Does Anyone Need A Website? - TanToday

Alan @ TanToday · 10th December 2005, 11:06 AM

I am working with a company right now to do easy turnkey websites for a very affordable price.

Would you prefer a small up front fee and a minimal monthly hosting charge or to pay a bigger setup fee up front and nothing later?

Angelique · 12th December 2005, 05:35 AM

I am working on this for my salon right now...

It is a REAL toss up between website and mailing list advertisment for me atm regarding where to invest first. I am kinda spoiled when it comes to my salon and my customers. Only the best will do! I have been talking to Grip Marketing regarding a website.

Websites are so personal it really depends on what you are looking for your website to accomplish. I have a list you wouldn't believe atm for what I want my site to do. Gary doesn't realize it yet, I'm gonna make him distinguishingly grey if he isn't already BUT! if my site turns out the way I picture it? I will make sure not only Gary and Grip Marketing can use it as a sales tool, but all of you as well will have the web addy so you can see, compare, and decide for yourself what functions you would like your own salon website to do. ETA is Jan 31st for my site unveiling. Between now and then we have a lot of work to do.

In today's market we have hit the wall where only the tough will survive and I truly believe that "The tough" are those who will think outside the box for a change and work smarter not harder. I am making NUMEROUS changes to my business and the way I do business after 13 years in this industry. Status quo will not suffice anymore!

I used to have my salon site with Homestead.com I built it myself... but I took it down. I am investing in a fully functional, professionaly designed site.

Image is everything!

Jancy · 12th December 2005, 10:12 AM

We went thru CostCo and picked up one of our many sites using ValueWeb. They do hosting, domain name registration, have a banner building program, send you a create and maintenace CD for your website using CreateIt and Macromedia Contribute. www.valueweb.com Use your Costco Card to get a price discount. We're happy with the support team and 24/7 help at ValueWeb.

Howevere, for one of our salons we are using a Yahoo cookie cutter website for the website, but it's not interactive, and just gives basic information over 7 pages. (About us, contact us, hours, location with a yahoo map, etc.) I'm OK spending $8.96 a month for the domain name and web hosting. However, I'm not happy about our web images that don't really reflect us as a tanning salon as there were not many choices. We chose the cheap route for the salon because all we wanted was to put basic information out there as quickly as possible and to metatag all the bigger salons in our area.

If you have no experience with web design, I suggest that a professional web designer will be your best bet and do recommend webforge.com for a great layout and wonderful service.

Good Luck with getting a web site up and running. On the internet, only the tough will survive. Unless your web site is interactive, and your web hoster has multiple servers to backup and protect your website from attack you might be better off NOT having a web site. Be sure to see what kind of support your host has to offer you before you put your trust into anybody. Make sure your host has redundent servers. Being able to build a marvelous site is meaningless unless that web support and a site manager is available to keep your site up and running. Many web designers are just programmers... and don't actually do much to physically host the web site except be a middle man. Plus if you plan on having anything for sale on the internet you'll need merchant services, UPS of FEDEX live tracking for delivery and costs, etc. This gets tricky and you'll want a good host and a professinally designed web to help with this. Don't expect the "morter and brick" costs for merchant services either... it's more expensive on the web due to 2nd party hosting (everybody gets their fingers into your pocket book when you are on the web.) Good luck.

gottatanfl · 13th December 2005, 02:51 PM

I have mine thru register.com
Cost was very low for set up and I pay a small mthly fee.

Papa · 14th December 2005, 08:38 PM

Godaddy.com has cheap domain name registration and hosting. I haven't gotten to the point of designing my site yet although I have registered my name. I'll probably have it done by a local designer or GRIP. Not sure yet and it's a bit in the future.

mxroy471 · 6th January 2006, 09:10 AM

Went through godaddy.com for the domain name setup. Had my website done professionally.( site is almost all finished) www.bahamamamatanning.com .
Host it off my server at the salon from my DSL line. Getting an in-house e-mail server to recieve e-mails along with being able to do e-mail campaigns. Inital cost expensive saves over long haul.....

Pink · 7th January 2006, 06:40 PM

Your website is one of the most important tools you have.
If it takes away from Direct Mailing your database then I would say wait.
Talking to your customers through direct mail is the number one priority, your webstie is second.
If you are going to just put your website up as brochure then do not spend a lot of money on it.
If you are going to make it part of your life and utilize it correctly , go for it.

mimistanningshak · 29th January 2006, 05:24 PM

GODADDY is the best for domain name! My best friend happens to do their domain infringements and I know how aggressive she is! I have my salon's website with them right now because I wanted something quick, but I am considering a more professional site.

10th December 2005, 11:06 AM	#1 (permalink)
Alan @ TanToday Checks and Balances Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 6,158	Does Anyone Need A Website? I am working with a company right now to do easy turnkey websites for a very affordable price. Would you prefer a small up front fee and a minimal monthly hosting charge or to pay a bigger setup fee up front and nothing later? __________________ Alan "America is too great for small dreams" - Ronald Reagan

12th December 2005, 05:35 AM	#2 (permalink)
Angelique All Star Join Date: Sep 2005 Posts: 172	Image is EVERYTHING! I am working on this for my salon right now... It is a REAL toss up between website and mailing list advertisment for me atm regarding where to invest first. I am kinda spoiled when it comes to my salon and my customers. Only the best will do! I have been talking to Grip Marketing regarding a website. Websites are so personal it really depends on what you are looking for your website to accomplish. I have a list you wouldn't believe atm for what I want my site to do. Gary doesn't realize it yet, I'm gonna make him distinguishingly grey if he isn't already BUT! if my site turns out the way I picture it? I will make sure not only Gary and Grip Marketing can use it as a sales tool, but all of you as well will have the web addy so you can see, compare, and decide for yourself what functions you would like your own salon website to do. ETA is Jan 31st for my site unveiling. Between now and then we have a lot of work to do. In today's market we have hit the wall where only the tough will survive and I truly believe that "The tough" are those who will think outside the box for a change and work smarter not harder. I am making NUMEROUS changes to my business and the way I do business after 13 years in this industry. Status quo will not suffice anymore! I used to have my salon site with Homestead.com I built it myself... but I took it down. I am investing in a fully functional, professionaly designed site. Image is everything! __________________ __________________________ Thinking Heavenly Thoughts... ~~Angelique~~ aka Jaime B. Salon Owner Since 1993, Retired, but not dead! ______________________

12th December 2005, 10:12 AM	#3 (permalink)
Jancy "Does not play well with others." Join Date: Jul 2005 Posts: 197	Web site ideas We went thru CostCo and picked up one of our many sites using ValueWeb. They do hosting, domain name registration, have a banner building program, send you a create and maintenace CD for your website using CreateIt and Macromedia Contribute. www.valueweb.com Use your Costco Card to get a price discount. We're happy with the support team and 24/7 help at ValueWeb. Howevere, for one of our salons we are using a Yahoo cookie cutter website for the website, but it's not interactive, and just gives basic information over 7 pages. (About us, contact us, hours, location with a yahoo map, etc.) I'm OK spending $8.96 a month for the domain name and web hosting. However, I'm not happy about our web images that don't really reflect us as a tanning salon as there were not many choices. We chose the cheap route for the salon because all we wanted was to put basic information out there as quickly as possible and to metatag all the bigger salons in our area. If you have no experience with web design, I suggest that a professional web designer will be your best bet and do recommend webforge.com for a great layout and wonderful service. Good Luck with getting a web site up and running. On the internet, only the tough will survive. Unless your web site is interactive, and your web hoster has multiple servers to backup and protect your website from attack you might be better off NOT having a web site. Be sure to see what kind of support your host has to offer you before you put your trust into anybody. Make sure your host has redundent servers. Being able to build a marvelous site is meaningless unless that web support and a site manager is available to keep your site up and running. Many web designers are just programmers... and don't actually do much to physically host the web site except be a middle man. Plus if you plan on having anything for sale on the internet you'll need merchant services, UPS of FEDEX live tracking for delivery and costs, etc. This gets tricky and you'll want a good host and a professinally designed web to help with this. Don't expect the "morter and brick" costs for merchant services either... it's more expensive on the web due to 2nd party hosting (everybody gets their fingers into your pocket book when you are on the web.) Good luck. Last edited by Jancy; 12th December 2005 at 10:20 AM.. Reason: spelling

29th January 2006, 05:24 PM	#8 (permalink)
mimistanningshak All Star Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 86	GODADDY is the best for domain name! My best friend happens to do their domain infringements and I know how aggressive she is! I have my salon's website with them right now because I wanted something quick, but I am considering a more professional site. Last edited by mimistanningshak; 30th March 2006 at 12:10 PM..

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13th December 2005, 02:51 PM	#4 (permalink)
gottatanfl Hall of Famer Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 1,605	I have mine thru register.com Cost was very low for set up and I pay a small mthly fee.

14th December 2005, 08:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
Papa (insert title here) Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 197	Godaddy.com has cheap domain name registration and hosting. I haven't gotten to the point of designing my site yet although I have registered my name. I'll probably have it done by a local designer or GRIP. Not sure yet and it's a bit in the future.

6th January 2006, 09:10 AM	#6 (permalink)
mxroy471 Rookie Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 3	Went through godaddy.com for the domain name setup. Had my website done professionally.( site is almost all finished) www.bahamamamatanning.com . Host it off my server at the salon from my DSL line. Getting an in-house e-mail server to recieve e-mails along with being able to do e-mail campaigns. Inital cost expensive saves over long haul.....

7th January 2006, 06:40 PM	#7 (permalink)
Pink Princess Pink Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 792	Your website is one of the most important tools you have. If it takes away from Direct Mailing your database then I would say wait. Talking to your customers through direct mail is the number one priority, your webstie is second. If you are going to just put your website up as brochure then do not spend a lot of money on it. If you are going to make it part of your life and utilize it correctly , go for it.