Template Site...You PAY how much?

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BOSS

BOSS

FlowerChat Administrator
Oct 31, 2002
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How much is a **Standard** template site form FTD and TF please...

FTD announced that effective November 1, 2005 the price for a *standard template* site will be increasing $10.00/month or $120.00 per year. WOW!

The announcement was accompanied by their standard **As we remain comitted to making improvements to the FTD Florists Online Web sites and to maintain our competitive advantage...blah blah blah**

Facts are that wire service templates are NOT competitive, don't get found, you have a hard time adding *original* content, they are not listable by Dmoz...etc...

So adding the $10.00/month, how much will a not so good working site cost you??? And how many orders do you have to get to just break even on the site, yet alone make a profit?
 
Increasing by $10.00/month? I wonder if that $10 will go to helping thier florists, or by building a better relationship with Wal-Mart? *snickers*
 
It's Sad

BOSS said:
Wow..no replies??

Too embarrased to say?
Click to expand...
Boss,
The truth is some of these shops may have learned that from you!! It's typical of the way things go with the wire services. They just try to sneak increases in there as quietly as possible. If they keep nickle & dimeing these shops to death, pretty soon there won't be anymore dollars!!

Rob
 
I have to say - in defense to FTD - I have been able to add non-standard stuff to my site with NO problems. I even have added animated GIF files (not running now, but did for 3 months) links to local events, and even links to other sites. They have been pretty helpful. Yes - I have the top-level (or whatever) site, but - it works. I am also in the process of putting my own images there - a looong time to do, but that's my issue...

My latest venture - which I cannot comment on yet - will cross bounderies - to say the least.

Overall, we are getting orders, customers are buying from the site, and it's interfaced into our system.

SURE...I'd LOVE to have a custom site, but right now it's not in the future...someday, it will be...

- Herb
 
I agree with Herb... I have been happy with my site and the results.. I have had special prize give aways on the front page, it links to our class schedule site & our Bridal Show site, we have a few special things on it that seem to be generating interest for our local customers.
yeah sometime I will probably customize my own complete site. but there still will be a cost for the hosting,unless I decide to bring a server in and set myself up as a provided, not really interested in that.
I like the interface to my Advantage POS. I likef, or the most part the variety of image styles, the pricing options I have set up to my own specs. I like the shopping cart, I like the email responses..I like that I can send orders to other florists and have a good chance they can fill them profitably and to the liking of my customers
I like a whole lot of it.. when things change I will change.

But Mark there is a price to everything.. and a liability with whomever you use. You have asked, suggested several times that perhaps FTd steals the data from our sites,,, well that is a liability with anyone you work with. When discussing MINI MAS at convention I was told that my data would reside on their servers in Texas.. and this was why it was less expensive than the bigger systems, less hardware, technology to buy. Well if my data resides on someone else's server than there is that same liability of theft of data.. Now do I believe that MAS would steal, mis appropriate or whatever my data??? You seem to be concerned that FTD does this.. if the technology is available to one it is also available to the other. !!
MAs is not in competition with Florists today.. but who knows in the future.. nothing ever stays the same and anyone who says it will is being silly. MAS is in business to make money not just to help out florists.. it is a company not a non-profit agency

I am not embarrassed that I use a FTD site.. I like it , it works for me TODAY.. when I stop liking it, or it stops working for me or it is more expensive than it is worth or whatever.. then I will change. Yes I knew about the $10. of course I am not happy about it.. but my helium dealer just raised the price of my helium & the hazardess waste fees.. I am equally unhappy about that.. and I am of course looking at other options..

I am not thrilled with the way our industry is going but I am not about to jump out of the pan and into the fire without making sure I am wearing some fire retardent clothes.. and to be truthful there is NO OTHER SITES that I like better for the generation of business for me.. that is not to say I don't look at each and every one offered, or the suggestions here on this wonderful board.. I do.. but i am in this business because it pays my bills, mortgage, insurance and I am still having fun, at least most of the time..
 
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ROBSWF said:
Boss,
The truth is some of these shops may have learned that from you!! Rob
Click to expand...

Sadly that's probably true...but I'm in recovery these days....I just hope it's not a Cross I have to carry forever...
 
carol said:
I agree with Herb...

But Mark there is a price to everything.. and a liability with whomever you use. You have asked, suggested several times that perhaps FTd steals the data from our sites,,,

When discussing MINI MAS at convention

I am not embarrassed that I use a FTD site..

I am not thrilled with the way our industry is going but I am not about to jump out of the pan and into the fire
Click to expand...

TIME OUT FOLKS!!!!!

Herb, Carol...anyone...I never said anyone should be embarrased about using such a site, nor did I mention Technology, nor suggest information mining and the like....and yes there is a price to everything....

Neither of you have a "Standard" site like I asked about...so...your points while well taken are irrelevant to my original question. All I wanted was a price to be able to honestly analyize, and use to build an Excel book for others to use to determine if the money they were paying for a STANDARD site was a good business decission. Maybe some would be better served by moving up to the type of site you use...

I had a WS Site for years, it looked great and it worked for me too, but honestly a third party site has much better chance of selling and getting found.

And Carol, I'm not asking anyone to jump out of the pan and into the fire...but the TRUTH these days, is that the FIRE is IN the pan...
 
BOSS said:
All I wanted was a price to be able to honestly analyize, and use to build an Excel book for others to use to determine if the money they were paying for a STANDARD site was a good business decission. Maybe some would be better served by moving up to the type of site you use...
Click to expand...

BOSS - I know where you are coming from - the STANDARD site is a WASTE of money - IMHO... Why bother??? It's a no-brainer that people who look for flowers on a site are IN THE MARKET to make a purchase right there and then!

Maybe FTD should do a better sales job and move those standard sites to something that - uhhh - actually will WORK!!! Again, another dumb move by FTD Brass...
<round table discussion @ FTD HQ> "...umm...let's just charge them MORE and maybe they will go up a level!" "Yea, yea - that's the ticket!"

Your point taken on the $10 thingy...however, the post came across to me as ALL w/s sites are.....yadda, yadda, yadda....

Anywho...it's raining...cats and dogs...can you say FLOODing in the streets?!?!?!??? Wedding to deliver. OUTSIDE wedding to deliver. Poor bride....Tents anyone?

- H.
 
BOSS said:
How much is a **Standard** template site form FTD and TF please...

FTD announced that effective November 1, 2005 the price for a *standard template* site will be increasing $10.00/month or $120.00 per year.
So adding the $10.00/month, how much will a not so good working site cost you??? And how many orders do you have to get to just break even on the site, yet alone make a profit?
Click to expand...

Ok Herb...I guess I can see from my editorial where you nmight have gotten that impression...my intended emphasis has been added above into the original request...honestly I was only trying to help *others*...so shoot me...it is Saturday, and Hunting Season up here in Missuagain.....
 
Interesting editing of quote??

Mark, I usually have great respect for you..
but I find your editing of my quote.. quite shall I say unusual
can you say
Hidden Agenda ?

Come on Mark..
 
BOSS said:
I was only trying to help *others*...so shoot me...it is Saturday, and Hunting Season up here in Missuagain.....
Click to expand...

Help others - YOU BET! I would like to see how many shops have that el Waste-O *standard* template. HOPEFULLY not many... If they do, they either a) have NOOOO clue about e-commerce, b) have no $$$ for a full site, or c) just don't care, never reconcile their statement, don't even know that they are being charged for it, etc.......

Huntin' season, hun? Well, I reckin' I need to dust off 'old faithful' - my trusty muzzle loader and let's gett-a SHOOTin!

- h.

On 2nd thought, naaa...too much rain...gonna' watch the Penn State game tonight instead...
 
carol said:
Mark, I usually have great respect for you..
but I find your editing of my quote.. quite shall I say unusual
can you say
Hidden Agenda ?

Come on Mark..
Click to expand...

Carol... I apologize...but I too found that rather than a simple answer to the question of "How much does a **standard template** site cost?" you managed to work in points about MAS, Mini-MAS, Advantage and a whole lot of stuff that was not part of the original simple question...

As to a "Hidden Agenda"...nope, nothing hidden except from the wire services...MY Agenda is to try and HELP OTHER REAL FLORISTS...PERIOD!

Nevermind folks...calls to the WS's on Monday will provide the requested info...
 
Templates aren't necessarily bad. It's the boiler plate varieties that render sites fairly unfindable by search engines. Customized text about the business, including cities serviced and informational articles, creates one level of uniqueness. Another level includes unique products - i.e. flower arrangements. And then there's the importance of inbound and outbound links. The more quality inbound links, the better the placement in results pages.

The FTD standard templates have little chance of being found. Same with TF templates that lack local addresses and feature phone numbers on graphic images only. (Hard to believe, but there are a bunch of these types of sites.) In both cases, there's not enough spider food to make search engines show much interest. They simply aren't unique.

Each TF template is presented with its own, unique URL. If a florist decides to change hosts, a new site can be created and the URL simply pointed to a different server.

FTD's hosting is a bit different because their sites were initially set up as sub-domains of ftd.com - later changed to florists.ftd.com. If a florist leaves the FTD program, a 'ghost page' remains where the URL used to resolved - so instead of redirecting to a new site, the surfer is offered a link to the FTD florist directory search. Any chance those customers think the shops listed below may be out of business?

http://www.ftd.com/gertrudesflwrs/ looks gone but they're in business at http://www.gertrudesflowers.com/

http://www.florists.ftd.com/conyersflowershop can be found at http://www.conyersflorist.com/

http://www.ftd.com/northpointflorist is accepting orders at http://www.northpointflorist.com/

http://www.ftd.com/apinkhouseflorist can be found at http://www.pinkhouseflorist.com/

http://www.ftd.com/flwrsfromtheheart/ is happy to have orders at http://www.flowersfromtheheartal.com/

http://www.ftd.com/genuardi is alive and well at http://www.jgenuardiflowers.com/

I doubt the above florists know those pages exist. The weird and sad thing is that each of those FTD URL's has hundreds of links pointing at it because old data in some large directories has never been updated.

If the templates work for you (and they have for us for a long time) then the value is there. (Chances are, you did the work to make them successful.) If they are ineffective and you decide to move, make sure to take your name and traffic with you.
 
Patty - http://www.ftd.com/daisypetal redirects to http://www.florists.ftd.com/daisypetal .

To check and see if anyone is linking to that old page, perform a link: command on MSN and/or Yahoo. (Google does not generally provide results for all the links it 'knows' about.)

Here's the result for MSN: http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=link%3Awww.ftd.com%2Fdaisypetal&FORM=MSNH&srch_type=0 You can see three sites that link into your old URL. Your best bet is to email each site and request they replace the link with your current URL.

It looks like the FTD site automatically generates that "Sorry" page for all 'unfound' sub-domains. Try http://www.florists.ftd.com/Rip-OffFlowerShop or http://www.florists.ftd.com/OGSkimmerFlorist and you get the same results. LOL

You can request FTD provide a 301 redirect to your new site but based on the way they handle their no-longer-hosted URLs, I seems unlikely. All you can do is ask.

Again, any shop that had links pointed to a site formerly hosted as an FTD subdomain needs to make sure they get those links changed.
 
CHR, It looks like whoever put us on those three sites did the same for all involved. I sure never signed up on those sites. They don't appear to be anything anyone would contact us about. Do you think it hurts leaving it as is or does trying to get updated help in the background?
 
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