# website building



## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

...does anyone here do it? If so how much do you charge?


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## Puindoors (May 19, 2011)

There are plenty of free web building sites out there if you're looking for a cheaper version, I sorted out mine myself, its not particularly flash but all the information needed is on there and can be updated as many times as I like.

I'd think a professional web site designer would cost you several hundred pounds, and you may have to pay to have them update it.


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

I use freewebs - mine's not the most professional of sites but it works for me and I don't have to pay anyone when I want to update it. 
Worth looking into the free sites as there are a few out there now. You have to have adverts on them but I don't take much notice.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

I use freewebs too - I pay a small yearly fee to have it advert free and to have a few more pages but for me it's perfect.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

Thankyou for your replys i will have a go im just really s**t with computers and found it hard to do.Must try harder:crazy:


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## Guest (Jun 17, 2012)

I use weebly.com it's really easy to use and free. My website address is in my signature if you want to check it out.


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## FandangoLil (Jun 17, 2012)

I use Yola, that's free and you can update any time you like. Its easy peasy, all drag and drop. 
I considered paying someone but when I looked into the prices I started to hyperventilate, then I found Yola.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

Right iv just made a website on freewebs its all done for now what i dont understand is how or what do i give to people ie www.... so they can look at it??? Is what i mean a domain?? Its saying i can have my domain that i wanted and that its now published so i assume thats all done but wen i google that domain nothing comes up for my website.What am i doing wrong..its driving me nuts!!!!!!!


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

we love bsh's said:


> Right iv just made a website on freewebs its all done for now what i dont understand is how or what do i give to people ie http://www.petforums.co.uk/cat-breeding/www.... so they can look at it??? Is what i mean a domain?? Its saying i can have my domain that i wanted and that its now published so i assume thats all done but wen i google that domain nothing comes up for my website.What am i doing wrong..its driving me nuts!!!!!!!


What did you call your site?

www. ??????.webs.com is what it should be - don't worry about a domain name at the moment. I can talk you through it if you need to.

HAve you tried typing in the whole address rather than googling it - mine is way down on google - unless I am very specific - it's all about meta-tags but you don't need to know that yet.


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

Send me your domain name and I'll try it. Put on here or send me a PM. You can also link freewebs sites to your Facebook account


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

Oh thankyou it was wwwlaikenslove.com i think this is the bit you mean if you find it please dont laugh  needs alot doing to it.thankyou for helping


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

Ah, there's your answer. As Spid says your site has to be www.laikenslove.webs.com. Try that


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

we love bsh's said:


> Oh thankyou it was wwwlaikenslove.com i think this is the bit you mean if you find it please dont laugh  needs alot doing to it.thankyou for helping


DId you pay for a domain name? Otherwise it will be www.laikenslove.webs.com


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

can't fond either of those - log back into free webs and check you spelt it right etc.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

No didnt pay for domain name but when i type wwwlaikenslove.com says no search found


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

I think you will need to go back into the website builder - sorry I've had mine for so long I can't remember how I set up the www. bit I think it took me several goes though before it was found


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

If you didn't pay for a domain name then you won't have got a site without the webs bit in. You are also forgetting that www needs a dot after it every time. You didn't by any chance call your site wwwlaikenslove did you rather than just laikenslove

When you first went in and it asked you to give the details - what did you say in the space that said 'site title'? As it uses that automatically for your web address


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## messyhearts (Feb 6, 2009)

I do a bit of HTML coding on the side. I was doing it for a fee but don't anymore after a few people being a bit funny about having to pay after I did hours of work!

Webs is definitely who I would recommend for you. You can purchase a domain via webs for about £30 for two years so that it is ad free & a .com website. My personal website is a free one as the advertising is minimal on HTML sites on Webs.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

Think its this try , Home - LAIKENSLOVE BRITISH SHORTHAIRS


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

ah, laikenslove-com.webs.com (just so you and others know)

Looks good - are you using version 2 or 3 - I like the new 3 as you can get ri of the sidebars which you can't do on two. If you want ideas you are welcome to look at mine - down there in my siggie


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

lol i dont know what version im using what is it? sorry..


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

go to Dashboard once you've signed in and the info is on the right hand side


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

I find Wordpress.com is great for free websites. A blog element is great as it shows you are taking interest and is an easy way of adding new news, and it now deals well with static pages. The one caution is that the older templates have 'issues'.

I have a number of Wordpress sites, including one for my friend's Siamese and one for her cattery and one for the breeding I hope to be doing once my girl is ready.

PM me if you want some URLs.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

spid said:


> go to Dashboard once you've signed in and the info is on the right hand side


Sorry still strugling to find what im looking for i did what you said what will it be under on the right hand side?


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

OrientalSlave said:


> I find Wordpress.com is great for free websites. A blog element is great as it shows you are taking interest and is an easy way of adding new news, and it now deals well with static pages. The one caution is that the older templates have 'issues'.
> 
> I have a number of Wordpress sites, including one for my friend's Siamese and one for her cattery and one for the breeding I hope to be doing once my girl is ready.
> 
> PM me if you want some URLs.


Thanx for that think im nearly there though


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Sorry got carried away editing my site - look under dashboard (you will find that at the top under the webs tab) and then info on version 3 is on the right hand side of the Dashboard page.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

thanx found it my head is like :crazy:.Next question what is the domain for? why would you need this?


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

You only NEED a domain name IF you don't want the word webs in your address. I have it in my address as I printed lots of business cards and then thought about changing it but couldn't be bothered - however, with one of my other sites I do have a domain name (cos it came free with premium - and cos it's a slightly more business site (selling party supplies of the awesome variety). 

They do try to sell you a domain name but you don't NEED one - it would just mean you would go from laikenslove-com.webs.com to laikenslove-com.com for about £10 a year. I know it always asked you when you publish - just ignore it.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

Just looked at yours thats a fine job you have made with yours really great.Its going to take me a while to get myn looking anything like that :001_smile:


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Thank you! It changes on a regular basis- just changed to version 3 and that's were that template is from. But once you get the words in etc you have broken the back - steal any ideas you like.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

thankyou.x,does version 3 basically mean what theme you choose or is it a number of options in there.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

No version there is the operating system that they use - it's just an easier way to manage your template - when you use it do you have a load of tabs at the bottom of the screen? If you do you are using version 3. 

If you want extra pages (more than 10 I think) you need to upgrade - they often have sales on - I moved to the next level up for the cat site cos I needed more pages and then it had the added advantage of removing the ads too. 

There are different themes (the way the page looks) on version 3 than on version 2.


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## Puindoors (May 19, 2011)

spid said:


> Sorry got carried away editing my site - look under dashboard (you will find that at the top under the webs tab) and then info on version 3 is on the right hand side of the Dashboard page.


Hate you Spid,

just had to have a look, so I'll be burning the midnight oil playing with the new templates and stuff available on version 3. Got a bottle of red to help so lord knows what it'll look like by tomorrow LOL!


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Puindoors said:


> Hate you Spid,
> 
> just had to have a look, so I'll be burning the midnight oil playing with the new templates and stuff available on version 3. Got a bottle of red to help so lord knows what it'll look like by tomorrow LOL!


I like your website though Emma! It always makes me jealous!


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

I always register a domain name - I use 123-reg.co.uk and it costs something like £6 for two years for a .co.uk one. 

I can use web forwarding at no extra cost so 'abc-cats.co.uk' points at 'abc-cats.wordpress.com'. 

The big advantage is that if I move 'abc-cats.wordpress.com' to 'abc-cats.anotherplace.com' then the domain still points there - I can use it on business cards and so on and people will always find their way there.

When I applied for my prefix I registered the domain for my first choice as well.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

OrientalSlave said:


> I always register a domain name - I use 123-reg.co.uk and it costs something like £6 for two years for a .co.uk one.
> 
> I can use web forwarding at no extra cost so 'abc-cats.co.uk' points at 'abc-cats.wordpress.com'.
> 
> ...


How do you people know all this i take my hat off to you all.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

I've worked in IT for over 30 years, programming, designing and doing database stuff... I build my own PCs as well! Did an evening course on the Internet when it was very new stuff and we were writing a bit of HTML then. 

I used Notepad originally, but the typos were embarassing so I brought some software that included a spell checker, but now I seem to use Wordpress for everything and have more or less given up hand-coding. The exception is getting pedigrees to look right.

In my view the advent of blog software like Wordpress along with things like Ebay and Paypal has really allowed people to easily make good-looking web sites for small businesses.


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## Puindoors (May 19, 2011)

we love bsh's said:


> How do you people know all this i take my hat off to you all.


Most of us learn it the same way you are, by trial and error and asking questions from people who've managed it already. So I expect you to be dishing out the advice in a few months LOL!


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

OrientalSlave said:


> I always register a domain name - I use 123-reg.co.uk and it costs something like £6 for two years for a .co.uk one.
> 
> I can use web forwarding at no extra cost so 'abc-cats.co.uk' points at 'abc-cats.wordpress.com'.
> 
> ...


I do this too - I have one parked at 123 (not using it at the moment as it was for my Birmans) and one for my party site pointing at it. SO have two web addresses for the same site!


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

we love bsh's said:


> Think its this try , Home - LAIKENSLOVE BRITISH SHORTHAIRS


I dont get it. When i type the web address into google search it doesnt bring up my website.the only way i can see my website is by coming onto pf and clicking that link above..but i wrote that link as like this http.... then it just went like that on its own. why isnt the website coming up when i type it into google??


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

Comes up as not found when I google it too but I can open it from the link


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

lymorelynn said:


> Comes up as not found when I google it too but I can open it from the link


ha ha same problem as me then its doin my head in


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## EllesBelles (May 14, 2010)

Google hasn't indexed the site yet. They will do, eventually.

Typically, a new domain gets indexed within 48 hours, but as yours is an extension of webs it will be slower.

So...if you had www.hello.com than that is a whole new domain, so Google will look at it often. www.hello.webs.com is just another page on the Webs.com domain, so it gets looked at less frequently.

The free sites do have a huge number of drawbacks, like SEO not being great, incompatible templates and the general appearance of the sites looking "free". It only matters if its for a business site, really, though. If you find you get a lot of visitors or you want to upgrade, it's well worth considering hosting wordpress and using the paid version. It's excellent and very easy to use.

Remember that when you search Google, it remembers previous results. So your site might turn up a few days earlier for you than it does for anyone else - don't be too surprised if you don't get many views for a while.

You could submit your site to Bing etc if you like, and that might speed up indexing through Bing - Google tends to be more temperamental so I'd wait for them to do it themselves.

OH is an IT account manager something or other and I've picked up web stuff, so if you need anything else, let me know


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

your great so how long would you expect it to be there?thanx


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Yep, it won't do yet. You need to type the full web address into the url space - not google - it's all to do with metatags which are words you attach to each page that google can find. You can only do this on an upgraded site. What you can do is get a generic advert on pets4homes (for example) which included your cattery name and that will come up then. Basically, it's all a bit complicated the old internet and just typing in your name won't necessarily bring up your site - also remember it can take up to 48 hours for it to go live.


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## we love bsh's (Mar 28, 2011)

yes found it now thanx.so you suggest puting an add on pets4homes with web address in there then it will show on google? am i following correctly lol


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

we love bsh's said:


> yes found it now thanx.so you suggest puting an add on pets4homes with web address in there then it will show on google? am i following correctly lol


Yep - my add always comes up before my site


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

Question while we're on this topic - if I register a domain name with 123 for example what can I do with it? Can I link it to my freewebs site?


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

lymorelynn said:


> Question while we're on this topic - if I register a domain name with 123 for example what can I do with it? Can I link it to my freewebs site?


Yep - what you do is ask 123 to 'point' at your site then, when that url is typed in it automatically goes to your site - 123 is lots cheaper than freewebs - £9 for 2 years for a .co.uk site. Once you have bought a domain name I can talk you through the 'pointing' bit.


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

Okay - name bought and I'm in the control panel section  Where do I go from there
ETA - think I've done it but not sure how to check that it works


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

type in your new url (www. whatever.com) into your box at the top of the internet screen (where the url goes - NOT google) and see if it goes to your website. Again - if it is a newly bought name it can take up to 48 hours to activate. 

Let me have it - and I'll see if I can get on.


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

It will be Lambchop Siamese - Home
It did say on the 123 site that it could take a while to go live but fingers crossed it will work 
Ooooh it works from that link :thumbup:


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

Yep I saw it work (actually saw the url change as the pointing worked)


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

Thank you for your assistance.


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## OrientalSlave (Jan 26, 2012)

Had a quick look. Nice, now the hard work of keeping it up-to-date begins!

I feel it would be worth changing the typeface of your headings - on my laptop the smaller ones are especially hard to read because there isn't that much contrast between the two colours. A bolder typeface would be much easier to read.


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