Website Advice Request

1. If you hired a professional to design your site, about how much did you pay and was it worth it?

yes. . craigslist . .find a talented college student. . part time. .very cheap

2. If you designed your site yourself and had little or no experience, what program did you use and was it easy enough to do on your own? About how long did it take you to get it designed?

Buy a template. .EBAY (real estate website)  the most important aspect is your IDX. . .I use wolfnet

3. Any other thoughts of wisdom come to mind?

people don't care about you or your dog

People want only one thing. . .what you got that will benefit me in 3 seconds. .

if they see you website and it full of clutter.. .you lost

if they see your website and see value right away. .you got a chance

Tori, my first sight was designed my own. It took too much of my time and I couldn't build in all the functionality I needed. I moved to Advanced Access template site and then onto Pointe2 Agent site. LOVE Pointe2. You can sign up for a free site to test the waters and check out the functionality and then move on to the professional version if you so choose.

I had made my own site (which was a mistake) and hired a professional to have it done.  The SEO benefits alone made it worth it.  The bids I received were just like yours; in the thousands.  I kept searching and found someone extremely reasonable.  If you'd like her name and number let me know.  She's great!

Kathy

I started with a tekplate site. A year later and I can't say that I have benefited from it at all. Why? It is notjhing more than a brochure online. I recently went through Direct Response Technologies to get a website designed and should have it launched in a couple of weeks.

The difference here is that the site lends itself to returning visits from people. In other words it contains useful and entertaining material. I wouldn't have gone this way had I not called people that already used them and with rave reviews. There intro package (depending on your finances) may seem a little pricey at $549 and then a $59/mo cost, but that includes their support. This way is good for people who are not well versed in web site structure.

I don't mean for this to be an endorsement. I am all about getting the best possible return for my investment. Active Rain is a good concept however there is a lot of talk (puffing) with very little actual help for those of us that are still considered rookies and trying to get to the next level.

Hope this helps. 

Tori. I used BlueVoda to create my own website.  Totally free but took some time.  I'm starting to rank somewhat -  first page on certain keywords.  It is time consuming to get it just how you want, but from what I hear web designers are only as fast as your vision anyway so be sure to know exactly the content you want because you are usually paying by the hour.

Tori Lynn - her name is Tina Doughtery and owns a company called Busy Brain.  Her phone # is 1-888-223 7569 (toll free).  Tell her Kathy sent you.  FYI - she's done several stagers sites here on Active Rain.  You'll love her. 

Kathy

Tori Lynn;

    I used April Brinkley of lipstick and rouge designs.  She is absolutely fabulous!  I am thinking the cost was about $1200.00 but that was some time ago so I don't know what her prices are now.  She has designed sites for numerous friends in the design field. 

In needing an additional site, I posted an ad on Craig's List and literally had to pull it within 8 hours because I received well over 200 emails.  The prices were amazing and I actually found someone to do it for free in exchange for the ability to advertise on the radio where my show is produced.  He saw this as a major plus for his business.  I personally would like to be able to have more control over my own web site so that I can change things at my whim without having to wait or pay someone to do it all the time, but I am just not that technical.  The new site however is being designed with that in mind and he will show me how to enter it and do the work myself.  I added the blog page to my existing site because it allows me to have instant access to posting what ever I wish and I can highlight that fact in my monthly news letter. 

I don't know if they are still advertising it or not and if you need to be a member to get the pricing, but the sdp was advertising a build it yourself web site that was very affordable and easily done.  I think you can access it at www.thesdp.com 

Good luck!

Marina, I checked out your website and it looks good.  I was looking at the Blue Voda stuff and noticed that it said that a VodaHost web hosting account is required in order for you to publish.  What does that mean and what does that cost?  What about a domain?  Do they take care of that as well?  Thanks in advance for your help.

Charissa Robinett, Student ASID & IIDA
INTERIORS by Charissa - Joplin, MO

If your budget is tight spend some time in the groups section of ActiveRain reading the SEO and Website Groups and then once you have a plan then check out elance.  There are certainly folks here on ActiveRain who can help you but not sure about your budget and what they would charge for their service.

Charissa:   It cost me 125.00 for the year and they threw in the domain name.  (I didn't use BV to host my site.