Website building

[CoteDAzur]

Has anyone built a professional-looking website for a small business?

Which software did you use?

Nobody?

I've used the 'build a site' tools on a few services (iPower.com and Heart Internet spring to mind, along with the free Google Sites) but have not been developing many sites for clients of late (and therefore have continued to use some HTML coding by hand, and methods many 'web designers' might look down on).

The type of business could be important to how best to develop a site - some use content management systems (CMS) to allow the business to update the site themself, adding 'news' pages, etc {it means the end user is responsible for spell checking, and timely uploading / removal - eg if there was a special offer on for just a week or two}, while other developers lock the client into paying 35 quid an hour or part hour for alterations, and all alterations have to be done by the site developer. The latter can be a rip-off / scam, as are instances where the domain name registration does not show the client, but has the website firm as the 'owner' {meaning they can hold the client to ransom, because the client cannot legally demand a transfer of the domain and don't control the domain, so the development firm one saying 'This is the site of XYZ Ltd but is offline as they owe money'}.

Sorry for rambling a bit - I did prepare several pages about 'gotchas' when getting a web site built for small businesses, mainly saying what bits to keep control over and never release to the web site developers! (I still have the domain for that help guide, but moved only client sites to a new {UK-based} hosting firm before I was in hospital, and I've yet to put at least half my sites back online).

So, is the firm wanting to do e-commerce, or just an online glossy about their services / products ?

I'd love to take a look at those websites (online ones) if you don't mind linking to them here.

There will have to be a facility to upload small documents (by customers) and another to make payments (PayPal or Visa/MasterCard).

Thank you for your help.

Was just looking at Quidco (but have not done same for TopCashBack) (these sites provide registered users with cash back from the company the user purchases products/ services from... many companies give 'commission' to web sites that 'feed' them new customers, and TCB and Quidco pass most of the cash back to the customer. Everything automated, probably a dozen staff or less, but getting 1% of millions of pounds in sales is probably how it works!)

Quidco has a link to www.One.com where you can get webspace (with a site builder tool) effectively for free for the first year.

One.com charges a setup fee of 9 quid, and waives the 0.90 Euro /month fee for the first year (not sure about subsequent years), and Quidco passes back up to 10 pounds from One.com (it might not apply to the 'free' account!)

Anyway, looks like for a one-off 9 quid fee you'd get web hosting (and more) and have the possibility of being refunded 10 quid. Most important it'd allow some experimenting at minimal cost.

Have a look at yola, we used them for our company.

Link below mentions that deal with www.One.com

www.hotukdeals.com/deals/domain-name-1-years-hosting-5gb-webspace-10-80-one-com-80p-after-quidco-1278431

9 quid +VAT I think, so ends up costing 80p (but must tell them in the 11th month that you don't wish to renew, if you decided to try them out for design tool mostly.

Thank you both.

I just looked at One.com and can't see what their templates or the finished websites look like.

Yola looks interesting but probably expensive in the long run. Even search engine optimisation has a monthly cost. What do you think, femine?