You can't make a quality website so that leaves recommendations for website designers.
Having a website made can cost anything between £100 and £50k depending on your definition of "quality" so it would be of use if you stated your budget before you can even begin to receive half-useful recommendations.
Having a website made can cost anything between £100 and £50k depending on your definition of "quality" so it would be of use if you stated your budget before you can even begin to receive half-useful recommendations.
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It really does come down to budget if you yourself are not a designer.
My personal recommendation is to generally find a pre-made theme for ~$50 such as on ThemeForest. Start with one of these and then go custom when you can justify the expense.
I'd also recommend WordPress, it'll just make it easier for you down the road.
My personal recommendation is to generally find a pre-made theme for ~$50 such as on ThemeForest. Start with one of these and then go custom when you can justify the expense.
I'd also recommend WordPress, it'll just make it easier for you down the road.
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How can you possibly recommend Wordpress (anything) without knowing anything about the business's online model?
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OP asked for a decent framework and I provided a starting point that would be worth looking into. I can recommend checking out WordPress given its flexibility.
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Or what happens more often, people build a site using a site builder theme, stuff it full of plugins, throw on some random content, post about the new site on facebook then come on UKBF and complain that their site isn't ranking/getting visitors/converting.
Wordpress isn't a website. Wordpress is just a repository for the website - and most people don't have a clue how to build a website.
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I also recommend you go with Wordpress at the beginning if you're not sure about your business or content. You need to control almost things about your domain, hosting and website source code. This will help you much in your future development.
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There are few ways you can make a site, but never hire any designer company to make the site and pay per hour or a person from online without knowing reputation (if you hire but never pay the deposit or they will take deposit hang your project). Can I know what type of site do you want to make? (if you like some site and feel that you want to make the same type of site. Please post the site domain without www and .com so you can post it)
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Hi, If you want to make sure, that you have a good quality website, I would suggest to look for professionals. Go on google and look up the companies, take a look at their portfolio, give them a call or go into their office and talk to them. Make sure, that the designers understand the needs of your business. If you are not a designer, then this is the best way to do it. There are many web designer companies out there and if you do some research, you can get a good idea about prices as well if you are unsure about your budget.
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What sort of business do you run or are you thinking of starting
There is a big difference between say a web site used just to promote your intended company onto the web, or a full ecommerce site where you can sell your products on the web and automatically take payment if a customer orders on the site
There are a number of relatively cheap shop in a box e-commerce companies with which you can basically chose a design (template) and just enter your goods or many so called designers who may use other software to make changes to the site or make individual sites
Note I say so called as there is a massive difference between skills and knowledge in this area, most just adapt a existing commercial software package and call themselves designers
Then there is either desktop systems or Cloud based ones
I would suggest you google e-commerce software and try a few test sites to learn how they work and gain a bit of knowledge and then you will be able to understand what is available and if it meets your needs
A web site is fine but most have to pay either AdWords or Bing to get customers finding your site unless its unique or local, so marketing is barely always a added cost
Fisics posted above would be a good person to talk to a very knowledgeable person
There is a big difference between say a web site used just to promote your intended company onto the web, or a full ecommerce site where you can sell your products on the web and automatically take payment if a customer orders on the site
There are a number of relatively cheap shop in a box e-commerce companies with which you can basically chose a design (template) and just enter your goods or many so called designers who may use other software to make changes to the site or make individual sites
Note I say so called as there is a massive difference between skills and knowledge in this area, most just adapt a existing commercial software package and call themselves designers
Then there is either desktop systems or Cloud based ones
I would suggest you google e-commerce software and try a few test sites to learn how they work and gain a bit of knowledge and then you will be able to understand what is available and if it meets your needs
A web site is fine but most have to pay either AdWords or Bing to get customers finding your site unless its unique or local, so marketing is barely always a added cost
Fisics posted above would be a good person to talk to a very knowledgeable person
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I thought you mentioned, though, that you want a quality website?
Quality is, of course, subjective, but that means you need to speak to a website specialist. I would recommend speaking to more than one, actually.
You need one that will sit down with you and understand your requirements clearly, and quote to meet them - not to meet a hundred requirements you did not have.
The cost of all this may well, given your situation, be less than you fear. But do not just go for cheap if it matters.
If it doesn't matter, then don't spend any money at all.
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If e-commerce is not required you should be able to get a nice site giving your company details, A bit of History, What you do and so on for a couple of hundred pounds, plus your own domain name and costs of the server
Ask to look at some sites they have made and pick the best
Once its up and running you can see how it performs and modify as much as you want
Ask for them to get you on Google Analytics and your company name on the google maps so it shows over your location
Don't have any domain except www.xxx.co.uk, you can register it yourself at www.ukreg.co.uk where you can search for unused domains, don't get one of the different ones just .co.uk or in the worst case .com'
Ask to look at some sites they have made and pick the best
Once its up and running you can see how it performs and modify as much as you want
Ask for them to get you on Google Analytics and your company name on the google maps so it shows over your location
Don't have any domain except www.xxx.co.uk, you can register it yourself at www.ukreg.co.uk where you can search for unused domains, don't get one of the different ones just .co.uk or in the worst case .com'
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This reply is to an older post, I realise.
I would love to read the justification for this kind of nonsense, though.
Of course, there is none. I also believe that people asking real questions can sometimes sift through this kind of automated junk content to the real people with the real businesses and the real value to offer.
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for a 3rd time, risking to repeat myself: godaddy
GoDaddy is a good place for domains, but nothing else. There are far better companies for hosting.
The simple answer is: you can't make quality website on your own. If you are going for website builders, multi-purpose Wordpress themes and so on, then you are simply not serious about your project or just want to start with "something" (which is low quality).
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SimtekDigital
- Original Poster
- #21
The simple answer here is: you CAN make a website on your own IF you understand what you are doing. Whether the website you produce is deemed as a 'quality' website depends on your own vision on 'quality', and whether that website is built to serve its purpose and the experience of the viewer in the best and most efficient way possible.
The chances are that by asking on a forum such as this, you have limited knowledge in this field and therefore my suggestion would be that you should not (not cannot) try this on your own UNLESS you are prepared to learn a lot about the way websites are created and how to maintain them.
Wordpress is an amazing product ONLY when you have a grasp on its intricacies and understand the effort needed to keep things ticking along nicely. For a newbie, Wordpress is like pulling teeth, has a massive learning curve and can get overwhelming and equally frustrating in as little as 5 minutes into working with it. It takes time to get under the hood and see how it ticks, therefore it takes time to do anything decent with it.
People, even in this thread, state that Wordpress is easy and is recommended for easy website creation. The reality could not be further from the truth.
So, yes you can create a quality website, but whether you have the knowledge and skills to do so is another question entirely.
My advice, as it would be to anyone in your situation, would be to sit down with someone (I'd say professional, but everyone seems to be one of those these days - although fisicx seems to be a good bet) to see exactly what will be involved in creating your vision before deciding if making it yourself is going to be within your capacity.
If not then you can make an informed decision to pay someone to do it for you.
The chances are that by asking on a forum such as this, you have limited knowledge in this field and therefore my suggestion would be that you should not (not cannot) try this on your own UNLESS you are prepared to learn a lot about the way websites are created and how to maintain them.
Wordpress is an amazing product ONLY when you have a grasp on its intricacies and understand the effort needed to keep things ticking along nicely. For a newbie, Wordpress is like pulling teeth, has a massive learning curve and can get overwhelming and equally frustrating in as little as 5 minutes into working with it. It takes time to get under the hood and see how it ticks, therefore it takes time to do anything decent with it.
People, even in this thread, state that Wordpress is easy and is recommended for easy website creation. The reality could not be further from the truth.
So, yes you can create a quality website, but whether you have the knowledge and skills to do so is another question entirely.
My advice, as it would be to anyone in your situation, would be to sit down with someone (I'd say professional, but everyone seems to be one of those these days - although fisicx seems to be a good bet) to see exactly what will be involved in creating your vision before deciding if making it yourself is going to be within your capacity.
If not then you can make an informed decision to pay someone to do it for you.
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As everybody has explained before, it all depends on your requirements. It is like building a house without the plans. If you require a brochure website for informational purposes then Wordpress is the way to go - I believe it is the most popular platform. If you have no experience then approach a professional to make the website.
Also, more importantly than a pretty website is the SEO so it is actually found on Google. Afterall, why have a Ferrari in the desert if nobody ever sees it!
Also, more importantly than a pretty website is the SEO so it is actually found on Google. Afterall, why have a Ferrari in the desert if nobody ever sees it!
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Only if your marketing plan requires the website to be found on google.
And I brought my Ferrari to drive in the desert, not for other to gawp at
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Completely agree, a lot of the time these minimal websites that look really good may not do very well in terms of ranking.
You have to also consider if you don't have the brand power to bring people to your site, you have to make your site extra strong on the content side of things.
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Only if your marketing plan requires the website to be found on google.
And I brought my Ferrari to drive in the desert, not for other to gawp at
LOL - you mean you bought it for the attention and brought it for the desert!
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SimtekDigital
- Original Poster
- #27
Just because a website needs to be built, it doesn't mean that it needs to rank in Google.
Just because a website needs to be built, it doesn't mean that it needs to be fast.
Just because a website needs to be built, it doesn't mean that WordPress is the only option.
What if the OP needs a website to deal with support tickets? No need for SEO, ever.
What if the OP needs a website for brochure download? No need to be particularly quick.
What if the OP needs a single scrolling static page? No need for Wordpress, HTML will do
No-one knows the OP's requirements so why try to impose on them with things they may simply not need. What happened to the need to identify the problem before trying to solve it?
What those actions do, however, is show how conditioned these 'web-professionals' seem to be, having spouted their own rubbish for so long that they automatically dish out the 'bile' without thinking about whether it is needed or required.
It's like those people who claim to be 'web-designers' and then use Avada or some other rubbish on Themeforest. But that's a different thread.
Take a step back, find out what is required and then offer a solution that fulfills the client's needs. Well, that's how it should work at least.
Or am I in the wrong forum for that?
Just because a website needs to be built, it doesn't mean that it needs to be fast.
Just because a website needs to be built, it doesn't mean that WordPress is the only option.
What if the OP needs a website to deal with support tickets? No need for SEO, ever.
What if the OP needs a website for brochure download? No need to be particularly quick.
What if the OP needs a single scrolling static page? No need for Wordpress, HTML will do
No-one knows the OP's requirements so why try to impose on them with things they may simply not need. What happened to the need to identify the problem before trying to solve it?
What those actions do, however, is show how conditioned these 'web-professionals' seem to be, having spouted their own rubbish for so long that they automatically dish out the 'bile' without thinking about whether it is needed or required.
It's like those people who claim to be 'web-designers' and then use Avada or some other rubbish on Themeforest. But that's a different thread.
Take a step back, find out what is required and then offer a solution that fulfills the client's needs. Well, that's how it should work at least.
Or am I in the wrong forum for that?
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Seeing as a website is being built from scratch then it is best to make it with SEO in mind, taking into account the clients keywords and locations. Putting it out on Google does not mean SEO. Website does not need to be published to Google but it doesnt mean you cannot make the website with some sort of SEO in mind.
Yes nobody knows the OP's requirements which is why we have asked for this. Although OP has said it is a small family business and wants information for customers, possible a brochure website for informational purposes.
I think all comments in this post are relevant in a way and beneficial to the OP original post.
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SimtekDigital
- Original Poster
- #30
Is it? Is it not dependant on the client's requirements as opposed to your own personal view?
Please explain to me how a ticket support site created for a company's help desk is better with SEO in mind when it is being built? Incidentally, how would you implement your necessity to include SEO for a site of this nature?
Or how a single page site used by a small local company for the sole purpose of downloading a catalogue, for example, would benefit from being created with SEO in mind?
SEO by its very nature is the act of optimising a website for better results in a search engine request, yet the two websites above and many others I could mention have absolutely no need for SEO of any description.
Incidentally, specific keyword ranking is past its sell-by date and you can rank very highly for long tail keywords on content alone. Decent content will always rank better than specific keywords, and I think always will.
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There are lots of platforms that will be appropriate for your website but making a quality site will depend on the engagements in which will satisfy or not with the users.
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If anyone still needs to choose a platform for building a website, you can read this article https://www.bestadvisor.com/website-builders . It describes most used website builders and shows their pluses and minuses. But as for me, I would just hire some specialist, who can do faster and more productive.
Good luck.
Good luck.
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Looks like that article is probably sponsored by wix. Wix are not even in the top 10 worldwide. Number 1 is Wordpress, followed by Joomlar and Drupal.. (see here: https://websitesetup.org/popular-cms/)
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