Cuious how many have set up a web site for their business. Did you do it yourself? Looks like there is a lot of do it yourself places. Do you think it helped your business at all? Thanks
I have a site for my business and had it done professionally. One of my clients is in the business and we bartered it. Yes there are DYI kits, but unless you know what you are doing, it will look just like you did it yourself. There are also cookie cutter webmasters out there with what I'll call "Form Sites", a ready made site that they sell over and over just inserting different pictures and company name. In my opinion, the difference between a professionally done site and a DYI is like a professionally lettered truck vs. a hand lettered one.
do you have a link to your website? edit- dumb question lol. (founder)
:crying :OMG does it really look that bad. www.Robtaylorplanthireltd.co.uk They say it takes a real friend to tell you the truth. opcorn on edit In all seriousness I bought myself a laptop as I was and still am away from home alot during the week. I started looking at different programs that are available but in the end taught myself how to use MS Frontpage which was already loaded. Found a free web hosting company bought a few domain names and the rest as they say is history. A few have said I should stick to plant operation as they feel I show more aptitude to that.
I haven't visited your site in quite a while Rob. Some big changes since last time, it looks great! I have a couple sites for my business I did myself. I didn't know a thing about building websites when I did my first one and used a DIY site builder, I think it looks ok. It was easy and shows up on the first page for every search term I want. Depends on what site builder you use. Some are good and some are not. Depends on how much time you have to spend on it too. I found that anything I didn't know a little searching on Googe or a post in a support forum and I could find exactly how to do anything.
I had my first one done by EveryContractor.Com They did alright but it was a PINA to get changes done. This Spring, I searched for a local place here that did quality work. It took 4 months to get it launched, but they did a good job. The best part is changes and updates are easy. I recovered the cost of the build in the first two weeks the site was up. The best part is I can give a potential client my web address and they can see for themselves what were about. It has been very helpful when selling mulching jobs. I plan on adding video clips in most every catagory. It makes a big difference. I would also suggest getting set up with Google Analitical. They track the traffic on your website. It is amazing. Great information for knowing if your hitting your market. I think if you don't have website your really hurting yourself. I am using my other forms of advertising (Yellow pages ect) to lead to my website. I can show more info for a lot less money than in an ad in any other media. It just makes more sense. As far as doing it yourself. I have seen some good ones, most are not. I don't have the time nor the inclination to learn it. It cost 1300 for my site and for that it was money well spent. Here I am. If your close to Eastern Idaho I can give you the name of the company that built it if your interested. www.kaiserskidsteer.com
My business site is www.pelicanonline.com . It's in serious need of updating, it was put together in '97
That is a really awesome website, very professional. Im really impressed, I need to look into that for myself. I just looked through your pictures, your company has a really great look, did you hire someone to take your pictures? I have a good digital SLR camera but I just havnt found the time while on the job to take pictures. Also why do you like all case equipment? Why not go cat? Im just curious to hear other opinions...The graphics on your trucks looks amazing as well.
You might want to get another picture for the front page, those crosses in the background are kinda spooky, looks like you just buried a couple of people My view on webpages is that they should be tidy, easy to use and have the info people want.
I never even noticed those until you pointed them out lol I was to busy admiring his machine.
If you see another post of mine reference the labourer who took some pictures for me in that area you might deduce that I did in fact bury somebody. lol The picture is very easy to change, just not while on this laptop lol and is about the only thing I get time to do these days. Thanks for looking. :thumbsup Thanks for the feedback Brian. Real glad to see you are hanging in there. I know you were having some serious thoughts a while back.
Hanging in there for now Rob but I don't think I will be much longer. I just can't keep my machine busy enough and it is not worth it anymore. I'm going to put together a resume and see if I can find a real job and been building websites for others on the side too. I spend more time doing that than operating my machine lately lol Not making any money at it yet but I enjoy it anyways and it keeps me ocupied.
Brian, why aren't you selling your services on this forum? Seems like a perfect fit between you and all these guys needing websites. I thought about it myself. Actually pulled a dusty html book off the shelf earlier this morning.
I would love to Ron but I think I would be breaking the rules without buying banner space. Right now I don't have the funds to be able to or I would. I did put up one post about it but got no response and can't update it unless someone asks questions about it, then I can answer.
Brian, I would be interested in hiring you to update my site its got some old pics on it and would like to change some things around. www.stunzllc.com I sure could use some input pj
Right on pj, I would be happy to do that for you. I will shoot you a pm or email and we can chat about what you would like to see done with it.
Thanks for the compliments. Sorry about taking so long to respond I lost track of this thread. As far as the pictures. I bought a dust proof, crush resistant, near water proof digital camara and started taking it with me everywhere. I was doing some cool jobs and when it came time to put a site together or refer customers to previous jobs I had nothing. So now a camara goes everywhere with me. I have to force myself to stop and take pictures, but you have to do it. My wife is also big into photography, she has a Nikon D-90. She took alot of the photos and one of the video clips (the one with the better resolution) that D-90 is impressive. As far as running CASE, I think their equipment, at least the pieces I need is among the best. The dealer here takes good care of me. If I found CAT was more productive I would run their stuff, I demo it, I just don't see any advantage to it in productivity.
At the risk of telling you something you already know each time you log on if you go straight to "User CP" left hand side on the chocolate bar, it will give you a list of all threads that you have posted in that anybody has replied to since you were last logged in. Be warned though, it resets / clears when you log out I used to trawl the threads looking for the ticks in the left column so I knew which I had to check :Banghead
There is the tip of the day, at least for me. Thanks:drinkup
No problem. :drinkup When you are in there, at the bottom right hand corner is a link to show ALL the threads you have subscribed to. Only spotted that myself about a week ago
Website Question Hey Guys, I'm new here but I do have some web development experience, so I thought that I would put in my two sense. There are a lot of low/no cost promotional opportunities on the web, but to take advantage of them you need to have a website. Whether you choose to DIY or hire someone, creating a website does not need to be expensive. Here are a couple suggestions to start: Use the free blogging software from WordPress.org Buy a domain name & hosting service (about $130/year) Ask the hosting company to help you set up a Wordpress Site. Review some of the many free Wordpress tutorials online. Customize the appearance to your preference. Add content about your business and what it does. Update the content on a regular basis If you have the ability to pay someone, then do it. It's worth it. I realize that this may be overly simplified, but these are the basic steps. Afterward, you can register with a number of free local business directories like yahoo local, google local, yellowpages.com, yellow book and a bunch of others. Furthermore, make sure that you place your website's URL on all of your other adds, business cards, invoices, etc... so when people want more information about you, they know where to find it 24/7.
Web Designer I work in the Industry as an Advertising, Sales, and Web Marketing Manager. I also attended art school for Web Development. If you are still looking to update your website I am available for hire. I specialize in CSS/Javascript rich websites that are cross-browser friendly. I have a list of previous work upon request. PM me for more details. Thanks!
I've been reading with quite some interest in this particular thread, Granted I am new when it comes to excavating and starting a new business, but I did happen to come accross the Homestead Web development site and I would say that functionally it is a rather easy site to use, everything is drop and click but it does cost a small fee every month. Now....I could write a book on my experiences over the last few months and will gladly answer questions that anyone has for me. But as it was said earlier a good web site is the difference between a professionally done sign and a hand painted one. Unfortunatly I still lack certain funds for the professional painted sign, Which by the way I must say that Homestead.com would be more than happy to ablige me with, My experience with Homestead has been rather good, I feel that they are straight up guys/gals there. But I elected to put together my own web site for a business that was just started right in the worst possible economic climate there is.........AM I Nuts? well maybe.....but here is the other side of the story I also run a Dairy farm and maybe some of you know what that is as well...... My point here is this.... I started a business to diversify and spread out my risk, while making machines that I use for the farm pay for themselves instead of sitting idle. In the mean time we built this web site with the hope of attracting customers and presto! I start getting emails. I don't know how a lot of other contractors are fareing, but my little business is filling in the gaps and God willing, I hope to pick up enough work to hire someone to run the Cat in 2010 on the days when I am busy with the farm. here is my web site: http://www.Grunexlandclearing.com Admittedly it does need to be professionally designed which I will contact Homestead for, eventually, but for now I've done all I can to get the word out, and still be financially responsible about both businesses. As I said earlier I could write a book about my experiences this past year with the web site, it was in reference to my adwords campaign......... hopefully I will get a chance to write about that sometimes in the next few days:usa
First Off, I like the site. Simple is sometimes the best. The one idea I may have would be a call to action. Tell people what you want them to do, call you email you, stop by. We use this a lot in our mail campaigns and have have great success with that so moved it to the web. Works there to. People get lost if you don't tell them what to do. Beyond that I think any good site works. Godaddy or bluehost have worked well for me before. Just find one you can get around well. We are all busy enough already don't need to be learning new skills.