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tzahlman

New Member
Can anyone tell me where or how I can get a web address name registered? Also should I have a web site built for me or is it somthing I can do my self with limited experiance with programs?

Thanks :D
 

Mike Hughes

New Member
I used www.networksolutions.com , which I believe is owned by Verisign now anyway...

There are programs out there that make web design fairly easy. If you have the patience to learn it yourself, then do it....that way, if you want to make changes to your website in the future, you won't need anyone's help to do it.
 

Paul Freeman

New Member
Tom,

There are numerous companies that will register a site for a fee and the fees vary. Do a search on "Domain Registration" or something similar and then shop them. I’ve been using Netfirms.com and it’s working out real well.

If you go to Network Solutions and enter a domain name in box #1 and then choose not to register it (after hitting enter) they will probably register it for you. They did it to me. After they did that, I entered a rather unique name (networksoultions&&&&&) and sure enough they registered it. The moral of the story is: I use the command line in my browser to see if a domain name exists anymore.

If you want to bone-up on your HTML skills, try www.htmlgoodies.com. They have several free tutorials on HTML, Scripts, Banners, etc.

Here's another site where you can check out some free tutorials including Dynamic HTML DynamicDrive. They also have free (pre-written) Java Scripts that you can incorporate into your HTML documents.

From either of these sites you'll find more information than you probably want to know.

An alternative to programming would be MS FrontPage, which basically allows you create your page(s) in MS Word, without all the HTML coding, and then upload into your ISP's server. That's an oversimplification but I'm sure you get the idea. Here's a link to the 30 free trial version of MS FrontPage.

If you decide not to mess around with the programming, contact Beth, of See Dirt Run, Inc., I believe she builds websites and she's very knowledgeable about the pressure washing industry.

Good Luck!

Paul Freeman
 

Beth

New Member
Hi,

If you have questions while you are working on your site let me know and I'll help as I can. As Paul mentioned I also build web sites.

I would not use MS Word for this as Word adds unnecessary HTML code to the markup. I'm not a fan of Front Page (too cumbersome) or Hot Metal. I prefer Dreamweaver by Macromedia.

See also www.hypermart.com and www.virtualave.net as sources.
Beth :)
 

tzahlman

New Member
Thanks

Thanks to all for the replys, I think this info can get me on the right track, and faster than I thought. Once I get my site going I'll be sure to post it for your feedback.


Thanks again [red]
 

ServiceCEO

ServiceCEO Support
I agree with Beth as far as sticking with Macromedia products to build sites with, both dreamweaver and flash are great tools.

As far as who to have build your site, as dreamweaver and flash do require some skills, I always suggest that if you find a site that you like the look of, contact the webmaster of the site and ask them to build it.

I have been on Beth's site, and you definitely could do a lot worse then the one she built for see dirt run.

Just my 2 cents
 

Beth

New Member
Personally, I have found Dreamweaver to be far easier to use than either Front Page or Hot Metal, and have used all three. I pitched Front Page and Hot Metal....

And thanks for the compliment. :)

Beth:cool:
 

ServiceCEO

ServiceCEO Support
Beth,

We do need to remember that what we find easy, especially on a puter, does not mean it is for all. Just like I figure it wouldn't be all that easy for me to run a power washing machine for the first time. That is why I would hire an expert like the folks here, to get the job done right with as little aggravation as possible.
 

Beth

New Member
That's a given, but the toolbars in Dreamweaver are soooooo user friendly. You can type on the page and it will create all the HTML, you can open the editor and the markup is even color coded so you can read it easily and make the associations without going blind. Biggest drawback I have found, is the price tag, but then I believe it is worth it and use it frequently.

I understand your point about hiring someone who can do things for you in a particular area of expertise though.

Beth
 

tzahlman

New Member
Ok so now I have my name registered. If I choose to build it my self I'm assuming I dont need a host right? Second , Beth How much does the dreamweaver or other programs cost? I want to give this a shot myself but dont know if its worth the cost or aggravation.


Thanks very much [green]
 

Mike Hughes

New Member
Tom,

No........you need a "host" or server to basically store your website for you. Your website is stored on a computer in a remote location by your web server, then, every time someone enters your URL that you just registered, they are accessing your website from that web server.

So, what you need now is to contact a web server company and obtain space, and web design software. The web server will set up your domain name to link to their system, and they will give you some codes and passwords that you will need to either enter into your web design software, or give to whomever is building your site.

I would recommend trying to do it yourself, if you are so inclined, that way, if you want to make any changes to your site, you can do it yourself. I decided two years ago to do my site myself.......and it still is not done............so, unless you have alot of spare time, perhaps you should just get someone to do it.
 

Beth

New Member
You can get hosting for anywhere from "free" to about $30.00 per month. There are a couple of really good plans out there for about $8.00 per month.

What does "free" get you? Typically it gets you anywhere from 50 to 75MB of hard drive space for no money, in exchange for pop-up ads running when someone goes to your site. There are a couple of good low cost deals out there too. One is from Greg at deckcare.info. He's got a deal with an ISP and for about $8.00 per month you can get space without pop-ups. The other I know of is with virtualave.net, and it's about $8.95 per month. Not a bad deal if you ask me, and you know we all pay more than that for phone book ads.

Now then...software. Both Front Page (Microsoft) and Dreamweaver (Macromedia) are available for download for 30 day trial. Do yourself a favor if you plan to build it yourself, and learn a little about HTML first, and also get all your graphic, photos, and text that you want to include together before you download the software. This way you can concentrate on the building and not on the research and design while the eval period ticks away. Front Page is less expensive than Dreamweaver if you buy it outright. If you plan to build more than one small site, then I would say buy Dreamweaver. If not, hey, the download of either one is free. This way if you also change your mind you have not invested money, just time. (Dreamweaver is several hundred dollars I recall...)

Also surf this and learn....
http://dogwood.botany.uga.edu/tutor/begin/

Beth :)
 

ServiceCEO

ServiceCEO Support
As you can see from Mike and Beth's above responses, this is exactly why I suggest that you let an expert like Beth do it for you, LOL.

I also strongly suggest that you pay for a hosting service as opposed to a free one with pop-up ads on them. I know I hate those ads, and your customers who will be hitting your site will feel the same way! Most of those free services have pop-ads not only for the front page but for every page a customer clicks into on your site as well. Extremely annoying and unprofessional looking IMHO.

If you do have someone else create the initial site for you, just make sure that you get the same software that they created it in as well. This will enable you to make simple edits yourself without having to pay someone else.

One of my employees, who had a large hand in creating our site, does site building on the side as well. He is a great kid and very creative with images, you can email him at john@insightdirect.com if you want him to build a professional looking site for you.
 

Beth

New Member
One of the things I like about Virtualave.net and hypermart.com is that you can edit while logged in once you upload the files to the server and don't need the software. Of course, the geek in me assumes you can read the code....

:p

Seriously, there are some good tools for registering your site in the engines, optimizing your .gifs (or you can use Fireworks by Macromedia - not cheap either), and also track your web stats.

Beth
 

Paul Freeman

New Member
I'd definitely go the FREE domain route while developing. Who cares if banner ads pop-up – you’re the only one that's going to see them. Once your project is complete, you can upgrade from free to commercial (without the banners) probably without changing the Internet Service Provider (ISP) you choose.

I put a lot of credence in the advice you’ve been given here. Design your page layouts; including what you want to say on each page, because regardless of who does the programming “youâ€￾ will ultimately determine what the textual content of each page is going to be. Therefore, doing it up front makes everybody's job easier and will probably save you some money if someone else does your programming.

If you choose to do the programming yourself, you might still want to consult someone like Beth, because graphics and/or animation can get pretty tricky and good software to create this stuff is not inexpensive.

Best of Luck!

Paul Freeman
 

tzahlman

New Member
WOW!!!

I never expected this kind of a response. This is great and I greatly appreciate It. Well this does sound pretty indepth, but if I don't try for my self at least once I'll never know for sure and it will always bug the heck out of me. If I do decide its not for me I'll let you all know and if you Beth or anyone else wants to take a crack at it feel free. I'm sure we can work somthing out.

P.S. Beth, did you go to school to learn web design?

Thanks Again For All The Great Responses.
[bb]
 
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Beth

New Member
I have been in the high tech industry since 1988. I learned HTML where I last worked, and learned about networks the place before that. I also maintained the LAN in our regional sales office, since we didn't have a system administrator there. Our LAN was connected to a WAN. I learned alot. Now I sell a web based product, so again, I have my hands in the thick of what's current.

I actually majored in Marketing in college. So, building web sites seems a natural thing I guess.

If you are interested in my building it, let me know. I have others I can send the links to that I built, and I have references.

I can understand why you want to try it. It's FUN to learn new things! :)

Beth:cool:

p.s. I'm always happy to answer questions if you are building it yourself and get stuck.
 

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