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FREE WEBSITE
The most common request we get at the Las Vegas Internet Chamber of Commerce goes something like this:
Where can I get a website built that doesn't cost a fortune?
The vast majority of websites are really simple informational ones with the basic information about the person or company. Sure, they should be visually attractive, but the basic information is usually the same. Things like:
- Who are we
- What do we do
- Examples of what we do
- How to contact us
Once you decide on what it should look like, you need to really figure out what it should say. This is the most important aspect in that it represents your business. Only YOU know that so relying on a web developer to write your website text is the worst thing you could do.
The other common things that we hear are:
I paid this person to build a website for me and...
- they never finished and they won't return my calls
- what they did was not what I asked for
- now I need to change something and they can't do it
- etc. etc. etc.
To avoid these hassles and avoid wasting money, you need to
Control Your Website Yourself
If you don't want to do it yourself, you need to deal with reputable web development companies. They are not the cheap ones because they are real businesses, have real employees and business expenses and you want them to be there later when you need them.
If you want to "Maintain" your site in the future yourself, then you may want to consider template systems or content management systems.
Today, there are tons of EXCELLENT free or low cost solutions for websites. Some are what is called static web pages where every time you need to change something you need to redo the entire webpage and upload it to your server. Some are dynamic websites where you login to an administrative web page and just change the things you want to change and hit "save".
We have looked at all of the template systems and dynamic systems available and it is the general consensus that Wordpress is the simplest to use and most extendable FREE platform available.
It is Free because it is an OpenSource software project. You can put it on any hosting company.
Wordpress started out in 2003 as a free Blogging Platform but quickly evolved into a full content managed website program. This means that you can control the content and look without having to know HTML or some geeky programming language.
Fortune 500 companies as well as kids use it. It is really easy to use and if you know how to login to a website server, you can install it and be putting in content in under an hour. Yes, we said
Under an Hour
With Wordpress, you have two choices. You can get a free site where your website name would be YourName.Wordpress.com or you can download the Free Wordpress Software and install it on your own server. This is better for Businesses because you can use your own domain name like YourName.com, which helps brand your business.
Click here for a FREE Wordpress Blog/Website
If you want to use your own domain name and put Wordpress on Your Server, you can get it here:
Click here for the FREE Wordpress Software
There are thousands of really professional templates, which can be applied you site and it will change the look to almost anything you want. Many are free and can be downloaded from the Wordpress site.
Take a look at these:
Click Here for FREE Wordpress Templates
So, if you want to control the content and change things yourself in the future, what do you need to do?
Required For
Your Own Domain Name
- Register Your Domain Name ($9-35 per year wholesale)
- Hosting Company to Serve your website ($25 and up per Year)
In addition to annual costs to keep your domain name and to host your site, you will need to be able to:
- Download Wordpress Software
- Setup a MySQL Database on your Web Host
- Install Wordpress Software on your Web Host
- Download a Wordpress Template
- Install the Wordpress Template on your Web Host
- Login to your New Website and Configure the settings for
- Pages and Menus
- Security settings
- System directory settings
- Several other important settings for Search Engines
- Any custom changes to the template
- Update Wordpress in the future with new releases which come out usually every few months
That Sounds Too Complicated!
Yes, it can sound intimidating. Especially if you are not technically inclined or interested. It does have to be done though, and after it is setup correctly, the ongoing maintenance is really quite easy and you don't need to know any programming code. All you need to do is login to Wordpress and make the changes when they occur. It takes a little bit of playing to learn the admin panel, but it is very easy to learn.
For those who don't want to do the setup, LVICC has a simple inexpensive plan where we will install the database and all the Wordpress software on your host and have it ready for you to put in your content. We'll update your site for a year with any new Wordpress versions which may come out. The total cost for the Install and basic setup is only:
$297.00
All you have to do is fill in the order form below, pay with your credit card or PayPal account and reply to the email you immediately receive with:
- Your hosting Company FTP server address, login and password
- Which Template you want to use
- The Menu items you want on your site
We'll set it up and send you information on how to login and enter your information and some instructional tutorial links to help you get comfortable using Wordpress. You will be amazed at how easy it can be!
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