17 July 2013

Web Page Basics in Canberra?

| cranky
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Given the poor economic climate, by necessity I have been fortunate to come up with a product that could well save my business.

I would appreciate the opinion of the hive mind on who, how, and at what sort of cost I should expect to put up a one or two page web page to advertise this product.

Economy is the key! 🙂

[ED – don’t forget to take out a paid advert on The RiotACT if you want to get some traffic to the site!]

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Hi Cranky,

Just having a simple web page basic is not going to promote your product very well.
a) The web page need to match the standard of the product you are selling – Imagine ferrari having a one page website, thinking that they have an awesome product, so why spend on the website ?
b) Gone are the old days when a simple website would do the trick. You need a website which will attract visitors to your website and change them into potential leads. The information should be organised and presented in an easy to find.
c) The Website should be device friednly, eg:- Iphone, Ipad, etc.

Some times less is more, however you need to make sure that the less info provided is accurate and user friendly.

My 2 cents.

I specialise in websites from the $200-500 range. My prices are low because:
1. I customise templates rather than code from scratch. The great thing is that 99% of people will never be able to tell the difference.
2. I’m a uni student and just do web design on the side

If you’re interested, send me a message. I’m happy to show you some examples of my work.

**I know this post is basically advertising so please delete if it violates Riot Act rules. However the reason I do web design so cheaply is that I rely solely on word of mouth**

cranky said :

IThe product is of limited application, but very important to some Gov departments. This is the market I wish to target initially. I have business, domain name and email set up, so looking to flesh the system out.

Good luck getting anyone in government to spend a cent on anything new at the moment.
My advice is to knock up something yourself and see if you get any bites… or nibbles even. Then reconsider.

You can get professional looking very cheaply if you do away with the unnecessary bells and whistles.

Only a rich fool would spend good money chasing government work right now. Everyone else is downsizing or running away.

Yes, with a sense of humour like that, it’s probably good that you associate with the free-flowing white-water canoe-tossing repartee that is the Riot…

poetix said :

peterh said :

?..

If your budget allows it, definitely consider advertising with RA. it is worth it to gain visibility quickly…

Suck.

nope. I believe in the RA as an advertising platform. I have since I first learned of its readership and market reach capabilities. I would use it if my budget allowed it, but not just yet.

I’m a freelance web/graphic designer – operating for 13 years – worked with companies like the BBC, Aardman Animations (creators of Wallace and Grommit) and done box art design work for movies like the Shawshank Redemption. I’m resonably priced and still in shock at the over-charged rates for design/development in Canberra compared to the rest of the world. I’ve recently quoted a 4 page bespoke site for $550. Includes a content management system to allow you to make you own text/graphic modifications and contact form. Fire me an email if you want to meet up and discuss your options – jay148369@hotmail.com

DrKoresh said :

cranky said :

I really thank you all for this feedback. You have certainly given me a direction.

The product is of limited application, but very important to some Gov departments. This is the market I wish to target initially. I have business, domain name and email set up, so looking to flesh the system out.

What’s the product? Some sort of ‘death-clock’, perhaps?

Tips to get-outta-town?

D.I.Y. at squarespace.com?

(disclosure: I do not now, nor have I ever held an interest in this company)

peterh said :

?..

If your budget allows it, definitely consider advertising with RA. it is worth it to gain visibility quickly…

Suck.

cranky said :

I really thank you all for this feedback. You have certainly given me a direction.

The product is of limited application, but very important to some Gov departments. This is the market I wish to target initially. I have business, domain name and email set up, so looking to flesh the system out.

What’s the product? Some sort of ‘death-clock’, perhaps?

I really thank you all for this feedback. You have certainly given me a direction.

The product is of limited application, but very important to some Gov departments. This is the market I wish to target initially. I have business, domain name and email set up, so looking to flesh the system out.

There are plenty of freelancers doing low end web design. It doesn’t look as flash as something Zoo knocked up but the most fancy work by Zoo puts the effort into a single button that the low end designers/writers are putting into the whole page so it’s up to you what you want to pay for.

Jessica is a writer with plenty of experience creating websites and specialising in the $1000-2000 range. Check her out at http://jessicafryer.com/wordsmith-for-hire/

She works with an artist who she can bring in if you need to work on your branding and logos, but if it’s a straightforward meet, greet and write, it’s very cheap.

My company is going through the same process – rebrand, new site, new logo etc, etc. I have found a company for the logo, now waiting on completion to take the info to the other company I found that does web design. I split out the two options as both companies are local and I am happier getting work shared than use an out of town mob.

I suggest you set a budget and work out exactly what you want the site to do for you. e-commerce is a way to get the sale of the product up and running quickly, if that is what you need, but if the e-commerce section is wrapped in a very badly designed webpage, that looks old and half baked, you will waste your money.

get the website right, then consider other options like e-commerce.

If your budget allows it, definitely consider advertising with RA. it is worth it to gain visibility quickly…

hawker said :

I can help out if you need it – e-mail crolfe[at]csutv.com.

Do you have a web address?

lol, love the shameless plug JB :p

This is not advice. Just some thoughts based on what others I know have done.

You can set up a site for no cost, on e.g. weebly.com. It’s decades (yes, literally) ahead of the old Geocities/Angelfire concept, but can look nice if you have some taste. The other pluses are you don’t get bandwidth bills and commitments while starting out. And you can control site without contacting someone (also a downside if you don’t know what you’re doing).

A domain name would cost about $15 annually, and more for a .com.au name rather than a .com/.net/.org name. And makes the site more professional looking. This means your site is http://www.productxyzabc.com rather than productxyzabc.weebly.com. And you can answer emails on email@productxyzabc.com, rather than productxyzabc@yahoo.com or whatever.

There are other sites based on the weebly.com concept (google weebly alternatives). I know at least 2 people/groups who sold items via Internet from a free weebly site (had the “Create a free website with weebly” footnote), so there is probably some e-commerce backend. One moved to “powered by wordpress” when they had a regular business. The other switched to being their local business website.

Whatever you do, the usual advice about proofreeding yuour text, good photos, good content, good product and service, applies. Anything can trip up your success, not just the “web page”.

Good luck.

also one or two pages to advertise the product doesn’t cut it. You will want an e-commerce system as well. Also as stated, you will probably want a webpage with a CMS as well. So look for a web developer who can suggest a web hosting company with these features. Most developers are happy with this as content management is as it says is about the content and not the website design per se, which is what the web page person gets paid for.

but yeah people don’t respond that well to a webpage with a phone number/email only. It may depend on the product of course, but if its a saleable over the web type product, you have to have e-commerce as well. People tend to buy on sight, the more they think things over the more they may change their mind as they wait for you to answer the phone or email them back.

I can help out if you need it – e-mail crolfe[at]csutv.com.

I can’t comment on the actual cost of what you’re looking for. But generally speaking – you get what you pay for. If this product is as important to your business as you’re suggesting it is, then pay good money to get PROPER creative done. Good photos (not the ones your brother’s partner’s housemate took with their point and shoot) and a GOOD design. Webpages are more numerous than grains of sand and you want your product to not only stand out, but look professional and trustworthy.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve decided against a company/product because their web presence was not up to scratch, and left me thinking they are a two-bit operation, or that they just don’t care.

One thing you shouldn’t do is go for a solution where a company puts up a site with a couple of pages for you but you need to keep going back to them for any changes. Whatever you go for should allow you to be able to access the website content management system (CMS) in order to make any future changes to the content, including adding new pages, without needing to refer back to the designers.

The days of websites being an online static version of printed brochures are long gone.

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