Website for business

[CP39]

Hey! I need some advice about where to go to get a website as I've recently started my own little business (t-shirt printing) and the next step is to get a website set up for it. I've asked a few people about it and also done a search on google. Looks like there are some good free blog/website sites like WordPress and Blogger but then I was wondering if it was worth paying for a webhosting company like 1&1 for example...can anyone give me some tips or suggestions? Anyone own a website on a good site than you can suggest? Some of my friends have a blog on Blogger but I don't know if it's suitable for a business as they just have like personal blogs on there.

[camerongray]

For a business site you'd really want to pay for web hosting (free stuff is often unreliable and companies can disappear overnight taking your site with them) and get a domain name (e.g. cp39tshirtprinting.com).

Then when it comes to building your site you would probably be best to install a Content Management System (CMS) on your web hosting package.  Some examples would be Drupal, Wordpress or (if you like pain) Joomla.  You would then use this software to build your site.  While Drupal is a lot more powerful you may find Wordpress to be the best option as there are loads of premade themes that you can use to build your site with.

[CP39]

Awesome, thank you for the info! I will definitely check out the sites you mentioned, I think I would go for something like WordPress just because of the pre-made themes. I have a limited knowledge of building websites and it is important that I get it right, and no, I don't like pain :p

[Chrisxs5]

I use Wordpress for my blog and have a friend who uses it for his business, but he does not sale things online. I use Joomla for all my other websites. It has tons of themes and his really easy to use with thousands of extras available. Although as previously pointed out it can be a pain, but usually just during the setup and learning curve. If you wanted to save money you could host it easily yourself of an old XP machine. The price's for hosting are so cheap now that is the way I would go. I use 1and1.com and host roughly 35 websites with them. My sites have never once gone down by their error. Translation: I screw my websites up from time to time. They have built online selling tools as well.

There are ways to test the water also. Wordpress for example, you can setup for completely free and then if you chose them you can by a domain name for $18 a year. I believe 1and1 is about $4 a month. I have a different type of a account so not sure what the 1 site hosting is.

[camerongray]

You are certainly best to go for a proper web host.  Hosting from home can be a fun project but the power cost alone of an old computer will likely end up substantially more than a cheap hosting package.  Then you get into the issue of port forwarding/security and the fact that upload speeds on residential connections are fairly slow.

If the site is to just hold information then Wordpress is fine but if you are wanting to sell stuff you may want to look at something more powerful like Drupal or Joomla (Drupal is my preference here).

[Chrisxs5]

You are certainly best to go for a proper web host.  Hosting from home can be a fun project but the power cost alone of an old computer will likely end up substantially more than a cheap hosting package.  Then you get into the issue of port forwarding/security and the fact that upload speeds on residential connections are fairly slow.

If the site is to just hold information then Wordpress is fine but if you are wanting to sell stuff you may want to look at something more powerful like Drupal or Joomla (Drupal is my preference here).

Agreed

[anthonyb5615]

One thing you could do if you are mostly only going to sell t shirts is to set up an e commerce site? Right now there are a lot of sites offering e commerce solutions for around 10-20 a month and higher and usually comes with hosting. I was looking at one site that had a package that included 100 items a month for around $12.00.  Google cheap online e commerce solutions. Just like with anything on the internet there are a lot of e commerce building sites, so do your research and look around. If you have 
the ability to code word press might be an option that could work you you as well.

[homer99]

I think it is best to use Wordpress as CMS. and then you can choose paid or free theme... there are many.
and also check woothemes, they have woo commerce.