Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I am somewhat computer literate and enjoy creating marketing materials for my current employer. I see that webdesign is very expensive and will have continued demand for $`s to upgrade and maintain. Would it be crazy to consider purchasing software, like Front Page or even using MSPub to create my own website?

If I did choose this method, how do I go about creating a shopping cart? I understand that PayPal is a great way to add credit cards. Does anyone have thoughts on this?

I also will need to have a catalog and brochures--what software have you used for this or should I just incorporate the cost into my startup loan request?

 

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"If you`ve got a frog to swallow, don`t look at it too long. And if you`ve got more than one to swallow, swallow the biggest one first"--Danny Cox

Hi rvdebby,   I recently went through the process of trying to decide how to get my website up and running.  I looked into the idea of creating my own with Frontpage and looked at the many companies out there with templates that you can customize.  You can customize the templates to suit your needs and they aren`t too expensive.  At Register.com,  they have a 5 page web site and even a 20 page web site that you can purchase.  You can add a shopping cart and accept paypal or credit cards.  Another site I found that looked good was Citymax.com.  What I didn`t like about Citymax was that you couldn`t call and speak with anyone from support.  You had to correspond via e-mail only.   These are two inexpensive ways to get a nice web site with shopping cart and accept payments and you`ll be up and running in no time.  There are many other similar companies also.   Good luck.

Rich. 

The issue isn`t whether or not you can build a Web site on your own. Sure you can, even if you use FrontPage. (I`d ask at least one or two professional developers what they think about FrontPage first, though.)

It`s not about what you do NOW. Anyone can put up a building, all they need are some boards, nails, and some hardware. You can paint a sign on it and call it a house or a store. If you have a decent product, people will make their way to that ramshackle building, and it might even work very well. It could have "charm," so to speak.

But what about when you have a daily stream of customers? What about when you start using a commercial delivery system and 18-wheelers to bring in your product? At that point, you`ll say, "Sure. I`ll expand and grow the building then. I`ll have the money then."

Great. And what about all that you`ve stored and built into the first place? Can you get it out again? Will you be able to seamlessly expand, or will you have to raze the entire thing to the ground, and start totally from scratch again?

Here`s something you`ll have to know about, even if you don`t use it, if you`re going to build your own site. It`s called CSS (cascading style sheets). If you go one way, you`ll have individual styles in each individual page. Then, to make a single change to your Web site you`ll work many hours.

If you go the other way, and have external style sheets, then making that single change will take minutes. Now consider the myriad of OTHER coding details that you`ll be learning for the first time, with no experience. How many of them are irrevocable decisions, which will permanently set your coding in a particular way?

The advantage of spending the money for a good Web designer is the same as hiring a good contractor to build your house or addition. It depends on how solid you want that house to be when a hurricane hits. What are the probabilities of a hurricane? If we translate that to a "storm of customers," then that`s your whole intent---to have a hurricane of customers. Will your Web site be able to handle it?

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the advice. Your website looks good.

Are you happy with the results of your web package? Are you getting the results you expected?

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"If you`ve got a frog to swallow, don`t look at it too long. And if you`ve got more than one to swallow, swallow the biggest one first"--Danny Cox

If everyone here doesn`t already know, there is a free software at www.nvu.com that is just as good as frontpage (minus the $100 you have to spend). 

Just in case you guys want to lower your overhead!

 

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"Discover How I`m PERSONALLY Helping Entrepreneurs Make Money On The Internet..."

Hi rvdebby,

You can teach yourself how to build an effective website, and how to market it as well, with http://sbi.build-business-online.com - it`s an integrated hosting and marketing system.

The company has a good track record of success, so the system works!  See http://results.build-business-online.com  - there`s over 300 sites listed there.

There`s also an option to integrate a store as well, when you need it.

You can accept credit card payments through Paypal with a premier or business account. 

You could probably create your own brochures and catalogs with MS Publisher.

I hope this helps.

Hi rvdebby

From you`re questions I think you`d very quickly find yourself in over your head if you tried to build your own shopping cart. I`d strongly recommend you look for a shopping cart hosting company with all of the feature you want and that allows you to customize the look.

If you just want a static website then go for try the free programs like Nvu first. They`ll probably do what you want but save you $$$`s

  Rich


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Blog - http://www.buggy.id.au/

Building your own web site!
The question remains... Altough, many entrprenuers like to take matters into their own hands, they like to take on a project like "building a web site"...
My questions to you is? How much knowledge do you have on web design?
Are you artistic enough to take on a project of this nature?

Remember, although keeping your overhead low is always a concern for many company`s... It can hinder your business in a way that you wont imagine.
Why? because.... Your internet presentation has to do alot with how people are going to see your business... When a client visits your web site, it has to have appeal, easy to navigate... The least you need is for your company`s web site too look like something a 10 year old created while fiddling around with MS Frontpage or MS Publisher.

Remember, MS Publisher is what it is... Its for publishing internal marketing and communication letters... It is not intended to give you the corporate presentation that the company that you work for seeks....
When I talk to my clients and they ask me: should we build the web site on our own and you just look it over? My answer is No, I will not help you... Why?
Because a web designer is a professional that understands how things work on the internet... Just like you wouldn`t paint your own car, would you?
Just imagine yourself painting your car, would you get the same results as if you where to take it to Joes Body Shop?

Web Design doesn`t always have to be expensive, you can find good web designers out there that will give you a good web presentation.
My answer to your posting is: LEAVE IT TO A PROFESSIONAL
Down the road you are going to see that, what you though was going to be expensive, fits in good with the budget you set aside for your web site.
Another thing, Shopping carts aren`t something you want to touch if you don`t have the knowledge to go along with it.

Remember you will be collecting clients critical information. How are you going to protect your clients from the internet (hackers).. How are you going to process credit cards? Paypal? CC? what type of Security are you going to have on the checkout?

There is more to a shopping cart that alot of people don`t understand... Or they simply just don`t care.

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Edgar Monroy
Web Developer / Owner / Consultant
When starting your own business the need to "know-how" is greater than money!
http://www.nuevolution.net

I would also recommend you talk to a professional simply because there are a lot of other factors and considerations that you may need to think about. On the web design side, you have to consider things like CSS, search engine optimization techniques (eg meta tags, keywords), browser compatibility, accessibility requirements, etc. There`s also many different web languages: html, jsp, asp, php, etc. Most common now is php

The posters above are right about shopping carts. It gets more complicated and should be left not be taken lightly

However, if you are pretty tech savvy and have some interest in it, as a developer, I would stay away from MS Front Page. It`s terrible. Something like Adobe/Macromedia Dreamweaver is probably the most user friendly for web design. Don`t forget you`ll also need some kind of image manipulation program like Adobe Photoshop to create your logos/headers/images, etc that you are going to use for your website.

Any questions, let me know.....Good luck!


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Brandon Eng, Owner, Lead Studios

Play sports? Find other Toronto players @ www.sportaholik.com

OK...it`s apparent that it would be criminally stupid to attempt website design at home--at least with my experience. Guess that I will confine my artistic side to logo design and creation of brochures and catalogs. Thoughts on software. Haven`t had a real desktop program to work with since Corel 4. Know the office here uses PageMaker for our magazine, but we are a non-profit and often do not have the best solutions.

Thanks guys!

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"If you`ve got a frog to swallow, don`t look at it too long. And if you`ve got more than one to swallow, swallow the biggest one first"--Danny Cox