web design and hosting

FranksTours

Hi all
Can anyone please help me?
Ive tried researching online and theres so much information!
I want to start up my own tour operator firm.
To get my business started its vital i setup website.

The IT side i require website with ecommerce etc
Or how choose Hosting? Advertising and logo?
Would really appreciate all replies and Happy Christmas!

hodgey87

FranksTours wrote: »

Hi all
Can anyone please help me?
Ive tried researching online and theres so much information!
I want to start up my own tour operator firm.
To get my business started its vital i setup website.

The IT side i require website with ecommerce etc
Or how choose Hosting? Advertising and logo?
Would really appreciate all replies and Happy Christmas!

You'll need to purchase a domain name for your company, ive used 123reg i thnk it was, get some cheap hosting from webhost.uk.net.

Advertising and logos you could possibly do yourself, are you any good with photoshop or any design software?

paddyrg

First the good news - Yay for you starting up a new company!!! I hope it goes really well for you!

Now the not so good news - your requirements are vague and this is clearly not an area you're familiar with... don't try to go it alone! There are so many variables out there which will have a big influence on what is the best solution for you that I strongly suggest you retain a technical advisor to make some of those decisions for you, or at least make recommendations without having any incentive to upsell you more stuff (ie don't take advice from a web designer/hosting company/programmer/etc without checking with your trusted advisor that it's all beneficial for you). This is an area where someone representing your interests can save you a lot of money and stress in the long run. You may even find someone prepared to advise for a small equity share in your startup, so having a real incentive for your long term business success.

My qualification for saying all this? I've seen it from all sides, working for huge and tiny companies, buying and selling IT services, and having seen how easy it can be to work against the clients interest with great intentions but a poor grip of what a startup/whatever really needs vs what is in vogue/fun to do/suits the suppliers business. In much the same way as you would have your own lawyers read your contracts, or have your own financial advisor as opposed to taking the bank's word for something, so having someone acting in your interests for IT planning can work in your favour.

deady

Namecheap.com are my favourite domain name registrar, I recommend them. For hosting I use Site5. They are very good and helpful. When I have emailed them they have always emailed back within an hour. Also, one time I tweeted that I was having problems with my site and the owner of Site5 replied and my problem was resolved very quickly

Good luck

hubert_cumberdale

i use 123-reg for domains and orchard hosting for my webspace they just done a server upgrade today so they are in top form at moment but in the 7 years i have used them i have never experienced any down time

they are loads of high end scripts ready to install as well

when your site is new beware the SEO cowboys that will promise you no 1 search spots just stay well clear or you will be bankrupt before you know it


give a little description of what you want the site to do and how it operates ie

user registers, logs in, browses tours, orders on line or just phone up. requirement for booking receipts etc etc etc

it shouldnt really be that difficult to start with to get something basic there while you test the water there no point flying in with a 3k website only for it to never take off