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There is few businesses (Except if you are a shabeen in Attridgeville) I am aware of that doesn't need a website. The end of the day ROI of marketing of the web exceeds any other kind of marketing or advertising I am aware of and that makes it worth every cent for most businesses to have a website.
Originally posted by stephanfx
What would one expect to pay for a CMS setup and delivered with basic info and minor image adjustments?
A very general question. Is this for website with your own domain or a sub domain of the original site? How many pages if it is limited? Is it SE friendly? Do I have my own pop3? Blah blah. I guess I would say it depends on the real value the CMS offers me. If it is just a billboard,... I wont be paying for that, unless you push some advertising that way.
I think the question should be: "How many businesses think they can survive without a web presence?"
In my case, R35 spent per month on having a web presence, a bit of elbow grease in getting the SEO right and Google/MSN/Yahoo is now the driving force behind my current marketing. I haven't paid any search engine a single cent thus far but the bulk of my new visitors (and tracking of returning visitors) have come from links from the Giants of Search...
A web presence is vital, not only for marketing, but storing documents and information that would benefit your clients, adding flavor to your offering services. A CMS (Content Management System) is a great way to communicate with your clients and the general public in regards to what you as a company is doing and what you can offer them.
For a new company that needs a web presence in a flash, I'd expect to charge them R499.99 tax incl for a CMS setup / minor graphic design and at least throw in hosting for a month or three... If done right, 500bucks spent on the right solution could be recovered by fees from new clients within a few days or weeks.
Word on the street is that there is a new hosting company being launched very soon which would be extremely cost effective and has a great designer behind it....
I am Chairman of a newly-forming association called STAT - Sports Turf Association of Technicians. For those not in the know, Golf Courses and other sport venues also have Technicians and workshop managers, STAT is an education based association for these individuals. We desperately need a website to post information, however, we don't have a membership income as yet, the Association has only been going since Feb 2007 and there are still many issues to iron-out before we can start with membership fees. Is there such a thing as a free website available in RSA? And how does one begin with setting up such a site without it costing a small fortune, (bear in mind, we have no income so even 5c is a small fortune), although we have had a few companies that are prepared to sponsor odds and ends to assist with our set-up of the association.
Today Defines Tomorrow
Errare Humanum Est Remitto Divinus
You can get blog space for free in quite a few places.
With your 5c budget, my suggestion of getting a domain registered and then setting up a 301 redirect might seem a bit "expensive" (although I think there is a park option). One of the hosting experts can talk to that.
Dave (S)- If you like I can set up a forum under the Industry specific section. It means entries would be in a post format, and it is a bit buried at the bottom of the forum homepage. But with a bit of creativity that might help in the meantime. And it will help with communication if your members are scattered all over the country.
I've also been toying with a blog add-on, but I'm watching developments on a specific product there before taking the plunge. However, it could be coming here soon.
IWe desperately need a website to post information, however, we don't have a membership income as yet, the Association has only been going since Feb 2007 and there are still many issues to iron-out before we can start with membership fees.
This is actually quite an interesting one, and I'm going to give you a couple of suggestions which may seem a bit strange at first, but I think will turn out to be quite a good solution for getting going.
Facebook: Facebook is all about connections, i.e. who you know, how you are connected to each other etc. Anyone can quickly and easily set up a user account (for free) and start adding "friends". There are also groups which you can set up.
What you can try is this: setup a user account, create a new group, the Sports Turf Technicians group (I haven't set up a group yet, but will soon). I think you can limit the members to invitation only. Tell your other members to join Facebook and add them to the group. You can start discussions, add information, and so on quite easily.
Forums: speak to Dave A about using forums for your information sharing. If you like the way this forum works, it may be an excellent solution.
And one more: you could use a free blogging platform, such as Blogger to start sharing info via a blog (if you are not sure what a blog is, then check out mine, blog = web log). Members can comment on the information. Not quite as discussion oriented as a forum, but something similar can be achieved. This is particularly good if you want to put a topic out there (i.e. write an article) and then discuss the various aspects of it.
OK, here is my suggestion. You can register a free domain at http://www.za.net/ I will then be willing to host the site for you for free. All you need to do is get it designed. I unfortunately have no time to do that at the moment. I have a Windows server and have .net and SQL available for you. Just pop me a pm if you are interested.
An other alternative is to setup a site with Freeservers or similar service.
WOW... Your responses are great, thanx. I'll look into these ideas.
DSD, I checked in at your Blogg, some brilliant stuff there and yes, there could definitely be some benefit in trying this as a "back-up" for STAT members, its great for at least getting the info out there.
DAVE A, I thank you for the idea of having a sub-forum, albeit burried somewhere. It would certainly help with posting information when required.
Ideally, STAT would like to go the same route as our parent association, Golf Course Managers and Greenkeepers Assocation (www.gcmga.co.za) and have our own website, however the old saying, "you've got to learn to walk... etc.". So for now I'll use some of the free resources until we get going.
Once again, thanx for the support.
Today Defines Tomorrow
Errare Humanum Est Remitto Divinus
OK, here is my suggestion. You can register a free domain at http://www.za.net/ I will then be willing to host the site for you for free. All you need to do is get it designed. I unfortunately have no time to do that at the moment. I have a Windows server and have .net and SQL available for you. Just pop me a pm if you are interested.
An other alternative is to setup a site with Freeservers or similar service.
Thanx CHATMASTER, I will send you some info as soon as I have a moment.
You guys are the best.
Dave Sherwood
Today Defines Tomorrow
Errare Humanum Est Remitto Divinus
Having being rather actively involved in industry associations myself, I know where you're coming from. I had a quick look at the GCMGA site and found the same problem we had in SAPCA - a good CMS site with a lot of money poured into design - but no forum.
Given the cost of good forum software, and what webmasters and designers want to charge for a custom job, I thought the idea of a shared solution would work. Plus you get the benefit of cross-over from shared interests.
The advantage of going the blog route is it is a nice way to "get your feet wet" before shooting for a full blown CMS.
Thanx CHATMASTER, I will send you some info as soon as I have a moment.
You guys are the best.
Dave Sherwood
Dave it is not a biggy. I just believe that you need to get a good site up live. This will then give you the opportunity to get some kind of sponsorship in at some stage and get the site to pay for itself. You can ride my back for a while no problem, it won't touch my pocket unless you start seriously nagging my bandwidth with 1000's of visitors a day By then you can afford your own hosting or even your own server
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By then you can afford your own hosting or even your own server 
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