Window Cleaning Issues - Canvassing, pole systems, pricing, problems, etc.
making website/ hostingPosted by samm (samm), 17 January 2004
for those of us making websites (I'm gonna eventually finish this month) I found a good deal with these http://www.streamlinenet.co.uk/hu.htm 18.99 1 year or 27.98 for 2 years for both domain name & hosting, seems quite good.Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 17 January 2004
Hi Samm
What software are you using to produce your website 
I use www.oneandone.co.uk
for my web hosting and you get loads of free software which is worth a look if anyone is starting one soon.
StevePosted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 17 January 2004
Forgot to say if you have no web building experience try their website creator which you can try without buying anything and see how easy it is 
StevePosted by matt (matt), 17 January 2004
If any1 wants me to knock up a single page for contact info etc
PM me, i will do it for a beer or 2 Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 17 January 2004
Have you got one Matt Posted by samm (samm), 17 January 2004
hello steve,
I started making it months ago (nothing fancy just few pages) & thought its about time I got it finished & on the net, I've been using macromedia mx, I got a bit of experience so I hopefully it will be ok, I post my link in week or so, let me know what you think.
I've got a photo or too to add, I take it is easy to update the site, can u leave some image placeholders till I got the photos and then add them in
My business is me full time and a friend 3 days week so dont need nothing fancy, I'll check out oneandone, cheers
samPosted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 17 January 2004
Hi Samm,
A good place to go for help with websites if you get stuck is
www.pcadvisor.co.uk
Click on the web design link and their are plenty of designers around that will give plenty of help
StevePosted by MB (Mark Betts), 17 January 2004
Go to www.easily.co.uk to register domain namesa and also website hosting mega cheap
MarkPosted by matt (matt), 17 January 2004
not for my window cleaning
but i wrote the HTML for www.theknowledgezones.co.uk, the HTML isnt that great, but it does the trick
i did the "flash" intro for it aswell
and also did some hard codeing on the message board (sing up and have a looksie, its PC/website/tech based)
also knocked this site http://www.orchard-b-and-b.com/ for a mate, this is the type of page you can have for contact details etc etcPosted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 18 January 2004
For anyone interested here is the link for the website creator with one and one.
http://cm4all03.kundenserver.de/servlet/CMWizardLN?action=showMain&JServSessionIdservlet=80LXY26SJ6.S1081
StevePosted by allseasons (allseasons), 18 January 2004
one&one i have to say there hosting is realy poor, I will be moving very soon, If you want a good site builder try www.tripod.com (veasy) Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 18 January 2004
Hi Micheal
When you say one and one gives poor service. What problems have you had I have been web building for some time now and found them first class. They have been voted no1 web hosts in Europe 3 years running (By their own satisfied customers) and their support is excellent. Web creator and tripod etc are only meant for basic sites so i guess it would cut after an hour but you can always save and then go back to it.
StevePosted by allseasons (allseasons), 18 January 2004
the Web creator is not very user freindly, i have loads of problem's
1. After 1 hour the web creator kick's you out and i have lost hour's of work.
2.and you have to careful when you push ur backspace samething again, lost loads of work with that.
3. it don't let you add any htlm of your own what's realy crap any one that has build a website will know this
4. it doesnt let you change the size of your picture's so if your pic 1200x1000 that's what show up on your page a right pain in the bum having change the size in firework's mx or other picture/web app
5. you only get a small amount font's i thinks there's about 4-5 .
6. and after all that and load of other problem's when you try and publish your site you get "sorry there's a problem with pubishing your site please try later" after a couple of hours your maybe lucky and it works.
voted no1 web hosts in Europe 3 years running (By their own satisfied customers)
sorry steve but they wouldnt get my voted. 
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 18 January 2004
Hi Micheal
I was told by one and one that web creator is not really for web designers so you would not be able to use html(Its meant for people with no design experience) .But good results can be acheived with it as your site shows. Did you get Net objects 7 with your one and one package With that you would be able to do html and some of the other things you mention.
StevePosted by karlosdaze (karlosdaze), 18 January 2004
On the subject of websites, my favorite is Johns of Majestic. Its strikes home for its simplicity, its easy to manouvre around, & you can pursue the information you require quickly. I get fed up with these "flash" introductions, waiting for the web page to load. If you go to the really big companies, rarely do you get all these marketing presentations, just straight in, with the logo, phone numbers & menu.
I think you also have to think of your market & who is likely to use your services. Most of your prosperous clients who can afford to use a window cleaner, have seen all these fancy presentations before, whereas your average grandma/grandad who isn't up to the task of window cleaning anymore, will probably just about know how to fill his email in, let alone surf the web.
I also like P Fogwills updated site, with the use of gifs kept to a minimum, & with the find quick menu.
Just my views............ 
Posted by Majestic (Majestic), 18 January 2004
Thanks Karl, 
At the end of the day all you need to have on is what services you provide , and contact details 
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 18 January 2004
Hi Karl
When i was putting my site together i got a lot of advice from full time web designers and they said keep it simple and dont use flash unless you really needed to. I agree with that because if you are on a dial up connection you can wait ages for it to load and most of us cant be bothered.
StevePosted by matt (matt), 18 January 2004
karlosdaze i agree
thats why when im asked to do a webpage for others, i allways just use a 1 page design,
a web page only need to have contact details and a little "blerb" about your company
http://www.orchard-b-and-b.com/ does and says it all
the stuff i did at tKZ, the flash intro etc etc, was all about "proving" yourself, its sad, but like people on here say "oh i can clean 7 semi's a hour" the web design scene is the same, you need to be able to work in flash, while im not quite at that stage, i do desing pages for others (mainly for a few pints) but a few years ago it was a little earner for me
but as ive said, imho a 1 page site is great, no need for big pics etc, just palin and simple, afterall its just like a ad in yellow pages, but you put the link on the side of your vanPosted by allseasons (allseasons), 18 January 2004
Hi steve just to let you know i have been trying to up date my website for the past 5 hour's with no luck,
1&1 suck's big time!!!!!!! 
Posted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 18 January 2004
Hi Micheal
I just tried uploading my site from Frontpage to the one and one servers and it worked instantly Perhaps they are having problems with web creator
Good Luck!
StevePosted by allseasons (allseasons), 18 January 2004
steve , may i ask are you paying £5.99 a month?. if so do you realy think its worth paying that much for a window cleaning website.
The only reason i built my site was that am getting my van sign's done and though that a website address is easyer to remember that 11 digit number.
why did you build your 1?
mike Posted by matt (matt), 18 January 2004
http://www.34sp.com/index.shtml
these are very good, good "up-time" and real cheap, i recommend them to all my punters
tKZ is hosted in the USA, and it currently costs me near 500 notes a year 
..but they are out of this world for speed and uptimePosted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 18 January 2004
Hi Mike
I have the Microsoft Business package which is £9.99 a month. I created the site basically to give potential customers another point of contact and like you i think if you have your web address on your van i think it is easier to remember than a telephone number. I have had work back from it and it generally more than pays for itself now but did not in the beginning. Its a case of getting on as many search engines as possible.
StevePosted by karlosdaze (karlosdaze), 18 January 2004
I don't know about you lot, but we get web space when you purchase broadband in Spain. Can't you just buy your web name and upload to your server?Posted by allseasons (allseasons), 18 January 2004
Steve Did you pay to be added to search engines, or just add your site to the free ones?
Is there other way's to get my self added to more search engines with out paying?. Posted by matt (matt), 18 January 2004
http://www.theknowledgezones.co.uk/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=14&t=000130
i replied to a post about this on tKZ only last week, worth a readPosted by allseasons (allseasons), 18 January 2004
do i have to sign up for it ??Posted by matt (matt), 18 January 2004
are yes you will, dont worry though, its only your e.mail address, its free aswell Posted by matt (matt), 18 January 2004
here is a cut and paste of the post, if you dont want to pop over and have a look, though you got nothing to lose, we have some real good PC / Tech guys involved
its a mine field, it really is
i use some of these :
http://www.submit-express.com/submit.html
http://www.submitexpress.co.uk/submitexpress_free_search_engine_submission.php (these ask to add a button, yea right)
http://www.addme.com/
oh and ineedhits
http://www.ineedhits.com/
as i said, its a long process, can take 3 months, and still you might be so far down the list its hard to tell
you need your meta tag correct otherwise its a waste of time, 1 of the above site will test your meta-tags for youPosted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 19 January 2004
on 01/18/04 at 23:09:47, allseasons wrote:Steve Did you pay to be added to search engines, or just add your site to the free ones?
Is there other way's to get my self added to more search engines with out paying?.
Hi Mike
I used some software called hello engines that came with my one and one package and also some other software that optimised the site as far as meta tags etc and hello engines submit your site to hundreds of search engines. 
Also make sure your site address is on everything so that over a period of time the visitors pick up and then hopefully more work will follow.
Good Luck!
StevePosted by highwash (highwash), 19 January 2004
MOST COMPUTERS HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH FREE WEB SPACE TO HAVE A SITE BUILT ESPECIALLY BROADBAND. CONTACT www.webamaze.co.uk I JUST PAY FOR MY DOMAIN NAME APPROX £7 FOR 2 YEARS! MY SITE COST £120 TO SET UP I PAY NOTHING ELSE! GOOD LUCK - TERRY www.highwashsystems.co.ukPosted by STEVE71163 (Steve Lowe), 19 January 2004
Hi Terry
Can you get web statistics from your free web space
StevePosted by highwash (highwash), 19 January 2004
yes steve - you register with bravenet (again free) and the stats are very comprehensive. any info contact phil at webamazePosted by samm (samm), 19 January 2004
I have freeserve broadband, just had a look they offer 100meg free space, only trouble is I cant see any where if u can import ur own domain name, I dont know if they force adds like free hosting sites, I'll have a look.
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