SBI - ugly site design

[Shyone]

I'd like to create a blog site. Originally I was just going to do it on my own, but now I'm considering SBI, because I've heard so many good things about it. The only thing I'm cocerned about is the design of the typical SBI sites. I find them to be very poor, and not nearly as attractive as other sites. Am I able to use my own template that I've bought online, or do I have to use SBI's unattractive templates?

[Vanessa]

Traffic > Pretty.

If you're considering SBI, know that its main purpose is to help you build an online business, not to build a well designed great looking site.

There are plenty of site that have customized designs that don't look like traditional SBI sites, but to spend your time making the site look great would not be the main goal of an SBI site. Ideally, you build a site to deliver great content often in an easy to understand sessions and make it easy to get around. That's it. Anything else is a non-core function of the website.

If you want pretty, by all means go ahead and do a pretty site! Its just not the same goals as an SBI site generally stands for.

[runningbird]

I hear such great praise for SBI, I am almost tempted to jump on the bandwagon myself. But their free ebook I read was dumbed down to say the absolute least, and redefined the word "redundant". I really could use help in the internet marketing world, I just don't have the patience to sit through endless yammering. None of these internet marketing gurus know how to get to the point.

[SimonaRich]

You can use other templates, check out my site to see how I made it look like by using AJ fully customizeable template:

Personal Development Articles and Advice

You don't have to stick to their templates because they do look ugly. And it is easy to transition to another template because there are detailed steps included of how to do that.

[Asten]

I was curious about that myself, and it says it's compatible with web design programs (I assume it's talking about Dreamweaver and similar programs), so I would also assume they have some sort of method of putting in code for a custom template. That's pretty basic for any kind of hosting--I doubt SBI is any different in that way.

[Rebecca800]

You can use your own custom template. SBI has two ways to upload content:

- Block Builder - which is an uploading function for dummies, but still gives you enough flexibility to have an interesting site with images and ads

- Upload Your Own HTML - which is for intermediates and above, you create new pages from your template in any HTML editor (Dreamweaver, Front Page, AceHTML, etc, etc) and upload the whole file

The only thing I'd say about getting your own template is make sure it's relatively simple (little or no Flash) and SEO-optimized. That's not just for SBI, that's common sense for getting ranked by Google.

I got both my SBI templates here, my partners company now makes them for SBIers. Also check out the resource centre at SBI, there are other templates you can buy quite cheaply.

[Rebecca800]

Originally Posted by runningbird

I hear such great praise for SBI, I am almost tempted to jump on the bandwagon myself. But their free ebook I read was dumbed down to say the absolute least, and redefined the word "redundant". I really could use help in the internet marketing world, I just don't have the patience to sit through endless yammering. None of these internet marketing gurus know how to get to the point.

That's not a real reason to give up on SBI
So you have to sit through a little "yammering". Its there for a reason, everyone learns differently. The point is, you'll still take away heaps of new knowledge. In a year's time you'll have a profitable website and wont even remember what you hated so much about the yammering.

[darkun]

The look and feel of basic block built SBI sites was the most disappointing aspect of SBI when I first signed up last June. I still feel a bit pissed about it, as I spent the first 3 weeks with SBI teaching myself Dreamweaver so I could create a site that I was proud to own.

Originally Posted by runningbird

I just don't have the patience to sit through endless yammering. None of these internet marketing gurus know how to get to the point.

On the one hand I agree with this. There does seem to be a lot of filler in the SBI resources. So much of it is repeated it can make for hard reading sometimes. Having said that however I feel it needs to be that way to constantly reinforce how SBI helps you build an online business and not just put up a website. I think most people forget just how important ranking highly with the search engines actually is.

My site has been #1 search result on yahoo* for months and has finally made it to page 2 on google* for its site concept keyword. I simply could not have achieved that by myself. What SBI has taught me about the internet in the last year has been worth so much more than the US$300.

Originally Posted by Rebecca800

In a year's time you'll have a profitable website and wont even remember what you hated so much about the yammering.

I blame the razor thin audience that I have chosen as my niche as well as myself for not working with Brainstorm It properly, but my site is almost a year old and has not brought in a single penny as yet. That's not going to stop me from renewing but it certainly makes me hesitate. As well as the weaker AU dollar adding $100 to the price

The constant positive feedback I get from my readers is really rewarding. I am proud of the value that I have created and that there is now a dedicated website for my passion. Could I have created the site without SBI? Definitely. Would anyone have ever found it online? Probably not.




* I have found search engine results may vary from country to country

[Tarzansjane]

Hi

I think the original poster's question has already been handled, so I just wanted to add a tidbit here.

I have two SBI sites. My first one is quite ugly. I admit it. But the thing is, that was my very first site in the world. It is my learning site. It gets 2000 visits a day and brings me in solid, steady income. It's not enough to live on, but it's a good supplemental income. But get this: I do very little work on that site anymore. It just rolls on it's own, so my income stream is very nearly completely passive.

So the way the site looks doesn't matter. I can't beat my traffic off with a stick, so this thing with looks, while I do understand, really has nothing to do with a site's success.

But, SBI just came out with a template maker so each person design their site and make it look as fancy and unique as they want. I'm waiting for the "dummies" version to come out because I don't know CSS yet. I'm too lazy to learn right now.

So someday I'll upgrade my site and it will be beautiful AND I'll be making money AND getting yummy traffic, too.

[Rebecca800]

TarzansJane - congrats on your traffic, that is awesome. What's the address, may I have a peek?

Darkun - what monetization models are you using? I never made much with AdSense, seems like a waste of a click when you can make $$$ through affiliate sales. I'd like to offer some suggestions for your niche but I'm a bit stumped

If your audience is young, how about something like snorgtees.com - earn $5 per sale.