How much is your start up website costing you?

[dollarman]

Its the old cliche quality vs quantity adage.

I'm building my website this weekend and I've been checking out some web builders.
Squarespace looks very profesional. Offering $12/month for their beginner package with full hosting and a strong platform. This is tempting as it looks way better than sitekreator, SynthaSite, Weebly and Wordpress.

Trying to keep costs to an absolute minimum is a priority but what is the content vs presentation balance? The general idea is to host a website that promotes online sale appliances and goods.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[James Fake]

$4k-$5k

 

[speedyexe]

just make blog on tumblr and in options is custom theme and there is the source so u can modify the blog, make gmail with the same as blog name, you can park domain in this blog to have not only login.tumblr.com but something.com anyways its for free.
dont start great hosting or great expensive VPS just start with this and after getting money you can buy something nice. (or make)

 

[dollarman]

just make blog on tumblr and in options is custom theme and there is the source so u can modify the blog, make gmail with the same as blog name, you can park domain in this blog to have not only login.tumblr.com but something.com anyways its for free.
dont start great hosting or great expensive VPS just start with this and after getting money you can buy something nice. (or make)

Not looking to start a blog. More like a site that promotes consumer electronics.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[speedyexe]

it dosent matter is it a blog or whatever - you can modify that blog in simple html to look like whatever you like.

other idea can be also:
you can make your own website and put on cheap hosting like home.pl and there is 12.50 zł for month so its about $4 a month... it depends if you want ready site to modify like squarespace or keep costs to an absolute minimum...

 

[dollarman]

you can make your own website and put on cheap hosting like home.pl and there is 12.50 zł for month so its about $4 a month...

Didn't quite understand the 12.50 thing.

To keep costs low I think I'll start with squarespace. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Robre]

$4k-$5k

How is this keeping costs low?

My startup will cost me about $100. I got my domain name, my website building tool and then my hosting. Once I make a few bucks I'll reinvest it in a professional to clean up my site. Then I'll hire a logo firm and get a nice logo, but I don't need that at startup, the important thing is to get the site live and start promoting it.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[speedyexe]

Didn't quite understand the 12.50 thing.

12.50 zł its like $4 the 'zł' is currency.

 

[DeletedUser2]

blogger.com or tumblr.com both allow you to buy a domain, and use thier hosting, and then pay some one 10 bucks to modify the html template. you can make it look however you want just get free hosting that way.
I did it as a test on blogger. 10 min to setup, 10 bucks to buy a domain name through them. now it has a custom domain, www.yourdomain.com you cant tell its on blogger, and i use a custom template (cost me 5 bucks on fivver) added privacy policy, about, TOS and contact me pages in 5 min (another 5 bucks)

less than 1 day, and 20 bucks later, i have a nice little site, that I am using for curation. I did it as a test to show a friend it was possible.

its been 2 weeks already getting aroudn 20 people a day to the site. and it takes me 10 min a day to run.

hope that helps

 

[AdamMaxum]

I guess it depends on what kind of website you're looking for. squarespace looks promising. try the free trial and see if its any good.

You can put a website up real easy nowadays with no need to learn coding or anything really. All you need, like zen mentioned, is the domain name and the ability to create a design. However, if you're looking to build something bigger then a blog or simple website, you're going to have to outsource at some point.

It really depends what you're website is about. If you're selling a product/blogging/etc. it's a lot easier vs creating an online environment that you can't use a wysiwyg platform to accomplish. That would be why JamesF says 4-5k and other people will tell you 20-100$. I'd like to see someone create the site he has with any free (ish) platform. The closest you'll get is a design mock up, and probably not even that.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[BeachBoy]

How is this keeping costs low?

My startup will cost me about $100. I got my domain name, my website building tool and then my hosting. Once I make a few bucks I'll reinvest it in a professional to clean up my site. Then I'll hire a logo firm and get a nice logo, but I don't need that at startup, the important thing is to get the site live and start promoting it.

in my case, there is no way I will launch before having my logo (~$300), template (~$90) and clean website.

I think first impression is crucial and in my case, if the site is ugly/buggy, it will kill trafic.

 

[dollarman]

I guess it depends on what kind of website you're looking for. squarespace looks promising. try the free trial and see if its any good.

You can put a website up real easy nowadays with no need to learn coding or anything really. All you need, like zen mentioned, is the domain name and the ability to create a design. However, if you're looking to build something bigger then a blog or simple website, you're going to have to outsource at some point.

Sounds like good advice to me.

It really depends what you're website is about.

Basically, my website will search deals on consumer electronics but wont direct sell anything. Finding a hosting service to help me set that up is what I need advice with.

 

[DeletedUser2]

Sounds like good advice to me.



Basically, my website will search deals on consumer electronics but wont direct sell anything. Finding a hosting service to help me set that up is what I need advice with.

I think your missing the point.

hosting is a commodity.

I have sites on SHared hosting, VPS hosting and Dedicated servers. even a couple on blogger.

hosting is the least of your worries.


Let me ask you this. How exactly are you going to reach your audience? what is the way your going to reach people searching for these? answer that first.

otherwise. 10 bucks a month will do you fine. HOst Gator, or liquid web. pretty much allow a Cpanel type of interface. simple clean. but I am not sure why you are focusing on hosting so much? we had a site on shared hosting as it grew, we moved it to a VPS, then later to a dedicated sever. its very quick to upgrade, and they did the move for us.

its kinda like your saying your going to drive to a far off town, and your focusing on where are all the gas stations...... its almost immaterial...
budget 10 bucks a month. or 4 if you shop around

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[biophase]

in my case, there is no way I will launch before having my logo (~$300), template (~$90) and clean website.

I think first impression is crucial and in my case, if the site is ugly/buggy, it will kill trafic.

What's the difference, if you launch in Oct 2011 with everything perfect vs launching in Sep 2011 without the logo or the template?

If you launch in Oct 2011, you are guaranteed 0 visitors and no income in Sep 2011. Whereas if you launch a non-perfect site in Sep 2011 you have a possibility of getting visitors and generating income in Sep 2011.

 

[BeachBoy]

to each their own

in some places, if you launch with a site working only half, people won't come back

 

[77startup]

to each their own

in some places, if you launch with a site working only half, people won't come back

May I suggest a compromise?

20DollarLogo - Business Logos, Company Logos, Custom Logos, Free Logo Design

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[BeachBoy]

May I suggest a compromise?

20DollarLogo - Business Logos, Company Logos, Custom Logos, Free Logo Design

you can get logos from that site, or from "stock" logo places for about $120 or custom designed for $300.

What I was talking about was not really just the looks. Every company went from Netscape 1.0 webpages with only center, bold and h tags to these modern looking webpages. Many companies also updated their logos (even wal mart changed).

But if you start a website and many features are lacking, or even worse, there are bugs left to be fixed, it will scare people away and they won't likely come check back if it has improved.

That's my opinion, when I see a very ugly site, or even worse when there are broken links, scripts, etc.. I go elsewhere.

 

[DeletedUser2]

you can get logos from that site, or from "stock" logo places for about $120 or custom designed for $300.

What I was talking about was not really just the looks. Every company went from Netscape 1.0 webpages with only center, bold and h tags to these modern looking webpages. Many companies also updated their logos (even wal mart changed).

But if you start a website and many features are lacking, or even worse, there are bugs left to be fixed, it will scare people away and they won't likely come check back if it has improved.

That's my opinion, when I see a very ugly site, or even worse when there are broken links, scripts, etc.. I go elsewhere.

it may take you a while to understand this.

you are not your market.

 

[biophase]

to each their own

in some places, if you launch with a site working only half, people won't come back

My point is that you won't get any of the people that won't come back if your site is not there when they are looking. You never even had a chance to get those people that won't come back.

I'm not saying you launch it "working" 50%. You only mentioned the logo and template, nothing about functionality.

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[biophase]

That's my opinion, when I see a very ugly site, or even worse when there are broken links, scripts, etc.. I go elsewhere.

That's fine. But other people may not think it's ugly.

Think about it. This so called very ugly site. What if it didn't exist? You would have never come across it and would have gone elsewhere. The end result is the same for you. But what if 1 out of every 10 people did stay at this ugly site and bought something.

Do you still think that this ugly site should not exist until it has been prettied up?

 

[Davidla]

That's fine. But other people may not think it's ugly.

Think about it. This so called very ugly site. What if it didn't exist? You would have never come across it and would have gone elsewhere. The end result is the same for you. But what if 1 out of every 10 people did stay at this ugly site and bought something.

Do you still think that this ugly site should not exist until it has been prettied up?

Agree 100%.

Get intouch with you customers/audiance. Do some trial and error.
Everything is an assumption until you get data (feedback, analytics, bounce rates, conversion rates etc).

I spent atleast 700$ and a few monthes working on design and advanced functionalities in my two first projects , just to find out nobody cared about them.

You got nothing to lose, but a lot to gain. Nobody but you cares about the "big launch".

 

[speedyexe]

and how to bring traffic?
can someone write in point what to do? (all i know is backlinks but i was doing it by hand and it took me years and didnt take anywhere ;/ iv got some seo books so i will learn but maybe someone could bring me some good advices that are working and speed up seo alot)

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

[speedyexe]

btw. my website is on http://hostinghouse.pl/ hosting and its 15,00 PLN - Polska so its about 3,64 EUR/Year

about wordpress you can buy ready easy to install template for about 50$-60$ from Premium WordPress Themes | Obox Themes

I have set up my http://code-software.com/ website in minutes!

I thought I woud be happy to get that kind of info a year ago so maybe it will be helpfull for somebody (i have no interest in advertising hosting or template websites, I just checked them out and they are helpful for me and affordable price.

regards
Speed

 

[Epictetus]

to each their own

in some places, if you launch with a site working only half, people won't come back

If you're in a market where you have so few customers that if the couple from the first month don't come back you're screwed, you're probably in the wrong market.

 

[lookingahead]

It is going to cost me around $1,000. Full site built with Seo and logo designed. This doesn't include other stuffs

 

Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.