diy website advice and basic how to

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goldfish said:
If I were you, I'd hire a pro to do the whole thing. $2,000 should be adequate. I think that your time could be more efficiently spent on real marketing (like content) rather than web developing.

In fact all the wedding florists sites look similar (at least to me) anyway. They usually have pictures of good-looking caucasian girls with attractive smile, for example. Kind of boring... I prefer a site with attitude. But again, I'm not a bride.
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$2000 for a custom site? Ha! Hope you're not expecting too much, there.

I should mention both DNN and Joomla are free, and can be hosted for $10-$20/month.

The great thing about a CMS is that you don't program, you simply configure, and they are both extremely easy to use.
 
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I know I am going to take a lot of guff for putting this out here and rightly so. But isn't this the same thing as we talk about DIY brides and mother of brides and Basement Betty's?
I bet that if a computer wiz that set's up website came on here and read this he would have a fit an call us a bunch of "basement" computer want a be"s all trying to save a buck or two doing it for them selfs or helping each other!! why is it differnt for us? Just my 2 cents.. I will take your answer off line>>LOL:eek:
 
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I see what you mean Tracy. I'm sure some of the computer peeps laugh at do-it-yourselfers. But a lot are capitalizing on it and making templates to purchase, etc., in addition to full service web design.

The main reason I want to do my own site is for control; the ability to change prices/images. I believe you sacrifice a certain amount of beauty if you go the DIY route because building a website is not easy. Sure you can use templates and they can look pretty good but never quite as nice as what a professional can do, but that's ok, if I need something changed I can do it quickly.
 
RJD said:
I should mention both DNN and Joomla are free, and can be hosted for $10-$20/month.

The great thing about a CMS is that you don't program, you simply configure, and they are both extremely easy to use.
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I have been told that Joomla is better because it's open source with thousand of free components and DNN is not as good because it's
built on Windows server and is more vulnerable to Microsoft problems.
 
Posting from my phone so I'll be brief (please don't assume brief = snippy, just takes longer to type)

Joomla & free CMSs are fine for design, but generally suck for SEO unless you tweak them a lot (and know how to).

My thoughts on DIY sites, as mentioned before, are like DIY brides, shops that do DIY POS, and DIY anything else that requires skill and experience. Sometimes it works ... and those are the success stories we hear about and celebrate. Most fail - if they are lucky they fail completely and see the need to move on. If not, they fail into mediocrity and limp along unaware of their short-comings. (It's one of the internet mottos: "Fail fast.")

If your goal is control, get a site with a platform that gives you an interface to control the contents. Ftd & TF do this, as do Digital Thoughts, Florist 2.0 - even Phlop's sites.

The big risk of DIY-anything is that you may be forced to spend too much time learning to be semi-competent in an area when that time could be better spent somewhere else. For many florists I really, really suggest you spend less time trying to recreate the wheel with a DIY site and spend the time learning to use your site well.

Building a site is like opening a new shop. You may have walls and a door, but do you know how to get people in the door? Construction and marketing are different skills. Learn the marketing, and leverage the experience of someone for the construction.

Ryan
 
Our shop owner built our website from a flash template and uploaded all of our own info and pics. I will find out which program he used if you're interested (we have pretty good feedback about our site)

www.saxromney.com
 
Lori...

For what it's worth, as I am a newbie myself--I used Yahoo.com small business hosting. I was referred by so many people I decided to use it after trying some others that were so complicated I couldnt even follow it and I am pretty computer literate. It has limited templates, and very few fonts and you are not able to customize colors. But is free to set up and I thought very easy to follow, and best of all hosting is only $12. a month. There are other options that cost more where you can get more elaborate and add a shopping cart etc.., but as I said I only did this to get on the web asap. I can also make changes daily if I want, and add photos very easily.

Not the best in the world--but good enough til I have $8000 extra laying about. feel free to check it out--www.flowerchildfloraldesign.com.

We may be DIY'ers, but I feel my money is better spent elsewhere for now, like on product, for example!! My quote from a web designer was $8000-12k.
 
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David said:
I have been told that Joomla is better because it's open source with thousand of free components and DNN is not as good because it's built on Windows server and is more vulnerable to Microsoft problems.
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DNN is open source, too. Sounds more like someone with an agenda than actual information. Besides, Joomla has a list of its own vulnerabilities.
 
greatflowerlady said:
I know I am going to take a lot of guff for putting this out here and rightly so. But isn't this the same thing as we talk about DIY brides and mother of brides and Basement Betty's?
I bet that if a computer wiz that set's up website came on here and read this he would have a fit an call us a bunch of "basement" computer want a be"s all trying to save a buck or two doing it for them selfs or helping each other!! why is it differnt for us? Just my 2 cents.. I will take your answer off line>>LOL:eek:
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FWIW, when we bought the shop, I was employed as a molecular biologist in a medical research lab. We needed a website, couldn't afford one, so I taught myself how to program. Today, 8 years later, I'm a professional programmer for a billion dollar company (not the flower shop--I have a day job). The Bloomery has done OK in the technology realm, too.

Like the thought or not, some of those Basement Bettys can pull it off, just like most of you can pull off a simple website. Besides, it's not really equivalent when you use a CMS or site building tool like Yahoo! Builder. Those are professionally programmed, you're just doing some configuration. To put it another way, you're not making the bridal bouquet, just sorting the flowers that go into it.
 
fleuray said:
Our shop owner built our website from a flash template and uploaded all of our own info and pics. I will find out which program he used if you're interested (we have pretty good feedback about our site)

www.saxromney.com
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Fleuray,

The site is pretty, but it has no search potential. Google can't index the site and you're not listed anywhere for searches related to wedding flowers in Salt Lake.

Your product images are beautiful - it's a shame that more people aren't able to enjoy them.

Usability Tip: The images are a bit tall - taller than my laptop screen. It makes viewing them difficult and requires a lot of scrolling. Also, the business name is running off the top of the page.

Ryan
 
flowerchild55 said:
Lori...

For what it's worth, as I am a newbie myself--I used Yahoo.com small business hosting. I was referred by so many people I decided to use it after trying some others that were so complicated I couldnt even follow it and I am pretty computer literate. It has limited templates, and very few fonts and you are not able to customize colors. But is free to set up and I thought very easy to follow, and best of all hosting is only $12. a month. There are other options that cost more where you can get more elaborate and add a shopping cart etc.., but as I said I only did this to get on the web asap. I can also make changes daily if I want, and add photos very easily.

Not the best in the world--but good enough til I have $8000 extra laying about. feel free to check it out--www.flowerchildfloraldesign.com.

We may be DIY'ers, but I feel my money is better spent elsewhere for now, like on product, for example!! My quote from a web designer was $8000-12k.
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Let's be realistic :)

What you would get for $8k cannot be compared in any way, shape or form to the Yahoo! site you currently have. I'm having trouble imagining what you would need to get to $8k for a florist site.

FTD/TF template sites have more functionality than the Yahoo! templates. Media99 does some very nice designs. Our florist 2.0 sites are $1000 with a custom design and lots of features. Right now, your site doesn't appear to offer even basic ecommerce. You can't compare that to a $8-12k professionally designed site.

Ryan
 
Oberers.com is built on a yahoo platform.

Yes it's a DIY-er.

They will go as far as you want to take them pretty much...
 
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Infinite said:
My thoughts on DIY sites, as mentioned before, are like DIY brides, shops that do DIY POS, and DIY anything else that requires skill and experience. Sometimes it works ... and those are the success stories we hear about and celebrate. Most fail - if they are lucky they fail completely and see the need to move on. If not, they fail into mediocrity and limp along unaware of their short-comings. (It's one of the internet mottos: "Fail fast.")
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bloomz said:
Oberers.com is built on a yahoo platform.

Yes it's a DIY-er.

They will go as far as you want to take them pretty much...
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See my comment in bold. RC is a success story. As you've often suggested, how many florists are in his calibre?
 
Luv that signature Rich....
 
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I have been trying SO hard to keep up with this thread... reading and re-reading the posts, desperately trying to let a little something sink in, but the last several posts have convinced me that I am SO far out of my league here!!!! I feel like a kid with an 8 box of fat crayons sitting down with Monet and Van Gogh to do a little artwork!!!!! :dunce

If this is DIY, then I am DONE!!!! Let me know if there is a remedial class!
 
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I thank you all for kind of answering my questions, but rjd and ryan have somewhat hijacked my tread and turned it into some foreign language thing that I cannot understand at all...

my head now hurts....
 
Lori,

I've moved our conversation out of the thread and removed the comment RJD took issue with. Apologies for the hijack.

Ryan
 
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