WEBSITE

[ctxkiger]

I AM LOOKING TO CREATE A WEBSITE. DOES ANYONE HAVE SUGGESTIONS OR ADVISE?

THANKS
JASON

[canadiankigers]

Hi Jason:

What type of website? What will it be called? What do you want in it? That might be a good place to start. It's hard to give advice when you're not sure what direction you want to go in.

[ctxkiger]

IT WOULD BE A WEB SITE TO ADVERTISE AND SELL MY HORSES. I WOULD WANT SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT MYSELF AND HORSES IN IT ALONG WITH PICTURES ETC ETC.

[fantasykiger]

Keep it simple and professional. Check out several other websites around the net (simular to what you looking to create) ..take note what you do and do not like about them.
Take note the more you add to one page the longer it takes to load when someone clicks on your website, not everyone has cable and highspeed. If you have ever surfed the net and found yourself stuck waiting to long for a website to load you will find many will just hit the X button and go somewhere else. just a helpful hit.

I used www.webs.com/ this place to set my website up. I know there are other places on the net as well such as www.godaddy.com/

[ctxkiger]

THANKS, I HAVE BEEN LOOKING AND HAVE PUT TO PAPER OF LOT OF MY IDEAS. HOW COSTLY IS WEBS.COM AND GODADDY? DO THEY HAVE SIMPLE TEMPLATES OR DO I HAVE TO PURCHASE A HIGH DOLLAR PROGRAM TO BUILD THE SITE WITH?

[ctxkiger]

I LOOKED AT ANGELFIRE BUT IT SEEMS THOSE FREE SITES ARE EXTREMELY HARD TO FIND FOR SOMEONE SURFING THE WEB.

[canadiankigers]

I use www.hostmonster.com They charge 106.00 for a year and you get access to a cpanel, all sorts of extra perks like search engine submissions for free and best of all if you are having trouble you can call a real person 24/7 for help. The longest I have ever waited is under 5 minutes on hold. I do NOT do HTML but I do use Microsoft publisher to develop and upload the files.

As for the little details, Fantasy Kiger hit the nail right on the head. Keep the content per page clean and compress pictures for those who have dial up. Well organized, user friendly and easy to read are other issues. Do not get sucked into those bright or busy backgrounds. They distract from the text and pictures as well as making it hard to read. I know I have avoided many of these types of sites as it gives me a head ache. Also no flashy banners and such as it can cause those with conditions like epilepsy to go into a seasure. (sp)

If you would like to see what I have done, here are a few of the sites I have designed and maintained:
www.canadiankiger.com
www.uskigers.com
www.wildhorserun.com
www.grizzlyenterprise.com
www.luckyoutfitterkennels.com

Some of these are still in the process of being developed. Remember to keep your pages clean, well organized and don't post pictures willy nilly, organize the pictures with the corresponding information so it is easy to understand what info relates to what picture. I am still learning myself and have found that getting friends you can depend on to be honest about your site really helps to improve it. I have chosen people with high speed to dial up and from different talents in artistic abilities to more business like styles. It really helps to get a wide perspective and allows you to get a more well rounded finished product. I hope these hints have helped.

Edited to add:

When using a free web service, keep in mond that the search engines do not pick them up. They tend to search out independent URLs that have been purchased from a dedicated server like HostMonster, Go Daddy, etc... Personally I don't like Go Daddy. If I have a problem I have to email them, wait for the answer and if they can't help me I get a reply with questioned I don't understand. They tend to have less patients with non tecky type people like me. Just my personal opinion.

[fantasykiger]

I used the first site I gave you because you can try before you buy you can set up a website with a limited amount of pages play with their templates and backgrounds see if you like them and they offer to work with. If you find it easy to edit your site and something you can work with, you can take the next step and purchase a domain, traffic and unlimted pages and so on. I spent a little over $300 for 5yrs use of the domain then I spend $25 a year for traffic. Of course there are other options, I am sure and differant pricing it has been 4yrs sense I first purchased my site..it will come due here soon. I have NEVER had a problem with my site where I have had to email for help in all them years.
Traffic, is just having search engines keeping you at the top of list when key words are typed in. In other words steering internet traffic in your direction.

[Michelle Clarke]

Tripod. I do all my sites on it, cost me $50 to set up (included one web name) and $11.00 per month to maintain - this is for ALL my sites, not per site. I have a million picts and have not even used 2% of my available memory.

You do not have to know html codes, you can use templates they already have set up or create your own from scratch or modify alot of theirs...you can get as fancy and creative as you want, plus be able to load video and all sorts of multi-media. No one has ever had issues viewing or adapting to their systems.

[desperatehorsewife]

I like bravenet.com for mine. I only purchase the name and get free hosting, so there's that ad bar at the top. Those used to drive me nuts when I'd visit sites, but I don't even see them anymore.

Bravenet has templates which are easy to work with. Here's a link to one I'm working on right now. nwrwhba.com/

[ctxkiger]

THANKS FOR ALL THE REPLIES AND INFORMATION. ITS MUCH APPRECIATED.

JASON