cost of new website [Archive] - Mobile Disco Directory Forum

rth_discos

21-03-2018, 07:29 PM

Please don't take this the wrong way, but effectively, you've said, my car has failed its MOT, so I've been told I need to buy a new one.

I've been told it'll be £5,000 - is this a good price?

Well, if it's a brand new BMW, then it's an excellent price.

If it's a rust old second hand Ford Fiesta, then it's an awful price.

Your website is your virtual sales person. How many leads has it brought it? Do you feel it's performing for you?

As highlighted by your web designer, if the design isn't responsive, then yes, you do need a new site (and it'll be quicker and cheaper to build a new site rather than convert an old website - so I'm guessing this is what has been quoted to you.)

Now is the time to evaluate your options. As you're considering getting a new website, it's an ideal time to speak to a few different designers and look at your options. Discover what they will be doing and how they can help you convert more visitors in to enquiries.

And additionally, look at what marketing you're doing for the website. What are you actually doing to get visitors on to the website?

ppentertainments

21-03-2018, 08:22 PM

It is a minefield but worth doing your research.

My website ranks high on seo - really high - gets a decent amount of enquiries etc etc but after some research I am in the final stages of agreeing to a new site.

My current site cost £0, new site £4k+vat however have learned WHY the investment will be worth it. Especially when you consider how DJ's slate people when they get 'a family friend to do it for free' or cheap - we know the difference, same as a decent web designer will.

yourdj

21-03-2018, 09:11 PM

my car has failed its MOT, so I've been told I need to buy a new one.

Even worse, the guy who sold you the car has MOT'd it then charged for new brakes, exhaust and alternator! I would assume that they had a cheaper package at the time, but I would consider other options from now as they should have let you know about that. I changed to Wordpress about 3 years back as it was the impending thing, now its having SSL, so things have moved on a bit. Moving to Wordpress was the single best thing i ever did for my business as I can easily change the whole site with one move, rather than tables and Dreamweaver. :)

In terms of design, I have a site being built for my Hampshire DJ Alliance at the moment (we have the cash and its easier getting a 3rd party to do it). Its about 3-4 pages and is costing about £1,500. This is on a Wordpress platform so I can edit it as I want but nothing special. I think the £1000 mark is a starting point for a decent site, depends how well you want it too look or how well you want it too rank.

Marc J

22-03-2018, 04:19 PM

My web designer who built my first website three years ago has informed me that I need to upgrade it to a responsive design otherwise it wont show up on mobile phone searches because of the non responsive design.
Not true. It may be demoted slightly in search results carried out on mobile devices, but it will show up.

he has quoted me £500.00 for a new website is this a good price? (about 10 pages with usual stuff including contact form, chat online and booking online.

How often do you envisage content changing? Do you need a CMS (e.g. Wordpress) or will a static(ish) site do? Do you want to use a template or bespoke design (for either CMS or static)? How long is a piece of string?

hadyn

24-03-2018, 06:07 PM

Thanks for all the answers
point taken that it was a stupid question really so lesson learned!!!
going ahead with it anyway as a change is as good as a rest.

ckpr2

04-04-2018, 11:49 PM

I do my own websites although no longer for my disco business as I am retired and paid zero for my website software as I use Microsoft Visual Studio community edition which is free. I then only pay £3-99 a month for hosting with Winserve.

You can have the most amazing web site but it is useless without SEO and digital marketing.
Ask them where your site will come in rankings.

I would be asking them about SEO and marketing too. If they cant help you are dealing with the wrong people.

Marc J

05-04-2018, 08:45 AM

You can have the most amazing web site but it is useless without SEO and digital marketing.
Ask them where your site will come in rankings.

I would be asking them about SEO and marketing too. If they cant help you are dealing with the wrong people.

That's slightly unfair. A web designer (what we're discussing here) will do just that - design the website. Any decent web designer will take the correct elements from the copy text (provided by the client) for the all important page titles, descriptions, headings etc. and structure it correctly for SEO purposes.

What they won't do is write the content for you, track (or even check) your SEO results, and manage your digital marketing strategy. You'll want a digital agency for that, who'll charge you £££ (per month) but for that they'll do very little but give you nicely formatted reports every month.

Step 1: get a moz.com paid account.
Step 2: Call yourself an SEO expert.
Step 3: Find gullible fools, and generate nice long, meaningless reports for them on a monthly basis while doing nothing of any real value :)

Maybe a bit harsh...but I've seen it myself countless times. Nobody knows your business better than you, if you can then write good copy yourself, or work with a freelance copywriter to produce good content in the first place.

When I build websites for clients I tell them from the start - they provide all content (text and photos). If they can't do that, I have professional photographers and copywriters I can put them in contact with (they deal with them directly), and maybe use stock images if they can't get anything else.

yourdj

06-04-2018, 05:04 AM

That's slightly unfair. A web designer (what we're discussing here) will do just that - design the website. Any decent web designer will take the correct elements from the copy text (provided by the client) for the all important page titles, descriptions, headings etc. and structure it correctly for SEO purposes.

What they won't do is write the content for you, track (or even check) your SEO results, and manage your digital marketing strategy. You'll want a digital agency for that, who'll charge you £££ (per month) but for that they'll do very little but give you nicely formatted reports every month.

Step 1: get a moz.com paid account.
Step 2: Call yourself an SEO expert.
Step 3: Find gullible fools, and generate nice long, meaningless reports for them on a monthly basis while doing nothing of any real value :)

Maybe a bit harsh...but I've seen it myself countless times. Nobody knows your business better than you, if you can then write good copy yourself, or work with a freelance copywriter to produce good content in the first place.

When I build websites for clients I tell them from the start - they provide all content (text and photos). If they can't do that, I have professional photographers and copywriters I can put them in contact with (they deal with them directly), and maybe use stock images if they can't get anything else.

I may have missed the obvious, but i thought you just hosted and managed sites. I would have got you to do the HDA one had I known you also designed them. I put a post (http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?44101-Website-SEO-and-technical-help-required&highlight=website+yourdj) on here asking about anyone but did not get much back so looked elsewhere. Costing me £1,200 or there abouts, but should be good, they seem OK. Would have made sense you doing it as I would guess it might have been a little bit cheaper and you know the industry. :)

This is what I mocked up after they sent me a completely different idea (i.e. something fitting a template they already had!). For the price i expect them to do a bit of programming & personalisation for me. ;)

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Marc J

06-04-2018, 10:39 AM

I may have missed the obvious, but i thought you just hosted and managed sites.

My main business is setting up, hosting & supporting e-commerce websites using custom software (not WordPress / WooCommerce / Magento / Shopify or any that you'll have heard of).

I occasionally take on web design projects, but never really anything that'll take up too much of my time. Mostly for friends or long standing clients (I've been doing this kind of stuff for more than 15 years). I can't link to samples, but I knocked up http://bennysmyth.preview-web.uk/ in a few hours as an example of how easy it is to take a £12 template and make something comparable to what Benny was working on (https://bennysmyth.co.uk/) without the bloat that inevitably comes with a CMS (see this post (http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?44055-Getting-yet-another-new-website&p=664815&viewfull=1#post664815)).

I don't create WordPress sites, as I don't like using it. I host many WordPress sites, but 99% of them have either been migrated from elsewhere when a client comes to me, or the client has really wanted to use Wordpress and do it themselves. I do add some speed tweaks if requested, and additional security features, but don't really get involved in the design or content for WP sites.

I would have got you to do the HDA one had I known you also designed them. I put a post (http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?44101-Website-SEO-and-technical-help-required&highlight=website+yourdj) on here asking about anyone but did not get much back so looked elsewhere. Costing me £1,200 or there abouts, but should be good, they seem OK. Would have made sense you doing it as I would guess it might have been a little bit cheaper and you know the industry. :)

This is what I mocked up after they sent me a completely different idea (i.e. something fitting a template they already had!). For the price i expect them to do a bit of programming & personalisation for me. ;)

That's why I don't like to do too much on the design side - you're right, of course, for £1,200 they should do more than purchase a template and stick it on a free CMS, but there are many, many "agencies" making good money doing just that. I wouldn't be comfortable doing that, and if I was actually going to put in the hours for my £1,200 I choose not to do it on web design as I don't particularly enjoy doing it.

I knew you wanted WordPress as you sing it's praises all the time (that's fine - it works for you), and I also knew you'd be difficult (;)), which is why I didn't answer your post looking for a designer ;) :p :D

...but if you're ever looking for decent hosting...;)

yourdj

06-04-2018, 11:30 AM

My main business is setting up, hosting & supporting e-commerce websites using custom software (not WordPress / WooCommerce / Magento / Shopify or any that you'll have heard of).

I occasionally take on web design projects, but never really anything that'll take up too much of my time. Mostly for friends or long standing clients (I've been doing this kind of stuff for more than 15 years). I can't link to samples, but I knocked up http://bennysmyth.preview-web.uk/ in a few hours as an example of how easy it is to take a £12 template and make something comparable to what Benny was working on (https://bennysmyth.co.uk/) without the bloat that inevitably comes with a CMS (see this post (http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?44055-Getting-yet-another-new-website&p=664815&viewfull=1#post664815)).

I don't create WordPress sites, as I don't like using it. I host many WordPress sites, but 99% of them have either been migrated from elsewhere when a client comes to me, or the client has really wanted to use Wordpress and do it themselves. I do add some speed tweaks if requested, and additional security features, but don't really get involved in the design or content for WP sites.

That's why I don't like to do too much on the design side - you're right, of course, for £1,200 they should do more than purchase a template and stick it on a free CMS, but there are many, many "agencies" making good money doing just that. I wouldn't be comfortable doing that, and if I was actually going to put in the hours for my £1,200 I choose not to do it on web design as I don't particularly enjoy doing it.

I knew you wanted WordPress as you sing it's praises all the time (that's fine - it works for you), and I also knew you'd be difficult (;)), which is why I didn't answer your post looking for a designer ;) :p :D

...but if you're ever looking for decent hosting...;)

OK cheers. I would not say 'difficult' I know exactly what I want to wont be changing my mind, but I would be time consuming as I possibly see more attention to detail than the average person, but also appreciate simplicity, so the actual design would not be too over the top in terms of content (unlike my own site that is). I would not enjoy making sites for anyone. I knocked this up in an hour the other day, I have obviously not finished, but it works for her. http://trudielebeau.com

:)

This is the company, what do you think? I opted for them as he was genuine and actually got back to me, which was not the case with the more expensive company. See if you can find the template they wantd me to follow with their other clients?? http://sitesforbusiness.co.uk

18567

Nakatomi

06-04-2018, 11:37 AM

For future reference the word to use is not 'difficult' it's 'exacting'. As in 'that line needs to be 3 pixels higher' then 'oh. Maybe it was better before' ad nauseum. Been there

Marc J

06-04-2018, 11:44 AM

OK cheers. I would not say 'difficult' I know exactly what I want to wont be changing my mind

In web designer speak, that's the definition of "difficult" ;)

I've had clients who give me a Photoshop mock-up and want their website to be a pixel perfect match to that. And then they don't understand responsive design at all, which of course their mock-up doesn't allow for at all. If I get a mock-up from a client, that's the point I usually tell them that I'm not the designer they're looking for. Mock-ups go from me to them, not the other way :p

For future reference the word to use is not 'difficult' it's 'exacting'. As in 'that line needs to be 3 pixels higher' then 'oh. Maybe it was better before' ad nauseum. Been there

Exactly!

DJWilson

06-04-2018, 11:47 AM

:)

This is the company, what do you think? I opted for them as he was genuine and actually got back to me, which was not the case with the more expensive company. See if you can find the template they wantd me to follow with their other clients?? http://sitesforbusiness.co.uk

If I'm honest everything under their 'Web design' Portfolio looks like some old free generic templates.

Marc J

06-04-2018, 11:50 AM

This is the company, what do you think? I opted for them as he was genuine and actually got back to me, which was not the case with the more expensive company. See if you can find the template they wantd me to follow with their other clients?? http://sitesforbusiness.co.uk

Haha, I don't need to even look at the source or their client list, I'll put money on the fact that it's https://themeforest.net/item/porto-responsive-wordpress-ecommerce-theme/9207399

FYI I use the HTML version of that on the site I linked to earlier (http://bennysmyth.preview-web.uk/) and a lot of other sites. It's very flexible and doesn't need to look the same every time. I might PM you some of mine!

yourdj

06-04-2018, 12:04 PM

FYI I use the HTML version of that on the site I linked to earlier (http://bennysmyth.preview-web.uk/) and a lot of other sites. It's very flexible and doesn't need to look the same every time. I might PM you some of mine!

I think you might be right there. The beauty of it being Wordpress is I can adjust things and add the rest of the content, I wanted a third party to do all of this as its not my money and its hard to justify if something took me x hours or so. They may not use the state of the art design but come highly regarded and I think will do a nice job for what i want. The main thing is they have just expanded to a bigger office so should be firing on all cylinders now, so wont be going under anytime soon or being crap with correspondence. I wanted someone local and I think I made a good decision. :)

Marc J

06-04-2018, 12:24 PM

I think you might be right there.

I am :) Just checked their portfolio, mostly the same template. I wonder how many times they've purchased it?

They may not use the state of the art design

I don't know, that template is kept fairly up-to-date, uses Bootstrap 4 (the most recent) and uses a lot of nice effects. It's good but not OTT. State-of-the-art usually means only works on Chrome Canary (https://www.google.co.uk/chrome/browser/canary.html), and will need some work in future or it'll just end up looking like some web designer's play-thing.

come highly regarded and I think will do a nice job for what i want. The main thing is they have just expanded to a bigger office so should be firing on all cylinders now, so wont be going under anytime soon or being crap with correspondence. I wanted someone local and I think I made a good decision. :)

Looks good, hope they live up to your expectations :)

DeckstarDeluxe

16-04-2018, 12:54 PM

Respectfully, your website should have been responsive three years ago when it was built. In 2018, the fact that you're only getting wind about this now would make me want to look elsewhere.

Website prices range from a £20-odd quid a month template from Webnation to potentially thousands, and everything in between. After all, how much is a disco?

After using webnation I'd look elsewhere to be honest...

ppentertainments

16-04-2018, 06:12 PM

Just to throw my 2 penneth worth in - it is a little more than 'just a website' and has involved months of planning, marketing and meetings with a web company but I have invested just over £4k on a site that will (hopefully) be ready to go live in the summer.

I nearly :Censored::Censored::Censored::Censored: myself when was first told the amount, but the work in what they are doing, and advice given, seems to make it sound a reasonable risk and hopefully a great investment.

Similarly, I had a quote of £75 offering to 'do the same' :daft::daft::daft:

Ojusvee06

27-06-2018, 07:42 AM

Depens on Niche. If you website is service then it will not be costly if your website is ecommerce then it may be costly. By the way what website you need?

yourdj

27-06-2018, 10:02 AM

Hello people, as this is on topic can any of your web savvy people have a look at this and see if there are any problems or design flaws? I am not too happy with the look of the top, but its about half way through atm. GDPR has set them back and I think they hurried to get this to me. I have listed the following changes and problems, but the likes of Mark etc. would be able to spot more important issues.

I think its costing about £1,300 so I have a right to make sure its done properly and to my specification because as it stands at the moment, I could have knocked this up in a day with Wordpress templates and plugins. :)

http://dj-alliance.internetodirbtuves.lt

18630

My original brief:

18631

About page: You can take the content from the old site, I assume that I can edit it some point in the future?

http://dj-alliance.co.uk/hampshire-dj/
Video - use the same video I sent before, i will get a better one done at some point: https://vimeo.com/265612021

Pictures - pick a decent one from these. https://yourdj.smugmug.com/HDA-ABOUT-PHOTOS/n-Ps744r/ An image gallery of similar would be nice. It shows we are normal people that get along. The site is also there to encourage other DJ’s to work together or join the group.

Contact page. Just the form would suffice & a direct email.
No phone number or address.

Like this: http://yourdj.co.uk/contact-your-dj-mobile-disco-today/

DJ info: Take your pick - you can just copy and paste: http://dj-alliance.co.uk/hampshire-mobile-dj-members/

Call to action at the bottom: “Looking for a good Hampshire mobile DJ? - Get in touch today”

With regards to the design, it's starting to look really nice, thanks for that. Would I be able to ask for a couple of design changes if possible?

1: Top section - Could the title text be in the blue and also the little logos too, I just think the top bit looks a bit bland at the moment as its lacking colours. See attached image.

I know it's not what i asked for, but would it be possible to put an image on the top and the video as a separate section like on Iggys site? Does not have to be interactive or a slider, just a really good photo. I really think the wedding couple imagery would make more of an initial impact for someone then to invest the time to sit though a video? Basically if you can make it look as nice as this then that would awesome. This is exactly what i am after: https://www.iggyweddingdj.com

2: I can’t remember what i wanted in the next section, but I think something location specific and what we do would make sense? Again the tag line would be the obvious option. It also ticks out main search phrases. Hampshire Mobile DJ

“Looking for a good Hampshire mobile DJ?
You have come to the right place!

2: photo section - Move the get in touch with us to the right hand side if possible? I love this section. I guess we can change the photos after its finished, as I have said the couple photos would be ideal (like the one on Iggy site).

I guess its still in development, but the following issues occur on my iPhone and iPad:

video is aligned to the right on iPhone, seems to look OK on iPad as there is more space and the video sits next to it. A landscape video would look better, at the moment its portrait, but i guess this is just an example. Having said that I would prefer to have the video as a separate entity, as per the comments above. I can leave this up to you and your programming capability’s with the template etc?
The logos and bullet points overlap each other on both devices.
Contact section would be better if it was all one line as it seems to have cut some of the words. Its Latin mind you, but it would read better, its fine on the iPad, looks amazing, so just a phone issue. I have Lucky Orange and have noticed a massive increase in phones in the last year!! Mental.
Have questions, get in touch is in the contact form (email section) on my iPhone and looks confusing. Again central would look better on mobile devices and too the right on laptops. Its currently aligned right on the iPad and central on the phone
Maps fine, just me then on my MacBook.

Is this too 'exacting' Mark? :)

Excalibur

27-06-2018, 11:18 AM

Depens on Niche. If you website is service then it will not be costly if your website is ecommerce then it may be costly. By the way what website you need?

Hello Ojusvee. Good to have you here, but if you could pop across to the Newbies section and tell us a bit about yourself, your experience, the sort of discos you do and all that disco related stuff we talk about on here, that would be much appreciated, thanks.

If not, well some suspicious, cynical, mistrustful Old Gits might wonder if you were here for other purposes, which is frowned upon.

Toby, I think you've renamed Marc again. Unless we have a web wizard called Mark as well, but I think not.

yourdj

27-06-2018, 11:47 AM

Toby, I think you've renamed Marc again. Unless we have a web wizard called Mark as well, but I think not.

Yes seems so. Sorry Merc

Imagine

27-06-2018, 12:57 PM

If not, well some suspicious, cynical, mistrustful Old Gits might wonder if you were here for other purposes, which is frowned upon.

Is that the sound of a hammer being polished I can hear? ;)

Pe7e

27-06-2018, 12:58 PM

I've just took a look and it's not displaying correctly on 'internet explorer' the video is much too large and the text is displaying on top of about half of it, it seems to display OK on Google Chrome though

rth_discos

27-06-2018, 01:00 PM

I would expect each member to have their own page - it doesn't look like that's currently the case.

It's also a one page website, which won't be ideal if you're running Google AdWords on it, as they won't be looking through many pages (there aren't any other pages).

Crucially, the copywriting is very poor, and won't help with the conversion rate. As things stand, I wouldn't want to list myself on it - is there a clear 'persona' who the websites is aimed at? Looks a bit generic for me.

Benny Smyth

27-06-2018, 01:45 PM

Yes seems so. Sorry Merc

:doh:

Marc J

27-06-2018, 02:17 PM

Hello people, as this is on topic can any of your web savvy people have a look at this and see if there are any problems or design flaws? I am not too happy with the look of the top, but its about half way through atm. GDPR has set them back and I think they hurried to get this to me. I have listed the following changes and problems, but the likes of Mark etc. would be able to spot more important issues.

I think its costing about £1,300 so I have a right to make sure its done properly and to my specification because as it stands at the moment, I could have knocked this up in a day with Wordpress templates and plugins. :)

From http://internetodirbtuves.lt/ (translated): -

HOW IT WORKS

1. You select the theme from https://themeforest.net/category/wordpress

2. During the meeting, we plot the site structure, discuss the style, buy the theme. We agree where the site is hosted

3. We are preparing a guide on how to adjust the site, trigger photos to change / upload site texts

4. We pass the site to you.

5. You bring texts and photos to the site.

6. We launch the site to the public space

Which begs the question, what are you paying them £1,300 for? They're saying, right there, that they'll do exactly what you can do yourself in a day. They've bought a £37 template (https://themeforest.net/item/argenta-multipurpose-wordpress-theme/19081383) and done very little to it, IMHO.

1: Top section - Could the title text be in the blue and also the little logos too, I just think the top bit looks a bit bland at the moment as its lacking colours. See attached image.

I know it's not what i asked for, but would it be possible to put an image on the top and the video as a separate section like on Iggys site? Does not have to be interactive or a slider, just a really good photo. I really think the wedding couple imagery would make more of an initial impact for someone then to invest the time to sit though a video? Basically if you can make it look as nice as this then that would awesome. This is exactly what i am after: https://www.iggyweddingdj.com

2: I can’t remember what i wanted in the next section, but I think something location specific and what we do would make sense? Again the tag line would be the obvious option. It also ticks out main search phrases. Hampshire Mobile DJ

“Looking for a good Hampshire mobile DJ?
You have come to the right place!

2: photo section - Move the get in touch with us to the right hand side if possible? I love this section. I guess we can change the photos after its finished, as I have said the couple photos would be ideal (like the one on Iggy site).

I guess its still in development, but the following issues occur on my iPhone and iPad:

video is aligned to the right on iPhone, seems to look OK on iPad as there is more space and the video sits next to it. A landscape video would look better, at the moment its portrait, but i guess this is just an example. Having said that I would prefer to have the video as a separate entity, as per the comments above. I can leave this up to you and your programming capability’s with the template etc?
The logos and bullet points overlap each other on both devices.
Contact section would be better if it was all one line as it seems to have cut some of the words. Its Latin mind you, but it would read better, its fine on the iPad, looks amazing, so just a phone issue. I have Lucky Orange and have noticed a massive increase in phones in the last year!! Mental.
Have questions, get in touch is in the contact form (email section) on my iPhone and looks confusing. Again central would look better on mobile devices and too the right on laptops. Its currently aligned right on the iPad and central on the phone
Maps fine, just me then on my MacBook.

Changing colours and layout / alignment at each of Bootstrap's break points is easy enough, it's just CSS edits, and so they should be OK with that. You should always check on as many devices as you can, though, if you're only looking from a MacBook and iPhone / iPad there's a majority of devices that you're not even checking on, they could be editing it to look fine for you without worrying about other devices (think Windows and Android, i.e. most users).

Is this too 'exacting' Mark? :)

They probably think so...;)

yourdj

27-06-2018, 03:00 PM

From http://internetodirbtuves.lt/ (translated): -

Which begs the question, what are you paying them £1,300 for? They're saying, right there, that they'll do exactly what you can do yourself in a day. They've bought a £37 template (https://themeforest.net/item/argenta-multipurpose-wordpress-theme/19081383) and done very little to it, IMHO.

So do you think they are largely farming out the technical stuff and just adding the content then? Does it say anything about what they pay if thats the case? It would be rather annoying if they are paying £300 to someone and then only spending a few hours doing the rest. I decided to get someone else to do as its a site paid for my the HDA members (we have a lot of money in the account that needs to be spent), so rather than me saying "it took 20 hours, thats £500 please" I thought I would get a company to do it instead. Probably may arise if I took that option, plus I don't have the energy or the time.

I have android phones and tablets too so can use that also. :)

This is their website Marc, I would be very grateful if you gave me your reasonable opinions.
They have been very good in convo and I met the owner in person and had a sit down meeting with him. Much more than I got with the pucker company in town, they only got back too me when I hounded them, then nothing after saying they would p[ut something together. Then they asked me to join in their workshop, so I told them to do one and went with the company below.

https://sitesforbusiness.co.uk

I am sure they will have tracking on and find this thread at some point. I am only being due diligent/exacting, nothing wrong with that. :)

Crucially, the copywriting is very poor,

Yes half of it is in Latin as thats what comes with those templates as standard.. :p:p

Obviously the stage before the put everything thing together, so they have just bunged any text in. Its not going to look great (visually & copyright) at the moment, the video is just an example and not functional. :)

Thanks for the help people.

rth_discos

27-06-2018, 04:14 PM

Yes half of it is in Latin as thats what comes with those templates as standard.. :p:p

Obviously the stage before the put everything thing together, so they have just bunged any text in. Its not going to look great (visually & copyright) at the moment, the video is just an example and not functional. :)

Strange way to do it. I wouldn't touch the design until I know what copy needs to go in there.

The design should be based around the content - not the other way round.

yourdj

27-06-2018, 05:02 PM

Strange way to do it. I wouldn't touch the design until I know what copy needs to go in there.

The design should be based around the content - not the other way round.

they have asked me only for the content really, thats just the general layout. that was what I posted. as they have asked me for parts of the text etc. :)

I think design tweaks will come later really.

rth_discos

27-06-2018, 06:14 PM

they have asked me only for the content really, thats just the general layout. that was what I posted. as they have asked me for parts of the text etc. :)

I think design tweaks will come later really.

It amazes me how many web design companies do this - asking the client to write content.

It's like turning up to DJ a wedding and asking the client to provide the exact order of songs to be played.

The content is the most important aspect in terms of making the website a success.

Excalibur

27-06-2018, 06:29 PM

It amazes me how many web design companies do this - asking the client to write content.

It's like turning up to DJ a wedding and asking the client to provide the exact order of songs to be played.
.

You mean you don't? :confused: Blimey, talk about doing things the hard way. :D

Marc J

27-06-2018, 08:08 PM

So do you think they are largely farming out the technical stuff and just adding the content then?

It's strange that the preview is a subdomain on http://internetodirbtuves.lt, if it's https://sitesforbusiness.co.uk that's doing it for you. There must be a relationship between the two...perhaps https://sitesforbusiness.co.uk has subbed it out? Not that there's anything wrong in that, but if they gave you the impression they'd be doing it themselves....:eek:

This is their website Marc, I would be very grateful if you gave me your reasonable opinions.
They have been very good in convo and I met the owner in person and had a sit down meeting with him. Much more than I got with the pucker company in town, they only got back too me when I hounded them, then nothing after saying they would put something together. Then they asked me to join in their workshop, so I told them to do one and went with the company below.

https://sitesforbusiness.co.uk

They look fine to me. They've used a template I use a lot myself for their own site, and also a lot of their client sites. I think I mentioned that in another thread. But, if what you've posted (the one page site) is close to the final that you're paying £1,300 for, then you've been overcharged by quite a lot IMHO.

Strange way to do it. I wouldn't touch the design until I know what copy needs to go in there.

The design should be based around the content - not the other way round.

The design and content should be totally separate, it doesn't really matter what you start with. And since this is template based, you have no option but to start with a design.

It amazes me how many web design companies do this - asking the client to write content.

It's like turning up to DJ a wedding and asking the client to provide the exact order of songs to be played.

I couldn't disagree more on this point. As I've said before (http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?44190-cost-of-new-website&p=666360&viewfull=1#post666360): -

That's slightly unfair. A web designer (what we're discussing here) will do just that - design the website. Any decent web designer will take the correct elements from the copy text (provided by the client) for the all important page titles, descriptions, headings etc. and structure it correctly for SEO purposes.

What they won't do is write the content for you, track (or even check) your SEO results, and manage your digital marketing strategy. You'll want a digital agency for that, who'll charge you £££ (per month) but for that they'll do very little but give you nicely formatted reports every month.

Step 1: get a moz.com paid account.
Step 2: Call yourself an SEO expert.
Step 3: Find gullible fools, and generate nice long, meaningless reports for them on a monthly basis while doing nothing of any real value :)

Maybe a bit harsh...but I've seen it myself countless times. Nobody knows your business better than you, if you can then write good copy yourself, or work with a freelance copywriter to produce good content in the first place.

When I build websites for clients I tell them from the start - they provide all content (text and photos). If they can't do that, I have professional photographers and copywriters I can put them in contact with (they deal with them directly), and maybe use stock images if they can't get anything else.

yourdj

27-06-2018, 08:58 PM

The design and content should be totally separate, it doesn't really matter what you start with. And since this is template based, you have no option but to start with a design.

Well I will make sure I finish with what I want with regards to the template confines. Even so I can always change things after, but for what I have been contacted to pay then I want the job done to there right specification.

I would start with the general design, then the text and then the final parts (i.e. specialist plugins) and then graphics tweaking. :)

Sorry I don't know where I got that figure from, all I can see looking through the emails is £1,482!
I shall PM you the proposal for your perusal. I have only paid £720 at the moment.

rth_discos

27-06-2018, 09:20 PM

I couldn't disagree more on this point. As I've said before (http://www.forum.mobilediscodirectory.co.uk/showthread.php?44190-cost-of-new-website&p=666360&viewfull=1#post666360): -

I guess you're right - a web designer is just that, someone who will 'design a website'.

However, I'm not sure most people want a website designed.

When I speak to most people to understand why they want a website, it's because they want more enquiries/more sales.

On the basis of what you've written, website designers are the wrong people to commission, because they will just make a pretty looking website.

As a marketeer (a term that is banded around way too much), my focus is on the end result: the enquiries.

A huge part of that is the wording on the website. People read websites - they don't just *look* at them.

The design helps - but the wording is more important.

A less pretty looking website with better copywriting, will more often than not out-perform a nice looking website with poor copywriting.

To that end, using a template or design from scratch is fairly irrelevant at the price range we're talking about here. It's more about what will do the job best. I tend to recommend a framework rather than a theme template, to ensure there's freedom around the design, rather than being too constrained.

But content writing is not primarily for SEO reasons - it's about converting visitors into enquiries.

I guess a question for Toby: were you looking to engage with someone who would simply display your text and images in a 'nice looking way', or were you looking for something that would generate more enquiries for your members?

yourdj

27-06-2018, 10:11 PM

I guess a question for Toby: were you looking to engage with someone who would simply display your text and images in a 'nice looking way', or were you looking for something that would generate more enquiries for your members?

Thanks so much for your input on this. :)

I want a nice looking site, but also one that performs well. Having said that its already up on the top page of google as all the main dj's in Hampshire are linking into it so theoretically they can't do too wrong with that respect. Its quite unbelievable actually and I don't see it as a fluke that the HDA members (private sites) all rank top 3-10 on most major searches. Goes to show there is safety in number with the right attitudes. Marc is better suited to comment here, but I think over the last 9 or 10 years we have become quite a calm power in that respect. :)

I think we are forgetting the amount of time they have to spend on other parts than the design as well as other costs like office space, staffing and other behind the scenes subscriptions & services. I have sent Marc the very detailed invoice and to be fair I am confident I am in good hands. Its almost like comparing a £250 DJ to a £500 one, sometimes the lines can get blurred. Try justifying a £600 fee to a £200 DJ on MDN etc. :)

Overall what's most important to me (other than a good website) is good customer service and professionalism and so far thats been delivered perfectly, unlike the other 'posh' web company I first contacted. It took them 2 weeks to get back to me and he said he was on holiday (they have a team of at least 10 people including admin staff). :)

Excalibur

28-06-2018, 07:10 AM

I have sent Marc the very detailed invoice and to be fair I am confident I am in good hands.

I can write out very detailed invoices. Doesn't mean the work listed has been done, needed to be done, or has been done properly.

Marc J

28-06-2018, 07:58 AM

However, I'm not sure most people want a website designed.

When I speak to most people to understand why they want a website, it's because they want more enquiries/more sales.

On the basis of what you've written, website designers are the wrong people to commission, because they will just make a pretty looking website.

I'm saying commission a professional copywriter (if you can't do a good job yourself), photographer (again, if you can't yourself) and a web designer. Or ask a "Digital Agency" / "Marketing Agency" to do it all and charge accordingly, but you'll probably end up tweaking images and text to the point that their input on that will be minimal and you'd have been cheaper with option 1 in the first place.

It's a pet hate of mine for people to expect their web designer to take the photos and write the content, that's all. I know it's just semantics, people generally refer to the person(s) "doing their website" as their web designer, but that's not always the case.