Web site

[rovinax12]

I have been reading posts for some time now. Been in business for about 2 years. I do no advertising so my business is not what I would like. When I go on line and swarch windshield repair, I get no wr company in my zip code ( Madison, Ms ). I am thinking about establishing a web site but confess I know almost nothing about cost or how to go about it. Am wondering if anyone would care to comment or offer advice. Seems to me that people simply call their ins co. who transfer them to safelite or lynx so I never get a shot at it, as I am not affiliated with either. Also, what about yellow pages etc. Would appreciate any comments/ advice.

[Kgobin]

When it comes to starting a website there are multiple ways to get started, but below are some of the basic things that you need to look into.

Get Your Domain Name
A domain name is the name you want to give to your website.

Choose a Web Host
A web host is basically a company that has a lot computers connected to the Internet.

Designing your Web Pages

Test Your Website
You will need to test your web pages as you design them in the major web browsers.

Getting Your Site Noticed

You can read the post Google Adwords for more information on getting your site noticed.

[Kgobin]

Also, The big welshman, scrubs147, Gregg, t4k, just chippen away, and ATX_Windshield_Repairs contributed to a great post about advertising for free on the internet

[Jason74]

Last year, I signed up with a webhosting company for $5.95 a month. I could have had it for $4.95 a month if I would have been willing to agree to a two year deal. If you are fairly computer literate, and can figure out most things for yourself, then you will have plenty of companies to choose from in that price range. Most of them provide the domain name for free for the first year.

The problem with webhost in this price range is terrible customer service. However, as long as you can figure out most things for yourself, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue. If great customer service is important, then you will probably have to spend quite a bit more (at least double) to get started with a good company.

Regardless of which way you go, just make sure to do your home work. Read all the reviews that you can. However, keep in mind, that these web companies (at least the low dollar ones) are really bad about posting bogus reviews that do not really reflect the opinions of their users. So make sure you read lots of reviews from all the sources that you can find.

With that said, it’s important to note that having a webhost is only half of the equation. You still have to design a web page. And depending upon how creative and how computer literate you are, this can be a big task. I currently use Expression Web (by Microsoft) for designing my web pages, but even with such a program, it can still be VERY time consuming. I have never priced what it would cost to hire someone to design a web page, but I would guess that you can get a simple website designed for a little less money that what you can buy a web page building program (then again, I might be very wrong).

I hope this helps some,
Jason

[bill lambeth]

I have a website and it is not very productive.The cost of the actual website and hosting is not very much but if you want traffic you are going to have to be willing to spend some money.You need to get out and go shake some hands and kiss some babies.Dont wait for it to come to you or you will go broke.Go to small business and tell them what you do and things will start to happen.I would also advise you to get setup on the networks because you dont want to leave any money setting at the table.Also,the networks will help you build a client list.Thats just my 2 cents!

[Gregg]

In my opinion, its not really necessary to spend a whole lot of money on a website for being such a small business (unless of course you have money to burn). Just keep it clean and simple. I got quotes from professional web designers that were way over my budget so I chose to just do it myself.

There are numerous companies on the web that allow anybody to design their own websites (hosting included). Its as simple as choosing a template, and then adding your own text and uploading your own photos to the site. I'm not computer savvy at all and I did it! Also, what I like about doing it yourself is you have the ability to update and change your website whenever you want. For example: if you wanted to have a special, change your price, or upload new photos, etc - you can do it yourself from your own computer. If you had a web company or professional web designer, you would be paying what they call "maintenance fees" on either a monthly basis or every time you want to make a change to your site. Now, there are different packages to choose from; I pay $5.99 a month with no contract and I didn't need to buy any special software to design the site (they even offered a free-trial).

One of the only cons I can really think of right now is the appearance of the website itself because its a template and not custom built; it doesn't look as good, but hey - for the money, it does the job.

[Ricersux]

I use host gator for my hosting. They have tons of templates and a great wysiwyg builder built in. If you see a template you like but need things changed around its still cheaper to have a template modified to work then to have a designer start from scratch.

Don't fall for the SEO scams claiming a guaranteed number 1 listing on google...nobody can guarantee that claim EXCEPT google. I have a top listing on google for "indianapolis windshield rock chip repair" and "indianapolis headlight restoration" and I paid nothing for these top listings. However, some days I'm #1 sometimes I slip to #2 or #3 but I'm always right up there.

I do no paid advertising at all and more then half my calls are from my site. I've only been in business since October so my numbers are low but I haven't pounded the streets yet. I wanted to get everything up and running like a well oiled machine before doing any heavy solicitation.

[rovinax12]

Thanks for your kind assistance. It has been a great help. Am still thinking about it. I would assume that those of you who use a web site believe it profitable. Would annyone care to give a range of calls per day/ week/ month? Still seems the simple thing for a customer to do is call their insurance co. who does all the work for them.

[GWR]

Ricersux,
Great post....my wife does online marketing and SEO and she will tell everyone that only Google determines the top spot on a search return. Sounds like you have a great handle on your website all by yourself.
Best wishes,