I am looking for a Website Solution for my Video Prod. Business Any Suggestions?

1. yourvideographer
   Member

   

   Hello There,

   I already have a Domain name and an email address for my Business, but that is it. I don't want to throw down thousands of Dollars for a Customized Website that a Website Designer has Designed just for me and manage it. What I am looking for, is a Website Template that a lot of us Video Business Owners have used for our websites.  I would like to embed video from vimeo or other video sites. I want to write all the content of the website. I don't think I want to use Flash on my site, because I just talked to this Expert on Websites and she said that if you use flash on your website it will bury you in the Search Engine Optimization, since those search engines are looking for code and the code is buried in those sites that use Flash.  Getting back to the subject, I am looking to have a site that is clean, not cluttered, and runs smoothly. I would like to put down the Basic Information pages, like contact, pricing, about the company, payment, yada, yada, yada.... So your Suggestions would be Great and Thank you for your time and Help!

   Thank you,

   Chad Graves

   Posted 2 years ago #

2. EarlC
   Moderator

   

   What software, computer platform do you use? I am satisfied with iWeb on the Mac platform, and purchased my bandwidth and storage from HostGator and was able to upload via ftp.

   Register.com is valid and has a decent click and build website environment for basic, and even complex website development and content. There are certainly MORE, and less expensive options like justhost, iPage, HostClear, Yahoo! Small Business, FatCow, inmotion hosting, hostmonster, bluehost, 1&1, myhosting and a slew of others, just search Google for website hosting services.

   If you ARE Mac centric and do a Google search for iWeb templates you'll find a host of affordable templates based on HTML or Flash. I found the one I use by doing a Google search - it was only $20 and very flexible in design, allowing me to utilize iWeb '09 to create the look and content I wanted.

   Yola.com is a free website hosting & developing platform that appears to hold promise. And you can certainly do worse than checking out Ning.com - currently rated in the top 10 social/video/website locations. There's a host of options, but you will need to do some research and figure out what works best for your needs and pocketbook.

   Posted 2 years ago #

3. bosmith.tv
   Moderator

   

   I use http://wordpress.com to run my site. It's free, fairly simple to use, and it has a good selection of pre-built templates. I host/link my photos/video from flickr and vimeo, so the only thing I have to pay for is my domain name, and thats set to forward to my wordpress site.

   -Shooter/Cutter
   http://www.bosmith.tv

   Posted 2 years ago #

4. shippocaio
   Member

   

    Have you ever tried http://www.wix.com/ ??

   They are pathetically easy to use. You build your website in a flash-like environment (With drag-and-drops, etc...) They look really good, and you can animate them, and mess around with it to get the look you want. You can upload your video to Vimeo.com and then put the embed video there, You can use the free account first  to try it out, and if you like, you can use a premium account and use your own domain. I did a website for one of my friends using it, and i just loved how it turned out.  

   Posted 2 years ago #

5. SafetyMan
   Member

   

    You might also want to look at Squarespace.com which uses a content management system (CMS) so you do not have to hard code every single page.  You simply pick (or design) a design template, upload your content and the CMS takes care of the rest in building the pages.  They offer a free trial so you can play around with it and see if it will work for your application.

   Posted 2 years ago #

6. Tim Trott
   Member

   

   I concur with the above suggestions. Joomla also works well as a content management system. If you're looking for a media-friendly, one-on-one personal assistance host, consider Cyberchute.com. They can also help you with Monster Templates. There are simple solutions to the Flash/Search Engine conundrum.  Good custom web sites can be realistically acquired for a few hundred, not thousands.  

   Video Does It Better (SM)

   Posted 2 years ago #

7. vzaar Jamie
   Member

   

   Hi there Chad,

   As part of your plan for your site have you considered which video hosting service you might use? I ask, as at vzaar we host and stream video for businesses in a simple, unbranded player. Easy to use, we serve our video through Edgecast and can offer you in addition:

   - Multi Size and HD players
   - Non Branded Player
   - Watermarking
   - Thumbnail Picker
   - Customisable Players

   We also have a 30 day free trial you are welcome to test. Happy to chat if you'd like to know more.
   Regards
   Jamie

   Posted 2 years ago #

8. Don
   Member

   

   Like Earl, I'm content with Apple's iWeb.

   http://www.lightexpressionsmultimedia.com

   I find that the mac computer, ilife and mobile.me work great as a complete solution.

   If I were to start looking right now, I'd say the mac mini with Apple server software and Ilife suite would be hard to beat.

   by setting up your own server, and having a mirror site with apples mobile.me you can set up your domain, create your website, mirror it on your own server and and have a robust network for backing up/sharing files, and if you don't like the mobile me, when you dump it after the trial period, your domain can still direct traffic to your own server.

   Apple makes the complete package rediculously easy to learn and use.

    

   Posted 2 years ago #

9. SafetyMan
   Member

   

    Many people like Apple's iWeb, but I will throw out one word of caution.  iWeb creates what the web industry calls "Ugly Code", in other words it does not create standard HTML or something that a knowlegable web designer could go in and easily modify the code if at some point you outgrew the capabilities of iWeb.  Lets say you create a website and in a few years you want to add an online store or some feature that iWeb does not support, you can not simply add on that module or hire someone to modify your code, you basically need to start from scratch with some other solution.  iWeb is fine to set up a personal web page displaying your family photos, but I have seen many people  having to start from scratch if they wanted to use it for their business.  I would highly recommend a CMS like wordpress or squarespace to "futureproof" your site.

   Posted 2 years ago #

10. Don
    Member

    

    actually iweb '09 has a "add html" box that gives you the means to add custom code...

    but you are right about the ugly code and long names inside the  code.....

    I used to have my old site originally ftp'd to a free server from my isp,and I wrote the code with a text editor.

    then I upgraded to a free program called "Taco" then I switched to a frames styled site to incorporate apples "sites" folder from .mac...

    I found each upgrade made life easier, and having done it several different ways, I still thenk the whole integrated package, of mac computer, mobile me, iphone is the best way for creative individuals, with small businesses to spend thier time creating art, and connecting with clients instead of "coding" or "fixing" computer geek stuff. That is to say sometimes the easy answer is the best answer, of course it's not the only answer.

    there are better web sites out thier than mine, but if the photo/video content isn't better....

     I'm still getting the work!

    Posted 2 years ago #

11. EarlC
    Moderator

    

    Anything simple can be made complicated. Folks who aren't as versed in HTML or the slew of other "codes" out there for manipulation and/or development of website and design, sometimes get overwhelmed by what they hear, see or even read and study.

    No one program, platform, style or design is for everybody, and yes things can be oversimplified as well. But not knowing what the original poster REALLY wants or needs, or what platform/software etc. he or she is basing this upon, one of the more simple paths to achieving a GREAT looking site regardless of clean or dirty, pretty or ugly code is the Mac/iWeb and related tools, as Don and myself have pointed out.

    Those in the know who can and do rap out code, pretty or otherwise, all day long and into the night, with total comprehension, are often too left-brained to be THAT creative from the right-side of their noggins and often can "glut" the site with so much code that the client, friend or small guy is caught at a disadvantage the day that person who developed the site goes out of business, leaves town, gets tired of doing it, or dies.

    Any path that, again as Don said, allows the independent creative individual with a small business, product or service to develop something elegant and even effective in a website (and there's a slew of options out there from click and build host sites to iWeb and more), and keeps them in control and able to handle their general website needs, is an effective path.

    Also, for iWeb and any other website development arena there are answers to most elements NOT included, such as online stores, shopping carts and sophisticated analytics - if you research deep enough. Again, no one solution is perfect for everybody. I will say this, however, a recent article in Website magazine, Feb. 2010 issue, page 18, "Keep Your Graphic Designer on a Short Leash" makes a strong argument for bringing simplicity back to website design, for elegance, effectiveness and readability. See http://www.websitemagazine.com I mostly agree with singer Billy Idol who once said: "Too much is not enough!" but occasionally, too much is too much.

    Posted 2 years ago #

RSS feed for this topic

Supported video provider:

youtube, myvideo, funnyordie, gametrailers, collegehumor, dailymotion, glumbert, liveleak, redtube, googlevideo, sevenload, metacafe, clipfish, vimeo