Any ideas how much a website will cost?

[ally_1988]

Hi Everyone,

I'm in the process of starting a new business and it is solely based online.

I am a student and therefore on a limited budget and was just wondering how much (roughly) you think I will be able to get a website that does the following:

+ Display profile pages
+ Client Login area - to allow them to edit/add information to profile
+ internal search
+ CMS so that we can change content on the home page and banners
+ Clients able to upload files for visitors to download

There are likely to be around 8 main pages linking off to individual client profile pages, so potentially quite a lot of content.

It will also be important to have a very well designed and easy to use website and would be key to it's success.

I know this is fairly limited info, but any rough ideas or advice would be very welcome.

Also in the event that the cost of the website is more than I can currently afford, do website designers ever take equity in the company as payment?

 

[zigojacko]

A company that I work closely with offer pay monthly cms websites which you are more than likely to find the best option on a limited budget for what you want.

Please feel free to make an enquiry http://www.evucan.com

 

[BusinessIdeas]

Why dont you opt for one of the free templates? there are a lot of good ones like wordpress etc that will do what you want for nothing, with themes and mods that will add more or less any functionality that you desire

 

[RedEvo]

Search for a hosting company who install Joomla as standard as part of the package, very common, upload an off the shelf template and you will have the basis of what you need.

Install the free Docman Joomla extension and this will allow your visitors to upload and download docs.

Install the Community Builder free Joomla extension and your users can create profile pages.

Jobs done.

d

 

[ally_1988]

Why dont you opt for one of the free templates? there are a lot of good ones like wordpress etc that will do what you want for nothing, with themes and mods that will add more or less any functionality that you desire

Thanks for the reply,

The reason I don't want to edit an existing template is because the business idea is totally new and to be successful relies on creating a strong and recognisable brand. Also I don't have any web skills really so would be able to do this myself. Although may a web designer be able to incorporate this to bring down the cost?

I know the success of the business relies on making a great website and without it then success may be difficult.

I think I'm really trying to get a £20,000 website for my small budget, which written down, seems ridiculous hence why I'm trying to explore ways of possibly making this happen.

Once the company was off the ground we would be looking to invest a lot more money into the development of the site, it is just that in the initial stages the budget is very tight.

 

[ally_1988]

Search for a hosting company who install Joomla as standard as part of the package, very common, upload an off the shelf template and you will have the basis of what you need.

Install the free Docman Joomla extension and this will allow your visitors to upload and download docs.

Install the Community Builder free Joomla extension and your users can create profile pages.

Jobs done.

d

Unfortunately I have absolutely no experience of web hosting or coding etc hence why I am looking to get it all done.

Would a web designer be able to use these tools instead of producing a bespoke system, achieving similar results?

Maybe it's a ridiculous idea to start a web business with pretty much no knowledge of coding? As part of my university course I am learning very very basic HTML and also in my spare time starting to learn how to use Dreamweaver, although at the moment can only create a very basic webpage.

Thanks for your advice though

 

[RedEvo]

Not one line of code to achieve what I outlined and there's tons of great info and video tutorials on using Joomla. Yes you will need to spend some time but on a limited budget it's got to be worth a punt.

Give it a go, you might surprise yourself

d

 

[ally_1988]

Not one line of code to achieve what I outlined and there's tons of great info and video tutorials on using Joomla. Yes you will need to spend some time but on a limited budget it's got to be worth a punt.

Give it a go, you might surprise yourself

d

Your definitely right! If it means been able to achieve what I want then it will definitely be worth while.

I will certainly look into it and give it a go, thanks for the help.

 

[MASSEY]

Asking about web pages on here gets such a mixed response lol

 

[PETTE]

Unfortunately you won't archive what you're after using any of the existing CMS. These features require unique scripting just for their purpose

+ Display profile pages
+ Client Login area - to allow them to edit/add information to profile
+ internal search
+ CMS so that we can change content on the home page and banners
+ Clients able to upload files for visitors to download

You're not saying exactly the kind of website you're after so it'll be a little difficult to say the final costs. Is it like a directory. These sites are common, you could probably find a developer with the scripts already and will be a matter of editing them to much your requirement.

 

[RedEvo]

Unfortunately you won't archive what you're after using any of the existing CMS. These features require unique scripting just for their purpose

I think you meant achieve not archive.

All the features he's after are available using Joomla, probably using Drupal, possibly using Wordpress and certainly don't require any custom coding.

Custom coding has its part to play but should not be used to reinvent the wheel.

d

 

[ally_1988]

Thanks for all the replies.

Would it be possible to design a website and then link it in with Joomla to enable the functionality?

The reason I'm asking is the website we have in mind needs to be quite cool/funky looking (technical terms I know) and I don't think using an existing template would suit.

Would a web designer be able to do this for us and link in with Joomla or would I have to do this myself.

Also is this achievable for £2000 since it isn't just a simple website?

 

[ultro]

You've got 3 choices in the 'free/open source' side of things:

1. Wordpress - very easy to get started on it, but slightly limited functions on it.
2. Joomla - pretty easy to use, most functions although and you can do most things on it.
3. Drupal - harder to use and you can do almost anything on it.

If I were you - I'd take a good luck and Joolma (as suggested) or Drupal. I'm more of a Drupal person, but I know Joomla is a bit easier to use if you're not super technical. That said - I know you can all of that stuff in Drupal as we've bits of it for clients before. If you have time but no money, have a good play around with things.

 

[PETTE]

Yes achieve (My bad spelling)

Why not give it a go ally, I would like to see how achieve these with Joomla or the other CMS on the list...

+ Display profile pages
+ Client Login area - to allow them to edit/add information to profile

I would like to see that... Is this a directory based website?

 

[PETTE]

I can't believe we've got Wordpress on the list...

That just makes me laugh...

 

[RedEvo]

Yes achieve (My bad spelling)

Why not give it a go ally, I would like to see how achieve these with Joomla or the other CMS on the list...

+ Display profile pages
+ Client Login area - to allow them to edit/add information to profile

I would like to see that... Is this a directory based website?

Here you go PETTE.

d

 

[RedEvo]

Thanks for all the replies.

Would it be possible to design a website and then link it in with Joomla to enable the functionality?

The reason I'm asking is the website we have in mind needs to be quite cool/funky looking (technical terms I know) and I don't think using an existing template would suit.

Would a web designer be able to do this for us and link in with Joomla or would I have to do this myself.

Also is this achievable for £2000 since it isn't just a simple website?

Most CMS's use a templating system. Templates can be made to look however you want them to look.

d

 

[ally_1988]

If you have time but no money, have a good play around with things.

I definitely have time to spend doing this but as a complete novice am slightly concerned about doing the work myself as I don't really know what I'm doing.

I'm trying to learn as much as I can at the moment and will definitely look at Joomla but not sure I would be able to produce a fully functioning and very stable website, as the intention is to drive a lot of traffic through to the website.

I have got £2000 allocated for the website development and not sure about the best way to use this to get the final result I'm after. Would it be worth trying to produce the website as far as I can and then pass it on to a designer to improve it and check it over?

For a different company I'm involved with we got a friend (who happens to be an experienced coder) to produce the main system behind it which is very valuable but he has since gone on a round the world trip and the current firm we are using to maintain the site are struggling as it is all bespoke code.

If I produce it myself will it be difficult to pass it on to a web design company to develop it further without having to start from scratch as the site is likely to evolve significantly within the first couple of years

Sorry for the long reply

 

[RedEvo]

I can't believe we've got Wordpress on the list...

That just makes me laugh...

Glad to be of use, it's good to make people laugh

Here's the wordpress community plugin

d

 

[ally_1988]

I would like to see that... Is this a directory based website?

I guess in a way it is a directory based website. But it is very specific and clients are likely to be adding/changing the content they want displayed on their profile very regularly along with the downloadable documents.

Sorry about been vague, but unlike a lot of people on here I'm not one to tell everyone my idea before it's up an running.

 

[RedEvo]

I definitely have time to spend doing this but as a complete novice am slightly concerned about doing the work myself as I don't really know what I'm doing.

This video might help, it provides an overview of Joomla, what it is, basic principles etc.

d

 

[RedEvo]

You could also look at ning.com where you can create a social network in about 2 minutes with all the functionality you've asked for.

d

 

[BusinessIdeas]

To be honest what you say you need sounds pretty basic really. You dont need a £20,000 website to achieve results, you just need a good domain name and great content, and a willingness to learn basic seo, which you can improve on over time to get yourselfup the rankings get yourself one of the 'for dummies' books to start with and put in some work on your site a bit at a time

 

[ally_1988]

Thanks for the reply crewgirl25a.

I think I will have a go myself, just not sure I will be able to make it look as clean and professional as I want.

I've bought two books; one on dreamweave CS3 (as that is the version I have) and one, as you suggested, on SEO. Which is a guide to improve your rankings and seems to have good reviews.

 

[BusinessIdeas]

Thanks for the reply crewgirl25a.

I think I will have a go myself, just not sure I will be able to make it look as clean and professional as I want.

I've bought two books; one on dreamweave CS3 (as that is the version I have) and one, as you suggested, on SEO. Which is a guide to improve your rankings and seems to have good reviews.

If you just give yourself a few weeks reading and trying to understand it, you will see it all start to come together. what can you lose? if you find that it is really beyond you, then just quit do some keyword research first though over on google adwords tool: https://adwords.google.co.uk/select/KeywordToolExternal

No point in setting up a site without knowing what people are searching for and how many are searching for it

 

[PETTE]

You certainly won't have it look as professional as you want it to be. It could take a very long time learning to build the results you want. I think you've bought the wrong book as well. My suggestion would be to start learning XML and HTML. SEO good...

If you have enough money you can get a very good website if you find the right company/person. Why not try searching Google/Ask and go through their profiles.

By the sound of the website you're after and being familiar with the tools used it'll take more than a book on Dreamweaver and a year to build it personally and to the standard I think you're after. Then there is the design bit!!!!!!!!

 

[heyarkid]

try heron marketing in wigan contact Paul Frazer he did my site and will make a site up to suit your budget. tell him Paul from Bolmoor gave you his details.

 

[BusinessIdeas]

The site doesnt have to be brilliant to test a concept, if you have a good domain name containing the search terms that you have identified with your research, a reasonable site created using joomla, wordpress etc and using a theme for it, write lots of good content and you have yourself a good start.
You can always pay for a site to be designed (and you will have a better idea of what you need by then) at a later date.

 

[ally_1988]

If you just give yourself a few weeks reading and trying to understand it, you will see it all start to come together. what can you lose? if you find that it is really beyond you, then just quit do some keyword research first though over on google adwords tool: https://adwords.google.co.uk/select/KeywordToolExternal

No point in setting up a site without knowing what people are searching for and how many are searching for it

Thanks for the link

I was just wondering if you happen to know what search volume would count as a good keyword?

 

[BusinessIdeas]

That is a difficult question, if it was a high ticket item/product/service then you dont need many clicks. If it is pennies then you need masses of clicks. You also have to take into account how much competition there is for that keyword phrase. I would set the search results on the keyword research site to show 'Exact' too, that will tell you how many people type that exact phrase into search