Advice on setting up a website for a client - N00b alert!

Dempsey

Hi,

Last night I was talking to the local soccer club chairman and he asked me to find out information about setting up a website. I told him that he'd need to buy a domain and hosting but I'd have to look up prices and whatever else he might need.

This was a 30 second conversation so I dont know exactly what he'd have in mind but I'd reckon its a few pages giving information about the teams/coaching, facilities/booking for the astroturf facilities, club lotto results, fixtures and results, photos of the teams and matches etc. Thats my guess, i.e. nothing too complicated to start off with.

I've had a look about this forum and its charter and I hope that this doesnt break any rules, this is my first post here. Go gentle! :pac:


I have had a quick look at the 'where to get hosting' sticky and I was thinking of recommending the club to buy a domain and starter hosting package from Digiweb and they throw in that free myWeb customised templates.

I've a few questions that maybe experienced web designers could quicky help me with

.ie domain (€29.99) vs .com domain (€6.99)

I see that the prices vary slightly from reseller to reseller but could someone explain to me why I would recommend the expensive .ie domain over the cheap .com one?

MyWeb customised templates

The FREE Version is standard with all hosting packages and includes the following features:

• Up to 6 pages
• Photo Album*
• Blog*
• Feedback Form*
• Guestbook*
• 15 Flash Intros
• Ticker
• Voting
• Event Planner
• Map*
• Counter*

* This feature depends on website topic for the personal version

I had a look at their personal and business demos, I'd recommend the business version. This tool looks very user friendly and something I could help them get familiar with.

Is that 6 pages + the photo album + blog + event planner or does the photo album count as one of the 6 pages?

I know I could email digiweb with alot of this but I rather ask here because I'd like to get 2nd opinions from people that may have used their package (pros and cons) and maybe people could recommend a package, maybe with another provider that is more suited to what is needed.

Any and all feedback appreciated

First off, you're not allowed to discuss individual providers offerings on the forum. That will get the thread locked.

The reason .ie domains cost more is because they're regulated. You need to show you have a valid claim to the domain name, whereas you can register any .com that is available.

Regarding your website, maybe look at Wordpress - many providers give you an installation wizard. Wordpress, once installed, will allow you to add/edit/delete pages at will with no specialist knowledge required.

I would suggest that you get a professional to install it for you though, along with a good theme (note: I work in the industry, so feel free to discount my advice as biased if you wish). Getting it installed professionally needn't cost much, and could save you a LOT of headaches.

Eoin

This was a 30 second conversation so I dont know exactly what he'd have in mind but I'd reckon its a few pages giving information about the teams/coaching, facilities/booking for the astroturf facilities, club lotto results, fixtures and results, photos of the teams and matches etc. Thats my guess, i.e. nothing too complicated to start off with.

I know it doesn't sound that complicated, but for it to work well, you're really looking at a database driven website, and one that can link teams to fixtures, photos to fixtures, photos to teams etc. That's not terribly complex stuff, but it does require a bit of planning. If you do the updates manually, it will mean duplicating the updates and the info won't really hang together too well.

We use this free sports club service for our rugby club's website:
http://www.pitchero.com/

It does pretty much all you're asking for, and more. It also allows photos and video uploads by non-admin members (which have to be approved), so it's great for getting lots of different people to contribute to the content of the site - and this can really help drive traffic.

Dempsey

Eoin wrote: »

I know it doesn't sound that complicated, but for it to work well, you're really looking at a database driven website, and one that can link teams to fixtures, photos to fixtures, photos to teams etc. That's not terribly complex stuff, but it does require a bit of planning. If you do the updates manually, it will mean duplicating the updates and the info won't really hang together too well.

We use this free sports club service for our rugby club's website:
http://www.pitchero.com/

It does pretty much all you're asking for, and more. It also allows photos and video uploads by non-admin members (which have to be approved), so it's great for getting lots of different people to contribute to the content of the site - and this can really help drive traffic.

So basically all I need with pitchero is a domain and redirect it?

Eoin

Yep - the only problem is that I don't know if they do domain masking yet. So www.yoursportsclub.com might just redirect to pitchero.com/clubs/YourSportsClub, rather than it looking like you host the site yourself.

Still, we've found that the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

Dempsey

Eoin wrote: »

Yep - the only problem is that I don't know if they do domain masking yet. So www.yoursportsclub.com might just redirect to pitchero.com/clubs/YourSportsClub, rather than it looking like you host the site yourself.

Still, we've found that the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

I clicked on a few random clubs that use pitchero and its coming up http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/yoursportsclub

but i see this the standard features page and it confuses me.

Hosting, online support and domain name

* - Unlimited free hosting
* - 24 hour backup
* - Excellent online support
* - Keep using the same domain name

So what are the chances that all the websites that I clicked on arent using their own domain name or have some other arrangement

Eoin

It's definitely a possibility - I think the domain name thing might be a premium feature. I know that I and many other members have been asking for proper domain masking for a while.

Dempsey

Eoin wrote: »

It's definitely a possibility - I think the domain name thing might be a premium feature. I know that I and many other members have been asking for proper domain masking for a while.

Thats listed under the standard features

http://www.pitchero.com/club-website/standard-features/

right at the bottom

False advertising?



Its definitely a cheap and flexible option to start off with but i'll email them over the domain thing. Dont see the point in buying a domain if they arent going to correctly implement it with their service.

Eoin

I haven't checked it out in a while, so maybe it is a standard feature.

For the sake of a few quid a year, I'd get the domain name. It can be put on club stationery, jerseys, banners and the likes - people are much more likely to remember it than a pitchero URL.