I need help developing a website.

[Dr plumber]

Hi, I run a Plumbing, heating & gas firm that has allways servived on local paper advertising, but now I reconise the need for the Web to expand my business.
I contacted Yell to build me a simple site to start with, costing £250 including hosting and then spoke to a friend, more in the know about these things, and he explained, Yell are bad news and said I should post on here and someone will do me a better site hosted for the same money.
He advised that with the correct variable keywords and relevent content I will get much higher on the Google search engine.
I think I have 14 days to get out of the Yell thing and need to know if this is the way to go.

 

[cmcp]

For £250 you might be able to get someone to customise a template for you, load the content and set it up with hosting.

Have a read about Google Local / Maps for advertising. You basically plot your business on the map, and when a "local" search (eg "plumber <location>") is performed the map is displayed at the top of the search results with hopefully your site there.

You won't get very far with £250, but this is your best option.

 

[Simplistic Designs]

Please check your inbox for the personal message I've just sent.

Cheers,

Ally McInnes.
Managing Director.
Simplistic Designs.

 

[awebapart.com]

I reconise the need for the Web to expand my business.

So do you want the website to bring in more business? I ask this question because it isn't the only reason to have a website. Some companies have a website to back up their existing marketing, perhaps even to reduce print advertising (smaller ads, provide a web address for more information).

If you want the website to bring in business itself then you might need more than just a website, you might need a website that has been created to do well in the search engines too, e.g. for local plumber searches.

This can be more difficult, especially since local plumber searches on a county basis might be competitive, even on a town basis.

But if this is the case it might be worth doing your homework on SEO (search engine optimisation) first (there is an SEO forum on this site), perhaps putting aside some of the £250 for SEO consultation rather than website, perhaps even google advertising (adwords).

It is possible to get a website alone for much less than £250. This question often gets asked on this forum. Have a look at this recent website recommendation

There are a number of plumbers using Microsoft Office Live's website service, you can see some of their websites with this google search.

If done right it is even possible to get some of these websites featuring in the natural searches on page 1 of google, currently there are plumber sites using ms office live on page 1 position 10 for the search plumber northampton and the search plumber teeside and these rankings could probably be improved with better SEO.

Not much can be guarateed with SEO, and it can take time, so don't expect much from your website in terms of it bringing in more business by itself from day 1. However if you use your website for other purposes too, like to back up your existing marketing and advertising, then in this way it can be useful from day 1.

 

[Big Pete]

Hi, I run a Plumbing, heating & gas firm that has allways servived on local paper advertising, but now I reconise the need for the Web to expand my business.
I contacted Yell to build me a simple site to start with, costing £250 including hosting and then spoke to a friend, more in the know about these things, and he explained, Yell are bad news and said I should post on here and someone will do me a better site hosted for the same money.
He advised that with the correct variable keywords and relevent content I will get much higher on the Google search engine.
I think I have 14 days to get out of the Yell thing and need to know if this is the way to go.

Drop yell and look below

 

[FireFleur]

You could always try and get up a basic page for your company yourself, as a first step. That tends to work quite well later, when you look around to have a more complete site, and instead it will cost you a couple of days and perhaps a book.

Save some of the 250 for when you want something bigger, which will generally cost you a bit more, but be more effective.

 

[sanjiv]

I have sent you a PM.

 

[PhilipDixon]

I would suggest purchasing a sutable joomla template. Get a designer to customise it for you. then sign up to a hosting company for £5.00 a month. and bingo you have a very unique site that can be added to and developed for under 100.

 

[AjiNIMC]

Hi,

Check following for your website:

1. Good usability, based on your requirement
2. [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Aesthetics - Look and feel to be good[/FONT]
3. [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Good technical architecture[/FONT]
4. [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Good follow up, right follow up is needed, and it makes all the difference[/FONT]
5. [FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']SEO friendly - Good for getting better ranks[/FONT]

[FONT='Verdana','sans-serif']Hope it helps, sent a pm too[/FONT]

 

[popunder]

Hi Dr Plumber,

Don't forget that creating a website is like having some leaflets or a brochure about your business printed - it's fine getting them printed, but what are you going to do with them? You have to get them in the hands of people who are interested, and it's just the same with your website - no good having a nice site that nobody sees. Think about your web visibility, not your web site. Yes you can get a website for £4.99, but will it bring you any business? PM me for some suggestions and proof of how we've been helping plumbers get business online for nearly 3 years!

 

[esscotti]

For some reason (don't ask me why as I am not in any plumbing related business) I own the domain cambridge-plumber.com. Don't know if you work in or around Cambridge but if you (or anyone else) are interested in this domain then let me know...!

You can get a really nice website for £250. To give an example I developed http://www.ncmcarpentry.co.uk/ for just £150 for a client. It is simple and based on a template but it does the job of promoting a business on a shoe-string budget.

There are probably quite a few providers that can deliver a website at or around that budget but I think the main thing is to find someone who you can a) work with for the long term, b) that you can trust does a good job, c) listens to your specific needs, d) you know won't charge a furtune.

 

[PETTE]

Contact me to have a look at my recent projects. If you prefer great clean graphics then I'm the right designer, We might have to negotiate increasing your budget up a bit.

I'm currently working on a project so I'll be available very soon.

 

[tbomedia]

Hi Mr Plumber, Pm sent!