Website and logo help

[daisygirlmac]

I'm currently on mat leave and planning to start up a business, just wondering if anyone knows who I would go to for logos and a website? I've got a business name and bought a domain, I think I could probably manage a basic website myself but would prefer to hand over to someone who knew more than me. Are there companies that do logo design and websites? Or would I be better with someone freelance, and if so how would I find them? The final thing I am unsure on is whether or not to pay to have my products professionally photographed for the website, would this be done by any photographer or is it a specific thing?

Tia for any help

I'm not a business or web design expert, butI know there are free online templates for. Reating a basic website, which you can upgrade in the future as you wish, or use as an interim while you test the waters with your business. The one I know is Wix.com, which may or not suit your needs, but I'm sure there must be others besides.

Wix link

Depends on the business I think. I work in a web agency and I think if you're running an ecommerce business, I'd get someone to do your site and some photography.

Try sites like people per hour, you write your brief and budget and freelancers bid on the job. You can pick your favourite and commission them and ask for samples of previous work.

It's not ecommerce it's wedding crockery hire with other bits so I think the photos will need to be quite good but the site itself probably doesn't need to do a great deal apart from give an idea of what I can offer. I'm thinking Facebook is also going to be quite important and wedding fairs to help with initial bookings. Just tying to decide how to split my budget up for this initial layout on website and marketing! I will have a look at people per hour thank you.

There are some unknowns from what you write, so some random thoughts:

• Most companies that do websites can do a logo as well.

• Logo is important that it is done properly so that it can be used on products / packaging / in print work / on adverts / online etc. - usually you should expect the logo to be provided in a number of formats (e.g. with text / without / horizontal space / vertical space / square space / on a solid background / able to sit over other material with built in transparency / in .png format / .jpg format / .eps or vector format / etc.)

• Lots of people tell you that a logo can be done for a few pounds - wrong, don't stint on it, your logo will build your identity and it is much easier in the future to make changes to websites etc. than to logos which could be printed on lots of stock and be expensive to replace...

• Website can be something you do online, such as Wix linked to above, or square space - but there will always be compromise in such solutions - not enough info here to know whether the compromises matter for your business - they do for some, not for others...

• A good freelancer can work well, but a single freelancer may not be strong in all fields, a company may have all the skills, but may be more expensive.

• if photographing your products there are two options:
• if on a white background - get it done professionally it makes a huge difference to how professional you look
• if on a pictorial background (e.g. in context / in a room / etc.) then you could do it yourself as long as the lighting is good - just make sure there is plenty of soft light and there is no clutter in the image, and that the product stands out clearly.

If though you are putting up products - are you selling them online?
If so, then you absolutely should not be writing your own website as there are lots of technical and legal compliance issues...
Instead look at either BigCommerce or Shopify as very simple cloud systems which will do ecommerce for you - you might still want a web company to help, but you can do it yourself and at least it will handle all the credit card stuff etc.

If not eCommerce - then get a simple site on Wix or Square Space and focus your money on marketing - a website with no marketing is useless - marketing with an okay website will still get you the business

I think if not ecommerce then go for a wix site. If you spend a few hours fiddling you can get it looking professional. Just make sure you have your own domain (.co.uk not .wix.co.uk)

I work in digital marketing and I think you're right about Facebook. You can get someone to work on your social freelance but there are so many good resources out there (socialmediaexaminer) that you could read up and manage it yourself. Pinterest is also worth looking at once your set up and have lots of pictures.

It's also worth running some Facebook ads to build your fan base and that is also something you can get someone to do freelance. You can target to a very granular level and your page can be shown to people in a particular age range, location, certain likes and dislikes etc

We would charge about £200 for a basic gallery website with contact links/linked email. Which is all I think you need really re: functionality.

If you wanted a logo... another £100-150 depending on the remit.

If you wanted the pictures taken professionally for your website content - it depends how long you'd need the photographer for...say 3 hours= £300 and that includes retouching. You would be expected to set up though and provide any props.

So really, if you're yet to make any money from your business I would be tempted to do it myself rather than paying a largeish outlay for something that might not take off.

Thanks everyone that's so helpful, I'm going to spend the next few days planning and hopefully sorting a freelancer to do the logo and website. I completely agree the logo is one of the most important aspects, it needs to be spot on so I can start to build recognition. I'm happy to manage my own Facebook but hadn't considered Pinterest as well so thank you to the poster who suggested it!

When it comes to building a website, I recommend you to go with one of these templates www.templatemonster.com/bootstrap-website-templates/ . They are highly customizable and don't require any specific skills at all. Also check out this service freelogodesign.org to design a logo for your business for free. Good luck with your business!

If you are thinking of hiring to do a logo, please drop me a PM and I'll see what I can offer you. I'm a pro designer and I can also connect you with a web designer too. I offer a range of design services for both online and offline with reasonable rates.

You can make nice free websites using Wix but get items professionally photographed is the most important thing. Have a look at Wix if you have time. It's surprisingly easy.