Starting a business website

[Coldkilla]

Hey guys, my dad and I are going to be opening a "Rock School" of sorts, its going to be a non-profit business and we don't know much about "what is the best way to go about it".

I'm proficent at photoshop and other general things, but as far as getting a Domain, and a host, we were wondering what sort of action(s) we should take.

-Which domain website(s) are most fair?
-Which is the best "website builder"? We'd like the most options available to us when it comes to the website. This includes: Ability to add HTML later if we please (we don't know a lot about HTML other than your basic stuff like bold/returns/etc).
-Is "flash" generally a good idea? Can we add it later easily? We've seen some cool websites using flash as their intros (people could skip if they wanted) and we've seen some cool templates online but again, don't know a lot about HTML, is this required by all templates?

Any other helpful tips. I also apologize if my questions seemed general, but I'm looking for some 1st hand accounts on their experience. We'd like to have the website up before we invest in a building and start putting our resources on the other important things.

 

[Ns1]

1. no problems with godaddy so far
2. cernax.com (agaboogaboo) or hostgator (some people have reported problems)
3. fuck flash
4. I used to use OnePage, but notepad is my bread and butter
5. fuck flash
6. oswd.org
7. forums.digitalpoint.com for all your outsourcing needs
8. fuck flash

 

[Inferno0032]

Go Daddy is working awesome for my domain and SSL, currently getting hosting by 4Dwebhosting.com, and my father is having his site hosted by go daddy and it's also going smoothly.

 

[Terabyte]

Namecheap > *

 

[nanette1985]

I like Namecheap better than GoDaddy.
Hostgator for some of my sites. They're okay.
Flash is a big turnoff.

A non-profit business? Most of mine are but I hope to change that.

If you want the website to be a part of the fundraising, or to impress people with money, then you need to spend a lot of money on the site. Forget asking about hosting and HTML, get somebody at the top of the field. You're talking about a building and so on, do things right. Get a lawyer and an accountant, and a nonprofit expert, and listen to them.

 

[Q]

Originally posted by: Terabyte
Namecheap > *

NC is the best

 

[alkemyst]

flash is good where it's needed. Don't make an entire flash site though.

90% of a website is having it envisioned and a product to sell.

If you are using a template from a good company, your HTML skills are minimal. Use something like FrontPage or Dreamweaver (I hate WYSIWYG though, I use HomeSite).

You biggest concern should be how to get you the money.

 

[Coldkilla]

Sounds good guys, keep it coming. I'm jotting all this down for the next time my Dad and his (smaller) investors get together. We already own a sound company so a large chunk of the expenses are paid.

 

[CrimsonChaos]

The recommendations people have been giving for Web-hosting are decent. But here's a couple tips on web building:

Content is more important than style initially. Do not worry about Flash, Applets, etc. when you are first building your page. Focus on the site layout (use an organizational chart if necessary), outlining the content you will have and where it will be located within the site. A structured site with intuitive navigation is paramount.

Also, use cascading style sheets where possible. It makes it much easier to change the look and style of your website, as you only have to alter one document (as opposed to every page).

 

[chusteczka]

PCMag.com recently had an article on Microsoft Office Live Small Business comparing this product to Yahoo! Small Business. How does web hosting by GoDaddy, NameCheap, Cernax, HostGator, and others compare with the MS and Yahoo small business eCommerce store applications?

I specifically like the eCommerce templates offered by Yahoo because I do not want to lose time learning website creation and writing the code when it can already be done for me. I also plan to start a business soon and want to spend more time on the business than on coding a webpage from scratch. Do these other webhosts offer comparable or superior eCommerce/storefront creation utilities/templates?

 

[JJChicken]

Originally posted by: CrimsonChaos
The recommendations people have been giving for Web-hosting are decent. But here's a couple tips on web building:

Content is more important than style initially. Do not worry about Flash, Applets, etc. when you are first building your page. Focus on the site layout (use an organizational chart if necessary), outlining the content you will have and where it will be located within the site. A structured site with intuitive navigation is paramount.

Also, use cascading style sheets where possible. It makes it much easier to change the look and style of your website, as you only have to alter one document (as opposed to every page).

Bolded for emphasis :thumbsup:

 

[fossilburner]

Try asmallorange.com for hosting.

 

[chusteczka]

Originally posted by: chusteczka
... How does web hosting by GoDaddy, NameCheap, Cernax, HostGator, and others compare with the MS and Yahoo small business eCommerce store applications? ...

bump ...

 

[CasioTech]

Originally posted by: Coldkilla
Sounds good guys, keep it coming. I'm jotting all this down for the next time my Dad and his (smaller) investors get together. We already own a sound company so a large chunk of the expenses are paid.