Time for me to get a web-site.

[Gareth]

It is now the time for little one man band engineering business to expand, and so part of my expansion plans include having a business web-site.

Being the puter numpty that I am with only basic I.T. skills, I am looking for one that I can maintain easily enough from my laptop; up loading product photos and descriptions, and including a shopping cart and an on-line purchasing system, etc.

Can any of you guys point me in the right direction and suggest a few recommendations for me please?

 

[accountantpete]

Building a website ain't too difficult - getting it noticed is. I'd try and get a bit of SEO advice (Search Engine Optimisation) first and then build the site around their recommendations.

 

[Ian H]

Suggest you look at open-source CMS such as Joomla (dot org). The only limitation is your own ingenuity. Mine's really quite a basic one, but it'll do almost anything I need, mostly updated via the browser. I'm just building a site to sell limited edition prints for an artist. He, with almost no computer experience, will be able to run it day-to-day once I've set it up.

 

[gaz]

if you want e-commerce you going to have to go package based to save money, so either a CMS like Joomla or ModX and add extensions to it, or there are packages which are more e-commerce based.

Someone will come along and let you know that you can create something in 5 mins in word/powerpoint/publisher/frontpage. but it will look like you made it in 5 mins and won't make you money.

I think paying an SEO for advice without him doing any work is overated. all the tips you can get online for free.

 

[HJ]

Have a look at Drupal, it is a fairly straight forward opensource CMS.

 

[thomas]

Me? I only live on the other side of town.

I work in the holidays for an internet marketing/web development firm, mainly doing SEO work and some lower end client work (such as setting up CMS systems, similar to the ones mentioned).

I also run a couple of websites for myself, and a bit of freelance work.

http://www.guessmyage.net/ (I challenge you not to waste a bit of time playing this!)

http://www.action-cameras.co.uk/

http://www.christscollege.surrey.sch.uk/ (Client website)

I'm at the UNI doing Business Information Systems (Computing Science and business type course)....so you can take advantage of my special student rates

Feel free to give me a PM....I can send CV/references, etc. Happy to meet up and have a bit of a chat. (Won't be offended if you're not interested - what others have said all seems to be good advice)