Thinking of a website ?

[Sir Ramic]

I know there are lots of people who know more about this subject than i do but also lots that know very little. I thought i would share a few thoughts i have had since setting up a website.
A while back i was talking about having a website but i wasnt sure it would bring in work....very sceptical !
Anyway it was almost xmas and i was given a website in a box ( MrSite ), great i thought, this looks simple enough ....but this is where the 1st problem arose. i cant design sites! so ok..I have made a website but its not as good as i hoped for. I know by checking other sites made with the same software that a decent site could be made but i dont possess that ability.
But ok, its a site...and it has brought in a few enquiries and lead to a job. Actually the site has paid for itself but it wasnt as simple as just designing the site, it needs to be entered into all sorts of search engines etc, optmised and all this stuff that i dont understand. I have have tried as much as i know and as much as i understand.
Now, i am not complaining about the site or the software as i have already stated that it has paid for itself but i now have more insight to what a website can do for a company.
So know i am thinking I should have gone with MiStore as i was actually planning before this gift was given to me. I have a year contract on this site so i will keep it for now.
I guess what i am trying to say that if anyone is thinking of getting a site and was like me, cynical or have no idea of how to do it. Then get some professional help....its no good having a site if no one can find it.

Now a few cliches go through my head..."Its cheap for a reason" ! and " If you want a professional job then get a professional to do it"....i mean if a DIYer asked me about tiling i would say get the pro in !

I think i have learnt a lesson , thankfully not an expensive one though.

Food for though for all you thinking about Websites ?

[Sir Ramic]

Oh and one thing that happens as soon as yo get a website is the phone wil ring....People telling you that they can optimise it so it ranks higher etc, just someone wanting money from you again...I get 1 call per week or an email or 2 a week regarding this.

[mikethetile]

yes deffo want one, and the more time I spend on here the more I rrealise that the internet is the future

why would anyone bother getting out of a chair in the evening searching for a directory, blow the dust off, find the section , look for whose in their area , jot down the numbers to ring at a more conveniant time

not on your nelly

lappys on anyway, google in what you want and read the first page, click on the email section of the site you like the look of and ask someone to call or mail back

await call or mail...........simples!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dan]

The emails are automated. I get a dozen a day! And link exchange requests, god if I had a quid each time I got one I'd turn over 10k a month just on that! But god knows who I'd be linking to!

You know my views on this, I've always had a website and I've never always been good at getting them ranked easily. A tile website, sure, I can rank those now, but new ventures take time to build up either your own network of reputable links or loads of link-building from strangers. Which again results in ME sending emails out to loads of other website owners.

The advantage with a mistore site is that you either pick a design that'd existing and they tweak it for you. Or you pay for a custom template but that doesn't help with ranking you etc. That's just personal preference. You can have your logo added to a standard template they have.

Once you have the site with them, the way to add content is a little like how you add it to this forum. So you add a new page (like a topic) give it a title (like you do here) and then fill in the big box with the content (like you do here) be it pictures, text, contact info, whatever.

Mistore can give you a free demo account and they'll talk you through how to use it. Their hosting is fast, cheap and comes with support. You pay X for a template and then a fair monthly fee. If it's optimised well and gets you business you'll kick yourself in the shin for not getting one earlier.

Dave rates he gets around 50% of his work off the internet. And he already had a solid customer base and a reputable company so it's seriously helped him through the rough patch we had and it's serving him very well now it's picking up.

I know you guys just might think I'm saying this but we chose mistore as they're really good. I kept seeing posts and even offered myself before now, where people were offering to do websites for £300 or whatever and I felt if I didn't know how they worked I'd rather not risk a member being ripped off so I went on the hunt. Took me months to really test them all out and find mistore.

So use them, they're good. Their customer service is mint and all the rest of the things you want. But the think most don't know they want but they really need is to get business out of it at the end and not just a website. Mistore does that. I can vouch for them time after time.

Anyway, enough waffling, make the move matey, you'll be soo sooo pleased.

[mikethetile]

thanks Dan website is steadily rising up the list and is now in the first five on page one

I just need to take some photos of my work and im on it

[Dan]

No problem mate. Send me a PM if you want me to take a quick look to see if I can suggest anything.

[united]

I will be making contact with Mistore as soon as I have the budget to do it and some nice photos to make it look flash

I made my site myself and I'm still messing with it to make it better but there is only so much I can do with my limited skills so I will get the pros in.

[Sir Ramic]

I will be making contact with Mistore as soon as I have the budget to do it and some nice photos to make it look flash

I made my site myself and I'm still messing with it to make it better but there is only so much I can do with my limited skills so I will get the pros in.

Yeah my thoughts too

[Dave]

Mistore...??

Best move any tiler will make.. Trust me .. I love mine and so do my customers who contact me from it..

I won't bother building it up... It does what it says on the tin as they say... A website site works if done right..

[TT Tiling]

hey great reading guys ,its something im thinking about ,a friend i know has one and it looks great , not that im looking for work now but hey you never know wots round the corner , but like most things in life you get wot you pay for ,

[lcjohno]

Hi all, i'm currently getting my website off mistore. I have just signed off the final design so i'm told it will be live in 7 - 10 days. I used a template they had already (its the same as dave's) sorry dave but i dont live near you anyway and that template is the best one . Anyway, i have found them to be very good to deal with and when i mentioned the forum they put my first payment date back to April Happy Days. They send you the back end of your website staightaway so you can start to add contant like pictures etc. As soon as its done i'll put the link on the forum and wait for peoples feedback.

[Dave]

Look forward to it..

[chris.tiling]

Cheers for this Neale - funily enough I had just been looking at your site as I want to set one up and wanted ideas. I love the look of Dave's (mistore one), but like the price of yours (mrsite one).

I think the comment you made about a "DIYer asking about tiling...get the professionals in" sums up my thoughts at this moment.

[Sir Ramic]

What i am sayiing is that know i understand more aboout these things i realise that i would have been better off with someone like Mistore.......the catch with me was that my site was a gift for xmas....i guess i could have returned it but at the time i didnt know these things.
So if any of you learn by my error then all will be well.

[Scott]

Funny enough they were talking about optimising sites on radio 2 today as part of their get on line thing that they are promoting this month.


A lot of it went way over my head but what the guy said made sense. I dont think a lot of people do use the yellow pages anymore. If i do its normally yell.com so its still web based, and to be honest if the company dont have a website for me to lok at and get more info i generally dont use them.

I bought a domain name 4 years ago and my other half was going to make me a site but we never completed the task. I now have a friend who designs them and i like what i have seen, however I do worry, like others that it will be a waste of money. I have spent about £500 on advertising in the past 9 years as i never needed to as work was always plentiful, now however its a bit quiet!

Its definitely food for thought and i will go and look at the sites you mentioned!

[Colour Republic]

Am I being thick!!?? I already have my building company website being built but I decided to take a look at Mistores package again for another website and I can't find the £50 (plus monthly) package??? They seem to start from £300 now somebody point me in the right direction

[Richardk]

I made my own website and as well as getting a good number of hits, I use it like an online brochure. This helps to consolidate interest sometimes generated elsewhere. It does help to create the right impression.

[Dave Ramsden]

Am I being thick!!?? I already have my building company website being built but I decided to take a look at Mistores package again for another website and I can't find the £50 (plus monthly) package??? They seem to start from £300 now somebody point me in the right direction

I cant find it either, just the ad on the side...

[Diamond Pool Finishers]

i think prices have risen guys good value still!!!

[palewalls]

looking around at alot of tilers websites i think alot of the galleries are possibly the biggest turn off. the workmanship is fine but when its a badly lit photo of your tiling surrounded by unfinished work ie missing skirts, un painted walls, tools etc etc. it lets the overall image down.

it would be better to get selected photos of your best work at a later date either professionally or if you take them yourself use a tripod so you can have a cleaner photo with greater light exposure. this would also allow you to take a mosaic of photos that can be stitched together in photo editing program afterwards.

the thing about our trade is our work is more impressive in the flesh but the majority of domestic work is in rooms too small to get a photo of, some people use wide lenses but this makes your walls look bowed to the un trained eye

so i'd suggest even pictures of your average work that can be framed and lit properly will look more inviting than a badly lit, cramped looking snap of your best work.

i must say the levels of workmanship ive seen in pictures by the forum members has made me very envious, theyres some talented chaps out there, well done!

now to sort my own photos and website out I hate computers

[Dave]

This is the normal £9.99 a month web site offer..

Brochure Style Website Design & Development - SImple Websites - Mistore

[mikethetile]

I did find it when searching the site

I want a mistore site and its next on the list but i need to collect some money in first

[Dave Ramsden]

I finally got my site somewhere near where I want it. Id be grateful if you guys would have a look around and follow the links a bit, more for the statistics than anything

Original-Tile

[lcjohno]

Hi dave, i just looked at your website and its very good. A couple of things i would say is 'fix your tiles in 14 days' i wouldn't go for. Do you mean you'll garantee fitting within 14 days of a quote? could create problems IMO, if you get busy you may let people down. Another point is the ceramic pictures with the level against the wall, i think customers just want to see finished pics or one before and one after pic. Its only my opinion though, i think its nice to get feedback, still a nice site, hope it brings in the work. Lee.

[Dave Ramsden]

Hi dave, i just looked at your website and its very good. A couple of things i would say is 'fix your tiles in 14 days' i wouldn't go for. Do you mean you'll garantee fitting within 14 days of a quote? could create problems IMO, if you get busy you may let people down. Another point is the ceramic pictures with the level against the wall, i think customers just want to see finished pics or one before and one after pic. Its only my opinion though, i think its nice to get feedback, still a nice site, hope it brings in the work. Lee.

Yeah thats the last bit of completeing. The gallery is over populated, I just need to uncheck a cpl of boxes tommorow and the 14 day thing was just a slogan thing Its not stopping...

Thanks for the positive reponse though