websites

[sunrise]

our little venture will be 2 years old next year and is building up very nicely
I really don't think it would ever take off to the point where I could give up work but it makes us a tiny income
I've been thinking recently about website
we have a very basic one with freewebs but didn't know if having a 'proper ' one was worth it ,
do you get my interest from a proper website , you know one that is specially made for you
it is something that interests me but then I get confused about getting google to pick it up etc etc
I've also just noticed that a legal requirement for a website is contact details does that go for the freewebs one as well ???
has anyone here progressed from something similar to a freewebs website onto bigger and better things and is it worth it ?

[Caroleecrafts]

I have my website up and running now, finalised this year. Yes I have a full contact details page, I know not everyone has this but I think it is a requirement, it also helps to make customers hopefully feel more confident in ordering. I did not have mine designed as was not prepared to pay the fees but am quite happy with the finished results.

You also do not have to pay £100's on the software a lot of members use Mr Site but cannot comment on this one, I use Sandvox by Karelia the software was about £39.00 on conversion probably more now. Browse the forums and take a look at the various suggestions of who to use.

Good Luck

[CeeGee]

I use MrSite and would definitely recommend it. There are lots of threads about it but feel free to PM me with any additional questions.

[gigglinggoblin]

I have just finished cobbling mine together with microsoft office live. Free .co.uk domain name, free hosting. Cust service was great when i first had a problem using 3rd party design software, emailed me back within hours. After many emails back and forth they couldnt fix it and just ignored me so went downhill a bit! What you see on my link is their design software, I gave up trying to use 3rd party stuff but they have quite a lot of options and its very easy to use

[MrSwirl]

do you get my interest from a proper website , you know one that is specially made for you

Yes. My (not crafty) one has just had a BIG hit, but I can't talk about it until I get it all contracted and sorted. Massive kudos and finally some recognition, so it's been worth it.


it is something that interests me but then I get confused about getting google to pick it up etc etc

Most hosts can submit the site to search engines for free.


I've also just noticed that a legal requirement for a website is contact details does that go for the freewebs one as well ???

Yes - spammers must have died and gone to heaven!! You've got to include it.

I built the Swirly site in an evening using some free software that came with a PC magazine. Hosting is quite cheap from an American site, and it's worth it.

My site I just used wordpress blog to do it - a few static pages, plus blogging software built in which is great for adding "news" articles and hints and tips. No software, a little bit of time though to setup.

[buffybaskey]

im not much help but i have to say i never buy from anywhere that doesnt have full contact details, makes me safer dont know why though lol, if its for alot i also check again yellow pages etc xx

[MrSwirl]

im not much help but i have to say i never buy from anywhere that doesnt have full contact details, makes me safer dont know why though lol, if its for alot i also check again yellow pages etc xx

If they don't include them, they are breaking the law.

[sunrise]

so on my freewebs website I have to put my address , phone number etc etc

[sunrise]

just had a thought !! I have paypal buttons on my website but to be honest people don't really buy through my website , they contact me via e.mail and then we liase about their order and I send them a paypal money request
the website is more of a showcase as to what we can do and it works for us
so if you can't buy things ie if we took the paypal buttons off would you still have to have contact details as a legal requirement ??

[craftynclothy]

Distance Selling Reg (http://www.oft.gov.uk/advice_and_resources/resource_base/legal/distance-selling-regulations/)s explain what you need to show on your site and what you need to provide customer with (written confirmation, 7 day cooling off period, etc.)

HTH

ETA: Oh and it would apply even if you took the paypal buttons off as it's still mail order.

[0103media]

Contact details are so important..

First its the law in the uk and second your get far more sales.

I'd never buy from the free hosted site as if someone can't pay something like £50 a year on a websites hosting then i'm not going to trust them..

As you mentioned its more of a showcase than a shop which free hosted sites are sort of ok for..

If you just going down the showcase route then consider just blogging your items..

Hope this helps.

[craftynclothy]

I'd never buy from the free hosted site as if someone can't pay something like £50 a year on a websites hosting then i'm not going to trust them..


I would buy from a free site - mainly because I think it's a good way for a seller to see whether the business really works for them and it's one less thing to pay out when first starting up. Particularly for something like cards where I think there's a lot of competition.

However I wouldn't buy from someone who didn't display their contact information for two reasons:
1) I wouldn't feel I could trust the site
2) I'd worry that if they didn't know it was a legal requirement to display those details then I'd assume they probably don't know much about consumer rights either and I might have problems if I needed to return something/had a problem with the item.

I also won't buy from people at fairs who display an incorrect returns policy. I have often seen signs stating "We do not give refunds. If an item is faulty we will fix it." - if an item is faulty it is the customer's choice whether to have a refund, exchange or the item be fixed. Similarly for ebay sellers.

[0103media]

I just my opinion but I consider it to be a same as buying something off some who stops in you the street and trys to sell you something.

Also in my opinion if someone can't invest £50 per year (less than £1 a week) into a business then if I didn't know them i'd never buy...

Again this is an opinion...

[matt.chatterley]

If you just going down the showcase route then consider just blogging your items..

Something like Flickr + Facebook works great for this - set up a FB profile for your business, and link it to a Flickr gallery - then each time you post a new picture to your showcase, it'll notify all your friends (just make sure you get customers/interested parties added as FB friends!)

[matt.chatterley]

I just my opinion but I consider it to be a same as buying something off some who stops in you the street and trys to sell you something.

Also in my opinion if someone can't invest £50 per year (less than £1 a week) into a business then if I didn't know them i'd never buy...

Again this is an opinion...

I have to say, my opinion is very similar, and most of the evidence suggests that "professional image" (note: this isn't the same as corporate image, it is simply the inference upon the potential customer that you are liable to behave in a professional manner) - is vital to being able to make sales.

Imagine if a plumber turned up, and was wearing a suit - you'd be darned suspicious - because the anticipated professional image is work clothes.

In the case of eCommerce/eRetail, the anticipated image is typically a reasonably smart, well presented website, which provides the expected info - e.g. contact details - and which has its own (matching) domain name, etc. Partly because although you may only have a low turnover and handle a small volume of trade, this will not be the first thought of many potential customers - they'll assume that this is all you do!

[coolkat]

I am in the process of setting up my own website and I have to agree- it shows you are more committed when you start to invest a small amount of money into your own business. It also shows you believe it to be a worthy investment. Ie you will get the money back at some point. I'm looking at hosting mine for a one off payment of £22.99 which is not a lot for a year. I went down the piczo route initially and posted it on three other websites I belong to and most said the same thing - it looked cheap due to the adverts on the top and the fact it was free. :o

[matt.chatterley]

I am in the process of setting up my own website and I have to agree- it shows you are more committed when you start to invest a small amount of money into your own business. It also shows you believe it to be a worthy investment. Ie you will get the money back at some point. I'm looking at hosting mine for a one off payment of £22.99 which is not a lot for a year. I went down the piczo route initially and posted it on three other websites I belong to and most said the same thing - it looked cheap due to the adverts on the top and the fact it was free. :o

Adverts is actually an interesting issue.

We avoid them on our corporate site - but then again, it is more 'corporate' than just 'professional' - but a lot of eShops do have them. I wouldn't use AdSense, perhaps, since you can't control the appearance of competitors - but doing your own banner ads may be a good thing - to cover costs?

What do other folks think on this one? Again, something I'm curious to gauge opinion on!

[0103media]

imho adverts are for information sites only e.g. blogs forums directories etc.. ads on eShop is insane as it allows competitors to advertise next to your poducts which make no sense as a business..

The web is no different to the high street in my opinion..

[craftynclothy]

I originally started out with a 'free' site - I did it through wahm.co.uk who at the time offered free stores to work at homes mums that were starting out. You got a subdomain with the name of your store, and a great looking site. Admittedly I went for a paid for store with them after just a couple of months (could have had the free store for one year) as they had a great offer on when they upgraded their entire site. I maybe wouldn't have started if I hadn't had the chance to see how it would all work with a free store - It also gave me chance to see what I wanted from a store so I could choose the best paid-for option for me.

WRT adverts, I'm not a fan in general. I have a couple of banners on my site BUT they go to relevant places that are connected to my site. One is to wahm.co.uk where I have my store listed in their main directory and the other is to Mama Packs - I sample my goods in them.

I would consider banners from sites that fit in with my products but aren't competition - for example a lot of parents who buy cloth nappies also use slings so I would consider putting a sling shop's banner on my site whereas I wouldn't put another nappy seller's banner on there.

I would only consider companies that fit in with the ethics of my business and would want a reciprocal banner/link on their site.

[onlyme]

Just jumping in to tell Sunrise that you don't have to have ads on your freewebs site. If you buy your domain name from them (or should I say rent?) like I have, the ads are removed. And now you can sell up to 10 (It used to be 3) items in your webstore without having to upgrade. Not a lot I know, but a small start if you're finding your feet. Personally, I don't update much anymore as I think blogging is a better option to run alongside an e-shop, but that's cause' I'm nosey and like to read about the things I like most. :p

[gigglinggoblin]

I posted on website reviews to ask people what they thought of my new site and the respose was all good, how do you know if someone hasnt paid for their site? If anyone thinks mine is rubbish I would rather know!

[matt.chatterley]

I posted on website reviews to ask people what they thought of my new site and the respose was all good, how do you know if someone hasnt paid for their site? If anyone thinks mine is rubbish I would rather know!

I won't go into a full review here, will try to check out the other thread first :mf:

But to answer your question...

The "Powered By.. Microsoft Office Live Small Business.." is a dead give-away :)

[LunarraStar Jewellery]

I was worried about putting out contact details onto lunarrastar.com but havent had any spam or problems :)

[matt.chatterley]

I was worried about putting out contact details onto lunarrastar.com but havent had any spam or problems :)

We get very little from our site - which has contact details in plain sight (as well as a contact form) - remember that registered address and company number must be present if you are a Ltd Co!

Also G'morning - I thought i was the only one awake so far :mf:

[LunarraStar Jewellery]

As a sole trader i dont have a company number :).

I could hardly sleep last night, good morning!

[Cazpanda]

Regarding contact address, does it matter where it is on a web site. My address only comes up once a customer proceeds to 'checkout'. Should it be in the 'contact' section. Also, is it law to have to have a telephone number as I would rather not put this on my site?

[matt.chatterley]

Regarding contact address, does it matter where it is on a web site. My address only comes up once a customer proceeds to 'checkout'. Should it be in the 'contact' section. Also, is it law to have to have a telephone number as I would rather not put this on my site?

As far as I know, there is no legal requirement to have a phone number on there (company number and registered office address - IF you are a limited company, though).

I would personally recommend putting your address on all pages - e.g. in the footer - it helps to tie your site back to a person - and to reassure customers that you are genuine! My tuppence only. :)

[Cazpanda]

Thanks for that, will have a think about the address then. Giving my phone number out is always difficult as you can guarantee one of my 3 young sons will get to the phone first and prattle away till the poor confused caller hangs up!

[craftynclothy]

I believe the address should be somewhere before checkout - as I read the regulations it needs to be there for the customer to decide whether to buy or not and so I guess that means before they checkout iyswim.

With regards to a phone number I don't believe it HAS to be on there. Mine isn't on my site but I have my mobile on the business cards I give out. (similar to your problems, my dd always wants to talk on the phone - 19months old! - so it's not the easiest way to communicate with people)

[MrSwirl]

We have a separate page that shows the company contact information, email address, mailing address, VAT number etc. Link to the contact page from the menus, so it's always there.

No phone number though - although it must be fairly easy to find that out, as we've had a few calls recently.

[xavtia]

along with contact details a website should also contain a copyright statement, terms and conditions of the website a privacy policy and the site has to be DDA compliant sounds pretty scarey but there are templates on the business link website to help. The contact details are required in all business related electronic communications.

sounds much scarier than it is.

[stallfinder]

My site's got all my contact info on. I work from home and have had a few spam calls and even received a CV from someone looking for a job. I do sometimes wonder about taking the phone number off as most genuine queries come via email or the site and my children's phone skills still leave a lot to be desired.

[AnnieAnna]

'Praps I shouldn't be giving people ideas but last year there was a spate of burglaries because people with their addresses on their websites chatted on a forum where people could read when they would be out of their houses attending fairs.
AnnieAnna

[ThE_SeeKeR]

Yes i heard of this, theres a few ways around it though.

1) make sure someone is at home :)
2) Dont provide your home address details.
3)Provide only your official store front if you have one as this is less likely to be burgled :) and you will most likely have staff working for you if away
4) If you run it from home and you want to provide contact details you are allowed to provide a front contact information for example:

Telephone number: 0845 (you can pay for one of these and they will not know your real phone number)

Office Letting: You can have a virtual office address with a company in the UK that are secure and forward all mails etc to your home address but is a legitemit contact address for your customers. The data helf about your personal home etc will be confidential under the data protection act.

Of course those require money for the fee's

[sewtobed]

Something like Flickr + Facebook works great for this - set up a FB profile for your business, and link it to a Flickr gallery - then each time you post a new picture to your showcase, it'll notify all your friends (just make sure you get customers/interested parties added as FB friends!)

I have both Facebook and Flickr so how do I link the 2?

[goldy1]

I have both Facebook and Flickr so how do I link the 2? be careful not to indicate on flicker that you are using it for buisnes as this is not allowed. ;)

[matt.chatterley]

I have both Facebook and Flickr so how do I link the 2?

1. Log in to Facebook
2. Go to "profile" in the row of blue tabs at the top
3. Click the "down arrow" to the right of the "Write Note" button near the top
4. Select "import" from the dropdown list which appears

From here you can link various other sites to Facebook - including anything which works via RSS (e.g. your blog), Flickr, and the like!

[sewtobed]

Thank you Matt.

I'm only really a crafter - I don't have an Etsy/Folksy shop etc