What is everyone's personal opinion? I would like to save money and use a template out there versus paying the money to have someone build it for me. BUT, I really want it to look professional and high end.

Anyone know a good template? Know a good web builder?

I used MS Office Live to build my website. They have a good selection of templates and it is very user friendly. At the time, my first year was free for a custom domain name and only $14.95 per year after that. As I learn more about websites, I find there are some limitations using MS Office Live, but for just starting out, it is a good place to start.

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Margie Gibson
http://mgvirtualofficesolutions.org

There is another great site you can use which is: www.allsourcewebs.com. They have an ad in the TVE which give VAs a free domain name and several other freebies. The total cost for their services is $48 per year. They have several templates that you can choose from or you can use a wordpress theme as well.

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Action Jackson Virtual Assistant|

Originally Posted by Cpayne

What is everyone's personal opinion? I would like to save money and use a template out there versus paying the money to have someone build it for me. BUT, I really want it to look professional and high end. Anyone know a good template? Know a good web builder?

Of course my opinion is going to be biased, just so you know up front. I would have one professionally designed if you want something with a unique and distinctive flair and is built with a strong XHTML and CSS foundation. That being said, if you went with a template, I would go with a WordPress-based site (they are based on XHTML, CSS, and php) and customize the template/theme you choose to be uniquely yours.

Just my 2-cents.

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Jules, SunRise Virtual Solutions - WordPress Customization & XHTML/CSS Web Sites

I would go with a custom built site or a WP site like Jules suggested rather than using a template or a site builder. I was able to get my first site done for about $300 and it was great. I got tons of compliments on it. Granted, I put a lot of work in to creating the structure or map of the site as well as the content so that might have saved me some money.

Templates or site builder type sites can often be bloated with unnecessary code and are not very friendly to help with your Search Engine Optimization which means it could hamper your efforts to get found in the Search Engines and reduce the likelihood that someone will find you just by doing a search via Google or Yahoo.

If you did your own research up front about buying a nice WordPress theme and figuring out what you want to do with it, I'd recommend hiring someone to set it up for you. This can be a pretty cost-effective option. Also, be sure to find someone who can recommend ways to customize and optimize it for you including recommending which plug-ins to install for additional features. The benefit of having a WordPress site is that it's something that you can easily learn to update yourself.

I understand a template site can be a good low-cost option when you're just starting out, but I highly recommend looking at your site as a long term investment in your business overall. Your website IS your store front. This is what you want to be able to present to clients to entice them to hire you. It's definitely one of the key/top pieces of building and starting your business.

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Kimberly
Facebook Marketing Magic!

Kimberly is spot on, especially with the part about the unnecessary code that clogs some templates. I used a free Microsoft Office Live template for nearly two years, and I hardly got any search engine traffic to my website, despite my attempts to optimize my site. I assumed I was just awful at SEO, but since I've had my new Wordpress site up, my rankings have increased.

Plus, a custom-designed website just looks more professional, in my opinion, and it helps to set you apart from the pack. And you can also tie your website in with your brand image to help give you an even more impressive look, in addition to building the know, like, and trust factor (if you have a website that looks one way, a newsletter that looks another, and advertising that is completely different, no one will ever be able to recognize your brand from your competition, so there is no chance of building brand loyalty). This may sound like something you don't need to worry about as a service provider, but if you put the work into getting your name out there, you want to get the credit...and the resulting business!

Of course, as Jules noted, I'm a bit biased too, being part of a web design team that offers customized Wordpress websites! But I do also speak from personal experience, so take that for what it's worth...

It all depends on your budget. Remember that your marketing budget never needs to be below the cut line. Without marketing, you won't grow.

Thanks everyone!!!! I agree that our websites our are storefronts. I have been looking like crazy.

My first site was a website tonight one via GoDaddy and was just not happy with it at all. I then invested in having one custom designed and it was worth every penny!

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Dawn Riley
A Virtual Assistant in Paradise
Our business is about making yours better

And Dawn, I know I've said it before, but I love your website! My website was built using a template. I deleted/changed a lot of code, but it's very much "vanilla." I look at it like it's an online resume. I do want to kick it up a notch, but want to wait until I've hooked a couple of clients and get some more $$. Then I'll have it professionally designed.

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--Leigh

I currently have a template. I'm in the process of learning Dreamweaver and plan to design the site myself. Then I can add design as one of my services.

I built mine with a template. It's pretty good to start with. But it does have limitations. As I start advertising and want to add images to click on, I'm dead in the water. But, I got a quote of $1,500 to build my site (and I gave her all my copy from my prior site) which is very basic and the only functionality is a form that sends me an email. I thought that was outrageous, but maybe you designers can chime in.

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Bookkeeping and Small Business Services
www.administrative911.com

I'm the same as virtually_yours_vo. I have a template and am using Weebly until I learn Dreamweaver properly. I do know a little bit but not enough to make an awesome website, so I'll stick to the template for now.

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This is a great discussion. For me, it was a matter of getting something up rather quickly via a modified template. It gave me a lot of hands on experience and helped me figure out some questions and the answers about how I wanted to operate and market the business. I don't think I would change that process at all, it was very valuable. Perhaps if things become more successful, I can re-evaluate having a professionally designed site.

You really do want to keep your costs down when you are starting out but it's also so important to start things the correct way and in such a manner that you would continually reap the benefits.

In terms of your website which is your front store and the difference between you getting the client/business than someone else. If you absolutely do not have any funds to invest in your website, then temporarily use a free site service provider but as soon as you can, get your own web hosting account and a professionally designed site.

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Creative & Strategic Web Design Services
www.aivirtualsolutions.com