Website troubles

[loobylou22]

Hi,
I have just brought my domain namne with 123.reg, and was thinking of making my site with them, as its only 1.99 a month and will have everything i think i need. I have now seen web hosting page on this site at a starying price of 2.49 a month, do i need this as well? I just want something really basic with about 10 pages and my .co.uk web address. How can this be so difficult?xxx

 

[xxhaylzxx]

Speak to Ruth mills shes a genius IMO. HTH xx

 

[Ruth Mills]

I normally only use 123-reg.co.uk for domains, as there are cheaper/better alternatives to their web hosting and email services - and when you buy domains with them, they give you all the necessary configuration options you need to point your web address/email to other servers. However - for buying domains themselves - I have found that 123-reg are pretty hard to beat (although, so saying, I have heard less than favourable things about their tech support phone line - which thankfully I haven't needed to use yet).

From what I have seen, the main issue with the site builder that they offer is that the templates can be a bit limited, and you could end up with a site very similar to someone else who uses the same template (same background images, colours, etc).

 

[The Beauty Shed]

After using a template for a few years I can honestly say I HATED it! So wouldn't advise you to do it either, although they are ok if you simply cannot afford to have it designed for you I suppose. If you have it designed then at least it is a 1 off payment, then all you would need to do is pay for hosting. And cheap is not always the best!

If I was you I'd get a few quotes in, you may be surprised that not all companies charge hundreds or thousands. I was quoted between £95 and £2,500 from various companies for the same website idea!!!!!! Madness!!!!

Ruth (Salon Alchemy) is also doing my site at the moment and I would recommend her. But if you decide to go with some-one else make sure you can update your site as and when you wish without being charged extra for it. You will need to update special offers and treatment prices from time to time and don't want to be paying for this service!

Good luck

 

[xxhaylzxx]

I have just had my webste done by Ruth have a look at it its great i can change what i want when i want without having to pay extra and the intial cost was really good. You dont pay xx amount a month so save, pay your one off free and get it done properly is my advice. go on her website aswel and see some of the others she has done!!! xx

 

[Ruth Mills]

I have just had my webste done by Ruth have a look at it its great i can change what i want when i want without having to pay extra and the intial cost was really good. You dont pay xx amount a month so save, pay your one off free and get it done properly is my advice. go on her website aswel and see some of the others she has done!!! xx

I do charge an annual fee for hosting though, but that's because I have to pay for server and data centre costs; domain names also need to be renewed every year or two as well.

 

[lelaah]

I also brought my domain name on 123. and just make my own site on create.net its very easy to do and very good support

 

[xxhaylzxx]

o yer forgot to mention the hosting cost a year but that isnt that bad you have to pay that anyway dont you if you have a website? x

 

[Ruth Mills]

o yer forgot to mention the hosting cost a year but that isnt that bad you have to pay that anyway dont you if you have a website? x

Sorry, I must have had a blonde moment there! But I don't charge a ludicrous amount for hosting anyway. And pretty much every web company that hosts your site would charge for hosting, as they have to pay for upkeep of servers, data centre costs, bandwidth, etc...

 

[paul.rose]

After using a template for a few years I can honestly say I HATED it! So wouldn't advise you to do it either, although they are ok if you simply cannot afford to have it designed for you I suppose. If you have it designed then at least it is a 1 off payment, then all you would need to do is pay for hosting. And cheap is not always the best!

If I was you I'd get a few quotes in, you may be surprised that not all companies charge hundreds or thousands. I was quoted between £95 and £2,500 from various companies for the same website idea!!!!!! Madness!!!!

Ruth (Salon Alchemy) is also doing my site at the moment and I would recommend her. But if you decide to go with some-one else make sure you can update your site as and when you wish without being charged extra for it. You will need to update special offers and treatment prices from time to time and don't want to be paying for this service!

Good luck

I am not surprised with the difference in quotes at all, as with most things you get what you pay for. If you want a website that is well-designed, represents your brand properly and is search engine friendly then a template is probably not the best way forward.

Business Link have got some good information as a starting point - Best practice in web design | Business Link

A good web design company will be happy to explain their quote to you in simple layman's terms. If you want people to be able to find you on a search directory such as Google then you will want your website to be search engine friendly.

I have recently done loads of research on search engine optimisation (otherwise written as 'SEO') and it is not simple! The tool that Google uses to look at your website and rank it considers 200 different things!!

If you've got any specific questions then fire them at me, I'll be happy to help if I can

 

[loobylou22]

Hi,
Thanks everso for all your reply's. I have decided for the moment with money being tight, to go with create.net they are 2.99 a month inc hosting. I have been able to find my way around reasonably well, im just now waiting till i decide on all my treatments before i out it live and do leaflets.
Thanks again for all your help.
Lou.xxx