Below is what I ended up dealing with this morning where I belong to a couple of online coaching communities. I simply posted an amazing alternative before - lightly said, trying to save some people from making a real bad choice with a cheesy alternative that would've looked like a 6th-grader website (actually, I don't doubt 6th graders are doing more amazing things than that themselves now too) - and I got stomped by so many people for the weirdest reasons. Finally, I think something good came up that supported what I was saying and I posted the following to those groups.
Note: Any designers and such out there, don't take any offense please, this is in relation to specific target groups and price-range clients that you wouldn't necessarily waste your time on unless you were giving away services to build up a portfolio for the big fish you're after.
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Many people are looking for websites. Having been involved on an employment services level in the tech community these past 7 years, and having worked in the tech industry directly for 10 years before that when back east, I have a good head on my shoulders about the trends and what is available, smart, affordable, and so on.
You ask any web-designer, they'll quote you and court you on their services and they'll have all the reasons to justify their fees. But as with everything in technology, technology advances and more affordable solutions become available. Just look at the fact that you now have a computer on your desktop so much more powerful than was available 10 years ago at a fraction of the cost.
So this brings me to the point of this post. I've seen some shady practices and poor products made available and being marketed to coaches. It irks me to see this. I'm not finger-pointing at anyone here - I'm simply responding to my desire to bring forward what I've learned and to do so without being jumped for what is available.
I looked into a solution earlier in the year after being approached by a few coaches in my community and after much thought and deliberation was ready to facilitate establishing websites for new coaches for about $500-$700 and teaching them how to then manage, maintain, and update their content. It would barely pay for my time as I would be paying the majority of that fee to the web-designer I'd work with. Nonetheless, I had received fantastic support from the tech community when I got started and felt it worth giving some back.
Of course, dealing with many in the industry, trying to secure some tech-assistance to make it happen, more of the same salesmanship mired the process. That being said, I was very fortunate to stumble upon a friend I'd made in the business a few years back who was now involved with a new company called WebAlive Canada. WebAlive is also part of an international organization offering the same service in a number of international cities - this is not a fly-by-night operation, nor a cheaply made product - just affordable and catching on quickly.
I've been trying to promote their service to coaches and have even received some serious flak from other coach/web designers in the process. Yes, I have an opportunity to make a few dollars (about $70) as a one time fee - but I might as well add I've volunteered enormous time to date doing these things out of the goodness of my heart, not just the vacancy in my wallet. ;)
Listening to arguments there have been some lengthy responses about why templates and cookiecutters are not the way to go. I assure you, this is flak. Shop and choose for yourself. This is a fantastic tool. I was wonderfully surprised this morning as well when I came upon an article in a recent ezine that supports the trend - the product type I've been recommending. Here it is, from DevWebProCanada for Canadian Developers.
Best wishes, Lee
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6 Reasons Why Web Templates Are Today's Trend
By John Teh
Contributing Writer
Article Date: 2005-07-01
As the Internet blooms at an alarming rate, so as the number of websites out there. Appearance, layout, presentation and loading times are just a few of the main essential characteristics of a successful website.
It would seem that it is generally manageable if you own a wide level of knowledge on web / graphics design. But the main question of today's online trend, is how you can eliminate the need of going through the traditional web designing processes and timeframe.
Have you ever own the burning desire to have not only one but a number of websites out there to send your messages out, but only to know in the end that you don't have the knowledge or tools of getting them done?
Fear Not! As today's technology improves, so as the simplicity of getting certain things done, without even sacrificing the overall quality and your personal time.
Getting a website done has never been easier nowadays, and it is extremely and highly affordable. Here's why ...
Reason #1 : Variety
Nothing beats the selection power you have out of huge variety of web templates, covering various industries you are in, and not to mention, level of variety which is expanding daily even as you are reading this article. Having options right in front of your eyes to help you to make your decisions are always better than having multiple consultation sessions with a hired web designer for customized solutions.
Reason #2 : High Quality
People tend to say that the quality is frequently mediocre when it comes to the emphasization of quantity. In the world of web design, quality has never been more emphasized on. The long term survival of a website depends solely on the first time impression it gives out, thus why quality is extremely essential. With such attention given to such area, the only problem anybody will face is choosing one, as everything you see within a web template database just simply looks too good.
Web templates are mostly designed by seasoned and experienced web designers themselves, catering various industries, from baby products to golf website templates. The concept and theme of these templates are well designed to give the impression it should have.
The range of templates do not only cater for static page-to- page websites, but also templates with multimedia elements such as the usage of flash. Internet users have generally mix opinions on animation & audio on websites, but given the point that it is implemented correctly within the right theme, the level of interactivity could contribute to a more enjoyable online experience.
Reason #3 : Customization
Web templates are also designed specially for easy and straight to the point customization to take place. Customize your links, pictures, logo, content, etc. anyway, anywhere you prefer. In addition to that, in most cases, free images, logo templates & cliparts are also provided with your purchase.
With the availability of free web editor softwares nowadays, customizing web templates should be a walk in the park. For graphical related customizations, getting a free trial of Macromedia Fireworks (http://www.macromedia.com/) or Adobe Photoshop (http://www.adobe.com/) would help greatly for your overall graphical customization needs. A rough estimate of 95% of the web templates are provided within a Photoshop sourcefile template, and the remaining 5% usually drops in the Fireworks category. You still be able to open Adobe Photoshop source file from Macromedia Fireworks, but the editing capabilities will be rather limited.
You might need certain additional software like Macromedia Flash if you intend to customize any flash files. As complex as it may sounds to certain group of people, customization services are usually offered on top of the purchase of any web templates, if you don't have the editing knowledge. Customization is usually highly affordable as the work is relatively minimal and usually can be done within a 24 hour period.
The only drawback for an overall customization perspective is that you need a programmer to have programming elements installed within your web templates should you need one. Programming issues usually can be considered as the next step of implementation.
Reason #4 : Speed
Large variety and availability of quality templates. There's no reason to doubt and totally safe to say that in most cases, considering that your list of requirements are not too long, you can have a high quality and presentable website as fast as within a 48 to 72 hour period.
Reason #5 : Affordable
Whether it's on the long run or short run, the price range for web templates are generally affordable. With the availability of large varitey ot templates, anyone can spend their money more effectively, selecting the ones which suites their idea the best.
Reason #6 : Additional Resources
Web templates are not complete if there are no additional resourcess that come together with them. It is common for Web templates enthusiasts to acquire additional resources such as images, fonts, logo templates, buttons, cliparts, etc for their customization efforts. Not to mention extra resources on how you can market your newly acquired website to the World Wide Web. Most of the time, web templates provider will provide such materials free of charge.
As automated as the world has become today, areas such as web design can't afford to be left out altogether. Automation such as this, if taken advantage of, will surely yield great results both on the level of productivity as well as being time efficient.
All the best in your online endeavors.
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Visit WebAlive Canada and check out the product. Their website is also built with their own tool. Give them a call - ask for a live demo - they offer free training too. Ask for Rob Gradley or Jarod and if you feel generous, please do mention my name, Lee Down or One Man Can.
Best wishes, Lee
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