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Marketing Business Website Design

by PaulintheSticks
49 replies
What are warriors doing for their own business website?

My site is going to be very basic since I'm mainly going to focus on local marketing and consulting although I will want the usual free report download with contact info form.

I'm debating between one of those $9/mo wix.com auto flash sites, Chris Negro's consulting site w/autoresponder report and a wordpress site.

The issue with Chris' site is that its php which I know absolutely nothing about. I think I could do alot of my own edits on a wordpress site. But maybe I would be better off just outsourcing the edits any way.

What's everyone else doing? Are you managing your own site, or do you outsource it? Template or custom? Wordpress, html, php?

Thanks
#business #design #marketing #website
  • Profile picture of the author Vanessa Reece
    I use wordpress. I have a free theme which actually I have the option to take the footer off. But I want to promote its use so I'm keeping it for now.

    It bases itself on the thesis theme and I really found it very intuitive to work with. It's literally clicking on whatever you want to include. I only tweaked a slight bit of code because I wanted to change one element but it was a personal thing not a necessity.

    Here's my consultancy site. Geekette - Business Marketing Consultant UK It's very new (got it up this weekend and have not officially launched it yet) as I already have another one for my coaching and training but felt a targeted consultancy site was a good move.

    Not keen on anything flash myself.

    V
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    • Profile picture of the author jtie
      Originally Posted by ITS-V View Post

      I use wordpress. I have a free theme which actually I have the option to take the footer off. But I want to promote its use so I'm keeping it for now.

      It bases itself on the thesis theme and I really found it very intuitive to work with. It's literally clicking on whatever you want to include. I only tweaked a slight bit of code because I wanted to change one element but it was a personal thing not a necessity.

      Here's my consultancy site. (cant post linK) It's very new (got it up this weekend and have not officially launched it yet) as I already have another one for my coaching and training but felt a targeted consultancy site was a good move.

      Not keen on anything flash myself.

      V
      Hey V, nice to see some midlander's in here, sorry to go off topic but hows the leamington business network? As a graphic designer would you say its worth joining or are there a ton already?

      Im from Coventry btw but if you need any design outsourced PM me

      Jack
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  • Profile picture of the author redcell1
    I do the design and have my programmers make it into wordpress or another CMS.

    I would recommend wordpress just because it's great for SEO, has a decent interface to make changes too (Nothing drastic, that would involve programmers) but you can go with that.

    For templates I would say themeforest,woothemes or just any other wordpress theme seller.
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    Just here to see the shenanigans.

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  • Profile picture of the author Lisa Gergets
    I'll be creating my own WordPress theme similar to this one I did for an attorney: Dayton Ohio Attorney Thomas B Scott. Just very basic and no bells or whistles. An outline of what I offer divided up onto a few pages, contact information, and that's about it.
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  • Profile picture of the author iw433
    Hi V.,
    Just had a look at your site. One word, "Great!" Heckl I'll even add another word, Refreshing!. On a personal level I like it a lot. One of the things I learned doing business is that the client does not really care about what I have done. All they really care about is what I can do for them.
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    • Profile picture of the author Vanessa Reece
      Originally Posted by iw433 View Post

      Hi V.,
      Just had a look at your site. One word, "Great!" Heckl I'll even add another word, Refreshing!. On a personal level I like it a lot. One of the things I learned doing business is that the client does not really care about what I have done. All they really care about is what I can do for them.
      Thanks Bill. I appreciate your kind words about my website. What can I say, the business owners I've dealt with as a coach and also the ones I'll deal with as a consultant like to do business with a smile.

      V
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      • Profile picture of the author Bronwyn and Keith
        Hi Vanessa

        We loved your down-to-earth, tongue in cheek, have lots of fun website.

        Great to see one that isn't full of BS - but rather its full of... personality.

        Regards

        Bronwyn and Keith
        Originally Posted by ITS-V View Post

        Thanks Bill. I appreciate your kind words about my website. What can I say, the business owners I've dealt with as a coach and also the ones I'll deal with as a consultant like to do business with a smile.

        V
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  • Profile picture of the author redlegrich
    Wordpress, forget the flash sites. You can start off easy with a WordPress site and enhance it as your skills and experience improves. If you are going to do any client work on sites knowing and providing WP sites is the way to go. While not easy, it's easier and more effective than anything out there. It's an important tool in your consulting arsenal.
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    • Profile picture of the author Amir Luis
      Originally Posted by redlegrich View Post

      Wordpress, forget the flash sites. You can start off easy with a WordPress site and enhance it as your skills and experience improves. If you are going to do any client work on sites knowing and providing WP sites is the way to go. While not easy, it's easier and more effective than anything out there. It's an important tool in your consulting arsenal.
      I absolutely agree....


      I started not knowing anything... But the one thing I did know... I better take action. So instead of focusing on petty "plans" or unnecessary details... I just started reaching out and getting new clients.

      Telling them I could build them a site... With no knowledge of how to build a site... Outside of those FreeWebsite Builders at those cheap domain name places.

      So I finally built a Wordpress theme site after much consideration and research. I know they are the most "Search Engine Friendly" and easiest to build so... why not?

      I don't do flash... I like simple and clean with not too many bells and whistles. I want to guide the reader directly to the calls to action. I don't care if they are impressed. I want them to be able to easily find what they are looking for and then call me. Plain and simple.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sebulba
    Boy, thanks for sharing all of your sites.

    A rising tide raises all ships, right?

    Seb
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  • Profile picture of the author deus ex
    Wordpress times a million - I love the site you made with a fellow warrior -- I would also focus on the social components of things and build a big portfolio regarding facebook fan pages and clients, etc -- I would post those pieces of info on your wordpress site
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  • Profile picture of the author Rien
    I like the themes at Elegant Themes, but have been looking
    into purchasing Headway.

    Anyone use Headway at all?
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    • Profile picture of the author thesanto
      Originally Posted by Rien View Post

      I like the themes at Elegant Themes, but have been looking
      into purchasing Headway.

      Anyone use Headway at all?
      Hi there,

      I use Headway to design sites for my clients, and my own I designed it using Headway - it's an excellent platform and extremely powerful and flexible. Here's mi site Tulsa Website Design | Tulsa Web Marketing Solutions | Tulsa,OK Web Design if you need any help, I can offer a good discount for warriors.

      Good luck,
      Henry
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  • Profile picture of the author redlegrich
    I suggest iThemes Builder. It's very powerful and they have a lot of great child themes to get you started. They also have excellent support, something that as a newbie is very handy! It does more than any other theme out there, very flexible.
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  • Profile picture of the author Remodels
    local marketing and consulting - thats my niche aswell ..... good jobs
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    Remodel Homes

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    • Profile picture of the author MikeFriedman
      I'll be honest.

      If you are going into offline marketing, the site you should probably spend the least amount of time setting up and worrying about is your own.

      We get very few clients from our website. Almost all of our clients come from being proactive, not waiting for people to find our website. In fact, most of the people that need our services, are not even looking for them.
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      • Profile picture of the author PaulintheSticks
        Originally Posted by MikeFriedman View Post

        I'll be honest.

        If you are going into offline marketing, the site you should probably spend the least amount of time setting up and worrying about is your own.

        We get very few clients from our website. Almost all of our clients come from being proactive, not waiting for people to find our website. In fact, most of the people that need our services, are not even looking for them.
        Mike, Yes I'm aware of that. Of course, it would look extremely unprofessional to not have one. One of the main purposes for my site, will be for sending prospects there to download a free report.
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  • Profile picture of the author LarryS
    Hi Paul,

    Let me add my 2 cents here. If you want something that's really easy to create a site with, check out Weebly.com
    It has everything you need with a very intuitive drag and drop interface and it's FREE! Just get a domain and direct it to your free Weebly site. You can have videos, opt in boxes, RSS feeds and all that cool stuff.

    I'm a Mac person and like to keep things simple so I don't use Wordpress. Never could understand all that c-panel, themes, plug-ins stuff. Wordpress is a blog platform. Why does everybody use it as a WEBSITE platform? Why bother with all that technical stuff and buying "themes" when there's a much easier way?!!!

    And Weebly sites are SEO optimized too. I've had sites quickly make it to Google page 1. Hope that helps you out.

    Larry

    OK, I'm ready to hear all the responses in defense of Wordpress!
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    • Profile picture of the author ShawnPeter
      Originally Posted by LarryS View Post


      OK, I'm ready to hear all the responses in defense of Wordpress!
      LOL. its like hearing this statement - 'Fire in the hole.'
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    • Profile picture of the author tryinhere
      Originally Posted by LarryS View Post

      Hi Paul,

      Let me add my 2 cents here. If you want something that's really easy to create a site with, check out Weebly.com
      Larry

      OK, I'm ready to hear all the responses in defense of Wordpress!
      I was going to suggest weebly but thought people would boo me out of town, but it is what use and i am impressed by the little sites this crowd put out / take the paid version for a better look and feel, it also no is being tested in a mobile option as well / part of the structure, and soon from some tests seems to have people able to log in and edit sections or sub sections of the site.

      it has

      html, blogs, forum, forms, image galleries and a whole range of goodies, i like it for what it is.

      so a plus one for the weeb
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      • Profile picture of the author Vanessa Reece
        Originally Posted by tryinhere View Post

        I was going to suggest weebly but thought people would boo me out of town, but it is what use and i am impressed by the little sites this crowd put out / take the paid version for a better look and feel, it also no is being tested in a mobile option as well / part of the structure, and soon from some tests seems to have people able to log in and edit sections or sub sections of the site.

        it has

        html, blogs, forum, forms, image galleries and a whole range of goodies, i like it for what it is.

        so a plus one for the weeb
        I think it's cool to have suggestions aside from Wordpress. I guess I'm just used to the flexibility of Wordpress but granted I've never tried Weebly.
        It's always good to have different people's perspectives on what works.

        V
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        • Profile picture of the author tryinhere
          Originally Posted by ITS-V View Post

          I think it's cool to have suggestions aside from Wordpress. I guess I'm just used to the flexibility of Wordpress but granted I've never tried Weebly.
          It's always good to have different people's perspectives on what works.

          V
          Yes it is good to suggest, Often though i do find myself more reseverd in that i is easier to stay silent than erupt in a war of this is better than that.

          My site built on weebly / is my my profile, so people can look at it and with the premium option i have 9 spare spots to build out some lead gen sites or sister / support sites if i wish.

          It will suit most situations i suppose on a medium to basic level, but if the site is going to be a large type site or expected to be such as a large forum then i would push it to another medium / platform, but again those sites would not be a average business type little lander site.
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          | > Choosing to go off the grid for a while to focus on family, work and life in general. Have a great 2020 < |
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    • Profile picture of the author mathmo
      Originally Posted by LarryS View Post

      Hi Paul,

      Let me add my 2 cents here. If you want something that's really easy to create a site with, check out Weebly.com
      It has everything you need with a very intuitive drag and drop interface and it's FREE! Just get a domain and direct it to your free Weebly site. You can have videos, opt in boxes, RSS feeds and all that cool stuff.

      I'm a Mac person and like to keep things simple so I don't use Wordpress. Never could understand all that c-panel, themes, plug-ins stuff. Wordpress is a blog platform. Why does everybody use it as a WEBSITE platform? Why bother with all that technical stuff and buying "themes" when there's a much easier way?!!!

      And Weebly sites are SEO optimized too. I've had sites quickly make it to Google page 1. Hope that helps you out.

      Larry

      OK, I'm ready to hear all the responses in defense of Wordpress!
      WP is a full blown CMS, not just a blogging platform, certainly not since 3.0

      Weebly.com has comparatively very little functionality with limited ability to extent and grow you site, you are being locked into one provider

      Frankly it boggles my mind as to why you would use them UNLESS wordpress truly is beyond your capabilities yet you still want to do it yourself...

      But I think people SHOULD push themselves to understand WP. Anybody of the internet generation should be able to get their head around it

      Alternatively, if this is a serious project and you don't want to do it yourself then pay somebody the few hundred dollars to develop it.

      Weebly.com and the others can remain in the realms of mere toy projects.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lisa Gergets
    How easy are Weebly sites to optimize if you don't know HTML?

    IGNORE! Just signed up and I'm playing around with it - I see it now. LOL
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  • Profile picture of the author John Pawlett
    Mines another wp site Fast Growth - Growing Your Business Just Got Easier still a work in progress but nearly there!

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author John Pawlett
    Thanks V

    I can't really take the credit for the design a fellow warrior did it for me promo_guy

    John
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  • Profile picture of the author marketingva
    My offline consulting site is built on Wordpress with a free theme. That's what I'm using for all new client sites. I find it easy to customize and easy for SEO.

    Bonnie
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  • Profile picture of the author mnlewis
    All my sites are built from wordpress. My rent a sites are pretty basic. My marketing business site is with a premium theme for wordpress. I think if you use wordpress, the Big G will recognize it much more than any others. But thats just my .02 cents
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  • Profile picture of the author rhj12345
    What I essentially created was a site where I could send prospects from the phone book or local newspapers my site video links. The videos are a WSO I got here on WF and found them to be good enough as a great introduction to the service I can offer an online business.

    Denver Search Engine Marketing

    Just make sure you add in a free download and you should have a site that will work like a tool for getting new business rather than just a place to hang your hat.

    The site is Wordpress and I use a theme called Innovation Science, you can find it on Themeforest.

    Hope this helps

    Rob
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  • Profile picture of the author patadeperro
    I just go with the basic stuff, I want leads, so the opt-in is very clear (template from Frank Kern course) , here is my site:

    Montreal internet marketing
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    • Profile picture of the author netkid
      Paulinthesticks,

      Here is my site. I used a Wordpress platform with slight custom tweak. Nothing complicated.

      Local Market Boost | SEO | Web Marketing Services

      You don't have to go overboard with your own site. Just make sure it has an opt in to catch visitors and turn them into subscribers.

      I use my site as more of a "business card/brochure" only. I do my best work when I meet up face to face with the prospect.

      Hope that helps,

      Bruce
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  • Profile picture of the author notjustseo
    Originally Posted by PaulintheSticks View Post

    What are warriors doing for their own business website?

    My site is going to be very basic since I'm mainly going to focus on local marketing and consulting although I will want the usual free report download with contact info form.

    I'm debating between one of those $9/mo wix.com auto flash sites, Chris Negro's consulting site w/autoresponder report and a wordpress site.

    The issue with Chris' site is that its php which I know absolutely nothing about. I think I could do alot of my own edits on a wordpress site. But maybe I would be better off just outsourcing the edits any way.

    What's everyone else doing? Are you managing your own site, or do you outsource it? Template or custom? Wordpress, html, php?

    Thanks
    Flash sites are NOT the way to go...They will severely hamper your page rankings because of their load times. Wordpress is great.
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    • Profile picture of the author Rocketguy
      Originally Posted by notjustseo View Post

      Flash sites are NOT the way to go...They will severely hamper your page rankings because of their load times. Wordpress is great.

      I actually have plenty of 100% flash sites that are ranking really well for very competitive keywords. Yes, it might affect it on a small level, but it doesn't mean you can't easily rank.
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  • Profile picture of the author mathmo
    heh, actually the reason why they'll be bad for seo is not the load times but because google will see it as simply a flash object and you won't get any goodness out of the keywords in the text

    this is a far FAR worse result for your page rankings than simply the load times

    plus flash sites are often a fail when it comes to decent usability, wish people would learn to stop using them
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Solem
    I've played with Weebly just because I like to see what other easy site building options exist and I think it has some nice features, but for a few years now Wordpress is all I've used and I can't see moving away from that anytime soon.

    You can do a lot with the new default 2010 theme to personalize it for your purposes, or spend $30 at themeforest for a killer theme and you'll have a nicer looking site than 90% of the business world does.
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  • Profile picture of the author FormerWageSlave
    I agree with the ThemeForest suggestion. Great stuff there.

    Also, something I m not seeing a lot of here, but I feel is important to consider:

    Your landing page, which in a lot of cases for a consultant's website is your home page, should not be about you. It should be about your client. When they hit that page, are you addressing them? Their needs? Their fears and how you are the only one who can help them?

    Too often I am seeing sites that are all about the consultant and how great they are, but nothing that affirms for the potential client that they are in the right place, a place that contains the solutions to their problems.

    Is your site like that?

    Then consider trying out what I'm suggesting and see if you get more calls or inquiries. create another landing page all about the client, put it in a PHP rotation script or a Wordpress rotation plugin, send a bunch of traffic and see which one converts.

    Just sayin'.
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    grrr...

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  • Profile picture of the author marklucas8
    I would recommend wordpress just since it's great for SEO, has a decent interface to make changes too but you can go with that.
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