Easy low cost website

[JCKST1]

I am looking for recommendations for a low cost website, it will be 2-4 pages with mostly text, a few pics and contact field.

Having bought and sold a few properties and built up a small portfolio over the last few years it is something I am wanting to build upon and with prices and demand being so hard we are going to advertise locally and aim for direct to vendor purchases. Along with the usual advertising we think it would be good to have a basic website where people can read about us, put a face to a name and contact us directly hence the need for something easy to manage and fairly basic.

The obvious one for me is Wix but there is tons of similar sites out there so any good/bad pointers will help.


Thanks!

[StevieBee]

JCKST1 said:

The obvious one for me is Wix

They all do the same thing in the same way for much the same price.

I've used GoDaddy and Namesco. My preference is Namesco, largely down to what I consider to be excellent customer service.

[akirk]

There are fundamentally three approaches you can take:

- get someone to build you a website - more expensive, but arguably should deliver exactly what you want / need
- get a domain / hosting (any of the main registrars such as GoDaddy / 123-Reg / Namesco / etc.) and then add in a standardised CMS (content management system) - the norm seems to be WordPress - and lots of the main registrars will automate this for you
- go with SAAS (software as a service) where you buy into using an online system - WIX is an example (but awful!) the best is probably Squarespace

So I would either go Squarespace, or Wordpress

[JCKST1]

Thanks guys.

Considering how basic the site is I think we will be happy to try Squarespace or similar and manage it as there really wont be much traffic or regular work on the site.

I have used WP in the past and now run a busy online shop/marketplace which is fully managed by our developer but just looking for something very basic to help people understand a bit more about us and to put a website on any marketing to make it look a bit more professional.

I will have a look in to squarespace and the other suggestions.

[Ace Bentley]

akirk said:

There are fundamentally three approaches you can take:

- get someone to build you a website - more expensive, but arguably should deliver exactly what you want / need
- get a domain / hosting (any of the main registrars such as GoDaddy / 123-Reg / Namesco / etc.) and then add in a standardised CMS (content management system) - the norm seems to be WordPress - and lots of the main registrars will automate this for you
- go with SAAS (software as a service) where you buy into using an online system - WIX is an example (but awful!) the best is probably Squarespace

So I would either go Squarespace, or Wordpress

I like your explanation! Thanks!

[48k]

JCKST1 said:

I am looking for recommendations for a low cost website, it will be 2-4 pages with mostly text, a few pics and contact field.

Having bought and sold a few properties and built up a small portfolio over the last few years it is something I am wanting to build upon and with prices and demand being so hard we are going to advertise locally and aim for direct to vendor purchases. Along with the usual advertising we think it would be good to have a basic website where people can read about us, put a face to a name and contact us directly hence the need for something easy to manage and fairly basic.

The obvious one for me is Wix but there is tons of similar sites out there so any good/bad pointers will help.


Thanks!

You're coming from a "build it and they will come" perspective - just be aware that the web doesn't work like that. Just building a website doesn't mean that your target audience will see it. People can't read about you if they don't know your site exists. Think about who you want to reach, and how they will find your site. A key factor when budgeting for an online presence is to think about the ongoing cost of SEO and what you are doing in terms of social media, blog posts etc. to get your website mentioned, linked to and visible in search engines.

[rustyuk]

For a total novice of recommended using something like 99Designs

Don't bother trying to create your own using WIX.

[JCKST1]

48k said:

You're coming from a "build it and they will come" perspective - just be aware that the web doesn't work like that. Just building a website doesn't mean that your target audience will see it. People can't read about you if they don't know your site exists. Think about who you want to reach, and how they will find your site. A key factor when budgeting for an online presence is to think about the ongoing cost of SEO and what you are doing in terms of social media, blog posts etc. to get your website mentioned, linked to and visible in search engines.

To be honest we are not really going for that perspective, we will be advertising around a small area where we want to buy. All the deals will be dealt with in person and I expect everyone interested/who has seen the advertising to just give us a call and we will arrange to meet them, the website is really only there to add some credibility and if people want to have a nosey about us. We dont expect many leads from the website in all honestly, its more of an info page, contact form and previous projects site than something we will invest heavily in (or at least not any time soon).

[The Goat]

I've just had a basic website built similar to what you're describing. I used 123reg to buy my domains & used a guy recommended by a good friend to do the website.
The cost for the website design, development, population & release was £430 with an additional yearly fee of £165 for website hosting, ssl certificate & 1gb mailbox.

Happy to pass on his details if you're interested.