i need a business website - advice please!

[AbbieCadabra]

i have a major headache & need some advice please!

i need to get a website for our joinery business. it will be a simple brochure type with an intro, what we offer, pictures & a contact page. we might need the option to sell items online some time in the future. we'll only really need 1 email address.

i 'think' .co.uk is my choice of domain (it's available),
i don't want adverts splashed everywhere,
want to be able to link to other sites,
easy for a novice to set up & manage,
site visit stats,
email to be [email protected] type format

have i missed anything obvious?!

these sites get good reviews for the whole package,
daily pro option @ £59.88 per year
webeden standard @ £49.99 per year

i've also been looking at microsoft office live - you seem to get a lot for free, so i'm thinking there's a catch somewhere?! (or i'm just far too cynical ). can you buy a domain & transfer in on this though?

i've tried reading up as much as i can but i can't decide if a 'package' is better than me doing things individually? the general advice seems to be to buy your domain separately, which i can see the sense in.

so, can anyone recommend a good site builder for a novice? best domain 'shop' & a UK hosting option? :bannana:

very gratefully yours in advance

 

[ringway]

Hi Abbie,

The guy that does our site is good AND reasonable.

The important thing about your site is SEO (search engine optimisation).
You could have the best web site on the planet, but if you SEO is rubbish you will not get many hits.

Our site is:

http://ringwayblinds.co.uk/

Have a look around the site and if you like what you see I'll give you our designers details.

Paul.

 

[davidpavey]

Give my chap a try, he`s superb, runs all our websites, and is currently developing a couple more for us. His name`s Anoop, tell him I sent you

http://www.businessdezign.com/

Our sites for comparison:

http://www.unitshopfitting.co.uk/
http://www.ag-refrigeration.co.uk/
http://www.shelvingdistribution.co.uk/

Best of luck
Dave

 

[Ted]

This should do the trick - very easy to set up

http://order.1and1.co.uk/

 

[AbbieCadabra]

(and this is why i love this place! )

thanks guys

plenty for me to have a look at there :bannana:

i did want to try & do this myself, but looking at some of those examples, i can see why it's worth paying for a professional

 

[Nibbo]

Do some Research on 1and1 before you jump in!

 

[flango]

You could always do it yourself via moonfruit and site builder, really easy and really cheap www.moonfruit.com

 

[Ted]

Do some Research on 1and1 before you jump in!

Why? (serious question as I have a website and app hosted with them)

 

[speedybiker]

Do some Research on 1and1 before you jump in!

I've been with 1and1 since 1998, and have around 37 websites and 3 dedicated servers hosted with them and have never had any problems.

I think their support is excellent as well.
I normally call their US support Number rather than UK based phone Number.
Reason for this is that UK support is answered by India or Singapore and use Voip phone's and I hate talking to Voip based systems .
US support is answered by US support team on normal landline phones.

 

[Nibbo]

Why? (serious question as I have a website and app hosted with them)

I have a couple of clients that, lets say are less than happy.

Google "1and1 complaints" and judge for yourself.

I have tried to resolve issues on behalf of a client and their customer service and support are less than helpful to say the least.

 

[Nibbo]

I think their support is excellent as well.
I normally call their US support Number rather than UK based phone Number.
Reason for this is that UK support is answered by India or Singapore and use Voip phone's and I hate talking to Voip based systems .
US support is answered by US support team on normal landline phones.

Have you got the US number?

I have only dealt with whoever answers the UK number and they seem to have a standard set of answers that they use which bear no resemblance to the questions that I had posed.

I don't want to just slag them off based on my experiences which is why I suggested doing a little research.
It is good to hear that someone is receiving good service from them and perhaps they back it up with better customer service from the US.

 

[speedybiker]

Hi Nibbo,
Just did google search and yes there are complaints, but then I also tried a few others like fasthosts and they also have complaints.

Here is the Number 1and1 USA support give them a try and hopefully they can solve things for your friends. 18772064255

 

[Ted]

I did that.
First hit was 2005
Second hit 2006

I have used them for domain parking/website for about 8 years, and we currently have a couple of root servers running business apps.
I won't say there have been no problems, but overall my experience has been good.

Agree with what has been said about the support though.

Just my experience.

 

[comports]

Or failing all that Abbie, you could ask me.. It's my day job.!

pm me if you want help or advice.