Websites - Pro or D.I.Y.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

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?

[Benny Smyth]

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.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

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.

[yourdj]

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.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

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.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

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.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

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.

[Nakatomi]

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.

[Daryll]

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/gallery-images/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

[Excalibur]

.

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. :(

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Thanks mate.

As I said, I have used WP a couple of times before for blogs so I know it a little bit with reference to layouts etc.

Another question with reference to preparation...

I am still in my contract with Easyspace until the end of August which works out perfectly. I have sussed out the domain transfer stuff (easy enough).
Am I able to create a free website and do all the tags etc and then when I need to, pay for the upgrade and go 'proper'? I like to get prepared in advance so it's just a case of upgrading and paying the fee in one go.

Also, what would be the best package? What do some of you WP users pay?
I noticed there is a £7.00 per month and a £20.00 per month. I don't generally have lots of video on my website so the £7.00 per month appeals more but any advice would be great.

[Daryll]

I am with Mad Hosting.
direct from my account, that include a MYSQL database.
Thier site is being updated , so for the time being N/A

Starter Plus yearly (Linux server) daryll.dj 1 year £20.41

Daryll

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I'm lost!???
By the way mate, email coming your way soon.
Cheers

[ukpartydj]

I gave WordPress a try for my new Dorset DJ website but I found it too simple personally coming from Dreamweaver myself.

I wasted about 3 days trying to adjust a theme to be as I wanted it before I decided to go back to Dreamweaver.
It's quite a lot more restrictive than I thought it'd be, easy enough to install on your web host. Have a little play with it and see how you feel though!

Maybe I'm being a little pedantic but how would one go about adjusting the breakpoints for navigation bar (for example) in a responsive theme on WordPress so that the navigation always fills the page until it can no longer without ever taking up 2 lines?

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Thanks again.
And once again I am confused. I am not stupid but just getting confused. It could be that I have a lot going on at the moment with reference to this move so apologies in advance if the following is totally wrong with reference to your post.

I already have Dreamweaver. I've used it since 2005. I have never ever got my head round it properly though and just know the basics.
I have ideas of what I want to do but can't seem to do it which is why I like stuff like WIX and WordPress because (no offence to anyone) it is almost as if they were created for dummies like me because it's akin to drag and drop.

The short explanation is that I currently have webspace and my domain name (www.shakermakeruk.com) with Easyspace.
I want to move the domain name to either WIX or WordPress and then create a fancy website just how I want it.
I don't need loads of space to host videos as I don't tend to take videos at my gigs (although I do have some).

Looking at both the offers WIX and WordPress have for around the same price (£90 ish a year + VAT), it is WIX that has the better offer in my opinion when you want to upgrade. However, most of you have said that WordPress is favourable.

The other thing I want to do (apologies for repeating myself) is prepare either one of them in advance and then upgrade when the time comes. The reality is...we have so much to pay out at the moment on this move that we are trying to save as much wonga as possible.

If someone has a spare few minutes would it be possible to look at the two upgrade offers (WIX and WordPress) and advise as to what they would do.
Would really appreciate it and I appreciate the help / advice so far too.
Cheers

[ukpartydj]

Looking at both the offers WIX and WordPress have for around the same price (£90 ish a year + VAT), it is WIX that has the better offer in my opinion when you want to upgrade. However, most of you have said that WordPress is favourable.

Wordpress is free, it's the hosting that will cost you. I use JustHost, they charge me £4.39 per month for "unlimited" everything and I pay around £10 per year per doman. They have an offer of £2.70 per month for new customers.

It's easy to install from justhost / a lot of hosts

[surround sounds]

I Have 5 websites.
One is was designed by webnation and it does ok
The other 4 are wordpress sites. Surroundsoundsdisco is the best in the search engines but its been up and running the longest and as over a 1000 pages.
I have a few with http://www.hortonwebdesign.co.uk/#!contact-me but these are still new, So they are slowly making there way into google.
I do a lot of work myself with adding stuff to website as i have learnt it my self and also do my own SEO Work. I also thought wix site did not index or do well in google

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Ok, thanks again but what I am not getting to grips with is this hosting stuff.

This is properly doing my head in even though I know it is simple.....

So, when I took out my account with Easyspace they provided me with FTP details etc. I used those within Dreamweaver and there you go, sorted!
I know WordPress is free (so is WIX) but my understanding is that you get a lot more when you upgrade?

Who is my host if I don't use bloody Dreamweaver anymore?

Someone tell me in the simplest terms please before I lose it completely. Yes, I AM interested in what you use and what you pay but I want to know how I go about getting set up the same as you so I can get started.
Some use WordPress....right fine, that's the way I'll go by the looks of it as I have used it before. I'll transfer my domain to them, great.
So, what's all the host stuff about?

I know I said I wasn't stupid earlier but I feel it at the moment.... it's been a very stressful day with this moving stuff....that's an understatement. I won't be doing it again...EVER!

[Benny Smyth]

Ok, thanks again but what I am not getting to grips with is this hosting stuff.

This is properly doing my head in even though I know it is simple.....

So, when I took out my account with Easyspace they provided me with FTP details etc. I used those within Dreamweaver and there you go, sorted!
I know WordPress is free (so is WIX) but my understanding is that you get a lot more when you upgrade?

Who is my host if I don't use bloody Dreamweaver anymore?

Someone tell me in the simplest terms please before I lose it completely. Yes, I AM interested in what you use and what you pay but I want to know how I go about getting set up the same as you so I can get started.
Some use WordPress....right fine, that's the way I'll go by the looks of it as I have used it before. I'll transfer my domain to them, great.
So, what's all the host stuff about?

I know I said I wasn't stupid earlier but I feel it at the moment.... it's been a very stressful day with this moving stuff....that's an understatement. I won't be doing it again...EVER!

The best way I can describe it is:

Hosting is the house you live in. It's where you park your website so it can appear online. In your case, I'm guessing Easyspace provided your hosting.

Dreamweaver/Wordpress/Wix etc. is Steve, your painter and decorator. He builds your site and makes it pretty for you.

Domain name is your house address. It's what Royal Mail/the internet know you as.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Ha! Ha!
Ok, Ok, Ok.... I really am THAT bad am I?

I kind of just realised that Easyspace is my host and I have checked my invoice for last year for the hosting and that was £48.00 so not bad.
The domain is with them and that was £15.00.

I think I am getting it now....albeit very, very slowly.

[yourdj]

And you'd been doing so well lately, Toby. :(

Why is that? I was referring to the cheap crappy ones where they advertise on the back.
I am sure their main paid for products are fine and good value for money?
I use Solopress mainly for stationery so don't know. :)

Maybe its just me, but I find that not very professional for a modern business?
Stationery cost next to nothing these days and a matt laminated, spot UV card with embossed lettering just simply turns me on! :p:p

17858

No offence to Garys choice of platform but I also click off from "free websites from Wix" also or any site where its blatantly a free hosting etc.

Your hosting platform should have a facility to load wordpress or you can just chuck it on.
Have a look at Youtube, or get someone savvy to help as you don't want to delete the root folder to your site do you?
I pay a tech guy to do all the coding and moving things as its so easy to make a mistake.
You then get an admin page and select a theme.

It will take a few days to get used to it, but when you have its so easy and VERY powerful.
The best part is its free and you won't have to mess about with dreamweaver.

Man I wasted so much time when I used that program with HTML, wish I switched sooner! :(

[Excalibur]

Why is that? I was referring to the cheap crappy ones where they advertise on the back.
I am sure their main paid for products are fine and good value for money?


But you didn't make it clear, Toby. Mine aren't crappy, they only carry advertising on the back for me, and sadly, they aren't cheap. ( enough :) ) :cry:

[CRAZY K]

Well Gary, never mind hosting issues the very FIRST IMPORTANT issue is --will your site be MOBILE FRIENDLY?

This is the way everything is going which doesnt suit me as I have lots of Frontpage sites and converting to mobile friendly is probably a PRICEY job for a pro.

If you are in for the long term you MUST go mobile friendly, as im in for short term im not bothered but I know it wont be in my favour for SEO purposes.

Wordpress certainly is ALTHOUGH I was nervous about a platform that can apparently be changed from time to time, Marc J has set me up a facility which i believe gets round this issue but after making a start on it I screwed up so im trying to make time to start again. New Puppy, Holidays, helping with the Rodeo Business.

Dreamweaver and Frontpage style which I find easy to use it certainly aint as Im finding out. :daft::daft::daft::daft:

If your strength is selling your product, marketing and dj ing then it might be more cost effective to get a pro like Marc to sort something out.

My son is building a Wordpress type site through Marc but the time taken by my son is colossal and you might feel its better to pay someone else, I would say as a Wedding DJ you need a sharp well presented site to distance you from the competition and this might be the answer with a tax deductible expense!!!

Others on here seem to have mastered Wordpress Mobile Friendly styles so you might think it worth having a go yourself.

HTH

[Shaun]

Have a word with Marc J. Surely it's worthwhile finding out if he is available right now, and if he is finding out the costs to have him put together your site and host it for you.

When it comes to all things web related and technical you'll be hard pressed to find anyone as knowledgeable and reliable than Marc.

[Imagine]

OK - I'll chuck my hat into the ring now :)

By day, I'm a web developer using the Microsoft .NET platforms (I develop very complicated business applications)
However, my DJ websites are all done using either Wordpress or Joomla (I actually prefer the latter).

Forget Dreamweaver....I haven't used that for around 10-15 years. If you're developing a site for any of the main CMS platforms (such as Wordpress) have a look at some software called Artisteer. It's not cheap but by heck it's powerful with what it can do. You can actually configure everything in its templates and just upload your "theme" (including content) to your server. It's never let me down yet and it's so customisable with layouts etc.....I wouldn't use anything else personally.

[DeckstarDeluxe]

Crazy K raises a good point about mobile friendly. Make sure if you go to wordpress purchase a "responsive" theme.

Don't worry about not getting your head around things straight away Gary. Marc J has been fantastic for me on my sites so if he's free then get him on board (makes life a lot easier).

[CRAZY K]

Crazy K raises a good point about mobile friendly. Make sure if you go to wordpress purchase a "responsive" theme.

Don't worry about not getting your head around things straight away Gary. Marc J has been fantastic for me on my sites so if he's free then get him on board (makes life a lot easier).

Marc might be available--but certainly not "free":D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D:D :D

[yourdj]

Mine aren't crappy, they only carry advertising on the back for me, and sadly, they aren't cheap. ( enough :) ) :cry:

So you have Vista advertising on the back?
Out of interest, how much are they, are they matt laminated and what thickness and quantity?
i would want them to pay me for the cards if they wanted to advertise on the back!! ;)

This is the company i use http://www.solopress.com/products/business-cards/400gsm-silk-matt-laminated/
£20 for 500 x matt lam, 400 gsm is an awesome price really, turnaround is also 24 hours. No VAT. :)
I remember when a product like that would be over £50, prior to digital / slick litho machines.

I love the detail you can get with spot UV: http://www.solopress.com/products/business-cards/400gsm-spot-uv-matt-laminated

[ukpartydj]

£20 for 500 x matt lam, 400 gsm is an awesome price really

I get 5000 for £35. 300gsm, double sided full colour from a company called I love flyers, good quality but not spot UV, it's nice though had some before. The problem is shifting the buggers, I've got about 12'000 business cards for different things in my possession currently haha!

Back to Gary's woes:

Firstly sorry I assumed if you had dreamweaver you would already know more advanced stuff as it's quite a vast program.

Are you able to login to tour easy space and install WordPress that way? Normally hosts gave a control panel with loads of options including installing WordPress.
You can install WordPress alongside your current site in a subdirectory (yoursite.com/wordpress or something) and have a play around with it, that way it will not interfere with your current site.

You could then use a permanent redirect which you should be able to do from your control panel to tell the host server to send all traffic to that page from your domain name.

That's what I'd advise from what you've said anyway :)

Oh and responsive themes are a must! Far too much mobile traffic to ignore! There is plenty of Youtube videos about setting wordpress up etc also :)

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Thanks again guys.
I think I will put it on hold for the moment but a lot of people have recommended Marc so if he's out there, I'll be in touch at some point (hopefully).

[Marc J]

I think I will put it on hold for the moment but a lot of people have recommended Marc so if he's out there, I'll be in touch at some point (hopefully).

First - thanks for all the recommendations in this thread :beer1: :beer1:

I'm currently not free for design work, however I'm always available for a quick chat if you're looking for advice.

Wordpress is a hosted CMS and so your site is split between the uploaded files (which are basically the WP core files, and any themes / plugins you add to it) and the content, which is held in the database. It's not straightforward to make a WP site locally and then publish it like you're used to with Dreamweaver (although there are things like XAMPP - www.apachefriends.org - which will let you install a PHP / MySQL server on your Windows PC, but that's not for the light hearted).

I've found a hosted WIP location which is then switched to a the live "www" location is the preferred method if you're new to Wordpress, and if you want to give it a go I could set you up on a subdomain of your main domain (e.g. http://wp-wip.yourdomain.com) and you could safely find your way around that way. If you then wanted to make what you end up with live, it's an easy process to move it to the "www" version...

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Many thanks for the advice Marc, much appreciated.

[yourdj]

I get 5000 for £35. 300gsm, double sided full colour from a company called I love flyers


Basically business card sized flyers then (I used to own a print business). Thats more than professional enough and very cost effective.

I am a 400 gsm or above man when it comes to business cards. Would always go matt lam even with the Photo Booth cards.
I know I could get them cheaper probably but I like Solopress, great business.

Any more than 500 for business cards and they end up sitting in the garage for years and normally outlive a rebrand. I hate the waste of throwing them out. I still have a box of brochures (50p each) that I don't intend to use and also some table cards for well wishes as i ordered too many. Got through 2 new brochure design and print runs since then.

My 8 page leaflets and my 40 page book (for example) are from some random print companies.
i love it when people say "Oh thats a lovely Brochure" Gloss UV on the front helps. :p

Anyhow this has nothing to do with websites, my original point is that your business promotion should reflect the passion and quality of the service that you provide and money should be parted with to achieve that goal. If you can do things cheap or for free with out sacrificing quality then great. :)

[Shakermaker Promotions]

This was supposed to be about websites not stationary but I'll let you off this time seeing as I have put it on hold for the moment :rolleyes:

[Excalibur]

So you have Vista advertising on the back?


Toby you :muppet:




But you didn't make it clear, Toby. Mine aren't crappy, they only carry advertising on the back for me,

Me Toby.That's Peter, aka Excalibur. Not Vistaprint. Clear enough?

As to card thickness and cost, I can't remember, but I had tears in my eyes when I pressed the " confirm and pay" icon. :(:(