Posted by Me/Ca on 1/24/05 12:42pm
Msg #17887

Where/How to get a Website

Help!!
Looking to build a webiste for my business. Any recomendations out there.

Reply by Eatha/PA on 1/24/05 1:08pm
Msg #17890

Look dowwwwwn this page for the "How hard can it be?!" posts. Big discussion on websites there.

Reply by BrendaTX on 1/24/05 1:17pm
Msg #17892

Ommmmm! I'm telling on you, Eatha!

Someone might think you are NOT being warm and fuzzy ....so you just better get out the spoon and start practicing your spoon-feeding, or someone will say you are a big ol' meanie...but it won't be me, and I'll betcha it won't be Hugh, or CaliNotary.

Reply by Eatha/PA on 1/24/05 2:01pm
Msg #17904

Re: Gave up reinventing the wheel ages ago...

...and I *am* a big ol' meanie. I just keep it reined in most of the time.

However, maybe if we were more diligent in using descriptive Subject lines, there would be fewer repeated questions.

Oh, darn, there I go again being all warm and fuzzy. . .

Reply by BrendaTX on 1/24/05 2:13pm
Msg #17905

Better Use of Subject Lines - Point Well Taken!

Eatha - I hereby pledge that I will use better subject lines from this day forward.

You get the Notary Merit Badge for Best Idea of the Day -- Oh, if only I had so much power as to grant such an honor. I am still holding out for getting that position of Queen of The World when it comes open.

Reply by Eatha/PA on 1/24/05 2:35pm
Msg #17908

Re: Queen of the World

I believe His Hughness is, at this very moment, looking for someone to assume that position at his side.

Go for it, His Hughness. I left it wide open for you. . .

Reply by HisHughness on 1/24/05 3:24pm
Msg #17926

Re: Queen of the World

Eatha/PA offers:

***I believe His Hughness is, at this very moment, looking for someone to assume that position at his side.

Go for it, His Hughness. I left it wide open for you. . .***

Brenda, the >>I<<mperial >>P<<rincess at my side? The mind goes ___________ at such a prospect. Exactly when do you think I would be able to get a word in edgewise to advance such a proposition?

Reply by BrendaTX on 1/24/05 5:46pm
Msg #17948

Re: Queen of the World - Need Clarification

Hugh said: "Brenda, the >>I<<mperial >>P<<rincess at my side? The mind goes ___________ at such a prospect. Exactly when do you think I would be able to get a word in edgewise to advance such a proposition?"

But, Hugh.... would I be "Imperial Princess of the World" until I am 40 and then I could be Queen? And, if so, on either count, could I be in charge of No _____ 's law for all things notarized?

If so, have your people get with my people and hammer out the details.

B

Reply by Becca/FL on 1/24/05 6:17pm
Msg #17958

Point well taken, Eatha....

and I do hereby pledge to be more diligent in using descriptive subject lines.

Reply by CaliNotary on 1/24/05 2:42pm
Msg #17912

Re: Ommmmm! I'm telling on you, Eatha!

Actually, I've finally been assimillated by the self esteem patrol in this group. This thread will be my first assignment. So here goes.

Eatha, how RUDE! If somebody comes in here asking for help you should just help them. If your not willing to do that than you shouldn't respond at all. What's your problem anyway? It's board nazis like you that make the newbies afraid to ask questions on here there are no stupid questions, there are jsut stupid people who think they own this chatroom! If you don't have anything nice to say then just don't say anything. And dont tell us what to do.


OK, how was that? Do I need a few more misspellings?

Reply by Eatha/PA on 1/24/05 2:48pm
Msg #17914

Re: Sob, sniffle, sniffle - I shall never post again!!!!!!!!

Do I need more exclamation points??????????????????????????????????

Reply by ZLee_Califia on 1/24/05 1:35pm
Msg #17898

I too had that dilemma and tried one recommended company which turned out to be one big, frustrating NIGHTMARE I'm still trying to forget. Be careful out there because once you pay for a website and it doesn't work, you are left hanging, with only automated email responses that tell you essentially, "you paid, and there are no refunds." (In other words, DON'T use Network Solutions) After that ongoing stress I found "Lycos-Tripod," I found by chance, looking at another member's website. It was a VERY easy, NO stress experience to build and access my website, with many options to use to create. Some think that they have too much access with "cookies," on ones computer, however, my cookies level is on "high-medium" (NNA wasn't even accessible at this high level, as their webmaster asked me to lower the protection level). The price is quite reasonable and I am very happy so far. I'll be the first to let you know if they are in any way accessing my computer, etcl, as I am overly cautious about cookies, spy programs, etc. BTW, I regularly run a spybot search and have yet to find any spyware from Lycos-Tripod. Good luck to you.

Reply by Kimberly Crowe on 1/24/05 1:44pm
Msg #17900

How much is it to get a website going?

Reply by Paul-CA on 1/24/05 3:38pm
Msg #17929

How much is it to get a website going? A few minutes with Google will find you a few ways to get one going for free.

This is the wrong question to be asking, though, Kimberly. How much does it cost to get a GOOD website going? And KEEP IT GOING? Those are better "first questions." These questions break down into a few areas. One is how much does it cost to "host" your website. Prices for this are down around $5/month. I've used ICDSoft.com for several years and can recommend them without reservation. There servers are very fast and I've probably had a grand total of 2 hours of downtime (where my site was unavailable due to a problem with their servers) in the past 3 years.

Getting a name for your website (the URL -- e.g., www.blawdyblawdyblaw.com) can be a real exercise in patience and creativity. Good names are hard to come by. Try to find a name that is easy to remember, easy to spell and not too long. You should use a ".com" name if possible and, at least for a personal business, never .org or .net. If you find a name that's already being used as a .com (e.g., MyBusiness.com) but is available as a .biz (or .org or .net, ...) -- e.g., MyBusiness.biz -- DO NOT USE IT. You can run into copyright/trademark issues. In general, for whatever business name you choose, you want that reflected in your web name AND you should do a search on that name on the web to make reasonably sure no one else is already using it.

If you don't know anything (or enough) about CREATING web pages I would suggest you contract with a web design company in your area (i.e., someone you can meet with face-to-face). Don't even think of talking with them, though, until you have found some examples of what you'd like your web site to look like and you know exactly what ALL of the content of your site needs to say. Do NOT pay anyone to host your web site before you select a web designer (they may have requirements that your chosen web host can't provide). At the same time, if your chosen designer says they want $15/month to host your site, tell them that's 200% above market price and you'd prefer to host it elsewhere.

Everything above is the EASY PART.

The hard part is DESIGNING a good web site. Words to keep in mind are: clean, simple and functional. Web designers sometimes have a tendency to want to try out every new bell and whistle. Leave them to their own devices and you'll end up with something like an old Ford Pinto with a few BMW emblems stuck on it. Don't use a "splash page" -- a page that shows some fancy graphics and then says "press to enter" -- it's a waste of your money and your customers' time. You want your web site to say "I'm easy to work with, fast, efficient and very quality conscious." You DO NOT want spelling OR grammar errors on your site and don't count on the web designer to "shine" in this particular area. If you're not exactly perfect when it comes to proofreading, by all means get several of your more hypercritical acquaintances to give it the once-over.

What should be on your website? Taking a look at the sites for some of the members of this forum will give you some good ideas.

Hope the above is helpful. As with everything on this forum, take what you like and leave the rest. You'll find there are usually a few "right answers" to complicated subjects like this. Others will undoubtedly put a different slant on the issues ... (but it's doubtful that any one else, except Brenda, can use as many words to do so -- or want to).

Reply by HisHughness on 1/24/05 3:50pm
Msg #17932

Paul-CA wisely advises:

***You DO NOT want spelling OR grammar errors on your site and don't count on the web designer to "shine" in this particular area.***

My Beautiful & Talented Wife, now my Beautiful & Talented Estranged Wife and soon to be my Beautiful & Talented Ex-Wife, formerly was associated with me in Signing Agents of Austin. Her biography noted that she was a "public relations official." Well...it was supposed to note that. What it actually said was that she was a "pubic relations official."

The error was pointed out to me by a member of this forum; regrettably, I forget who, so I can't give him credit. However, to his eternal credit, he didn't even chuckle when he pointed it out, though he did ask rather drily if that was what was intended.

Reply by Paul-CA on 1/24/05 4:51pm
Msg #17940

Well, at least they were official relations. Those unofficial pubic relations are always so much harder to manage ...

-------

Then there was this Classified Ad:

EXPERIENCED POOFREADER. LOW RATES!
CALL 555-8372 for an appointment.

Reply by Jon on 1/24/05 6:56pm
Msg #17963

Actually, Hugh, I did chuckle. However, if your BTEW read your response to me, that could be part of the reason she is now BTEW instead of BTW.

Reply by BrendaTX on 1/24/05 5:53pm
Msg #17950

Re: Where/How to get a Website-- I was cheering

For Paul-Ca...

....until he got to the the part where he switched over to Hugh's team and said:

"Others will undoubtedly put a different slant on the issues ... (but it's doubtful that any one else, except Brenda, can use as many words to do so -- or want to)."

>>>> . <<<<

Reply by Paul-CA on 1/24/05 6:07pm
Msg #17955

Re: Where/How to get a Website-- I was cheering

Wow! You mean somebody actually read all the way to the end? I'm impressed, Brenda.

Reply by Tony (FL) on 1/25/05 7:57am
Msg #18014

On my web site I have some helpful links if you want to construct the site yourself.

http://floridaloancloser.com go the the usefull links page