Building web sites

I've been helping someone start their business and I'm considering telling her that a web site would be good. Neither of us are techies. Anyone know how much ££££s is average cost to get a site up and running with possibly 1 alteration per week to show the offers available. I've been told that the alterations can be simple to do by a non-technies. Thanks

Most firms have a facebook page instead coz its free and you can update it anytime.

Or you can fill it with adverts and sponsorships from the likes of Ivor Dewdney, Goldbergs and LTC, you'll be quids in.

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This is a decent site for creating all different sorts of sites - you pay for your domain and pay monthly to run the site but it's easy to update. Hard to describe it but instructions are all laid out that it's fairly easy to sort out.

Doesn't cost *too* much to run, certainly a darn sight cheaper than getting a professional site-maker to do it.

Wix sites (and GoDaddy & Weebly & Shopify and a few others) are generally ropey as hell, with clunky code that doesn't make the end user experience very pleasant, and has poor search engine optimisation. For a startup, however, that, and some social media presence is probably fine. As the business grows, they'll need to bin it because the website guys I know recoil in horror at their code. Remember though - you pay them every month forever, rather than a designer once.

If he wants a Wix site to at least look professional, get an illustrator or graphic designer designer to do a logo and a colour pallette and stick to it. And pay for a domain name, because nothing screams amateur hour like a website with Wix in the title. Design shouldn't cost more than £150. Less if you have arty friends.

To have a pro build a site could cost you anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand, depending on the complexity and content. It WILL be many times better than a self-build, but maybe the size or nature of the business just doesn't warrant it. Horses for courses, really.

I've found Wix have gotten better recently, Mike (in my experience at least). If you do it right then they can end up looking quite smart.

Though what you said is very true - pay to have your own domain and not one with 'wix' in the title.

They can look good, if you have an eye for design, but they still tend to be slow to load because the code is never the cleanest, and enthusiastic amateurs often design them using the theory that more is more. SEO is also poor. Still, for smaller or more niche companies that just need a shop window, rather than to rocket up the Google rankings, they definitely do a job.

Even then, you have to look at overall cost. If you run a Wix at £10/month for 4 years, that's £480. For that money you could get a properly designed website, with placeholders where you can drop new content yourself so you don't need the pro to do it. The code will be clean, it'll look professional, and it'll tick all the basic Google boxes. Tony is correct in saying that there are ways to build sites so that the day to day running you do yourself. That doesn't stop some companies from making their clients to pay for every change, but there are sharp practices in every sector. (Neat segue to the current Argyle situation! )

If you don't need the mega-functionality that a genuine website can off then try a blog. Wordpress is pretty good and it is free.

Once you've got the blog going pay for a url of your choice so that it looks better. Cheap as chips.

Thanks guys (and gals?) The Facebook site is already up and running. I'll chat it over with her and may come back to ''my honourable and knowledgeable friends'' for more pointers. She's doing nails and pedicures and launched last Monday and had already got 2 days per week in a hair salon (£25 per week rent) Tomorrow is fully booked all day in the salon!!!
She's even offering pokemon nails

Is that a euphemism?

Sir Francis Drake wrote:

Is that a euphemism?

SFD - you mean to say you haven't been walking your estate chasing them! In my day we would go the pub with mates for a few pints, trap, escort her (or him) home then in the morning make the decision whether to wake the monster next to you or chew off your arm.
Now it's ''let's go pokemon hunting''