Website and Hosting

Terrysdelight

Hello

I want to have a website designed and hosted as I want to start a small business.  I have already bought the domain name.

I replied to a message posted on 'NextDoor' offering to build website for free as they wanted to add their profile.  I contacted them saying I was happy to pay, explained I already have domain name.  The lady talked me through a website build - 4 pages, said they send me a template by email which I have to fill in with the info I want.  And apparently, I just have to pay £125 +vat per year for hosting and includes updates throughout the year.   I was then asked to give my bank details so they could take the payment.  I panicked a little as this was just a person at the end of a phone on a mobile and I hadn't seen any paperwork for terms and conditions etc.  She said they are the number 1 company for design and build but I'm sure this would just be a sales pitch.  Anyway, I didn't give my bank details out, asked for more info first.

Have now received an email, with the company name and company number (webaheadinternet ltd).  Their email states I pay now and after me sending back my info, a website is built for me within 40 days.   I was thinking 40 days is a longtime and I will have paid in full?

What I was really looking for is a service where a website is built for me but I can do updates myself.

Grateful for advice on whether I should go with the service this company is offering or is there something better and more suitable - does the 40 days sound right?

Neil_Jones

40 days?  You can build it yourself in less than one day.

Some hosting providers provide add-on solutions that will effectively act as a wrapper for your website, typically something like Wordpress.  If you don't have this as an add-on from the provider you can add it yourself.

There are other solutions, a lot depends on how savvy you are and how control you want over the entire operation.  Its not particularly hard to build it yourself (though there may be a bit of a learning curve, but it can be done).

Petriix

£125 + VAT is extortionate for hosting. I charge my web design clients £35 per year which more than covers my cost and admin time.

Terrysdelight

Yes, that's what I was thinking.  40 days without seeing anything for my money - seems far too long.  I would have thought a week or two.
I'm not convinced I would do a good job of building my own site - happy to have a go, but if I did build my own site, would I be able to have the following?

·         4 Page Web Design (Full Colour).

·         SSL

·         Hosting.

     ·     Email Setup with unlimited business email accounts (example – info@.co.uk)

·         Registration to all major search engines (Google, Yahoo & Bing).

·         Mobiles and Tablet Responsive.

·         Technical support .

·         Free alterations throughout the year.

Neil_Jones

I think something like Wordpress (which as I say you may already be able to add from a control panel in your hosting settings) may do what you want.  Then you can update it yourself.  Okay you'd have to learn how to use it properly but once you do, it takes care of itself.  The latest versions of Wordpress do all of that and you can have as many pages as you want.

The "full colour website" thing sounds like it's on loan from the 1990s and the days before graphics on web pages was a thing, in all honesty.  Doesn't take any more effort to do it in colour than it would have done in black and white...

wellyftw

40 days for 4 pages? Are they writing it in binary? I've been working since 1998 as a web developer. If it took me 40 days for 4 pages, my manager would have sent me out of the door looking for a new job. Unless they're saying it'll be 40 days before they can start?

Is your business an online business? That will need more consideration.

Is the website just a "this is who I am, this is what I do, this is how you can contact me" brochure site? Get a Wix website or something similar, unless you have any specific requirements.

Terrysdelight

Neil_Jones said:

I think something like Wordpress (which as I say you may already be able to add from a control panel in your hosting settings) may do what you want.  Then you can update it yourself.  Okay you'd have to learn how to use it properly but once you do, it takes care of itself.  The latest versions of Wordpress do all of that and you can have as many pages as you want.

The "full colour website" thing sounds like it's on loan from the 1990s and the days before graphics on web pages was a thing, in all honesty.  Doesn't take any more effort to do it in colour than it would have done in black and white...

I guess the £125 really covers some of the website design costs.  Other businesses would probably charge for design and hosting separately.
Would building my own using wordpress still let me register with google, bing etc, also ssl (for security) ?
The lady said I would need a facebook page so I could link to the website, I didn't particularly want to do this but I guess this would be to help promote the website.
What about email addresses - how do I ensure I have enough email addresses?

Terrysdelight

wellyftw said:

40 days for 4 pages? Are they writing it in binary? I've been working since 1998 as a web developer. If it took me 40 days for 4 pages, my manager would have sent me out of the door looking for a new job. Unless they're saying it'll be 40 days before they can start?

Is your business an online business? That will need more consideration.

Is the website just a "this is who I am, this is what I do, this is how you can contact me" brochure site? Get a Wix website or something similar, unless you have any specific requirements.

Thank you.  Yes my thoughts too on the 40 days.  I actually thought it might simply be a scam - take your money and then run, after 40 days, there might not be any redress. Seemed strange to me having a business call from a mobile phone.  Possibly my mind working overtime!

Initially, yes, this is who I am, what I do etc.  Although, I would like to have a contact page so people can leave their details for a call back.  Maybe even a click and buy button for engaging with the service - but I guess this could come later.

wellyftw

Terrysdelight said:

wellyftw said:

40 days for 4 pages? Are they writing it in binary? I've been working since 1998 as a web developer. If it took me 40 days for 4 pages, my manager would have sent me out of the door looking for a new job. Unless they're saying it'll be 40 days before they can start?

Is your business an online business? That will need more consideration.

Is the website just a "this is who I am, this is what I do, this is how you can contact me" brochure site? Get a Wix website or something similar, unless you have any specific requirements.

Thank you.  Yes my thoughts too on the 40 days.  I actually thought it might simply be a scam - take your money and then run, after 40 days, there might not be any redress. Seemed strange to me having a business call from a mobile phone.  Possibly my mind working overtime!

Initially, yes, this is who I am, what I do etc.  Although, I would like to have a contact page so people can leave their details for a call back.  Maybe even a click and buy button for engaging with the service - but I guess this could come later.

I'm pretty sure Wix would offer a contact form/page. I haven't used the service as I don't need to buy for the cost (£6 a month or less), it's probably fine for an initial web presence that you could put together in a few evenings.

Going forward you may want to build something more suitable for your business but I suppose it depends on how much you're willing to invest in your website and the urgency of getting something online.

If you're in no rush and can foresee wanting more functionality out of your site, then I probably wouldn't rush into it and find a reputable developer/design agency as they're be able to build you something that can grow as your needs require.

Otherwise Wix or something similar - Square Space is another one that is quite well rated/considered for easily getting yourself a website online. Square Space is about a tenner a month.

wellyftw

Terrysdelight said:

Neil_Jones said:

I think something like Wordpress (which as I say you may already be able to add from a control panel in your hosting settings) may do what you want.  Then you can update it yourself.  Okay you'd have to learn how to use it properly but once you do, it takes care of itself.  The latest versions of Wordpress do all of that and you can have as many pages as you want.

The "full colour website" thing sounds like it's on loan from the 1990s and the days before graphics on web pages was a thing, in all honesty.  Doesn't take any more effort to do it in colour than it would have done in black and white...

I guess the £125 really covers some of the website design costs.  Other businesses would probably charge for design and hosting separately. Would building my own using wordpress still let me register with google, bing etc, also ssl (for security) ?

Yes it would. You can have Wordpress host your site at wordpress.com and you get SSL automatically when you host with them. And yes, it'll let you register with google, bing and so on.

The lady said I would need a facebook page so I could link to the website, I didn't particularly want to do this but I guess this would be to help promote the website.

Probably wise. It's an addition link to your which assists with SEO. Alas people expect a bit of interaction via facebook and so it could be a bit of an on going thing. Ie. you'd need to keep an eye on people making posts to your facebook page. It probably is worth the effort of keeping a facebook page for your business maintained a for perhaps few hours a week. Shows you're still in business if nothing else.

What about email addresses - how do I ensure I have enough email addresses?

How many do you need? You can usually have as many email aliases as you need but not sure why you'd need more than a "sales@mydomain" or similar.

Terrysdelight

wellyftw said:

Terrysdelight said:

Neil_Jones said:

I think something like Wordpress (which as I say you may already be able to add from a control panel in your hosting settings) may do what you want.  Then you can update it yourself.  Okay you'd have to learn how to use it properly but once you do, it takes care of itself.  The latest versions of Wordpress do all of that and you can have as many pages as you want.

The "full colour website" thing sounds like it's on loan from the 1990s and the days before graphics on web pages was a thing, in all honesty.  Doesn't take any more effort to do it in colour than it would have done in black and white...

I guess the £125 really covers some of the website design costs.  Other businesses would probably charge for design and hosting separately. Would building my own using wordpress still let me register with google, bing etc, also ssl (for security) ?

Yes it would. You can have Wordpress host your site at wordpress.com and you get SSL automatically when you host with them. And yes, it'll let you register with google, bing and so on.

The lady said I would need a facebook page so I could link to the website, I didn't particularly want to do this but I guess this would be to help promote the website.

Probably wise. It's an addition link to your which assists with SEO. Alas people expect a bit of interaction via facebook and so it could be a bit of an on going thing. Ie. you'd need to keep an eye on people making posts to your facebook page. It probably is worth the effort of keeping a facebook page for your business maintained a for perhaps few hours a week. Shows you're still in business if nothing else.

What about email addresses - how do I ensure I have enough email addresses?

How many do you need? You can usually have as many email aliases as you need but not sure why you'd need more than a "sales@mydomain" or similar.

Thanks, a really helpful post.
I think I would want 4, maybe 5 email addresses.  I do intend for the business to grow and there will be me and two p/timers to start with.  Then obviously I would want and enquiry@my domain etc.