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DIY Websites

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  • 01-02-2010 5:06pm
    #1
    Shanley
    Registered Users Posts: 356 ✭✭


    Is it just me or does this seem to be on the increase? I know there is a recession on but if you are a company it is seriously worth the investment to get it done professionally IMO!

    Just wondering is the web design sector feeling a big pinch from people thinking they can design their own sites?


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    #2
    yop
    Moderators, Home & Garden Moderators, Regional Midwest Moderators, Regional West Moderators Posts: 16,724 Mod ✭✭✭✭yop


    Sites like what exactly? Is it blogs you are on about?

    Can't say I have seen much of a rise :)


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    #3
    cormee
    Registered Users Posts: 1,801 ✭✭✭cormee


    yop wrote: »
    Sites like what exactly? Is it blogs you are on about?

    Can't say I have seen much of a rise :)

    I think he's referring to cheap & nasty sites - people looking to do their own sites themselves, or sites thrown together for clients for €120 by people who know how to install Joomla and little else.


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    #4
    axer
    Registered Users Posts: 5,517 ✭✭✭axer


    I dont think it is that bad of a thing for a business.

    Firstly, some just cannot afford to spend 2,000 to 3,000 euro for a well designed, well coded website.

    Secondly, I think it is better for businesses to have one simple page on the internet and a domain name/email than have a nice big flashy website that they know nothing about just leaving it stagnant.

    Those that I know that have created simple one page websites generally became more aware of the internet over time and then tended to know what they want when it comes to them investing a nice website.

    It is better to waste a small amount of money on a one page website that WILL still generate business than on a greatly designed website that turns out to be not what you want when you finally figure out what you want.

    A perfect example is a satellite installer friend of mine. He wanted to build his own website despite me offering to do it for him as he wanted to see how it works. He built a fairly amateur looking website which had terrible coding and graphics that looked like it was created in MS Word. Despite that he got thousands of euros of work over a year or two from people just looking for contact details and the website cost him f all. He is now looking at investing in his website a little more now that he knows that it can generate revenue and also since building the website initially he has taken more interest in how other websites look and function thus he knows now exactly what he wants and what people seem to be looking for.

    I don't think it is fair to knock the budget or DIY website industry when I think there is a place for them.


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    #5
    Liam Byrne
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,163 ✭✭✭✭Liam Byrne


    axer wrote: »
    Despite that he got thousands of euros of work over a year or two from people just looking for contact details

    How did they manage to find him ? A one-page, badly-coded website would be on page 54,000 of Google.

    Re the OP's question; there will always be people convinced that someone they know can do a better job, or that they can somehow do it themselves.

    And in most cases they don't see the irony that they expect to be paid for installing a satellite or laying a path or whatever, because they're "experts" and it's more professional than a DIY job.

    But some of what axer is saying is true, too:
    axer wrote: »
    He is now looking at investing in his website a little more now that he knows that it can generate revenue and also since building the website initially he has taken more interest in how other websites look and function thus he knows now exactly what he wants and what people seem to be looking for.

    Once people understand that a proper, easily-updated site is an asset, not a cost, they tend to find the money for it.

    As long as you don't charge too much, you can get these (bearing in mind that a dirt-cheap man is always busy, and still can't pay his bills).


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    #6
    axer
    Registered Users Posts: 5,517 ✭✭✭axer


    Liam Byrne wrote: »
    How did they manage to find him ? A one-page, badly-coded website would be on page 54,000 of Google.
    His was on the first page for "<Town name and county name> satellite installer".
    Liam Byrne wrote: »
    Once people understand that a proper, easily-updated site is an asset, not a cost, they tend to find the money for it.
    My point is that because a large amount of business people do not understand how the internet works and need time and exposure to understand what they actually want.


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    #7
    Liam Byrne
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,163 ✭✭✭✭Liam Byrne


    axer wrote: »
    His was on the first page for "<Town name and county name> satellite installer".

    That's a pretty specific search, but if it got him enough business (as distinct from "[county name] satellite" then fair enough.
    axer wrote: »
    My point is that because a large amount of business people do not understand how the internet works and need time and exposure to understand what they actually want.

    That's the bit I was agreeing with! :)


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