quiltingtina Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 Hi all! Well, today I decided to dive in and register my domain name and get hosting for a year. I have no idea where to begin with setting it up. I am going to sit down and read over the start up guide tonight, and see what I can put together. I know that it will probably always be a work in progress, but I was wondering if anyone out there has any suggestions of what to include, or anything not to include? I have looked over several of your websites and I am overwhelmed. They all look so great to me. Funny, as I am typing this, I realize that it seems to me that your websites are like your quilting to me...and I feel like such a newbie. Please help me, and thanks for all of the inspiration. Tina Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltingtina Posted January 17, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 Any one out there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 Hi Tina. I'm not officially in the "quilting biz" right now, but I have created a simple web page for my quilt guild. It is easy to create pages to my site, make updates, add photos, etc... I use MS Frontpage (very, very easy) but there are other web software programs out there that you can use, too. That said, I don't think you need to do anything fancy-schmancy with your web site (meaning lots of graphics and stuff). I suggest you start out small, simple, easy to read and build it from there. After you have more exprience, you can get really into the graphics and stuff, but that can come later down the road. Most important is to keep your web page easy to read, not a bunch of "stuff" for your customer's eyes to get lost in. Be sure you add hyperlinks to information you might want to add (pricing, etc...utilize info from other quilter's web pages). I am sure you could get ideas from other quilter's web sites or re-write the info/text it to fit your specialties. I hope I helped to answer your question. Have fun! Shana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 I would say include everything you can think of that might come up, such as pricing, what you have to offer like batting, etc. Make sure you are detailed about your pricing including seaming the back, pressing, fixing un-sewn seams, etc. I would say you need to include anything you would talk with a customer face to face about. Also, include any vendors, grafic design company you use, if any. Also, any organization you participate in such as Quilts of Valor, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 Oh, I have a web site www.enchantedquilting.com however, there are some changes that need to be done and I cannot figure out how to change anything. I am waiting for my 1 year to expire and then I am going to drop the web site and just use something like web shots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenscratch Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 The one thing that really helped me was the book "HTML for Dummies" I had no idea how to write HTML for a website. Now that I've learned how it is really easy. I just write it in notepad, save it as HTML, and use Zilla FTP to upload it onto my website. Some of the server sites offer templates where you just plug in your individual information. I haven't used one of those, but it seems like it would be easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramona-quilter Posted January 17, 2007 Report Share Posted January 17, 2007 Tina, Do a search on the word web and the username JudyL - I know that JudyL had some discussion last year about this topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudyL Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 We all have opinions so take mine for what it's worth. I personally think the website is a must have. I do very little to no quilting locally and now that I've moved to a very small town, I'm sure I'll do less (what's less than none?) local quilting. No matter how good you are, I think you need a web page to sort of validate that you are a real business and you are seeking business from outside your local area. I suppose if you are only doing business locally, you could get by without a web page. I use StartLogic for my host. The offer they currently have is 50 GB space, 750 GB transfer, free domain name, hosting up to 10 domain names and other perks for $5.95/month. How can it not be worth $5.95/month? I know no HTML and I muddle through it. Sometimes takes me a few tries to get things right. I had a friend fix it up for me recently and I go in and make changes as needed. Do I get a ton of business from people who stumble across my web page? No. But, once I got clients across various regions of the country, they would just refer friends to my web page and I have gotten lots of business this way that I don't think I would have gotten had it not been for the web page. Just my opinion . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CucumberQuilting Posted January 18, 2007 Report Share Posted January 18, 2007 I was going to suggest you look for a "Dummies" book on this subject. Teresa mentioned what it was. I'm such a dummy on the subject I don't even understand the HTML, blah, blah, blah. But if you want to take it on let us know how it goes. I just recently had my computer guy out to update some things on my computer and was asking him about it. He suggested I do some research on the subject, look at some web pages created locally and then also decide if the cost of time and money will justify having a webpage when what I really just want to do at this point is share photos of quilts and quilting, not set up a site for generating retail sales. Good Luck! ~~ Eva H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltingtina Posted January 19, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Thanks for the responses. Judy, I have signed up with Start Logic, after I read your earlier post on this. They seem like a good company. So far I haven't had to deal with any HTML. I have been looking at other LA websites, boy there are A LOT of them, and I have been working on my own. It's going to take some time. I'll let you all know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewingupastorm Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Mary Beth when I chose my domain name it was taken by you! I live in New Mexico the land of enchantment. In any case I went with "Enchanting Quilts" instead which I really like. I still have not finished my website and really need to get on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mary Beth Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 I noticed your name and thought that was cool that our business names where so close. I was torn between Garden Gate Quilting and Enchanted Quilting. My DH didn't like either one, of course he is the one that said take a fruit basket to the LQS for Christmas....I looked at him like he had lost his mind and said "everyone know quilting and chocolate go together - not fruit!" Anyway, he still comes up with stupid names for my business. I just keep saying "Nope" keeping Enchanted Quilting - I like it!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CucumberQuilting Posted January 19, 2007 Report Share Posted January 19, 2007 Hi Tina, this recommendation comes from Bob at Superior Threads. It was in their October e-newsletter. Maybe you can get some ideas from checking it out. Website Design and Hosting: If you are thinking about creating a website or need to upgrade or change your current website, we have a wonderful recommendation. Check out http://www.danemco.com. They are highly skilled, fast, accurate and have very good rates. We use them, like them, and recommend them to everyone. Contact them at service@danemco.net or 1-800-941-0645. Let us know how it goes. Thanks and good luck! ~~ Eva H. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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