Websites: Getting Started

keycon

There appears to be a number of people here working on websites - maybe first time out, maybe redoing a site. IMHO, if you aren`t good at it, find someone who is. Most good/great website designers can do these things quickly and for a reasonable price.
If you think you can do it or just want some ideas to help you and your "help" get started, Google website templates - you will find many sites that offer website templates - usually for a reasonable fee. Even Flash sites. One I like is http://www.templatemonster.com/</A>.
Some foks on here have asked about my website for Key Concept Services. We do have one but are in the process of developing a new site for Key Concept Writers - a more focused marketing move to a more targeted market. We should have it up and running within 30 days or so. And by the way, we found a great template to use at the above mentioned site.
R@

RichardBuggy

For free templates you can try Open Source Web Design (http://www.oswd.org/</A>). While most of the templates aren`t my cup of tea there are some real gems there.

starpointe

A word on templates, they`re great...in their place. I have seen way too many business owners try to build something themselves only to end up with an ugly mess.  If you are going to go the template route, it is important that you know enough to put something together that will appeal to your target audience.Unfortunately, designing/building the website is only part of the equation. You also need to have a solid plan for how the website will be used. An experienced website developer can help you to develop a site that is not only informational but actually helps your business to grow.  A professional developer has specialized experience in the online world and can suggest strategies that you would not have come up with on your own (such as search engine optimization or visitor conversion strategies).In summary, if you`re comfortable with the technology and have done something successfully before, give it a shot.  Otherwise, a professional can not only get the job done for you but help launch you into higher success than you had anticipated.
starpointe2006-4-17 17:48:48

BardStuff

Remember too that your website will grow with your company, and hopefully through a number of substantially different phases.  All this talk of design and templates and finding somebody to do the HTML is good for getting a brochure-like presence built, probably with some basic interactivity like mailing lists, contact-us forms, maybe a blog.   However, if you want to put a product catalog online, maybe start taking orders, processing credit cards ...well, that`s a very different beast and involves more work on the backend.  Don`t be surprised to find that the people that took you the first step of the way can`t take you the next step, and you have to find somebody else.  Sometimes that will mean changing hosting companies as well, if the services you need are not supported.If you`re really lucky and your web site becomes a crucial source of revenue for your business you`ll have to deal with issues like scalability, keeping the site running 24x7, and probably having dedicated staff.  But hey, there are worse problems in the world once you get this far .Duane, building that backend stuff for a living since `96

Rich

any of you have an opinion about the value of the BBBonline seal as an asset on a website? at their site they indicate that concern about credibility/reliability/distrust is a major inhibitor of purchases online.

Melissa

It depends on how much I`m spending, what I`m spending it on and whether I`ve heard of the company I`m dealing with in regards to the BBB seal making a difference. 
With respect to the company that I received my certifications in wedding and event planning, for example, I had never heard of them so it was nice to see that they were a BBB company.  What I especially liked in this instance is that the BBB`s site shows how many complaints and what have you they`ve had and what happened with them.  With this particular company, I noticed that they had had some complaints, but that they had at least made an attempt to rectify the situation.  That and the fact that it tells how long they have been in business gave me some comfort that I would not just be throwing my money toward some con-artist and that they actually try to make good with their customers.

BardStuff

Personally I think that it`s easy to go overboard with certifications and seals on your web site (not to mention awards).  If done in a simple enough way so that users can see the seal as a thing of trust, without it looking like a collection of "I signed up for every service I could find" buttons, then it has value.  Small business sites in particular will always run the risk of trust issues, since they will be the ones that have the widest variety of implementations.  Some will use paypal, some with say "Give me your number and I`ll personally call you back", some will outsource their credit card processing to another site.   For the user to have something to fall back on that increases their trust, some certification that they know has value, I think would certainly help.d