker on register365 its more than enough to make a basic site and its all just drag and drop so its super easy and also automatically sets up a mobile version for you too.

sally365

Tips:

1) Avoid using 'create your own websites' most are terrible and are not good for google search engine ranking.
2) Generally theres an annual free for build your own website service
3) Contact a few different web developers and companies
4) Some companies offer FREE hosting and FREE domain fees for a year.

Main advice shop around.

Graham

sally365 wrote: »

Tips:
Some companies offer FREE hosting and FREE domain fees for a year.

It's not free if you have to pay almost €400 to get it.