DoodyCalls Franchises
08-03-2011, 03:04 PM
Getting a site built is a pretty hot topic, so - as someone who knows a bit about this area - I thought I'd chime in..
First off, maintaining a strong online presence has never been more important to business than it is today. If you do not have a website for your small business, now is the time to get one started.
Building a basic website for your small business is no longer a difficult or expensive process. There are now scores of do-it-yourself website building tools available, many of which allow you to use their service for free. A few of the leading platforms out there today for websites/blogs are WordPress (http://wordpress.com/), Posterous (https://posterous.com/), Weebly (http://www.weebly.com/) and Tumblr (http://www.tumblr.com/).
Of those four, WordPress is, by and far, the most popular. Last month, in fact, it was announced that WordPress now hosts over 50 million websites, from small businesses to prominent high-traffic blogs, such as TechCrunch, TED, CNN & the NFL. We use WordPress for all of our blogs and local franchise websites.
For a point of reference - here's what ours looks like: http://franchising.doodycalls.com
Not only does WP have a robust Content Management System [CMS] (i.e. how you control what appears online), but it's design framework is very flexible. All four of the platforms mentioned above provide users with standard design templates to use free of charge. For those who want an even more customized look for your site, it's not too hard to find a solution.
One option is to have a design template custom built, which is what we did for our local franchise blogs. The best place to find a WP designer these days is a site called Sortfolio (http://sortfolio.com/).
Another option is to buy a pre-made premium theme. ThemeForest (http://themeforest.net) is a website that has thousands of beautiful themes/templates available at very reasonable prices (around $10 for many).
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If anyone has any specific questions on this topic, let me know. I'm happy to share any additional info I can **
First off, maintaining a strong online presence has never been more important to business than it is today. If you do not have a website for your small business, now is the time to get one started.
Building a basic website for your small business is no longer a difficult or expensive process. There are now scores of do-it-yourself website building tools available, many of which allow you to use their service for free. A few of the leading platforms out there today for websites/blogs are WordPress (http://wordpress.com/), Posterous (https://posterous.com/), Weebly (http://www.weebly.com/) and Tumblr (http://www.tumblr.com/).
Of those four, WordPress is, by and far, the most popular. Last month, in fact, it was announced that WordPress now hosts over 50 million websites, from small businesses to prominent high-traffic blogs, such as TechCrunch, TED, CNN & the NFL. We use WordPress for all of our blogs and local franchise websites.
For a point of reference - here's what ours looks like: http://franchising.doodycalls.com
Not only does WP have a robust Content Management System [CMS] (i.e. how you control what appears online), but it's design framework is very flexible. All four of the platforms mentioned above provide users with standard design templates to use free of charge. For those who want an even more customized look for your site, it's not too hard to find a solution.
One option is to have a design template custom built, which is what we did for our local franchise blogs. The best place to find a WP designer these days is a site called Sortfolio (http://sortfolio.com/).
Another option is to buy a pre-made premium theme. ThemeForest (http://themeforest.net) is a website that has thousands of beautiful themes/templates available at very reasonable prices (around $10 for many).
__
If anyone has any specific questions on this topic, let me know. I'm happy to share any additional info I can **