BBQ catering website design

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I am researching the same thing as we are just starting out too. Go Daddy offers a DIY package that you design with their own templates. It seems easy to use even for a non computer techie like myself but I wonder if I can make it as professional as someone who does it for a living...

Larry would you mind sending me the same pm thanks?

Here, I will give you some inside info that will help. Find a good hosting company, I would suggest http://www.rochenhost.com Not the cheapest but if you are running a business uptime and customer support is #1.

Next go read up on Joomla, http://www.joomla.org install it on your host. Make sure your host supports PHP5 and MySQL.

Now go find a freelance Joomla designer or buy a template and your done... edit your website and no need for a designer any longer. If you can use a WYSIWYG like what you post on these forums... you are good to go.

If you need any help or have any questions let me know. I would offer to do some design work but I seriously don't have the time now days. Heck I can barely find the time to finish my own site. Anyways I have been in the business for nearly 12 years now and slowly getting out to start doing something that makes me happy.

Aaron
MCSE, NET+, Security+, Linux LPI, Linux+, A+, ACE, ACA, CPW

You want simple and cheap, right? If you're looking at hiring a website designer it will be tough to find that. There are lots of DIY website providers out there - GoDaddy was mentioned. I used homestead.com. Very happy with it, and they have lots of good templates for you to start with. You just pick a template, and replace the standard text and pictures with your own. Easy. example - www.prairiebbq.com

Former web geek turned Q joint owner here & would suggest the following:

For hosting: http://www.hotdrupal.com/plans.html
The plans are VERY reasonable - you get quite a bit for a small price - & customer service is incredible.

I'd suggest WordPress (http://wordpress.org) over Joomla. Personal preference - I think WordPress is a simpler system & has far more templates to pick from.

Then take an ad or two our in the local paper or on the WordPress forums for someone with WordPress experience. Look for someone in your area & offer to trade Q for work. You'd be surprised at how many webgeeks will barter for good food. Even with my Q joint, I still do a site for a small farm so I can trade for grass fed beef & pasture raised pork.

Good luck & feel free to shoot me a PM or send an email via http://chachahut.com (yes - I designed & developed it on WordPress & host is on Hotdrupal)

Squarespace is an awesome hosting company that you never have to worry if your site is running slow like GoDaddy.

http://www.squarespace.com/twit

Look at my site, it was done by Brightplum.com
I am not rich, lol!

I use the person Larry is likely recommending to you for my website. I recommend Rick highly. He helped me set up my website in 24 hours.

I think these guys are the best and very affordable. http://labradordesigns.net/ They did my sites; you can check them out by clicking on the links in my signature. When you call, ask for Glenn and tell him I sent you.

I have 3 e-commerce sites with GoDaddy and have been very happy. We have been up for 3 years now and I built them myself. I have very little computer experience.

www.shop.5-0bbq.com
www.bbqequipmentstore.com
www.bayouclassiconline.com

I used Intuit.com. They have pages already done and all you have to do is add content and pictures. Cheap, easy and you can do it yourself. Is it state of the art or content rich, no but it is the easiest way to get on the web. I'll migrate to a full featured site in the future but for now this works. Check out www.kiltedpig.com

If you are doing catering or want to do catering get a professional to build your site. I had a homemade site at the beginning at it sucked in retrospect. It did not download properly to Macs. It was not clean and it did not help me be competitive in my market.

If you are using stock photos for catering, perhaps you should get a camera and get busy! Visitors to your site can tell they are not your photos. Clients always comment that they love our real photos. YMMV!

Here Here Big Brother Smoke!

As a former professional web developer, we really DO know more than you when it comes to making a solid professional website. Any respectable professional designer wants the put out THE BEST product possible because they want to be able to use it to attract new work (i.e., add it to a portfolio). I cannot count the number of great designs/projects I started in my former life scuttled by a client with little or no internet/design skills telling me (the developer with 15 years of experience) what to do. Have a good look at the portfolio of your designer - if it contains a great deal of solid clean professional work - please I beg you - trust their advice. They are not going to steer you wrong.

I hesitate to add this (for fear of getting lynched) but for (insert name of deity you worship here) please:

1. Have your address, phone & location (preferably linked to a Google Map) clearly visible above the fold on each & every page of your site. ("Above the fold" means without the user having to scroll.)
2. No Black backgrounds
3. No Flame and/or smoke animations (even idiots know BBQ requires smoke & fire)
4. No PDF downloads of your menu. (You can have it, but make it a supplement to an actual Google search enabled HTML page of your menu.)
5. No Flash (that ain't working on mobile folks)
6. No GoDaddy for hosting (worst.customer.service.and.privacy.evah.)
7. No GIF animations (especially for email & flying pigs) - going to tag you as a serious noobie/Geocities throwback. Not even retro-cool enough to actually work.
8. Text all center aligned. (When was the last time you read ANYTHING in print ALL center aligned?!?!)
9. NO TEXT IN ALL CAPS!!!! (yep - it's he equivalent of shouting for those familiar with such things. hence the ALL CAPS in these comments...)
10. NO FREAKING SPLASH PAGES OR FLASH INTROS. No one cares about you "setting a fricking mood'. They want a menu & a location. Why the hell would would they want anything else? Why the hell would you put something in the way of your menu & location?

OK - end of rant. I expect to be seriously raked over the coals on this...

cheers,

big brother smoke said:

If you are doing catering or want to do catering get a professional to build your site. I had a homemade site at the beginning at it sucked in retrospect. It did not download properly to Macs. It was not clean and it did not help me be competitive in my market.

If you are using stock photos for catering, perhaps you should get a camera and get busy! Visitors to your site can tell they are not your photos. Clients always comment that they love our real photos. YMMV!

Click to expand...

Love you site, it is classy and informative.