What I'm looking to do with the page is:
1. Have a bio
2. Products and pricing
3. Place to have articles, tips, etc.
4. Forum for my clients
5. Place for people to share their success stories and before and after pics.
6. Do some on-line coaching - but like Isaac does, create off line and e-mail it.
I have no idea how this interweb thing really works, so I'm wondering if the plan I note above would be sufficient, overkill, underkill, etc. Thoughts? Anything else I should consider?
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Those who live by the sword, get shot by those who don't.
I used to be in the business (web dev) - my suggestion is to shop for a great web developer before purchasing anything. Most times a developer will be able to point you in a direction that will compliment your objectives. Learn before you buy.
I'll agree with McCarley that finding a web developer is a great first step. I'm only saying that as someone who has run a website (not fitness) in the past with minimal tech skills and maximum headaches. As a trainer your time is much better spent making money training than muddling through code. Pre-fab templates could get you started, but you're gonna need something unique eventually.
A web developer friend told me a while back that places like designcontest.net (one example, I'm sure there are others) are great places to go for cheap logo and website design. You post what you want and how much you're willing to pay and up and coming web developers will compete for the project. I've heard that sometimes they end up doing stellar work for a fraction of what you would pay elsewhere. Maybe someone else who has more experience with that sort of site could comment about them?
As far as hosting is concerned I can't add much. I do have a free report from 'fitnesswebhosting.com' on web hosting for fitness I could email you. Its obviously promoting their own site but it does have great info regardless. For instance it talks about how 1shoppingcart.com, which many fitness pros use to sell products on their site is $80/month, so if you can find a host with its own SSL built into your monthly plan you'll save a lot. Also the email on some hosts' sites is abysmal, make sure you can set up autresponders with confidence.
__________________ "do what you can where you are with what you have"-Teddy Roosevelt
The web development industry isn''t all that different from the fitness industry in principle. Would you hire a trainer who gave the lowest bid - taking a chance on the product - or the one that fit your (companies) needs? I suggest you find a developer that has an established business that doesn't shortsell themselves or their product. A great developer will provide you with information - teach you, if you will - about what to look for just as a great PT would do. Look for the same qualities in a developer that you would look for in a trainer.
Good point, I wasn't sure if those sites were like wholesale access to talented designers or just a bunch that can't sell their services elsewhere. The more i think on it though it would make sense that since the webpage itself is a marketing tool you would want it designed by someone that knows how to set up a layout to increase your revenues rather than something that just looks pretty. I've seen some companies out there that specialize in fitness web design (webflexor,fitnesswebsitedesig n) but looked so aesthetically unappealing that I think I made a mental overreaction and automatically placed my confidence elsewhere.
Sorry that I implied that a cheap designer would be the same as an established one. But I do think there are good designers with reasonable rates and some with overinflated rates. You've convinced me the designsite option is not the greatest way to find a good developer- would you recommend checking out fitness sites you like and asking for referrals? Is there some sort of reliable directory to search?
Sorry to Steve-O for yet another post in this thread that doesn't relate to the hosting question you posed. I get distracted easily. Oh look a butterfly...
__________________ "do what you can where you are with what you have"-Teddy Roosevelt
As someone who was recently looking for hosting I got some great tips from my brother. First and foremost listen to what other people have to say about the host you're looking to sign up with. You don't want to sign up at a place like APlus where almost all of their users are not satisfied.
As for hosts, my brother just signed up with TextDrive.com and he loves them. As of right now I can't just due to having too many other bills to pay, but from what I've heard a lot of developers use TD. Another host which has gotten great reviews is media temple.
As for design, I can't comment. I work on my designs myself or if you ever saw my blog (it's down right now) my brother designed that.
My website is hosted by Netfirms.com so far i am very pleased with my package. I have had it hosted by them for one year so far and there pricing is very competitive.
I designed my website and forum from the bottom up all by myself, and I am by no means a code expert. I learned the basics of HTML in a class about 10 years ago, and started my site on Geocities, which is now owned by Yahoo. Geocities does not have the best customer service, but I stuck with it because it allowed me to use templates or use my own code, and I was familiar with the file manager.
About 5 months ago, I upgraded to a premium package which costs me about $9 a month. I also started my own forum using phpbb. It was a pain in the azz trying to figure out how to get a forum started, but well worth it. phpbb is free, you can customize it yourself, and it has a community area where you can get technical assistance from other users.
What I like about my site/forum is that it is cheap and I can customize it to my likings. It's nice to be able to make changes whenever I want, but the downside is having to continually learn how overcome obstacles, but I enjoy the challenge.
Check my site and forum out, and if you have questions, please let me know.
would you recommend checking out fitness sites you like and asking for referrals? Is there some sort of reliable directory to search?
Always. referrals are probobly the best way possible to narrow the list of developers. I used to give potential clients a list of previous clients and tell them to call. A good developer should have no problem doing the same. In addition to the design/development, also look into their plans for search engine optimization (very important). Your developer should be an integral part of your overall marketing plan if not the foundation of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MAXX
I also started my own forum using phpbb. It was a pain in the azz trying to figure out how to get a forum started, but well worth it. phpbb is free, you can customize it yourself, and it has a community area where you can get technical assistance from other users.
I completely agree. phpbb is one of the best out - and free - but very time consuming for anybody not familiar with coding.
My brothers in still in the biz and has a website packed full of info: http://www.14thc.com/
more than you ever wanted to know about this stuff. Read up and you'll feel much more confident about where your going and what your doing.
I want my own website
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