computer illiterate, need web site help

personal | 12-6-10 | foundedonpurpose

[foundedonpurpose]

After a recent move back to the Midwest. Am in need of setting up a website with e-mails.

[foundedonpurpose]

Re-starting my business in the Midwest. After years of never needing a web site, it's time. I have no clue on where to start. Looking for simple, easy, and cost effective options for doing it myself. Your constructive input is greatly appreciated.

[JRandomFreeper]

Hire someone to do it. We are cheap, right now. Make sure you have access to the passwords for the domain name registration, and don't let anyone hold you hostage with them.

/johnny

[ozark hilljilly]

http://www.virtualmechanics.com/products/spinner/

Best do it yourself software out there, imo.
If a dope like me can build websites...you can!

[1rudeboy]

The place where I work just redid its website. It sucks. It sucks so bad that I'm embarrassed to mention it to my boss.

Literally, our new website administrator took us back to the 1990's in one fell swoop.

[illiac]

Microsoft and Intuit both have web hosting and web site design software that is easy to use....good luck

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Just set up a Facebook account. Free, easy, and equally effective.

[foundedonpurpose]

Define cheap? What would yearly cost estimates be?

[Egon]

Just set up a Facebook account. Free, easy, and equally effective.

...right up to the point where you want people to take you seriously.

While having a Facebook presence is not a bad idea, I certainly wouldn't use it as your primary business front-end.

Most of the larger domain-hosting companies offer services or tools to set up a set of pages, and all offer email tied to that domain.

Beyond that, it's not hard to hire a site developer-- and cost will vary with functionality, platform, and experience.

I know there's a few developers on here, myself included.

[brownsfan]

I do tech work, but I’m not a web programmer. There’s an art to setting up a nice looking page. Also, adding functionality in a timely fashion requires someone with experience. Basically, I’m telling you to hire it out.

Having said that, I know enough to be dangerous, and I can point you in a direction that will work, not necessarily the best direction. You can get a minimal webpage running by using web templates, and a free hosting service like awardspace. If you really want to go cheap, you can get free domain hosting, but it’s going to be in the format, name.name.co.cc That is, ending in .co.cc instead of .com. As for email, there’s an html command to start the client’s email program with your email address and a subject in it. If you want a form on a page with email capablity, you’ll have to pay to upgrade the hosting.

That’s what I know, let me know if I can help any more?

[JRandomFreeper]

It's about $80 for a domain listing for 3 years. A simple set of web pages should cost about $200 for some geek to set up for you. If you rent space on a server, you can get that for as cheap as $30 a year.

Go to someplace like register.com and look at the prices there. You will still probably need to hire a geek for a few hours to set it up for you, and explain how it works.

/johnny

[bcsco]

I’ve built and now maintain a few websites. My advice to you is to have it done by a professional. A poorly done website by someone unfamiliar with the process, and design essentials, can be a detriment instead of a plus.

And, no, I’m no professional. I do it for fun, to help people I know, and am not versed in all the latest design possibilities.

[TomGuy]

I don’t know much about them, but Intuit (of Quicken and Quickbooks fame) advertises ‘store front’ websites/webpages available (for a cost, of course) through them.

Also, depending on the kind of business, Amazon.com offers store front webpages, as does Ebay.

Initially, you probably should check some of the local computer nerds.

[Egon]

The advice of a couple of the Freepers above about checking with domain registrars (register.com, godaddy.com, etc.) is a good place to start. That will give you an idea of the recurring costs.

Off the top of my head, here are the cost breakdowns:

• domain registration (recurring) roughly $10- $20 per year (you can get deals for multi-year, etc.)
• domain hosting (recurring) anywhere from $5- $50 per year (depending on what level of service you're looking for)
• site development (one time) anywhere from $200- $10K (depends on what you want it to do)
• site maintenance (recurring) $0 - $1000+ (again, depends on functionality, and how you have it set up for self-maintenance)

This is all very rough, but can be nailed down once you and your development team talk about requirements, etc.

[thackney]

Facebook is hardly equal to having your own basic web site for business.

Many large businesses block Facebook or other social web sites. Having your content blocked is not effective for a business.

I for one would not ever use their web site if it was only in Facebook.

[Lazamataz]

I am a professional developer and presently work with a major Federal Agency. How can I help you?

[jackspyder]

try xbuild.com

[Bookwoman]

I find it surprising that people are telling you what to do without any information about your business and your goals for your website. How you would like to use your website and what your goals are will determine the best route for you to take. There are so many options these days, some of them very inexpensive, but you can be really burned if you don’t have a clear vision of what you actually need to support your business.