Website top tip

[AnthonyG]

Guys - I stiumbled across this.

www.moonfruit.com

Inexpensive (free if you want) and excellent at knocking up a good site. Also do a google search for 'Free logo design' hey presto, you marketting is complete!

[DJWilson]

moonfruit doesn't give you 'full control' over the site tho.

[JDB Entertainment]

I await the Website Guru's amongst us to make this thread a Website "so not a" top tip.

[discomobiledj]

Great if you want to load your site with animated gifs!

Spend £30 a year on hosting and do what you want with it.

[Vectis]

I am getting so fed up replying to "do-your-website-on-a-shoestring" threads on here that I'm not going to do any more.

It's almost 2010 folks - your website is your shop window. Take a look down any high street in the run-up to Christmas and find me a store who spends £30 on the window display

You'll happily spend thousands on gear, thousands on music (well most of us, anyway), thousands of hours working hard building up your reputation, networking and talking to clients, but you want to approach your most important marketing tool with a view to doing it for next to nothing?

It's time that a large proportion of folks on here start thinking about running a business properly. It's no wonder that as an industry we continue to propagate our stereotypical image

I'm always happy to advise anyone who's serious about marketing their business effectively - but that usually means putting your hand in your pocket I'm afraid.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

I am getting so fed up replying to "do-your-website-on-a-shoestring" threads on here that I'm not going to do any more.

It's almost 2010 folks - your website is your shop window. Take a look down any high street in the run-up to Christmas and find me a store who spends £30 on the window display

You'll happily spend thousands on gear, thousands on music (well most of us, anyway), thousands of hours working hard building up your reputation, networking and talking to clients, but you want to approach your most important marketing tool with a view to doing it for next to nothing?

It's time that a large proportion of folks on here start thinking about running a business properly. It's no wonder that as an industry we continue to propagate our stereotypical image

I'm always happy to advise anyone who's serious about marketing their business effectively - but that usually means putting your hand in your pocket I'm afraid.

Whilst I agree with your sentiment, it is not always the case.

My site is a template and no-one has ever guessed that, apart from the people who have the same one! I have decent content and pictures and it is well optimized, so works pretty well for me.

However, I know I need to have it designed 'properly' to uphold the pro image and I totally understand where you are coming from.

I spent a lot of time reading about SEO and it worked for me and really started to drive my business.

[jc light and sound]

I am getting so fed up replying to "do-your-website-on-a-shoestring" threads on here that I'm not going to do any more.

It's almost 2010 folks - your website is your shop window. Take a look down any high street in the run-up to Christmas and find me a store who spends £30 on the window display

You'll happily spend thousands on gear, thousands on music (well most of us, anyway), thousands of hours working hard building up your reputation, networking and talking to clients, but you want to approach your most important marketing tool with a view to doing it for next to nothing?

It's time that a large proportion of folks on here start thinking about running a business properly. It's no wonder that as an industry we continue to propagate our stereotypical image

I'm always happy to advise anyone who's serious about marketing their business effectively - but that usually means putting your hand in your pocket I'm afraid.

Well said that man.

[Vectis]

Whilst I agree with your sentiment, it is not always the case.

My site is a template and no-one has ever guessed that, apart from the people who have the same one! I have decent content and pictures and it is well optimized, so works pretty well for me.

However, I know I need to have it designed 'properly' to uphold the pro image and I totally understand where you are coming from.

I spent a lot of time reading about SEO and it worked for me and really started to drive my business.

Nothing wrong with templates per se. Quite a few of my sites, especially at the cheaper end of the scale, are template based. As you quite rightly point out, it's what you do with them that counts

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

NQuite a few of my sites, especially at the cheaper end of the scale, are template based.

Why should it matter that they are at the cheaper end of the scale to use templates?

I am certainly not 'at the cheaper end of the scale' and I use a template!

[Vectis]

Why should it matter that they are at the cheaper end of the scale to use templates?

I am certainly not 'at the cheaper end of the scale' and I use a template!

It doesn't. It's just that starting with a template cuts the development time and therefore cost. If the saving is re-invested in SEO or further development which might not otherwise happen then that's cool by me.