First Website

Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum

Help Support Bed & Breakfast / Short Term Rental Host Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

white pine

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 2, 2010
Messages
939
Reaction score
0
Domain name update: With all insanity going on here I forgot about the bid I put in on the domain name. (BusinessName.com) Weeks later now, I got an e-mail that the owner was putting it up for auction. Bid placed & feeling down about it all, cruised to 1n1 and stumbled on a promo. Picked out and registered an alternate (BusinessNameLocationLake.com). My sedo bid won, and now I will move it to 1n1 for hosting too.
Question is, as I will not be open this year due to renovations, would it be OK to do a template quickie website ( ala 1n1) to follow the history and renovations? If so, could I have someone design a site and replace this or do I get stuck with it? Would it be better to use the alternate name for the quickie site, and maybe later link it to the business?
 
Get your website up asap. Also if you know nothing about websites you may want to go with one that also teaches you. TRUST ME... I learned the hard way.
wink_smile.gif
You could do what ever you want, but it will cost you $$$. Good luck.
 
i had a really basic, homemade website to start with .... and then it evolved into something so much better. i was nervous to have a website up before we were ready to go ... now i know better. the only thing was that there were cached pages of the site that had been replaced. but at least we were being seen (forgive me if this is the wrong way to describe it)
i say, work to establish your web presence now ... it takes a while to even get noticed
... you can do a website/blog kind of thing while you're renovating... others have done that and people get really interested in the progress of renovations, maybe get the attention of some local press ...
i'll leave specific comments about how best to use your domains to the experts on forum like swirt and catlady.
best of luck to you!
 
Start bulding the history now. Get a site up as soon as possible, but with the eye toward the future. The auto-template sites can be ok but there are some issues with moving to a "normal" site that most designers don't grasp. Most just slap a new site up and in the process, lose most of the history that it had.
I'd put together a basic site complete with basic pages in the locations and with filenames of what you want. Then create a blog and blog about all the history and building renovations. .... though it would be more effective if you blogged about the history and other attractions in your area. Not everybody gets excited about renovations ... and the things from a renovation that often make them fun to read are not the things you really want potential guests reading.
 
Get it going. Announce the renovation and direct them to your blog. The sooner the better.
 
Start bulding the history now. Get a site up as soon as possible, but with the eye toward the future. The auto-template sites can be ok but there are some issues with moving to a "normal" site that most designers don't grasp. Most just slap a new site up and in the process, lose most of the history that it had.
I'd put together a basic site complete with basic pages in the locations and with filenames of what you want. Then create a blog and blog about all the history and building renovations. .... though it would be more effective if you blogged about the history and other attractions in your area. Not everybody gets excited about renovations ... and the things from a renovation that often make them fun to read are not the things you really want potential guests reading..
I do want to get going now. Question is how. I thought a template would be the fastest way to get it up with my lack of knowledge. Would it be possible to do a template using the alternate domain name with a link to the main domain name with a website that says simply "under construction" or something? I was afraid that using a template would cause problems for a later, custom website, thanks for confirming that. I think the website will be complicated because of 10 rooms and the motel, and we will need new photos post renovation.
Have met lots of folks there and everyone would like to see an area blog, so I can "mine" the locals for little known things of interest. We are have a pretty good knowlege of the area and things to do and can link in to the chamber site We are meeting with the movie folks there tomorrow, and if we run out of things, we could have an archaeological dig as we recorded two sites on the property while staying there doing an archaeological survey in the area.
There is much interest there to follow things in the preservation community, and and we can link to their forum; one couple there wants to be our "first" guests. BYW, we did get the original phone number, and got a message on the machine for a family reunion booking, although the message on the machine says we are closed this year for renovations. ("It's not until Aug., won't you be done then?") Now if we can just get a website up.... Thanks again.
 
i had a really basic, homemade website to start with .... and then it evolved into something so much better. i was nervous to have a website up before we were ready to go ... now i know better. the only thing was that there were cached pages of the site that had been replaced. but at least we were being seen (forgive me if this is the wrong way to describe it)
i say, work to establish your web presence now ... it takes a while to even get noticed
... you can do a website/blog kind of thing while you're renovating... others have done that and people get really interested in the progress of renovations, maybe get the attention of some local press ...
i'll leave specific comments about how best to use your domains to the experts on forum like swirt and catlady.
best of luck to you!.
Did you actually buid it from scratch, or did you use a template? I would like to learn more about the building process, and would consider taking a stab at something VERY basic, but I do plan on having a pro replace it. I just want to make sure that I don't do something that will be difficult to replace later.
 
i had a really basic, homemade website to start with .... and then it evolved into something so much better. i was nervous to have a website up before we were ready to go ... now i know better. the only thing was that there were cached pages of the site that had been replaced. but at least we were being seen (forgive me if this is the wrong way to describe it)
i say, work to establish your web presence now ... it takes a while to even get noticed
... you can do a website/blog kind of thing while you're renovating... others have done that and people get really interested in the progress of renovations, maybe get the attention of some local press ...
i'll leave specific comments about how best to use your domains to the experts on forum like swirt and catlady.
best of luck to you!.
Did you actually buid it from scratch, or did you use a template? I would like to learn more about the building process, and would consider taking a stab at something VERY basic, but I do plan on having a pro replace it. I just want to make sure that I don't do something that will be difficult to replace later.
.
I suggest building from scratch and SWIRT told you. Just make a few simple pages..index.html (home page) and maybe an about.html page and then start a blog. That should give you a start to build on later.
 
Found a great site which I think is what I need. I am posting it here for others who no next to nothing on how to start: www.how-to-build-websites.com Wish me luck..
If you don't know this..then I suggest you get someone who does and don't waste your time. Surely you can find someone to build you a temporary site that knows what they are doing and won't cost you an arm and a leg to start out with. Do you even have software to use?? Download Kompozer and see if you can understand how to use it before you start something you may end up regretting.
You can download templates that will give you a bit of a head start..if you understand how to edit and use them.
For example: http://www.webpagetemplates.org/
 
Actually, the issue is that I am in a National Wilderness Area 22 miles from the nearest small town. No one to ask except on the internet. I will start a blog on blooger, but I wanted to just put up a small webpage which could expand.
 
Found a great site which I think is what I need. I am posting it here for others who no next to nothing on how to start: www.how-to-build-websites.com Wish me luck..
If you don't know this..then I suggest you get someone who does and don't waste your time. Surely you can find someone to build you a temporary site that knows what they are doing and won't cost you an arm and a leg to start out with. Do you even have software to use?? Download Kompozer and see if you can understand how to use it before you start something you may end up regretting.
You can download templates that will give you a bit of a head start..if you understand how to edit and use them.
For example: http://www.webpagetemplates.org/
.
Sorry to be so ignorant I wasn;t born knowing this. I just needed a place to start, and I think there are others who don't understand either. That is why I asked about using templates in the first place.
I don't consider learning a waste of time, and starting at the beginning makes for a better understanding to me. Even when I do pay someone, I need to know what I want, what to watch out for, and some idea of how to communicate with that person. I need to understand the language Swirts posted advice is great, but I needed more. Sorry to waste your time.
 
white pine,
Don't feel alone, I knew nothing about it when I started either. Webmasters are purists, and there are reasons to use one (if you can afford it). I do my own site using a template program from a well known hosting company. It costs me very little, I love doing it and have learned alot over the last eight years. I see no reason to pay someone big money when I can continue to do it myself. Is it perfect...No, but then, neither am I!
Companies like godaddy or network solutions have pretty darn good website programs for very little money, and you don't need to know any computer language to build and maintain a site with them. I would suggest, though, boneing up on SEO or using a program like IBP to help improve SEO as you go.
As a side note, I'm positive that CL did not mean to sound abrupt or to offend!
 
Actually, the issue is that I am in a National Wilderness Area 22 miles from the nearest small town. No one to ask except on the internet. I will start a blog on blooger, but I wanted to just put up a small webpage which could expand..
white pine said:
Actually, the issue is that I am in a National Wilderness Area 22 miles from the nearest small town. No one to ask except on the internet. I will start a blog on blooger, but I wanted to just put up a small webpage which could expand.
Not a bad place to be, especially once you're open and selling rooms!
whitepine, you're absolutely right to do this now. If you're not comfortable building it yourself, there are good folks out there who do just beautiful websites. A good place to start is looking at websites you really like and then you'll start to notice which web designers you really like.
Of course, if you don't mind investing the time to learn, you can build your own.
There's no right or wrong way to do this. It's really up to you. But if you do it yourself, make sure you've learned enough about SEO to get your placement right.
As for the blog, get going on it. swirt is right about the renovation stuff. Can't tell you how many blogs I've seen where folks blog about their septic problems. Don't go there.
Like you said, you know the area and there's a real need for a local area blog. Start it. And little by little, get some info in there about the coming attraction: you.
 
can't whitepine create a free blog on wordpress or blogger, have that come up as the 'homepage' for now and then move it to its own blogpage once they get a 'real' site going?
 
Start bulding the history now. Get a site up as soon as possible, but with the eye toward the future. The auto-template sites can be ok but there are some issues with moving to a "normal" site that most designers don't grasp. Most just slap a new site up and in the process, lose most of the history that it had.
I'd put together a basic site complete with basic pages in the locations and with filenames of what you want. Then create a blog and blog about all the history and building renovations. .... though it would be more effective if you blogged about the history and other attractions in your area. Not everybody gets excited about renovations ... and the things from a renovation that often make them fun to read are not the things you really want potential guests reading..
I do want to get going now. Question is how. I thought a template would be the fastest way to get it up with my lack of knowledge. Would it be possible to do a template using the alternate domain name with a link to the main domain name with a website that says simply "under construction" or something? I was afraid that using a template would cause problems for a later, custom website, thanks for confirming that. I think the website will be complicated because of 10 rooms and the motel, and we will need new photos post renovation.
Have met lots of folks there and everyone would like to see an area blog, so I can "mine" the locals for little known things of interest. We are have a pretty good knowlege of the area and things to do and can link in to the chamber site We are meeting with the movie folks there tomorrow, and if we run out of things, we could have an archaeological dig as we recorded two sites on the property while staying there doing an archaeological survey in the area.
There is much interest there to follow things in the preservation community, and and we can link to their forum; one couple there wants to be our "first" guests. BYW, we did get the original phone number, and got a message on the machine for a family reunion booking, although the message on the machine says we are closed this year for renovations. ("It's not until Aug., won't you be done then?") Now if we can just get a website up.... Thanks again.
.
white pine said:
I do want to get going now. Question is how. I thought a template would be the fastest way to get it up with my lack of knowledge. Would it be possible to do a template using the alternate domain name with a link to the main domain name with a website that says simply "under construction" or something? I was afraid that using a template would cause problems for a later, custom website, thanks for confirming that. I think the website will be complicated because of 10 rooms and the motel, and we will need new photos post renovation.
Don't mess around with one domain plugging people somewhere else. In most cases it will mess with the history unless done correctly. And even if done correctly, it will offer you no benefit. Build it structure-wise like you want it to be. (a rooms directory, a policy directory, etc...) That will be easier to transition to a better site later.
 
well, then, i'd get the blog going ... take little videos and pictures of all around.
build a facebook page, twitter and use social media marketing
and let us know when you've started posting
 
Start bulding the history now. Get a site up as soon as possible, but with the eye toward the future. The auto-template sites can be ok but there are some issues with moving to a "normal" site that most designers don't grasp. Most just slap a new site up and in the process, lose most of the history that it had.
I'd put together a basic site complete with basic pages in the locations and with filenames of what you want. Then create a blog and blog about all the history and building renovations. .... though it would be more effective if you blogged about the history and other attractions in your area. Not everybody gets excited about renovations ... and the things from a renovation that often make them fun to read are not the things you really want potential guests reading..
I do want to get going now. Question is how. I thought a template would be the fastest way to get it up with my lack of knowledge. Would it be possible to do a template using the alternate domain name with a link to the main domain name with a website that says simply "under construction" or something? I was afraid that using a template would cause problems for a later, custom website, thanks for confirming that. I think the website will be complicated because of 10 rooms and the motel, and we will need new photos post renovation.
Have met lots of folks there and everyone would like to see an area blog, so I can "mine" the locals for little known things of interest. We are have a pretty good knowlege of the area and things to do and can link in to the chamber site We are meeting with the movie folks there tomorrow, and if we run out of things, we could have an archaeological dig as we recorded two sites on the property while staying there doing an archaeological survey in the area.
There is much interest there to follow things in the preservation community, and and we can link to their forum; one couple there wants to be our "first" guests. BYW, we did get the original phone number, and got a message on the machine for a family reunion booking, although the message on the machine says we are closed this year for renovations. ("It's not until Aug., won't you be done then?") Now if we can just get a website up.... Thanks again.
.
white pine said:
Would it be possible to do a template using the alternate domain name with a link to the main domain name with a website that says simply "under construction" or something?
I don't really get why you would want an alternate name. The whole point is to build up visibility online even as you're still building the final site.
Get the name. Build a framework for the site. Fill in the details later (pix, blah blah blah). Get the blog going now and build some content.
But there's not really much point in building a site with an alternate address. At least I don't get the point.
 
can't whitepine create a free blog on wordpress or blogger, have that come up as the 'homepage' for now and then move it to its own blogpage once they get a 'real' site going?.
can't whitepine create a free blog on wordpress or blogger, have that come up as the 'homepage' for now and then move it to its own blogpage once they get a 'real' site going?
Her server has to use wordpress in order for her to use.
I certainly am no expert on this...but....Yes, many people actually are going to the blog format for their actual web site. So they can edit it themselves. I think someone said something about concern because it is open source....so what? So many use it...I don't see it as a problem...and..don't servers have protection from these kinds of threats?
 
white pine,
Don't feel alone, I knew nothing about it when I started either. Webmasters are purists, and there are reasons to use one (if you can afford it). I do my own site using a template program from a well known hosting company. It costs me very little, I love doing it and have learned alot over the last eight years. I see no reason to pay someone big money when I can continue to do it myself. Is it perfect...No, but then, neither am I!
Companies like godaddy or network solutions have pretty darn good website programs for very little money, and you don't need to know any computer language to build and maintain a site with them. I would suggest, though, boneing up on SEO or using a program like IBP to help improve SEO as you go.
As a side note, I'm positive that CL did not mean to sound abrupt or to offend!.
I'm positive that CL did not mean to sound abrupt or to offend!
You are absolutey correct!!! No offense was intended...I was just sharing that it takes alot to learn this if you are going to do it the right way. If you have the time to learn it...please by all means do so. It is just that we here have seen many "do it yourself" web sites and they aren't pretty.
embaressed_smile.gif

 
Back
Top