Do you have a website?

**Now I See** · 09-10-2008, 01:10 PM

I have not been ultra-impressed with newspaper advertising...I am thinking about putting together a website...Do any of you guys or gals have much experience with a website at your office....would you mind sharing your thoughts on websites and if you think having one, or not having one, has made a difference in the amount of folks who buy from you?

Thanks in advance for your input!

**HarryChiling** · 09-10-2008, 01:28 PM

Basics components (need):

Who - Page introducing the staff and the business
What - Page introducing the services you provide and the products that can be purchased at the shop
When - Page doctors hours, dispensers hours, lab hours, contact lens I and R class, etc.
Where - Page where your located, give directions from all major thoroughfares in your area to your shop, a google map, major landmarks near your shop
Why - Page why teh patient should shop your location

Of course this would be the content pages, the site should contain a similar navigation on each of these pages, a header (logo and tag line), footer (contact info, privacy policies, and copyright info), and then then the content from above.

Nice to have:

Online scheduleing
Online Contact Lens and Accesories Ordering (maybe even sunglasses)
Contact Form that e-mails the office
Sticky Content (by sticky somethign that keeps your patients coming back for instance I and R documents or Videos, cleaning instructions, blog with updated client specific info, Q and A section, etc.)

**Jacqui** · 09-10-2008, 01:41 PM

Go to www.godaddy.com to get domain name, webspace, etc. Then follow Harry's directions. You may need to modify it later, but it's a good place to start.

**HarryChiling** · 09-10-2008, 02:04 PM

www.godaddy.com is great, I also personally prefer www.siteground.com similar set-up. Make sure your host can provide you with scripting capabilities (PHP, ASP, JSP, etc.) and that that you have the ability to create and access databases no matter who you go with. They may not be important to your site now but in the future it makes it so you have the option of adding features without a costly or time consuming switch of providers.

Here's some assets that you may find useful for your site:

http://www.nei.nih.gov/photo/ (make sure to credit them for any images you use)

http://www.flickr.com/creativecommons/ (you can search for images here, use the atribution, sharealike, no-dirivs licenses)

**Now I See** · 09-10-2008, 02:23 PM

Thanks for this information!

I had been looking at yahoo business web hosting, and had looked briefly at vista print webhosting...but I haven't made a final decision, I'm going to check out the sites that you guys mentioned as well....OK, here's another DUMB question, but I gotta ask! :o I always thought you bought a domain name out-right...one-time fee...but, every site I look at says something like.. domain names $9.99 per month...so I am assuming (and you know what happens when you assume! :bbg:) that the way to "buy" a domain name is to "lease" it, is that right?

**HarryChiling** · 09-10-2008, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by Heather A

Thanks for this information!

I had been looking at yahoo business web hosting, and had looked briefly at vista print webhosting...but I haven't made a final decision, I'm going to check out the sites that you guys mentioned as well....OK, here's another DUMB question, but I gotta ask! :o I always thought you bought a domain name out-right...one-time fee...but, every site I look at says something like.. domain names $9.99 per month...so I am assuming (and you know what happens when you assume! :bbg:) that the way to "buy" a domain name is to "lease" it, is that right?

No no no, don't go with a host that charges you per month for a domain name, you can purchase a domain name with some companies for $9.99 for a year.

Go to siteground and for $7.95/ month (1yr subscription) you get hosting and a free domain name with no set-up fees, that's $96.00 for a years hosting, if you wanted to sign up for two years I think the price is reduced to $5.95/ month $143.00, send me an email through the link below and I can give you more detailed advice.

http://onlineopticianry.com/wordpress/?page_id=89

**Now I See** · 09-10-2008, 02:48 PM

Originally Posted by HarryChiling

No no no, don't go with a host that charges you per month for a domain name, you can purchase a domain name with some companies for $9.99 for a year.

Go to siteground and for $7.95/ month (1yr subscription) you get hosting and a free domain name with no set-up fees, that's $96.00 for a years hosting, if you wanted to sign up for two years I think the price is reduced to $5.95/ month $143.00, send me an email through the link below and I can give you more detailed advice.

http://onlineopticianry.com/wordpress/?page_id=89

Okee-doe-kee! Thanks a million, look forward to hearing from you! :D

**Jacqui** · 09-10-2008, 03:32 PM

Got my domain name from Godaddy for $9.95 per year. has a one page website and free email with it. If you want more space it does cost extra, of course.

**Lulubelle** · 09-10-2008, 04:13 PM

Also, when you do get your site up and running, check it out on Mac and Windows machines. Nothing more frustrating for us Mac users than a site that won't work. Also, there are several different versions of Windows out there ( Vista etc) so you want the majority to be able to SEE what you have designed.

**HarryChiling** · 09-10-2008, 04:41 PM

Great point use the XHTML doctype declaration and stick to valid codeing, please it shouldn't be long before bad code won't display correctly at all.

**Jacqui** · 09-10-2008, 04:41 PM

I just checked and Godaddy has .com names for $6.95 per year and economy hosting for about $58 per year, both are on sale and are the yearly prices (cheaper if you take them longer)

**Snitgirl** · 09-10-2008, 05:41 PM

Harry,

Not sure if I am asking this correctly..

what is an ideal template width for a website?

i am currently creating my site and learning as I go.

Thanks

**Snitgirl** · 09-10-2008, 06:27 PM

Heather A,

IMHO a website is a very important thing to have. There are so many people these days that don't even open a phone book and primarily use the internet. I can't tell you how long its been since I had a phone book.

Have I ever ran into a problem when my internet was down and I needed to look something up? Yes once, but that was long, long ago.

Also consider how many people are using their cell phones these days for internet use. My iPhone ROCKS...

Each generations needs are different... :)

Originally Posted by Heather A

I have not been ultra-impressed with newspaper advertising...I am thinking about putting together a website...Do any of you guys or gals have much experience with a website at your office....would you mind sharing your thoughts on websites and if you think having one, or not having one, has made a difference in the amount of folks who buy from you?

Thanks in advance for your input!

**Snitgirl** · 09-10-2008, 06:28 PM

My hubby uses these guys for his hosting needs.

www.bluehost.com

**Now I See** · 09-10-2008, 06:31 PM

Originally Posted by Snitgirl

Harry,

Not sure if I am asking this correctly..

what is an ideal template width for a website?

i am currently creating my site and learning as I go.

Thanks

Snitgirl, Would you mind telling me if you've designed a website before? I never have, I think I can, but I'm not a big-time computer girl....so after reading all of these (very informative :)) responses, I'm wondering if I should take a class or something first

**edKENdance** · 09-10-2008, 06:34 PM

http://www.osbornespectacle.com

Always a work in progress.

We also have an attitude. Go figure. :)

**Now I See** · 09-10-2008, 06:40 PM

Originally Posted by edKENdance

http://www.osbornespectacle.com

Always a work in progress.

We also have an attitude. Go figure. :)

Thanks for sharing that with us...love the first paragraph!

:)

**edKENdance** · 09-10-2008, 06:41 PM

Thanks Heather! :cheers:

**lensgrinder** · 09-10-2008, 07:12 PM

Originally Posted by Snitgirl

Harry,

Not sure if I am asking this correctly..

what is an ideal template width for a website?

i am currently creating my site and learning as I go.

Thanks

I like to use 650-700 px for your outside container, of course this depends on the amount of information

Heather make sure you learn css styling and keep it simple, I like simple.
Some great books are from www.sitepoint.com
Also if you are a Windows user here is some free software from Microsoft
http://www.microsoft.com/express/vwd/
this is good for the beginners and they have learning tracks to help get you started.

Good luck

Update: This has been replaced by Visual Studio Community at https://spreadsheeto.com/visual-studio-community/

**HarryChiling** · 09-10-2008, 08:59 PM

The width: 800px
The height: 600px

The height can be bigger, but anything important you want to make sure is seen in the top half of the page, some people don't like strolling and their is a percentage of folks that will miss the content if it goes off the page. Chances are that your user is using a screen bigger than 800x600 but this way you can be sure that you will serve it correctly for the least common denominator.

I learned in a class using Lynda Weinmens book, very design centered, she has a site with classes if your interested: www.lynda.com I would also suggest pickign up her book as a reference.

Here is a template file that I like to use when createing a site:

PHP Code:


<!DOCTYPE html
PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html>
<head>
<title>Template File</title>
<meta name="description" content="<?php include
'content/metadescription.php' ?>" />
<meta name="keywords" content="<?php include 'content/metakeywords.php' ?>" />
<meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css">
<?php include 'styles/style.css' ?>
<?php include 'scripts/javascripts.js' ?>
</head>
<body>
<div class="header"> <?php include 'content/header.php' ?> </div>
<div class="menu"> <?php include 'content/menu.php' ?> </div>
<div class="main"> <?php include 'content/main.php' ?> </div>
<div class="footer"> <?php include 'content/footer.php' ?> </div>
</body>
</html>

It is easier to remove the content from the structure of your document using PHP, the web is moving towards XML and in XML you are going to be seperateing the content, style, and script. The above code is valid XHTML and it's plug and play so instead of having to upgrade the entire page when the content changes you update the include file that the content is in. This also allows you to keep the structure clean so when applying your CSS you can focus on the individual components.

Your CSS-P file:

HTML Code:

<style type="text/css">
.header      {width:800px;
                  height:100px;
                  position:absolute;
                  top:0px;
                  left:50px;}
.menu        {width:200px;
                  height:450px;
                  position:absolute;
                  top:100px;
                  left:50px;}
.content     {width:600px;
                  height:450px;
                  position:absolute;
                  top:100px;
                  left:250px;}
.footer       {width:800px;
                  height:50px;
                  position:absolute;
                  top:550px;
                  left:50px;}
</style>

metadescription.php file

PHP Code:


This is my site it is about my site you we provide widgets in all shapes and sizes our service is the best in the area

metakeyword.php

PHP Code:


optician, spectacle, lenses, contact lenses, contacts, glasses, eyeglasses, eyewear, eyeware, ophthalmic, opthalmic, optomtery, opticianry, multifocal, bifocal, progressive lenses, progresive lenses

I like to also change the default values of the links to values that match the color scheme I'm using.

**mlm** · 09-10-2008, 10:43 PM

Since edKENdance opened the door to show-and-tell time: www.vanblockeyedoc.com

We also have a brand new FaceBook page at http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php...5151162?ref=ts

**Snitgirl** · 09-11-2008, 12:09 AM

Heather A,

Right now I am using Joomla (www.joomla.org) a CMS (content management system) program. Basically I have been clicking on stuff/adding stuff and seeing what it does and learn as I go. <--I tend to be one of "those" kinds of people.

"Apple's iWeb 08"
I am not using this program but I have heard it is very easy to make a website with it.

I am strictly Mac/Apple so I have no idea what is easy in the windows world.

:D

Originally Posted by Heather A

Snitgirl, Would you mind telling me if you've designed a website before? I never have, I think I can, but I'm not a big-time computer girl....so after reading all of these (very informative :)) responses, I'm wondering if I should take a class or something first

**Snitgirl** · 09-11-2008, 12:15 AM

Originally Posted by mlm

Since edKENdance opened the door to show-and-tell time: www.vanblockeyedoc.com

We also have a brand new FaceBook page at http://www.new.facebook.com/home.php...5151162?ref=ts

The shades of summer add came together well Myra.. Did you guys have that created by a graphics house or did you do the actual ad yourself?:cheers:

**mlm** · 09-11-2008, 12:48 AM

Originally Posted by Snitgirl

The shades of summer add came together well Myra.. Did you guys have that created by a graphics house or did you do the actual ad yourself?:cheers:

Ha ha! I wish I had the time to indulge in the creative stuff more...

The ad was made by the same person who designed our website. She's a friend of the docs, and she does the marketing design for Robeez.

**Jubilee** · 09-11-2008, 06:52 AM

Mean while I am still trying to absorb the fact that the powers that be at my office thinks that a website is not important since we get most of our patient base from word of mouth referrals.. Though we want to drive the business and see more people...

But we don't have time to work on it, cause we have to focus on shifting inventory from one vendor to another. Not because we are getting away from big boys, or saving money.. it is because it will save so much time dealing with 2 less vendors, who I see every 8-12 weeks, and only spend an hour with..

But its all about loyalty.. so we will put all our frames in the hands of one or two companies.. (even though one rep we have been seeing in the office for over 20 years..and he plans on getting rid of her too!)

Though amusingly enough, his band that he manages does have a website..