Thanks, snitgirl...I'm like you, I like to learn as I go...I'm pretty hands-on, I think I just need to jump in and do it! I don't use Mac/Apple, I have windows vista...I'm not sure of the difference, I've never used anything else, so no matter what I do, it'll all be new to me! :)Originally Posted by Snitgirl
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Have FUN !!! I did.
Heather, do you have a logo you could post?
Yes. (I'm not sure if you want me to post it, or if you were just asking...let me know! :))
Also, I'm wondering...as I've been researching today..I'm seeing "extras" like Domain ID protection (it appears that protects me and my information, right?), and private SSL (looks like that protects the consumer if they purchase "goodies" from me, right?)....if I want to accept purchases online and I use paypal, do I need to have a private SSL?
Thanks again guys and gals...:cheers:...if we ever meet, it'll be root-beersall around.......in a frosty mug, of course! :D
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Here you go Heather.. www.oscommerce.com
I may be in the minority, but I think it's well worth it to have a professional do the actual web design and startup. Not only is it a helluva lot less hassle, it ends up being more professional and user friendly. If you're on a budget, you can find someone via Cragslist ad, a local university, a classified in your local alternative weekly, word of mouth, etc. It doesn't have to cost a lot to get someone who is proficient in Flash, Java, C++, php and other nifty and useful skills. Somebody with experience can have it up and running before you can get through laying out and coding your splash page. They'll also be able to help you in indexing the site to get it to show up in search engines, which is what will enable patients and potential patients to find you online. The most important thing is that the site will look more professional, along with having fewer bugs and better user functionality. Continue honing your own skills and you can teach yourself how to maintain and update the site once it's off the ground.
If you'e gonna do it yourself, have a beta with your online friends before you go live. They'll be using a variety of browsers (don't forget Firefox!) and monitors, so they can tell you about anything that looks weird or doesn't work. They can also offer feedback as to how well the site is laid out, and how easy it is to navigate. You want this advertising to give people the most positive impression possible, so lots of feedback will help fine tune it.
Good luck!
My fav flaw in our website is the NEW CLIENT COUPON. That coupon was made 10 years ago. The email address on the coupon is an ISP that went out of business almost 10 years and the address for our business is different as well. I'm not saying anything because I treat it like a guilty pleasure. Sometimes people ask me if the web coupon is gonna expire anytime soon. I just tell them that they probably don't have to worry about it. :D
Having owned and operated my own web/graphic design and maintenance business (and still doing it on the side) before deciding to go back to school to get a second bachelor's to become an optometrist, I must chip in my two cents ...
I would say go with anhosting.com they offer free domain for life and tons of space for under 85 a year and have full PHP and other scripting capability. [strike]I just used it to build [URL removed], a web site for an Eye Surgery Center, using a completely free content management platform known as Drupal.[/strike]
If you need help getting established, regardless of what route you decide to go, let me know and I'll be glad to offer help.
Last edited by Kornika; 10-01-2008 at 10:34 PM. Reason: grammar & punctuation
It may also be a good idea, depending on the demographic of your clients, to make a MySpace page available.
My former practice has one that I designed and built (and now have removed) and it drives a lot of younger customers to our site and practice.
Myspace can be done tastefully and fashionably and it's free!
Addendum:
- You don't necessarily have to have a fixed width to your web page, you can design one with an adjustable with that automatically adjusts as necessary, even as the user changes the window size.
- Accepting PayPal does not require you to have SSL because once the patient/consumer decides to "click to buy," it will automatically redirect them to PayPal which already has secure layers in their site.
- To be able to see what a page will look like on a mac, I suggest downloading Opera (it's free). It will alert you do any discrepancies that may occur between browsers.
Last edited by Kornika; 10-01-2008 at 10:30 PM. Reason: I no longer work at practice mentioned before.
thanks, kornika...I am in the process of working with a fellow opti-boarder on a web-page, and I'm VERY excited about it!
I'm going to check out the myspace information...I've heard people talk about it, but I've never really looked into it...I'm right down the street from our local high school...maybe that would be a good way to draw that crowd as well! :cheers: cheers to you for the tip!
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I use http://wordpress.org/ for our main site and http://www.phpbb.com/ for a bulletin board we are introducing. These applications for web sites do not require alot of scripting, but do offer alot of widgets and plugins to make your site very useful. They are also FREE. You can check us out at http://www.allentownoptical.com/
Joseph Felker
AllentownOptical.com
Have one too......................
So far I have kept out of it, but I have one too and update it on a daily basis. It only has 340 pages and contains more text than pictures for better ratings.
If you have somebody else do it it never gets properly and timely updated and does cost quite some money as it is time consuming.
AT&T does the hostoing for about $ 400.00 a year, but they do a good job and have helped me out when there was trouble.
It is at http://optochemicals.com
Heather,
When you got it flaunt it. ;) Please unveil your site.
Microsoft publisher also has some good templates and can help you get one together, especially for a beginer.
I have always used http://fatcow.com for hosting and never run into any issues there.
our company site is http://cityofvision.com now, im not sure who made it, i know someone here updates it "regularly" so i think it was homemade. I am amazed at the number of people we have mention the site. Its definatly worth having one.
here is a quick page i made for a friends business. i made it and had it up and running in a weekend. there are a couple little things missing, but that is his fault, not mine. He never got me the content. http://budlongmotorsports.com
Here is Heather's new website please critique it so that any changes or sugestions can be incorporated for her.
http://www.familyopticalfuquay.com
They use both valid XHTML and CSS code and it was hadn written by me in a week, a little less if you factor in the fact that I am also workign ona kitchen in my spare time and a few other projects.
I'm on Firefox, and the site works well for me. It's well laid out and easy to navigate, and anything I'd want to know as a patient or potential patient is right there, easy to find. The text needs a little refining in a few spots due to punctuation and mechanical errors, but overall I think it's a good site.
I'm on IE and it seemed to work good. I'm with Tigerlilly, there are a few rough spots to work on.
SEE ATTACHMENT zzzz1
Depending upon browser, screen resolution or window size the logo and the text may impinge upon one another. This can be eliminated by creating a two column table to spanning 95% of the page. Put the logo in the leftmost and the text in the rightmost.
As thus:
<table style="width: 95%; height: 98px" class="style1">
<tr>
<td style="width: 224px">
<img class="logo" alt="family optical logo" src="http://www.familyopticalfuquay.com/images/logo.PNG" /></td>
<td class="style2">It's Time For New Glasses!</td>
</tr>
</table>
Will yield this wrapping of the text:
SEE ATTACHMENT zzzz2
In fact, you might consider putting the entire page in a 1 row by 1 column table.
Chris,
You might also look into my post #43. A well designed and user friendly site will require a minimum of scrolling. In fact, if you want to encourage users (customers) to bail out of you site, just make them scroll from side to side. A well designed site should bring the customer to the product that he wants with a maximum of three clicks of the mouse and zero scrolling.
To be honest, I find your site to be quite tedious to navigate and your lack of an on line store remains a mystery to me. Most savvy businesses refrain from doing business with "home built" web sites.
Thanks I always try to avoid tables to format but in this case your right if the browser window was minimized it would run the text into the logo, thanks Robert that's the kind of suggestions that are worth gold.
Well don't hold back on me ladies, it's for the good of Heathers site lay into me. I think she was also looking to add a shoping cart and a few items that could be sold through the site so that's gonna be my next fous along with refining. Keep the suggestions coming they're a great help.
Okay. Be forewarned that I've spent a lot of time editing and proofreading for both technical and fiction writers, and while I consider my grammar and mechanical skills to be above average, I don't see myself as the ultimate authority. With that in mind, let's break it down:
My name is Heather Allen, and once again, welcome. You need commas to break this up.
My background in optics started with an 3 and 1/2 year apprenticeship under a licensed optician, while apprenticeing I took various ophthalmic optics courses, completed a 6 month internship and eventually became myself; a licensed dispensing optician in the state of NC.
There's a few problems here. Firstly, drop the 'n' and turn an into a. Next, write out three and a half, which is more appropriate and easier to read. It gives better flow, if that makes any sense. Next, turn the comma after optician into a period, and that will break up that long run-on sentence. Something like, "... licensed optician. As an apprentice, I took various opthalmic courses and completed a six month internship, eventually earning my status as a licensed dispensing optician in the state of North Carolina." That edit fixes both the abbreviations and the misused semicolon.
Actually, it wouldn't hurt to go through all the pages and get rid of all the semicolons. Don't abuse the poor little things! It makes them cry. :(
Seriously, though, semicolons are a tricky thing, and most people use them incorrectly. It's also hard not to come across as overly formal or pretentious when using them in an informal setting like this. Anywhere I've seen them on this site, a comma or a period and a new sentence would do just as nicely.
I also hold Board certification through the American Board of Opticianry as well as certification as a Contact Lens Technician through the National Contact Lens Registry Examiners.
Fix the inconsistent capitalization here. If Board should be capitalized (which I don't actually think it should), then Certification should be as well, since they're two words in the same title or descriptor. A comma after opticianry wouldn't be misplaced, either.
My qualifications allow me to serve you, my clients; with the utmost in care and compassion. I also serve my community through the Lions Club as a director and will be serving as a committee member in the up coming year. Our offices goals extend beyond the offices walls and into our community.
Fix the spelling on committee, and change the semicolon to a comma. Offices is tricky, because it needs an apostrophe, but it looks weird with it. It would be better to change it to something like, "Our mission to serve others extends beyond our office walls and into the community."
Does all of that make sense?
Your on fire, done. I created the site and never really focused on the content that I had provided to me. This is kinda what I was hoping others would critique and edit. Thanks for the diligent look.
on optiboard it makes them wink ; ) ;)
vs. 2 images of the "outside" of the store, do you have an image of the inside of the store? Or maybe an image taken at the window (outside looking in but more of a zoomed in shot)?
I don't but I'll see if I can get one.
rbaker..................I have heard this comment many times before. However an Alexa traffic rating of386,833 and a Google PR 4 and my statistics have proven different.
I could add an inline store any time I want, but if you do sell to a relatively small environment and not to the oublic in general, inline stores do not work too well.
My site is purely informative and if you want somehting all the contact information is on every one of 340 pages.
On my page, listing optical supplier sites according to their traffic pattern, my site has never left the 10 best ranking ones and is presently number 8 out of hundreds right among the suavest ones. I also post an average of ten to 15 reciprocal links per week, and have never asked for one, but also enjoy having some of the suavest worldwide businesses doing reciprocals with my site.
Furthermore the average time per visitor has gone up to 6.56 minutes.
Check out all the traffic ratings at: http://optochemicals.com/web_listing2.htm
So now having a "home built" site that beats most "non home built" ones in traffic ratings and top listings on Google and other search engines, actually does bring the "suavest businesses" to the source.
All this without spending a nickel for advertising on other sites that mostly have much lower rankings.
Question.................why is a website that does not fit into the pattern of the theory how to build websites, enjoying top rankings in every way ?
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