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Thread: Websites - Pro or D.I.Y.

  1. #1
    Shakermaker Promotions's Avatar
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    Default Websites - Pro or D.I.Y.

    Hi all,

    I have a few questions regarding websites.
    As I will be relocating to a new area around late August / early September I thought it might be a good idea to finally get a professional website done.
    I've always done my own with Dreamweaver and despite not really knowing the in's and out's of it, it has done me really well.

    A couple of questions then...
    Firstly, for the past 2 years I have had a free WIX account. I use it for a darts website for the league in Basingstoke as I am the secretary...
    Anyway, as we know, technology has moved on quickly over the past few years and I find WIX very, very simple to use.

    I was looking at the upgrades to a Pro account this morning so I could start the ball rolling as such and it says something like £7.76 per month which works out at £93.12 per year. Obviously that is an ongoing bill.

    I am a bit lost with all of this stuff (hence the questions) so I don't know how designers work these days but I'll ask the questions as a numpty anyway...

    What is the best bet?
    Is it a DIY thing like WIX / GoDaddy or is it getting it designed properly by someone (recommendations please).
    Do you pay a one off fee to a designer, get log in details so you can update the website yourself?

    What happens with my domain name? Does it get transferred to the web designer and they host it?
    Do you pay a fee everytime you need to update the website?

    Told you I didn't have a clue really. I know exactly what I want to do and how I want it all to look which is why WIX is very simple for me.
    It probably answers all of my questions too but I haven't had a look as yet.

    Anyone understand any of that?

  2. #2
    Resident Antagonist Benny Smyth's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shakermaker Promotions View Post
    Is it a DIY thing like WIX / GoDaddy or is it getting it designed properly by someone (recommendations please).
    Do you pay a one off fee to a designer, get log in details so you can update the website yourself?

    What happens with my domain name? Does it get transferred to the web designer and they host it?
    Do you pay a fee everytime you need to update the website?
    Unfortunately, to my understanding, the answer to every one of those questions is 'depends'.

    Some developers build and host the site for you and give you access for you to update yourself. There you'll only pay for the actual hosting of the site and maybe the domain name if they offer that service. If they're unable to take your domain name on, it's not an issue as it's very simple to re-direct to your new website.

    Other developers will build the site and update it for you, but usually they will charge for that privilege.

    My site is a Webnation site. I pay £20 a month for the initial build and the hosting of the site, and I update it myself as and when. My domain name is with another company as Webnation don't offer that service.

    I may be looking to move on from it at some point in the next 12 months. It's been OK for me, but most of my leads come from venue recommendation. It pays for itself and then some, but I would like more from it. But, like I say, it has been good enough for a couple of years now.

  3. #3
    Shakermaker Promotions's Avatar
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    Thanks for that Benny.

    I guess what I really want is the ability to update whenever I like as I am always changing stuff here and there.
    With a Pro WIX account it will do everything regarding domain movement and the way it can be designed very easily is appealing but I am not so sure on the £90.00 bill a year.

    I am currently with Easyspace, always have been and looking at prices elsewhere I can see that what I actually pay is probably expensive but I just haven't got round to changing it.
    This is probably why I am looking at a new website because of the new change in location too.

    One of the questions I forgot to ask was this....

    As I have said on another thread, I don't expect things to work at my new location just like that. Obviously I will be doing my best to get myself out there as soon as possible but I will be going back and forth to Basingstoke. How do you go about tagging locations without confusing people that you are in 2 places? I ask this with reference to SEO stuff. I know that I don't have to have my address on the website etc but tags etc.

    With it only being a 3 hour drive from where I will be living, I'd like to still be able to take bookings down here too.

    Apologies for the numptiness of these questions but I'd like to start getting things in place as the time will probably fly by.

  4. #4
    yourdj's Avatar
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    Try wordpress I use it for all 7 of my sites and its brilliant.

    Get a decent host i paid for it with my last one as it was just getting worse and worse.
    DJ outgoings are not much really, so it will pay dividends as its your shop floor in essence.
    If you don't know much about design or little care to do it then pay someone to design it.

    Nothing worse that amateur bodged up websites and visita print business cards etc. etc.
    I would think twice about booking a professional with free site and stationery.
    Your DJ - Mobile DJ The New Forest, Southampton & Hampshire. Toby
    https://yourdj.co.uk/

  5. #5
    Shakermaker Promotions's Avatar
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    Thanks Toby.

    With reference to design - I have no problem doing that and I have learnt a bit about the SEO stuff over time. This place and its members have helped but as I said, so has the likes of WIX because it really is that easy.
    My current site does the job despite it looking (in my opinion and no doubt others..), amateurish.

    I know about it being my shop window / shop floor and it is important, hence why I am asking.

  6. #6
    Disco Dude! DeckstarDeluxe's Avatar
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    Another one for wordpress.

    Had a webnation site and it didn't do very well for us. Martin built me one a few years ago which still does well but had others made by other designers which haven't so there isn't a simple answer to this one.

    I guess it comes down to how much time you have. Wordpress takes a number of hours to get the hang on and you'll be forever tweaking things (hence why I always do the wordpress stuff in Jan - March time).

    Also I believe that Wix sites don't index well with google following one of their recent updates.
    Last edited by DeckstarDeluxe; 09-05-2016 at 11:44 AM.
    The Cheltenham Wedding DJ
    www.cheltenhamweddingdj.co.uk

    DDWES Event Hire

    www.ddwes.co.uk

  7. #7
    Shakermaker Promotions's Avatar
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    Thanks again.

    How easy is it to get my domain from Easyspace to Wordpress?

    I've used WP for blogs in the past but never a website.

  8. #8

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    Getting a site designed for you is one thing, but do 'designers' also make content (i.e. text) for you or do you also need a marketing/SEO expert too?

    My own home-made website (Wordpress again using a 'free' theme which I've bent to do my bidding) is getting results (okay a little mis-targeted but still)..

    The design of a site is easy peasy compared to the actual work of making content for it. A friend of my wife paid a 'developer/designer' £500 to implement a web shop for her & all he did was install some software & an off the shelf theme, and edited one file so every page had his company's name taking credit for it. She had to upload all the product details, type the descriptions etc. She was robbed, guv!

    Some of the cheapish site creators I've seen local to me - or at least examples of their 'work' - amount to little more than a simple business card page. All this, for a mere £200-£300!. Wanna change it? Pay up!

    A localish colleague has a Wix site & has absolutely no trouble in the index stakes whatsoever. The HTML (page code) the Wix engine spits out is ugly as sin itself but somehow Google just hoovers it all up.

    One thing I'll say about Wordpress though. Be careful. Some themes are simply not very SEO friendly. Metadata is everything in this online life & if it's not up to snuff you'll disappear.

  9. #9
    Daryll's Avatar
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    Another plus for wordpress, most hosting packages have wordpress as a one click install ( as long as you have a package with a MYSQL database , most these days have).
    loads of good free wordpress themes out there , and a host of add ons , very easy to learn , auto updates and loads of forums with good info on the net.
    Lets say you want a gallery , just download ,say Huge IT gallery (https://en-gb.wordpress.org/plugins/...s/other_notes/) , go to your word press dash board , click "add plugin" , upload from your computer ,( you get a diolouge box) click install , thats it , apart from the odd tweak here and there.

    Cheers

    Daryll
    darylldj.co.uk , serving hampshire , Surrey and sussex

  10. #10
    Dinosaur Excalibur's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by yourdj View Post
    .

    Nothing worse than amateur bodged up websites and vista print business cards etc. etc.
    I would think twice about booking a professional with free site and stationery.

    And you'd been doing so well lately, Toby.
    Excalibur. Older than the average DJ.

    www.excaliburmobiledisco.co.uk

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