Build your own web site, it is easy

**Emilganos** · 16-Dec-09, 10:11 AM

Before logging in my forum I have ready known that there are new things waiting for me. I really love this forum. It's teachful and free thought- share-field. I have many web masters books they are full of inpirations.
The Forum SA is another powerful tool.
My question is "what is the difference between hosting your web here in South Africa and outside of South Africa.
Thank you Dave.

**SilverNodashi** · 16-Dec-09, 10:35 AM

Hosting in South Africa is much faster, since the servers are located in South Africa. But, bandwidth is normally more expensive. For some this could be a problem though, especially if your website moves 5GB, or even 10GB bandwidth per month. But, on the other hand if this traffic is all business related and brings in money, then the cost of the bandwidth is marginal.

It's like renting an office. Many people won't pay R10K pm for an office, but if that same office generates R50K / R100k per month (let's say you sell products in a mall, or you run a print company, etc) then the R10k or even R20k office rental is marginal. Same with local bandwidth. We host many websites on USA based server, and many website on ZA based servers - there's a demand for both.

**pietpetoors** · 17-Dec-09, 08:27 AM

Over the years I developed various sites which targets various markets. Anything from property, photography, forex trading, shares and 4x4

My advice to people is not to target a certain niche just to make money. Especially on your first site start off with something you have a passion for and develop a site around that. All the sites I created I did because I had an interest in that subject at the time I created the site.

**tonyflanigan** · 18-Dec-09, 09:09 PM

@Piet

Thanks for your comments re our google ads.

Our site(s) is/are in a constant state of change. Terry looks after the ads, and monitors their performance, altering the units and layout as she sees what does and what does not work in specific places.

**Peter Parker** · 13-Jan-10, 10:25 AM

Do you write your web contents yourself? If yes how.

**tonyflanigan** · 13-Jan-10, 06:35 PM

um.... two fingers and a keyboard?

Lol, yes Peter we do, and for several international clients as well. I think most South African web designers do their own content, or at least have it edited, before placing.

**pietpetoors** · 14-Jan-10, 08:13 AM

Peter, as for the DVD where this post originally started - I personally write my own content but I also show people on the DVD where to get PLR articles and how to copy and paste them onto the web site.

**Pap_sak** · 15-Jan-10, 11:09 PM

I would have to disagree with you slightly on at least one point Piet. It's just a hobby of mine (my wife is the graphic designer I put the finished work up in DW), but putting up a website in a day or even two? You right in that it could be done, but would it look any good? I think not. I've put up around 25-30 static, HTML/CSS websites, learning a little more every time (it's not my fulltime job), and I could not put up a half decent website without my wifes graphics. If you have a business that you are proud about, spend the R2500 - R3000 and get it done properly, just my opinion.

**tonyflanigan** · 16-Jan-10, 08:27 AM

Good point there pap-sak. The quickest site turnaround we've had for a site was 8 days. That is from first interview to going live. The client had everything ready for us, content, graphics, layout proposal, alles. Over the 8 day period, we spent a combined 90 hrs on the project.

I must add that our coding is done from scratch. We were using editors, but found too many coding problems and cross browser compatability issues.

**pietpetoors** · 16-Jan-10, 08:02 PM

I agree with you pap-sak if you do it the "real" way. What I do in my DVD is to show people how to use WordPress to build a site. It has more than a thousand free templates to choose from.

This is no substitute for a real professional web site. This is aimed at the guy who wants to make money online or the small business who just needs a one or two pager. Some of them open free Yola or weebly site which is not professional. What I am trying to get the people to do is to rather get your own domain and build your own site on that. Sonething like a guest house mostly do not need more than 2 pages for a web site.

I also started various businesses in my life and I know that most of the times when you start off you do not have the money to pay a designer R4,000 or more for a web site. With my DVD the small business can start off by doing his own thing, get a web presence, start making money and one day when he is in the money he might concider hiring somebody to build him a custom designed web site.

Personally I am still doing my own sites with DreamWeaver but there is no way that you can teach the normal man on street to do that. Because so many people kept on asking me how they can build their own site I decided to help them out by showing them how to do it with wordpress.