Friday, May 13, 2011

Review of GoDaddy Website Resources & Services

Review of GoDaddy.com Website Services

This is my review of GoDaddy.com Website Services and other solutions this #1 Provider in Domain Names provides.  I have tried many of these services, and as a Website Designer for a larger firm, I am given budgets for websites, and bonuses for being under budget.  Needless to say I'm always shopping for the best deal on quality services, and their are a lot of quality web hosting services out there.  I have some favorites for advance functions of websites, and certain applications, other than GoDaddy, however I wanted to start my reviews and resource list off with my favorite service provider of website services. If your a do it yourselfer and wanting to build a webpage on your own to save on the cost of getting a website started then this is the place to go.  I have my own personal website their because of this reason, and trying to start my own web design firm as well.  I am with a wonderful new company now, and they are the ones that really showed me the power that GoDaddy's website services can provide to not only the do it yourself website designer, but also for the established website shopper as well.  What I want to do in this review is tell you a little bit about why I like GoDaddy's services for resources for my websites and clients websites as well, in addition to giving you some pointers to show you how some of the features of their websites I saw as drawbacks, were really just me not knowing how to use the software correctly.  So lets get started on why GoDaddy.com is my favorite site to use as a website designer.

Lets start with the first obvious choice why people go to GoDaddy.com anyways.  GoDaddy.com is the World's Largest Registrar of domain names in the world.  This gives them a huge competitive advantage in the market, thus producing the lowest cost domain names you can find on the internet without having to purchase other services.  GoDaddy is one of the only sites with low priced website domain names, where you can just buy the domain name, and not all the other services most other domain name provider require you to buy for the same prices GoDaddy has.  Not that the other domain name providers are bad services, I just like to test a product before I go long term with it, and GoDaddy is one of the only website service providers that will allow you to do that. Purchasing a domain name without a long term contract is the best way to go, and GoDaddy.com is hands down the best provider of domain names.

The second major reason why GoDaddy.com is my favorite tool as a website designer, is the extra services they provide, and the ability to buy them seperately or in combination to save money on website design.  Some services you don't need at the very beginning, and being able to save up front and then add the services later is a really nice option for the do it yourself website designer.  It's also nice to be able to test a website for a low cost for a client, to see if they really want to invest money into a website that many people may not search about on the internet for one reason or the other.  I've also had clients who only wanted an informational website to attract more customers to their storefront, and once they realized the power of a website, their were able to add a webstore option to their website with little or no help from me.  Another good example of where this "a la carte" persay, website service provider offers an advantage with their pricing strategies is it offers more feasible options for expansion if your website is a real success for your business or career.  The Website Tonight design program is really easy to use, & comes with any website package you purchase.  GoDaddy has tutorials on how to use the program, in addittion to some of the services you may need later on if your website becomes a hit on the internet.  There's just not to many website service providers out there that don't try to bundle you on sales, and not offering individual products.  If you get into your website like I do mine, you will see how this pricing method works to your advantage as a webmaster or website manager after your site is up and running live. 

While we are talking about pricing methods, lets also talk about the savings & discounts that GoDaddy offers both new & existing customers that use their website services. If you think the sign up rates are low, then you should see the savings you get after becoming a customer. I get bonuses all the way up to 66% off my monthly bill for paying early, and 33% for paying on time.  I usually always pay early because I work for a firm, who has a lot of capital so its easy for me to pay on time; and as I said earlier, I get bonuses for coming in under budget, so any kind of savings at all helps.  Another great incentive they offer is discounts at certain price levels, at say $75 you can get a variety of options for discounts such as 1.99 domain names, 12.99 SSL Certs, and unbelievable discounts on other necessary tools for website design & management, Search Engine Management, and a variety of other website tools for website management professional and small business owners.  GoDaddy is the only website service provider that I have had in the last 5 years that has lowered or kept the same there service rates, and providing excellent customer service and support.

So I just said earlier, one of my first drawbacks to GoDaddy when I first got turned on to their services, was the user interface.  Being a somewhat know it all, I'm the type of person to figure it out for myself, and trust me I was doing a very good job at it, haha.  In all defense to myself I had just been promoted to manager, and in charge of budgets, and didn't have a lot of experience on the purchasing side of website design and startups.  Anywasy, I bought some things I didn't need by accident, and in like 2 minutes, the customer service representative on the phone, explained to me how the website worked, refunded my money, and never treated me like I was an inexperienced manager, like I really was at the time.  Over time, and many more phone calls to customer service at GoDaddy.com, that first phone call really set the standard for customer service for me at GoDaddy, and it has been matched or beaten ever since.  I hope the cusomer service representative that day has been promoted & thriving at GoDaddy.com, because had I been a more wiser manager then, i'd have known how powerful the information a review has in it, both for the customer & the service provider. 

In conclusion, I would like to say that anyone in the market for a new website, or looking to switch services to GoDaddy.com with an existing website, should definitely use these services.  There is a reason why they have become the #1 domain name provider in the world, in addition to offering world class services in all their product lines. In Summary, here are the top reasons you should choose GoDaddy.com first as a website service provider:

  • Unbeatable Prices
  • Monthly Discounts
  • Customer Service
  • Bundling Options
  • High Ratings

Stay tuned for my next blog post and be sure to check out GoDaddy.com's unbelievable prices and customer service.


Monday, May 9, 2011

Do It Yourself Web Design Resources List - Resources to Get Started

Do It Yourself Web Design Resource List for Do It Yourself Web Design

Hi, welcome to my blog, and in this Do It Yourself Web Design blog, I am going to educate the, do it yourselfer, on how to Create, Design, and Promote a Successful Website.  I have been in the Internet Advertising and Marketing business for over 14 years, and developed many websites for promotions, projects, charities, etc. for Large Corporations.  In order to be successful in creating a good webite or webpage, your going to need to know where to go to get the resources needed to start a website, and also to get that website onto the Internet. First off, I want to say that nothing here is Free but the information provided on how to use these services to start a website.  Websites can vary in price from $7.99 all the way into the thousands of dollars, even for do it yourselfers.  What I am sharing with you is product research on designing a website, and where to get the best services for the best prices. Its hard to weed thru all of the website design, website hosting, and SEO services out their to really know what is legit, and what isn't legit.  Rest assure, every link in my site is legit & not a scam, many of my affiliate links you have seen television commercial for, or done business with before.  So keep up with my blog post on the best web resources on the internet list.

Introduction to Do It Yourself Web Design and SEO(a Free Blog Course from BMB Strategic Marketing)

Welcome to our blog and we hope to give you all the tools that you will need to Build, Design, and Market your own website.  Your probably already wondering why a company that offers the same services for money would be writing a free blog on how to do it yourself for free?  Well the answer is simple, web design, web development, and search engine optimization require a lot of work; and the more your website grows, the more time you will have to dedicate to it.  So why not let the customer save some money in getting there website started, and be satisfied with the results that their website is bringing, before they put a lot of money in hiring a web design company or web development company for something that they might not like.  Lets face it, even in today's technology age, some companies can thrive more on a 5 page website, then they can a big elaborate 100 page website, that you don't even have the services or products to fill the webpages with content.  If all your store does is sell one particular item or service, not much need for a big website.  What BMB Stategic Internet Marketing is providing here, is a free research sheet on companies and affiliates of ours, that provide the best services for either free, or at the lowest price.  No price comparisons here, this is our company's research, after agonizing with some pretty bad software, isps, domain name providers, ecommerce stores, etc.  We want to save you the time and agony we had to suffer, sorting thru the good and the bad of all the companies and services out there for web design, web development, and SEO Tools.  This is a Free Comprehensive List of the best web design , web development, and SEO tools; with information on how to find the best help using them, and free services like Blogger, that can promote your website and business on the Internet. 

First off, a little bit about BMB Strategic Internet Marketing Services.  BMB Strategic Internet Marketing Services provides web design, web development, & search engine optimization services to small businesses across the United States.   Our client base for our web design, web development, and seo services include big markets like New York, Chicago IL, Dallas TX, and Miami FL; however the majority of our clients come from smaller markets like Myrtle Beach, SC, Columbia SC, Augusta GA, Racine WI, and smaller market cities. where State and surrounding searches become more important. Our goal in this blog is to provide the step by step information in how to set up a website, publish your website, and promote your website to where it comes so much work that you will want to hire a specialist in web design, web development, and SEO to take the load off your shoulders.  Being in the internet marketing and e-commerce development business, we know the work it requires in trying to promote and get the best return on investment in a website is, and as you will see later in our bloginar course, a blog is one of the best ways to promote your service.  We know do it yourself web design and marketing isn't for everyone, so this is a promotional tool for us as well.  If you don't think you have the time to dedicate to your website to make it successful, then feel free to call us at 773-930-0322.

Hopefully we've explained well enough what this blog is going to be about, now we can get into some pre-requisites for what you are going to need if your going to follow this blog on how to get started on setting up your own webpage.  These are just a few things you are going to need when you get on the internet to get started, its nice to know, because you could be fumbling around looking for something, and it can be really frustrating, we usually get all this information from our clients before we start any services because almost every signup for services requires these pieces of information. BMB Strategic Marketing Services is in know way asking for any of this information, however you will be prompted to in order to setup email accounts with google or yahoo, domain name registration, ecommerce store setup, etc.  Then there's also a few creative ideas you need to think about before you get started as well, things just seem to flow easier when you already know what you need and want as far as a website is concerned.  This is a numbered list, however priorities vary from person to person, so don't consider this a ranked listing.

  1. Purpose or Goals of Your Website:  Even though we just said this isn't a ranked list, this should probably be your top priority.  Its good to know what your trying to do, before you go looking for services that you may have to pay for.  Start thinking about the services or products you are going to offer on your website, and write them down.  When you start getting into setting up profiles, your going to need to put this information in their.
  2. Website or Domain Names: Even though you may have a unique company name, and think your guaranteed your domain name, you may want to think about including something about your location or service when picking out a domain name.  Domain name is something search engines look for, so something targeted to you sales audience will probably do better in search engines then just your company name, maybe something like wwwcompanynamelocation,com.  Always remember, the intnernet is a big audience so you name maybe taken as well, but domain name providers usually provide a good list of available options, and its good to take advantage of multiple listings.
  3. Signup Information: If your reading this you probably have a email and have had to setup an account on the internet.  In starting and promoting a website your going to have to signup for merchant accounts, registering services, how to recieve payouts, etc.  Its good to have your company information, ein or ssn, a blank voided company check, billing information, and other business or personal information handy.  You will need it when you set up some of the things that you will need to build your own website.
  4. Email Address: We do have this singular because you want everything for your website coming to one place.  The competition for search engines, advertising, and social networking is so critical now, its good to go ahead and set all of this up when you start your website, and many of the companies we will list in this blog will require a email address for signup.
  5. Capital: Even though a lot of the web design, web development, and SEO tools we list in this blog are free, you will need money to buy domain names, hosting, etc.  A budget of at least $300-$500 should be allocated to starting your website, and this may not even include promotional budgets, like professional photos or videos, or the cost of equipment and software to do it yourself.  Even still, its nice to have the domain names and setup done, then you can work your way to photos and videos later.
  6. Search Term Ideas: Technically they are called "keywords" or "search words", its a good idea to jot down some of the ideas you think you would search for if you were looking for you own product or service on the internet.  Developing a list of keywords early on will help you in writing a SEO friendly webpage.
  7. Social Networking Accounts: Social Networking has become a huge tool in marketing on the internet, and it can be time consuming filling out all the details on social networking sites.  The popularity of social networking has also given these sites a dominance in search engine optimiztion perfomance, so you almost have to have these to stay competitive in the internet marketing business. Enter as much information about your business as you can in the profile section, as search engines scan these when looking for searches by potential customers.
These are just a few things we have found helpful in having setup before we even go for the domain name.  Once you  have a website going, or a e-commerce store running, its going to cost some money, and its nice to be working on sales instead of setup when you first get started.  As with any educational program there will be a lot of work involved in learning the ins and outs of web design, web development, and search engine optimization techniques, so this is also a good test to see whether or not if you have the time and patience it requires for a do it yourself website that actually generates revenue.Internet advertising and internet marketing is the new way to advertise your business as print advertising firms continue to struggle across the nation.  At BMB Strategic Marketing we still use print advertising, and it is an effective method, however print advertising is for the more capital rich company, and cost a lot more than internet advertising.  Our goal is this bloginar is to give you the most cost efficient way to set up, develop, and market your website.

Stay tuned to our blog for our first session in setting up a website that will generate traffic.  We will discuss how to domain name selections, website hosting services, domain name registration, e-commerce stores, website design programs, inventory and accounting programs, free posting services, and more.  Everything you need to know to get your website started and on its way to #1 in the search listings.  Getting to #1 on Google, Yahoo, and Bing isn't that hard for a local market, it just takes a few tips that nobody told us along the way, to make you business thrive from a website with search engine optimization performance.