Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums

freddy · 10-29-2009, 06:10 PM

I want to put up a web site but not computer smart. Been looking around the web and see intuit has a build it site for about 5 bucks a month. Anyone try that company before? What would you recommend for a setting up a site for a service to peoples home type business?

JustinPopovic · 10-29-2009, 09:10 PM

Hey Freddy,

If you are not interested in managing your own website then I highly recommend you hire that work out to a qualified pro.

If you can explain a bit more about the goal of your website and tell me more about your audience, I can make some recommendations.

freddy · 10-29-2009, 09:54 PM

The purpose of the site would be to advertize my service type business. I thinking I would like 4 or 5 pages to tell about what I do, and info page, contact page, and so on. Intuit.com seems to have a click and go type think offered on there site, for cheap. Any one tried it before. or who do you recommend.

JustinPopovic · 10-30-2009, 02:25 PM

I can't speak about intuit.com because I have never used it.

There are a few things you should take into consideration.

1. What is the level of quality I would like to portray on my website? If you want to have a very attractive website that entices customers to call you and find out more about your business, then you will want to look at getting some professional design work done. If you don't care so much about the quality of design, then there are plenty of website builder tools (like intuit) that you can use to do it yourself.

2. Do you want to maintain it yourself or have someone else do it?
If you want to maintain the site yourself, then you should probably design it yourself. When you are inexperienced, there is nothing more difficult then hiring someone to design your site and then taking over the maintenance of that site after the fact.

Perhaps you can work out some kind of barter arrangement. Find a web designer who needs some help with whatever services you are offering. Setup a trade of some sort.

Hopefully that helps

James81 · 10-30-2009, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freddy

The purpose of the site would be to advertize my service type business. I thinking I would like 4 or 5 pages to tell about what I do, and info page, contact page, and so on. Intuit.com seems to have a click and go type think offered on there site, for cheap. Any one tried it before. or who do you recommend.

Honestly, for something this basic, you should really just go with wordpress.

It's easy as pie, and if you're only creating 4 or 5 pages, you don't need a whole lot of know-how to do that.

You should look into wordpress.

Well, actually, you should look at a host first (I recommend Hostgator). Once you get a domain and host, you can install wordpress right from the control panel and be up in running in a matter of seconds.

JustinPopovic · 10-30-2009, 03:09 PM

I'm a huge Wordpress fan and in most cases it is easy to use.

The reason I did not recommend it is that I have helped setup a number of non-technical people to use Wordpress and the learning curve was steep. Unless they have someone to show them the basics, it can get confusing.

If you have even a little bit of technical knowledge, then you should be able to make Wordpress work.

You can try learning for free by creating a test blog at WordPress.com » Get a Free Blog Here

There are wordpress tutorial videos on youtube to help you get started.

emeadow · 10-30-2009, 05:43 PM

I second (or third) Wordpress. I have put up several sites with it now with no background on website building before. Granted, I have had to do a lot of the research and figuring out of quirks here and there on my own, but in the end, I have been able to do it all. I also have gained tons of skills I wasn't expecting along the way.

There are a ton of walk throughs to setting up a site on wordpress, watch some of those and see if it interests you.

Good luck.

freddy · 10-31-2009, 11:23 AM

Thanks for all the advice, I looked at wordpress and it looked confusing to me. I don't want to set up for a blogging site. And did'nt see other lay outs the 15 to 30 minutes I looked around on there. I may have to try a professinal builder of a site. I wanted it to be up and working for me in a month or so. And I don't think I have the computer know how to make that happen in that time frame.

James81 · 10-31-2009, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by freddy

Thanks for all the advice, I looked at wordpress and it looked confusing to me. I don't want to set up for a blogging site. And did'nt see other lay outs the 15 to 30 minutes I looked around on there. I may have to try a professinal builder of a site. I wanted it to be up and working for me in a month or so. And I don't think I have the computer know how to make that happen in that time frame.

You don't have to blog to use wordpress. Wordpress is more of a content management system that started as a blog software. It's best use is for blogging, but it has grown to become much more than that.

Another good management system (from what I hear) is Joomla.

And honestly, it doesn't take much computer know how to use these programs. I suggested wordpress mainly because they have such a wonderful support system. All you gotta do is type your question of what you're stuck on into google and you'll find a wordpress support post that'll answer it for you.

Personally, I think it would be a waste of money to hire someone to do what you want to do. Your main goal is to just set something up that tells what your business is about and be done with it. If you spent a few hours one night toying with a CMS (content management system) you could put your own pages up pretty easily yourself.

James81 · 10-31-2009, 06:21 PM

In fact, it's so easy that I'll make you an offer. Go get hosting (I recommend Hostgator or Bluehost), write up what pages you want on your site, write the content you want on those pages, find a theme you like from one of these places:

WordPress › Free WordPress Themes
Free Wordpress Themes | Best Wordpress Themes | Free Wordpress Templates | Best Wordpress Templates
Download free WordPress themes - Free WP Themes

and then shoot me a PM and give me access and I'll have your site up and running in an hour. And I'll do it for free for you. *shrugs*

It really is that easy, man, and I hate to see people pay money for services that are that easy that they could do for themselves.

JustinPopovic · 10-31-2009, 06:30 PM

Wow! I nominate James for Good Deed of the Week award!! I just made that award up but it is deserved.

Freddy I hope you get this offer and take him up on it. Its not often someone makes such a generous offer.

James, hats off to you sir

freddy · 10-31-2009, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by James81

In fact, it's so easy that I'll make you an offer. Go get hosting (I recommend Hostgator or Bluehost), write up what pages you want on your site, write the content you want on those pages, find a theme you like from one of these places:

WordPress › Free WordPress Themes
Free Wordpress Themes | Best Wordpress Themes | Free Wordpress Templates | Best Wordpress Templates
Download free WordPress themes - Free WP Themes

and then shoot me a PM and give me access and I'll have your site up and running in an hour. And I'll do it for free for you. *shrugs*

It really is that easy, man, and I hate to see people pay money for services that are that easy that they could do for themselves.

Thanks for the offer but I would probably ask so many questions about how do you do this or that. You would have wished you would have charged me .

.
I looked over the themes on wordpress ,and didn't see any that really is suited for my construction type trade. I tend to like to set things up one time and never change, so I think the theme might be something I like a lot. And not just settle for just plain. Maybe I'm over thinking this.

The other thought coming from someone who dose not know much about setting up web pages. Will wordpress some how set me up in my town for like a goggle search for my trade or area? Or would it only be accessed by looking for my web name Like www.joe123.com ?

Brutha · 10-31-2009, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Will wordpress some how set me up in my town for like a goggle search for my trade or area? Or would it only be accessed by looking for my web name Like www.joe123.com ?

That depends on whether you have links at other websites pointing to your website.

Gene · 11-01-2009, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JustinPopovic

Wow! I nominate James for Good Deed of the Week award!! I just made that award up but it is deserved.

Freddy I hope you get this offer and take him up on it. Its not often someone makes such a generous offer.

James, hats off to you sir

I'll second that. That was a generous offer you made James. I feel good when I see you giving of your time and talent to others. I reminds me how good I feel when I am helpful to people.

James81 · 11-02-2009, 11:41 AM

Heh, thanks guys.

Personally, I absolutely love dickering around with wordpress, so it's not that big a deal. I wouldn't want to make a habit of setting up sites for free, but I'd do it once in a while just because I like to do it.

whatinspiresu · 11-02-2009, 01:04 PM

Freddy,

Take a look at Yola its free and REALLY easy to use. Just drag, drop and type!

WillieLongIII · 11-03-2009, 02:17 AM

Try not to make things more complicated than they need to be. I'd suggest you start off with wordpress (take the previous guy up on his offer) or find someone you can trust to make the site for you.

If you plan on getting search engine traffic or any other organic search related traffic, there will be much more you will need to learn.

Take action and get the site up for now. As long as you are motivated, you can learn as you go.

10-29-2009, 06:10 PM	#1 (permalink)
freddy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 453	web site Newbie?? I want to put up a web site but not computer smart. Been looking around the web and see intuit has a build it site for about 5 bucks a month. Anyone try that company before? What would you recommend for a setting up a site for a service to peoples home type business?

11-02-2009, 01:04 PM	#16 (permalink)
whatinspiresu Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Chicago Posts: 32	Freddy, Take a look at Yola its free and REALLY easy to use. Just drag, drop and type! Last edited by whatinspiresu; 11-02-2009 at 01:06 PM.

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10-29-2009, 09:10 PM	#2 (permalink)
JustinPopovic Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Ontario Posts: 245	Hey Freddy, If you are not interested in managing your own website then I highly recommend you hire that work out to a qualified pro. If you can explain a bit more about the goal of your website and tell me more about your audience, I can make some recommendations.

10-29-2009, 09:54 PM	#3 (permalink)
freddy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 453	The purpose of the site would be to advertize my service type business. I thinking I would like 4 or 5 pages to tell about what I do, and info page, contact page, and so on. Intuit.com seems to have a click and go type think offered on there site, for cheap. Any one tried it before. or who do you recommend.

10-30-2009, 02:25 PM	#4 (permalink)
JustinPopovic Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Ontario Posts: 245	I can't speak about intuit.com because I have never used it. There are a few things you should take into consideration. 1. What is the level of quality I would like to portray on my website? If you want to have a very attractive website that entices customers to call you and find out more about your business, then you will want to look at getting some professional design work done. If you don't care so much about the quality of design, then there are plenty of website builder tools (like intuit) that you can use to do it yourself. 2. Do you want to maintain it yourself or have someone else do it? If you want to maintain the site yourself, then you should probably design it yourself. When you are inexperienced, there is nothing more difficult then hiring someone to design your site and then taking over the maintenance of that site after the fact. Perhaps you can work out some kind of barter arrangement. Find a web designer who needs some help with whatever services you are offering. Setup a trade of some sort. Hopefully that helps

10-30-2009, 03:09 PM	#6 (permalink)
JustinPopovic Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Ontario Posts: 245	I'm a huge Wordpress fan and in most cases it is easy to use. The reason I did not recommend it is that I have helped setup a number of non-technical people to use Wordpress and the learning curve was steep. Unless they have someone to show them the basics, it can get confusing. If you have even a little bit of technical knowledge, then you should be able to make Wordpress work. You can try learning for free by creating a test blog at WordPress.com » Get a Free Blog Here There are wordpress tutorial videos on youtube to help you get started.

10-30-2009, 05:43 PM	#7 (permalink)
emeadow Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 220	I second (or third) Wordpress. I have put up several sites with it now with no background on website building before. Granted, I have had to do a lot of the research and figuring out of quirks here and there on my own, but in the end, I have been able to do it all. I also have gained tons of skills I wasn't expecting along the way. There are a ton of walk throughs to setting up a site on wordpress, watch some of those and see if it interests you. Good luck.

10-31-2009, 11:23 AM	#8 (permalink)
freddy Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 453	Thanks for all the advice, I looked at wordpress and it looked confusing to me. I don't want to set up for a blogging site. And did'nt see other lay outs the 15 to 30 minutes I looked around on there. I may have to try a professinal builder of a site. I wanted it to be up and working for me in a month or so. And I don't think I have the computer know how to make that happen in that time frame.

10-31-2009, 06:21 PM	#10 (permalink)
James81 Banned Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 12,690	In fact, it's so easy that I'll make you an offer. Go get hosting (I recommend Hostgator or Bluehost), write up what pages you want on your site, write the content you want on those pages, find a theme you like from one of these places: WordPress › Free WordPress Themes Free Wordpress Themes \| Best Wordpress Themes \| Free Wordpress Templates \| Best Wordpress Templates Download free WordPress themes - Free WP Themes and then shoot me a PM and give me access and I'll have your site up and running in an hour. And I'll do it for free for you. shrugs It really is that easy, man, and I hate to see people pay money for services that are that easy that they could do for themselves.

10-31-2009, 06:30 PM	#11 (permalink)
JustinPopovic Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Ontario Posts: 245	Wow! I nominate James for Good Deed of the Week award!! I just made that award up but it is deserved. Freddy I hope you get this offer and take him up on it. Its not often someone makes such a generous offer. James, hats off to you sir

11-02-2009, 11:41 AM	#15 (permalink)
James81 Banned Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 12,690	Heh, thanks guys. Personally, I absolutely love dickering around with wordpress, so it's not that big a deal. I wouldn't want to make a habit of setting up sites for free, but I'd do it once in a while just because I like to do it.

11-03-2009, 02:17 AM	#17 (permalink)
WillieLongIII Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Houston,Texas Posts: 9	Try not to make things more complicated than they need to be. I'd suggest you start off with wordpress (take the previous guy up on his offer) or find someone you can trust to make the site for you. If you plan on getting search engine traffic or any other organic search related traffic, there will be much more you will need to learn. Take action and get the site up for now. As long as you are motivated, you can learn as you go.

Personal Development for Smart PeopleTM Forums

Personal Development for Smart People^TM Forums