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View Full Version : setting up a free website - advice



phoenix2010
16-02-2013, 01:49 PM
Can anyone point me in the direction of where i can develop a website for my business , free

or do you think you need to pay for something that looks good and if so will anyone give me a ball park figure

I have a facebook page already but thought that it might be nice to have a website too , without huge expense

thankyou

lizduncan72
16-02-2013, 02:30 PM
I got mine from webs.com very easy to use and good looking website :)

Little miss
16-02-2013, 02:31 PM
I bought a domain name from Godaddy but then thought their website hosting prices were quite expensive. So I created a free website using Weebly which was really easy and free and then followed their instructions to allow Weebly to host my site.

sarah707
16-02-2013, 03:45 PM
Have a look at some of mine -

Knutsford Childminding | Sarah Neville - Registered Childminder (http://www.knutsfordchildminding.co.uk) - this one is webs.com

***************************** Knutsford Childminding Resources - Knutsford Childminding resources home (http://www.knutsfordchildmindingresources.co.uk) - this one is weebly.com. This one has a blog option which is nice.

Eyfs for Childminders (http://www.eyfsforchildminders.webnode.com) - this one is webnode.com

The easiest I think is probably the weebly one - once you get the hang of it... the cheapest for paying if you get a lot of traffic is webs.com but it's also the trickiest because it doesn't always work properly... the best graphics is probably webs.com as well.

Why not play with a few and see which you prefer. Put what you want to include on the website into a Word document first so you can copy and paste in and mess with the formatting when you have a few spare hours rather than putting yourself under pressure to write it all and publish at the same time.

Hth :D

No idea why there are stars but the link works fine!! :laughing:

Rick
16-02-2013, 03:53 PM
I use moonfruit. It is free and although takes a while to do, once it's done it's done. The only benefit of the paid version is you can have more than 5 photos and more than 15 pages, but tbh this restriction was more than enough for me. :thumbsup:

FizzWizz
16-02-2013, 04:20 PM
I used moonfruit too - it was relatively easy to use and you can add loads of pics and lots of pages. It is all free as long as you store less than 20mb data. It has ended up looking professional enough to get me loads of enquiries so suits me :)

LauraS
16-02-2013, 04:24 PM
I have used wix - was very very easy to set up (although needs updating now)

Can pm you the website address if you'd like to look?

phoenix2010
16-02-2013, 04:25 PM
Thanks all since posting I made this

please tell me what you think

Sally Simpson Hunsbury Childminder | Wix.com (http://sallyannesimpson.wix.com/hunsburychildminder)

LauraS
16-02-2013, 04:28 PM
I like it! I really like the gallery, it's reminded me, I must put some gallery pics on mine. :)

chezzagriff
16-02-2013, 04:56 PM
Thats really good Im with google sites but I need to make it more colourful. Not sure how though :(

James Marchant
17-02-2013, 08:59 AM
i used Gbbo, get british businesses online. i originally got first two years free:laughing::laughing: then had to pay. but it is done thru google so we automatically come up thru google maps and get loads of calls monthly just from people googling chilminding and our area. my 1 tip would be make sure when you name your website make sure you use the word childminding, the town you are in and first part of postcode. as we are always top hit on google by doing this!!!! hope this helps:laughing:

toddlers896
20-02-2013, 06:54 PM
I got mine from webs.com very easy to use and good looking website :)

Liz did you have problems with webs.com. I spend hours typing things in or I copy and paste things and then it all dissapears or some dissapears. Its driving me mad. Did anybody else have this problem with webs.com. Maybe ime not using it correctly. Thanks

lizduncan72
20-02-2013, 07:11 PM
Liz did you have problems with webs.com. I spend hours typing things in or I copy and paste things and then it all dissapears or some dissapears. Its driving me mad. Did anybody else have this problem with webs.com. Maybe ime not using it correctly. Thanks

I've never had any problems-I think (not been on for a while-its on my to do list!!!) that when you edit something you have to click on publish page or something similar, might be why you have lost stuff if you didn't do that? Not sure though. Sorry, not very helpful!!!

chezzagriff
20-02-2013, 09:04 PM
have any of you bought a domain name? Im thinking about it as its https//:sites/google.com/site/ before my name! Im not coming up in google search either which aint good

jillplum
21-02-2013, 11:29 AM
Thanks all since posting I made this

please tell me what you think

Sally Simpson Hunsbury Childminder | Wix.com (http://sallyannesimpson.wix.com/hunsburychildminder)

I like what you have done with the website. I have a question. Does your website come up if people search for childminder in your town? Just checking before I set one up. I assume I will need to put childminder and my town in the name??
Thanks

phoenix2010
21-02-2013, 11:30 AM
I dont know and if I search it will obviously come up as ive visited it lots

why dont you try and let me know

if you put hunsbury and childminder in and see if it comes up

nipper
21-02-2013, 11:31 AM
Home - Nippers Childcare (http://www.nipperstelford.moonfruit.com/)

This is me. You can pay more, but this was free. Dh set it up, now just need to update my pics.

phoenix2010
21-02-2013, 11:34 AM
hmmm no it doesnt seem to , will have to work on ways of improving that

having said that my facebook page comes up loads in searches and i get alot of enquiries through it

it may be that a facebook page is actually an even better way of getting publicity than your own website but I just wanted a website too , I know it wont be my main way of finding business

my facebook page is and has taken over from childcare.co.uk

so if you dont have a fb page , i would suggest making one , and mine is called "childminder, east hunsbury , northampton "

as i think thats what people are most likely to search for rather than a cute name or my own name

jillplum
21-02-2013, 11:55 AM
Yes I think I will try a facebook page first. To be honest I havent got any space right now anyway but it could be useful in the future.