Web Site Templates

[GMK]

Hello out there. I wish to do my own small business web site. I have never done a site before although I am reasonably computer literate, I thought I would give it a go. I have seen many very impressive web templates that are available to buy and download. Are these a good idea?. Also I wish to be able to take bookings for villa holidays on-line. Can you suggest a reputble company to get a template from.

Also, getting even more complicated!! hosting - what is the best route - to get the best response without costing an arm and a leg.

I would really appreciate some help.

Many thanks

Glenys

 

[ian]

http://www.webpagedesign.com.au/ has some free templates
also for paid templates
templatemonster.com and designgalaxy.net
with hosting there are lots of great options out there.
Just make sure that it meets your requirements, re disk space, data transfer allowances, mysql databases, php, etc etc

 

[Splendidesign]

Check out a good site with lots of them: www.freewebtemplates.com.

However, I would not recommend using this site because the design quality is not excellent. Also, it is preferable to use a professional designer, such as a lot of people on this forum, to design and script it for you. This way you can have different scripting languages and a wide range of features on your site that you would not be able to do otherwise. Not trying to push my services, but to take it as an example, you can get a 10 page site, which is probably what you need, for £400. This is quite cheap for what it is as I think that the cheaper it is, the more clients I will get (which appears to be true!)

As regards to hosting, for a small site you won't need more than around 100mb and 500mb a month bandwith and probably some scripting languages like php or asp for forms and also you may need some databases like Mysql. This is normally charged per month and for this sort of package you should shop around. www.serverme.com are cheap for small websites. Alternatively, host with a web designer and they will often be cheaper. When I design a site, I include hosting in the price.

You also will need a domain. This can be purchased from a wide variety of places. As I live in the UK I use 1and1.co.uk or UKreg.com. 1and1 are better because .co.uk domains are cheaper and you can adjust name details at any time. Most companies allow you to change your DNS/name servers for free (these point to your hosting so that you can assign it). The DNS is important as without it your hosting is pointless.

So, if I were you, I would get a cheap web designer to do it for you. But, I'm probably biased and want the work?!

 

[kristeejo]

Hi Glenys

There are a lot of templates out there that I'm sure you would be able to make a nice small site with. You may even enjoy doing it and maintain it well.

Depending on your computer knowledge, it may become too overwhelming and in that case you will blow the template money (shouldn't be much)

If I were you, I would go for it and buy a template and see if you can do this yourself. As far as the registering online for events - you may need some help with this part, because it won't be included in the template. : )

Hosting is a catch 22. The market is FLOODED and you can find a host charging next to nothing and another charging your first born. Remember, just like anything else, you get what you pay for. You want your site to be reliable and you want CUSTOMER SERVICE. I highly recommend enterhost.com. They are reasonably priced and have superb customer service.