A Guide To Creating A Website For Your Business

Business By mrsright41401 Updated 20 Dec 2006 , 9:44am by maryak

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mrsright41401 Posted 9 Dec 2006 , 10:07pm
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I have been doing web design for 10 years. I stopped doing it because I didn't enjoy the business aspect of it anymore and now I do my own sites and some stuff for friends and for fun. There are some basic things you can do to make sure your website is the best it can be - whether you design it or you hire a professional.

THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO KNOW IS THAT PEOPLE SPEND AS MUCH TIME LOOKING AT A WEBSITE AS THEY DO READING A BILLBOARD AS THEY RACE ALONG THE HIGHWAY. KEEP IT SIMPLE AND MAKE IT EASY TO FIND WHAT THEY WANT!

1. Pick out a domain. This is important whether you hire someone or do it yourself. If you are running a business you need your own domain and you need to find a host to run it. You do not want to use a free hosting service. It is unprofessional and it demeans you as a business owner.

2. Look at other websites you like and find what you like about them and make a list.

3. Choose 3 to 4 colors. Pick one color that will be your background color, one color that will be your font color, and two colors that will be your accent colors. Red, yellow and bright blue do not make good background colors as the sheer amount of the colors will overwhelm the eye. Some shades of these colors will work, like Burgundy or Navy blue. Keep the patterned backgrounds to a minimum - they are busy and distract from the content.

4. Gather together ALL your pictures, text, forms (such as order forms) and anything else you want on your website. Scan all the pictures and put them on a CD. Most web designers will charge extra to scan pictures for you. Make sure each picture is well labeled and easy to identify. Make sure the pictures are of high quality. If you do not have great pictures that can be used as design elements, find stock photos you like at istockphoto.com and buy them (that site is SUPER cheap!). These are not for your portfolio but for the design.

5. Make a list of your MAIN categories. There should be a HOME button on every webpage that is easy to find and takes them back to the front page. The navigation on each page should look the same and be EASY to find. Don't have too many buttons, just keep it super simple.

When choosing a professional web developer there are some things you need to be aware of to get the best bang for your buck.

A. Look at their portfolio. Compare sites you really like to their body of work. Based on this, can they build you a site comparable to those of your competitors?

B. Price - Because this is a skill not everyone can do, web designers charge what they feel is their market value, as do we. Shop around, compare prices and their portfolios. I have see some HORRIBLE web designers who charge beaucoup bucks for crap and I have seen some of the best designers who charge very little for absolutely wonderful sites. Find out what their price includes. Make sure you can update your page easily - especially your picture gallery and if you can update the gallery or if they do. If they have to update the gallery, find out their price for updates.

C. Read their contract. It protects you as much as it protects the designer. Make sure the price per hour or overall price is listed. Make sure that you are able to get all the files that were developed on a CD in case they ever quit designing and you need to hire a new designer.

Rachel

15 replies
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playingwithsugar Posted 11 Dec 2006 , 12:30am
post #2 of 16

Dear Rachel,

Thank you so very much for posting this information to us. It will come in very handy for me in the coming year.

Happy Holidays, whichever you celebrate!!

Theresa icon_smile.gif

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mnmmommy Posted 11 Dec 2006 , 12:41am
post #3 of 16

Rachel,

Thanks for taking time to do this. It's very helpful information.

michelle

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nglez09 Posted 11 Dec 2006 , 12:42am
post #4 of 16

Very informative suplement!

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adven68 Posted 11 Dec 2006 , 12:45am
post #5 of 16

Thanks for spending your time on something so helpful! What programs do you suggest we use to build a website before going online with it? I have used Microsoft frontpage and it was ok but I want something better.

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tracy702 Posted 11 Dec 2006 , 1:01am
post #6 of 16

Thanks for sharing the info. I have just hired a web designer and I found it nice to know that she was going to be able to do what I wanted and could see the vision I have for my new site.

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aobodessa Posted 11 Dec 2006 , 1:17am
post #7 of 16

Thank you for the information on this technological aspect of my business. I was totally in the dark about this and your post has helped. I do currently have a free site, but for now that is truthfully all I can afford (the past 18 months have been financially traumatic for our family). Until we are back up and running at full speed again, I don't see how I can do anything else. For now, my site offers no buttons or navigation tools, but that's okay because I primarily use it for photographs of my work to refer Clients to look at.

I appreciate the information you've already given, but would also like to know where I begin to look for a web host and a web designer? I am not particularly computer-savvy in this area.

Thanks again for the assistance,

Odessa

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kbselig Posted 11 Dec 2006 , 2:33am
post #8 of 16

Thanks for the info, I was looking at software in office max for creating a website, it included 1 year of web hosting by Yahoo, do you think this is a good idea? Have you heard of the software? Any info would be appretiated. Thanks, Kim

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playingwithsugar Posted 11 Dec 2006 , 2:42am
post #9 of 16

Yes, Rachel, please, if you can reccommend some over-the-counter software that would be easy for computer challenged humans to use, it would be most appreciated.

Theresa icon_smile.gif

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Divinekreationz Posted 14 Dec 2006 , 4:00am
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In response to everyones need for a software recommendation I can do you one better.

Look into some online web hosting companies that have a website author built into them. These are good for the following reasons.

1. If you are a novice with website, this has a way of letting you learn along the way without loosing info or making devastating mistakes you can change.

2. You don't have to buy software that you dont like and wont ever use again. Its way to expensive for an experiment.

3. You can try it and if you dont like it you can change to something else. No worries or contracts.

Things to remember when designing your website if you are going to do it yourself.

Beauty and Glamour is key, we are dealing with 99 percent women are eyes are capitivated by the pretty and the sparkly.

Think about 1st impression ....always remember the first look is the only look. How many websites have you looked at and by 1ST glance you have left the site and think about the reasons you left. They looked unprofessional, unorganized, werent able to find what you were looking for? etc.

LAST but most important PICTURES say 100000000 words. Use your best and I mean best pictures. They tell the story of your design and creativity. They also bring you $$$$$.

Good luck all!

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aobodessa Posted 14 Dec 2006 , 3:14pm
post #11 of 16
Quote:
Originally Posted by Divinekreationz

In response to everyones need for a software recommendation I can do you one better.

Look into some online web hosting companies that have a website author built into them. These are good for the following reasons.

....




Okay, now, maybe I'm a little dense here (like a fruitcake???), but can you recommend a few of these sites? When I'm online, I tend to check my e-mail, scan for things I'm looking for (google a word and see if any of the sites that are offered have what I need), perhaps do a little e-bay browsing/shopping, and come to CC to get inspiration. I am not what you'd call a seriously tech-savvy gal (but I am a bit more skilled than a rock and a chisel), so I have no idea of how to start this.

Sorry to sound like such a complete dufus, but with a full-time job, kids in school, a new grandchild to drool over, my cake business to run, and a husband to keep happy, my time is very precious. I'd prefer NOT to spend so much time trying to figure this out if you can provide a little direction.

Thanks so much,

Odessa

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mrsright41401 Posted 17 Dec 2006 , 2:16pm
post #12 of 16

I am so sorry for not replying sooner, my husband and I just moved and we're still in a hotel and I haven't had access to a computer til today.

A good WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) web editor is Dreamweaver, though it's a bit expensive. In general you can tell a Frontpage site when you are looking at it and not in a good way, but because Microsoft makes it easier to get and that makes it okay if you are doing a site yourself. But, I warn you, Frontpage is NOT a good program, it writes messy code and with new standards coming in the web design community it will soon make pages that web browsers will not be able to view.

The truth comes down to this - web designers are very much like cake decorators. We have a skill that is NOT easily done by everyone, especially if you are looking for a clean professional product. If you want a site for your business you can do it yourself, but it's like doing your own wedding cake - needlessly stressful. HOWEVER, it is possible. Here is a website ( http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp ) that will help you learn basic HTML and will help you get on your way. If you need more help, I'm MORE THAN HAPPY to give you as much help as you need and will really try to bend over backwards to help people w/ this, just give me time cuz I'm still getting settled in our new hometown.

If you are looking for a web server, I have one - just PM me and I'll advise you and help you out. I'm going to have limited access to the internet for a while, but I'll be checking my internet weekly at least - I will get back in contact with you.

Rachel

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cocorum21 Posted 17 Dec 2006 , 2:45pm
post #13 of 16

http://lowesthosting.com/

I used this one for a short time. Its really cheap and it has the WYSIWYG website design. BUT! it wasn't a nice website. You can also try GODADDY.com I believe they have an online website builder that you can use. HTH

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mrsright41401 Posted 18 Dec 2006 , 9:29am
post #14 of 16

Everything you really need you all have. Notepad is what I learned on and it is on all computers. ALSO - look here for designs that are free for everyone to use and modify.

http://www.oswd.org/

Rachel

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Divinekreationz Posted 20 Dec 2006 , 8:37am
post #15 of 16

OOOOOPS I forgot to add some suggestions.

Here are some really great ones! They give you more than the average JOE!

www.netidnow.com

www.monstercommerce.com

You can also search for ecommerce websites and that will give you a list!

Hope this helps.

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maryak Posted 20 Dec 2006 , 9:44am
post #16 of 16

Thank you so much for this info Rachel!! You are unbelivably gracious in taking the time out to give all us who had no idea where to start a bundle full of information.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.party.gif

Mary

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