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MY FIRST WEBSITE
watergal
subscriber Posts: 10 Bronze Level Member
Can anyone out there help me start up my first website. I know I need
one but I don`t have a clue how to start it up. I bought a
book on it but actually I don`t have the time it takes to learn all
about web language and all the other essential stuff.
I just need something to get my business out there for now, nothing too expensive would be wonderful too.
Also information on web servers would be helpful too.
Need some good advice here please.
Thanks !!!
Jo
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Comments
I would love to help you get a website up and running. I have
to disagree when it comes to using Yahoo though, very pricey
for what you get in my opinion. Depending on your business
and what you`re looking for in a site I am sure you can get a first
class site up and running for very little money. Please e-mail
me if you are interested in me helping you get started. I ran a
photography business off the web for a couple of years before I
got a job transfer and truth be told I miss the programming and
design.
Good Luck.
[email protected]
Can anyone out there help me start up my first website. I know I need
one but I don`t have a clue how to start it up. I bought a
book on it but actually I don`t have the time it takes to learn all
about web language and all the other essential stuff.Hi Jo - I know I`ve seen this mentioned amongst a lot of other great advice so far, but the most important question in my mind is the one about what kind of business you`re in?That`s going to dictate much of what happens with your website decisions. If you`re simply looking to have an online presence that provides information about your business, your website needs are going to be very different from someone looking to run a full-fledged e-commerce website. Bottom line: websites are never a one size fits all proposition, and please avoid anyone who tells you that they are.So let us all know what type of business you run, and I`m sure we can all help you out in this area (and hopefully provide some great information that everyone reading this can use!).
Web Hosting Provider?
No - not yet - there are
so many ads out there for web hosts, I havent done any comparisions yet
at all.
Domain Name?
Probably would be the Tomsriverconcierge.com - simple and descriptive
(my town and services both) both words would make good search words for
my area. My own company name is Ocean County Support Center for Home
and Business and that wouldnt work for a domain name.
Method of Payment I would accept?
Probably seniors would be paying cash or checks and two-income families
would use credit cards. I have gotten a lot of credit card applications from
vendors and will have to choose someone.
My Location
I am in Ocean County, NJ (the jersey
shore). Mostly everything is done but I have to finish composing
my legal contracts (my attorney has the final
say though) and order the rest of my company apparel . If I had
to outsource these startup costs it would be unaffordable since I don`t
like to borrow money. I am waiting on some things like stationary, a
logo (to be designed) and brochures.
What type of business do I have now?
This is a business that I hope to have
up and running very shortly, it is taking a long time I think because I
am doing everything 100% but I don`t want
to start up wrong I want it to start out right. There is no
competition out there now and there are thousands of seniors in this
area, enough for plenty of competition I would think. Since this is a
first of its kind business, I can`t get information on rates or any
data at all so I`m out here on a limb, so to speak.
There is a business in Beacon Hill, Mass that has a similar business and they
are very very successful. They charge $1500 daily for consultations and they are getting requests from all over the country.
Types of services are many, but mainly shopping services, concierge services,
errands, organizational, help with medicare, social security, doctor
claims, consumer advocate, computer search, helping seniors stay safe
at at home and
help with identity theft information,coordinatiang handyman/contractor
repairs + more. This is to help seniors live at home. Two income
couples could also use some of these services plus more such as waiting
for home deliveries, gift shopping, appmt scheduling & holiday
reminders, faxing documents to a secured fax machine instead of faxing
to a public office fax, copying & scanning services + more. I know
it sounds like a lot of work and it is but I do have people in the
wings to help when I am ready.
What type of financial resources do I have to start my business?
To be perfectly honest, I
am financing myself because I don`t like to borrow but the well will be
running dry shortly. Thank goodness, all the equipment I already
have. I probably should think about an 800# though instead of my
own home number.
Are you considering designing this site yourself?
I originally thought that I could so I bought a book and was reading it. Then
nothing else was getting done so I stopped reading it and was going to
wait on the website but I know that I need one. I would like my website
to be imprinted on my cards and stationary and on my car sign.
How long have I considered this venture?
About 3 years ago I guess, its not a
spur of the moment thought. I talked to many people about it,
family, friends, seniors. Everyone thinks its a great idea esp in this
area, no negative comments at all. I really do this now for
people I know and family but I want to offer it to the senior
population. As baby boomers are getting up in age, they will be needing
services like I will be offering and I believe other companies will be
forming to service these people. I have 8 years experience
in this field (for my father) who was able to live at home only because
of me and my sister taking care of him. I already had a few meetings
with S.C.O.R.E. and the man that was working with me was enthusastic
about it for this area. I also have met with some directors at a
senior community and they were positive about this type of business in
this community as well.
I havent heard any negatives.
Do I have a mentor?
No
Do I have a team?
No team
I think it would be nice to have a website that would list my services & rates,
benefits from using my company, some history on me and the company, Q
and A, testimonials, email capability will be needed for people to send
to me a list of services they will be needing, and a message board so
people can comment and rate the business. I also would like to send out
a monthly newsletter reminding
people things that have to be done seasonally (things that everyone forgets to do or they dont want to do them) I
also will be needing a wireless device so that people can contact me on
the road for emergency requests - i want to be responsive as much as I
can. Does anyone know if someone sent me an email on my website if I
could retrieve it on a blackberry?
Well I finally got to the end, hope I didn`t put anyone to sleep
thank you all so much!
jo in toms river
Its very exciting to be your own boss and start your business.
I would suggest the following: Do your homework and research the market or product you are interested in, get to know your competition. I found having a Web Developer to help is important, especially if you are not an expert in HTML and JAVA code writing. They will know how to do the design, but you need to be the guide on what you want, like most things, you get about 70-80% of what you would like to start, unless you have an unlimited budget. Web Development can be very expensive, I found that I start with something I can work with, within my budget. It also seemed to take a while to get things going and this is a factor of how busy your designer team is, so its important to get a rough timeline, although they seem to be missed on a regular basis ( murphys law), so plan for some buffer time for your expected launch ( I found at least an extra month was a good buffer). You also need a good marketing plan ( Google and Yahoo can be fairly expensive, but necessary in startup mode), so you will want to plan for at least 25-30% marketing expense early on, maybe more. You can estimate how much you will make in your business as it launches, but plan to be flexible, I found I need to expect slightly less than I am wishing for and budget accordingly, also you might want to understand your expected "break even" point... it takes time to become profitable in a startup, usually at least 6 months, maybe a year depending on your business. It can be eye opening, and everything is expensive... boxes, shipping, inventory, office space... all are important considerations. Best of luck, I am sure you will get much more in the way of feedback... Have fun, being your own boss is a great thing, planning is a big factor in making things a success and driving customers to your site.
I`ve used many web hosting sites and many DNS hosting servers. In my humble opinion they all offer very much the same services. I`ve been happy with only two of them, network solutions and Godaddy. I`ve hired several website consultants and have been generally happy, but the website I use currently is one that i built using a program called WEbeasy. It cost $50, i bought it at compusa. the site is www.id-hp.com</A> if you want to take a look at it. It`s not perfect, but it only took me two days to build. I`m continually improving it, and may hire someone new to provide more functionality and graphics.
Right now, Godaddy is hosting my site and i pay $5 per month. They`re very responsive and any questions I`ve had they`ve answered in under 10 minutes.
If you`re starting out, go with the cheapest provider you can (unless money is not an option). Most hosting companies are interchangeable and you can swap your sites from one host to another with very little work, usually just a phone call. If you do it over the weekend you will have very little, if any at all, downtime.
Later, as your bandwidth and traffic increases think about switching to a more permanent provider.
There are many online merchant solutions and none of them are completely safe. There`s always an element of risk when you do these kinds of transactions. I`ve come to like paypal, but there are many more out there.
Hope that helps, feel free to e-mail me with more questions.
Good luck.
Craig
IDHP
I, too, am looking to have a website created. I kind of am in need of a full graphics package, though - website, logo, and brochures. I`d love it if someone/ various individuals could email me with help! To facilitate this process, I will answer all the questions that dear watergirl answered below:
Web Hosting Provider?No, I have some recommendations, but I`d like a little more professional input on this. The recommendations I`ve received so far are: www.powweb.com</A>
Domain Name?Yes - I have registered www.winsomeevents.com</A> through ipowerweb for $2.95 with privacy protection! Woo hoo, eh?
Method of Payment I would accept?For the moment, checks and possibly credit cards...maybe through paypal? I don`t really need e-commerce for a wedding and event consulting business...unless I decide to offer invitations or favors to the general public over the web, but I`m not sure I am interested in that headache.
My LocationI`m in the San Francisco Bay Area for now...I may be moving in late 2007 to Colorado.
What type of business do I have now?I currently am employed, but hope to move full-time to wedding and event consulting by July 2006. I will offer full-service, partial, and cutomized wedding planning and coordination packages and hourly consultations for weddings and events (such as birthday parties, dinner parties, family reunions, etc.).
What type of financial resources do I have to start my business?I have been saving like mad and probably have around $5K (total) for everything I need to get up and running. I have a nice little nest egg for us to live on as well (also due to the saving like mad thing) and can possibly tap into additional student loans for living expenses (my husband is in doctoral school), but I`d like to continue down the road of minimizing student loan debt.
Are you considering designing this site yourself?No. I want something that is done right and looks professional. I have enough HTML knowledge to be dangerous, but I don`t believe that I can design the site that I`m dreaming of. I do think I should be able to handle most site maintenance once it is up and running.
How long have I considered this venture?I have dreamt about it for a couple of years, but I didn`t seriously decide it was for me until Oct. 2006. I have been taking courses to ensure that I can provide my clients with superior service. I am a domestic diva of sorts as well as a CPA/MBA so I have all the skills and know-how to make things fly.
Do I have a mentor? I recently became a member of the Association of Bridal Consultants and they have an apprenticeship program which I am planning to look into. I also have contacts currently in the wedding planning business. And, then, there`s always Martha Stewart - whether you love her or hate her, you have to admit she knows how to plan an event and make a business work!
Do I have a team?My husband and a friend are excited for my venture and are already doing what they can to help me succeed. I plan to meet with various vendors and create a "team" of preferred vendors who will refer clients to me....
As for my vision of what my website will do for me, I am looking for something charming, romantic, sophisticated and fun to attract potential clients and then get them to contact me so that I can convert them into paying clients. In general, my site will be more along the informative side of things, giving detail regarding my service offerings, the vendors I work with, who I am, etc. I`d also like to have an outlet to have a little newsletter or something. I`ve set up a blogger blog where I`m sort of feeling this idea out...
If you have any more questions for me, please feel free to email me. I look forward to hearing from you.
And, watergirl, thanks so much for letting me intrude on your post!
in the middle of the big big ocean. I finally signed up yesterday with
startlogic.com (host provider).
It was recommended by bobbyhume here on startup - and now they are
calling me on the phone and want to design my site. Right now I am up
to their $799 package and they
arent explaining too well what I get for it. So confused here -
just faxed me his contract (which I am not signing at this moment). All
I want is a basic site, so I will post all feedback on this forum for
you and all others who are interested and maybe we can get other
feedback (oh yes please).....
jo in nj
I just signed up yesterday for webhosting on startlogic.com. I took their
lowest plan for $4.99 a month. They have been calling me today to design
a site for me. Sounded great but so far it will cost me $799 for what I thought
I would like. I dont want to go that high yet ..maybe later but not yet. I am
going to look at the software you mentioned. If you works for you why it will
probably work for me too - just the basics is fine.
Thanks
jo
And, I appreciated knowing there was somebody in a similar position as me, too. I guess that`s the benefit of this new community!
I`d love to have a copy of your form.