I was beginning to get despondant with our pdf brochure (after spending days collating info for it) when hub tells me that a collegue owes him a website design Now I have all these questions being thrown at me and I feel lost.
Do we want to renew our name or get a new one (it is rentspanishalgarve). Do we want him to 'host' (is that right) on their own webspace or server or whatever, I said yes I think so, on the basis that I'm like Fluffy and want it as a tool to refer enquirers to rather than try and chase rankings. Do I put links on and if so what,who,how,why. Can I use lovely photos I've seen on sites like flick r or something, just for nearby towns etc. Should I get together a terms & conditions/booking thingy/calendar.......arrgh and I thought I'd done so well getting all the other info together. This is making me feel like a total and utter wimp and I'm not normally like this I know the answers are all on this wonderful site but I needed to rant and I really feel like I am going boseyed.
Pandora's Box ?
Pandora's Box ?
Don't waste energy on things you can't change.
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
Well, let's see, those are a lot of questions! Let's try them one by one...
If it were me, I would go with a third-party host, but that's because I know something about web design, so I wouldn't necessarily always work with a web designer on a project, and I wouldn't need to contact my web designer to get them to make changes later, etc. That would be hard to do if the web designer was the one hosting the site!
That's a bit more tricky. Theoretically you should only use images which you have permission to copy (either because they are open-license or because you have gotten permission from the site owner). Some people ignore that, though, if the picture is very generic (e.g., the Eiffel Tower) or has been substantially altered for use on your site. Really, though, it's best to get permission, which is often easy to obtain.
I suppose that here I would suggest that you check out other forum members' web sites and see what they have done. Lots of people here have integrated with the rentors.org calendar, so you might try that!
Good luck with this. It's definitely overwhelming, but having your own site is a great marketing tool.
And of course, if others have other ideas, please feel free to contradict me!
What you have now doesn't seem unreasonable to me, but you may want to change it anyway. Theoretically it's about market research and having a URL that's catchy enough to remember, but also contains search keywords, but ultimately it comes down to personal taste. Do you like that name? (I think it's fine.)Do we want to renew our name or get a new one (it is rentspanishalgarve)?
That depends. How much does it cost for your web designer to host the site himself? I know that some web designers don't charge much for the initial design, but charge a lot for the actual hosting, and end up making more money that way because the hosting is a renewing charge. You can get fully-functioning web hosting for less than $10 a month, so hopefully he isn't charging more than that.Do we want him to 'host' (is that right) on their own webspace or server or whatever, I said yes I think so, on the basis that I'm like Fluffy and want it as a tool to refer enquirers to rather than try and chase rankings.
If it were me, I would go with a third-party host, but that's because I know something about web design, so I wouldn't necessarily always work with a web designer on a project, and I wouldn't need to contact my web designer to get them to make changes later, etc. That would be hard to do if the web designer was the one hosting the site!
What do you mean by links here? Links to car hire and travel insurance and the like? There's a lot of forum discussion on that, but the summary is that well-chosen links can only help your site.Do I put links on and if so what,who,how,why.
Can I use lovely photos I've seen on sites like flick r or something, just for nearby towns etc.
That's a bit more tricky. Theoretically you should only use images which you have permission to copy (either because they are open-license or because you have gotten permission from the site owner). Some people ignore that, though, if the picture is very generic (e.g., the Eiffel Tower) or has been substantially altered for use on your site. Really, though, it's best to get permission, which is often easy to obtain.
Yes?Should I get together a terms & conditions/booking thingy/calendar
I suppose that here I would suggest that you check out other forum members' web sites and see what they have done. Lots of people here have integrated with the rentors.org calendar, so you might try that!
Good luck with this. It's definitely overwhelming, but having your own site is a great marketing tool.
And of course, if others have other ideas, please feel free to contradict me!
Brooke
I would suggest, as always, listening to Brooke, and then looking at sites which you think do a good job of selling a property, and collate a sort of mood-board of bits of sites you want to emulate/copy. Just create a folder in your Favourites/Bookmarks and save pages to that (and remember why you liked them). This is going to be more helpful to your designer than any amount of description.
Paolo
Lay My Hat
Lay My Hat
Thankyou Brooke and Paulo
I believe the hosting won't cost us anything if he does it, so that's another reason we think 'yes' to that way. Found a thread re the booking terms and to use Paulo's term 'rental contract', so that seems to be personal preference, will just have to decide what mine is Ahh yes, strange you mention 'mood board' Paulo, hub said we will sit down and create a story board, same thing I guess. The pictures I've 'nicked' are quite generic, beach, town, bridge so I think I may take the chance as some others have done on the basis that they were not advertising anything themselves so I'm not trying to pinch their trade or anything, in fact a couple of them were foreign people on the flick r photo album site, so would they even understand me, sounds complicated
Talking of story this phrase sums up how I feel at the mo 'to infinity and beyond' !!!!
I believe the hosting won't cost us anything if he does it, so that's another reason we think 'yes' to that way. Found a thread re the booking terms and to use Paulo's term 'rental contract', so that seems to be personal preference, will just have to decide what mine is Ahh yes, strange you mention 'mood board' Paulo, hub said we will sit down and create a story board, same thing I guess. The pictures I've 'nicked' are quite generic, beach, town, bridge so I think I may take the chance as some others have done on the basis that they were not advertising anything themselves so I'm not trying to pinch their trade or anything, in fact a couple of them were foreign people on the flick r photo album site, so would they even understand me, sounds complicated
Talking of story this phrase sums up how I feel at the mo 'to infinity and beyond' !!!!
Don't waste energy on things you can't change.
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
- marcus
- Posts: 624
- Joined: Fri Jun 03, 2005 10:37 am
- Location: Lot-Garonne / Dordogne borders
- Contact:
Lots of good ideas above - I always bookmark attractive sites I come across in a special folder for future reference.
But regarding the photos...I am very opposed to 'photo stealing', even if the person is foreign! I use a lot of photos from Wikipedia, less from Flickr. The photos on these sites all show the terms under which they can be used - typically they can either be used freely as long as they also have the 'free documentation' licence copyright mentioned, or they need the photographer to be credited. Quite a lot of Wikipedia photos are 'public domain' so you can use them freely in any case.
Seems reasonable to me (although my own pictures get nicked and I don't always complain) - it is no trouble to put the copyright info under the picture, doesn't distract from the site, and gives you a warm fuzzy feeling. I'm afraid if you don't like the terms, you shouldn't use the photo!
Apart from that best of luck with the site - exciting, huh!
But regarding the photos...I am very opposed to 'photo stealing', even if the person is foreign! I use a lot of photos from Wikipedia, less from Flickr. The photos on these sites all show the terms under which they can be used - typically they can either be used freely as long as they also have the 'free documentation' licence copyright mentioned, or they need the photographer to be credited. Quite a lot of Wikipedia photos are 'public domain' so you can use them freely in any case.
Seems reasonable to me (although my own pictures get nicked and I don't always complain) - it is no trouble to put the copyright info under the picture, doesn't distract from the site, and gives you a warm fuzzy feeling. I'm afraid if you don't like the terms, you shouldn't use the photo!
Apart from that best of luck with the site - exciting, huh!
Thanks Marcus
I'll have to ask the web guy more about this. I have to confess to not really understanding the copyright terms on the flick r site but I really don't want to get in to conversing with people who probably won't understand me, so maybe look on wikipedia instead. Hate getting in to trouble so will take the ones I need next time we are out anyway and then I know I'll have no comeback.......you guessed it, I was the one at school who undid my top button along with 'me mates' to be cool BUT I was the only one who got detention for it
I'll have to ask the web guy more about this. I have to confess to not really understanding the copyright terms on the flick r site but I really don't want to get in to conversing with people who probably won't understand me, so maybe look on wikipedia instead. Hate getting in to trouble so will take the ones I need next time we are out anyway and then I know I'll have no comeback.......you guessed it, I was the one at school who undid my top button along with 'me mates' to be cool BUT I was the only one who got detention for it
Don't waste energy on things you can't change.
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
Costa de la Luz apartment rental
www.ownersdirect.co.uk/spain/S5386.htm
Partridge,
Another option to look at are the sites that offer free collections of stock photographs, I've listed my two favourites below.
http://www.sxc.hu/home
http://www.morguefile.com/
Another option to look at are the sites that offer free collections of stock photographs, I've listed my two favourites below.
http://www.sxc.hu/home
http://www.morguefile.com/
AndyLucia
If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!!
If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!!