Name that business

#1 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

I need a www dot name for my fledgling motorsport photography business.

I wanted Benzina.com but some bugger has it already, except they have only registered it.

I have Benzina.co.uk, but think I would probably be better of with something that identifies me and my business such as:

SMW-motofoto.com
SMW-motophoto.com
SMW-motorphoto.com

SMW-motorphoto.com is my prefered. Anyone think of anything better or think this OK?

RicksAlfas · #2 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

Nemesisgodofallhesurveyswilltakecarshots foryou.org

RicksAlfas · #3 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

On second thoughts
SMW-motorphoto.com
is probably better.

flish · #4 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

You could always go for one of the SLD's like;

benzina.uk.net
benzina.uk.com
benzina.gb.net
benzina.gb.com

Which are available, as is motorsports-photo.com and lot's of variations like motorsportsphotography.co.uk, motorsports-photography.co.uk, motorsportsphoto.co.uk etc.

Just remember, shorter is sweeter when it comes to domain names. People are lazy

RicksAlfas · #5 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

www.nem.com

Wimster · #6 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Nemesis:

SMW-motofoto.com
SMW-motophoto.com
SMW-motorphoto.com

<hr /></blockquote>SMW-motherf*cker.com ?!?

#7 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

Initials - all (most, the ones anyone might have heard of), have their name or initials at least in the title in order that they become a 'brand name' in that field.

I have jumped the gun and registered
SMW-motorphoto.com because anyone with even a modicum of intelligence could make a guess that SMW are my initials, motor and photo combined will even for the less astute, conjure up images (no pun intended) of motor or car related photography. And dot com is short and sweet and bloody obvious n'est pas?

Now I need to build a basic website. Anyone got any advice on this?

I am totally thick when it comes to this and have never attempted it before. All I want to do is start with just one page with a few images as a trial. Then I will gradually add pages and redesign the thing as I go along.

What is the simplest way to do this that even a fairly stupid 5 year old could do. (Don't mention words like 'Dreamweaver' because I won't know what the **** you're on about).

Wimster · #8 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

Dreamweaver

the simplest trick to build a website is to hire some one to do it for you http://www.alfaowner.com/forum/ubb/icons/icon200.gif

#9 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Wimster:
Dreamweaver

the simplest trick to build a website is to hire some one to do it for you http://www.alfaowner.com/forum/ubb/icons/icon200.gif<hr /></blockquote>You could ask Ivo, but he is still on holiday.

Check www.ivormatie.nl for more info.

#10 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

But then I'll never learn and every time I want to make ammendments, which will be regularly, I have to pay them!

Confucious say "To enter into three legged race, man must first learn to crawl and say gaa gaa" wink

Wimster · #11 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

So Dreamweaver it is than

#12 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

Yep, Dreamweaver it is, i guess...

wink

#13 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

So I need an 'unofficial' copy of Daydreamweaver to go with my 'unofficial' copy of Adobe Photoshop 7 then?

wink

flish · #14 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> Now I need to build a basic website. Anyone got any advice on this? <hr /></blockquote>Yep, but I am slighly biased ;-)

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> But then I'll never learn and every time I want to make ammendments, which will be regularly, I have to pay them! <hr /></blockquote>There are ways of solving this too. Way's that don't involve you learning HTML, Dreamweaver, or anything like that. Nice, simple tools that are obvious and simple to use.

How, where, why, etc all depends on what exactly you want to update. There are simple/cheap ways of doing it, and there's even simpler/more expensive ways. At the end of the day just about anything is possible.

References (Good ones I hope!) are available from a site member on request

#15 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

.....available from a site member on request?
Hmmmmmm.....does that involve PM'ing Ivo? wink

This is what I want/need to do:

On my wedding site, not this year, but next, I want to put up all the images from a wedding shoot, say for instance 350. I only want them to be seen for a maximum of probably 4 weeks. I would like my clients/customers to be able to select images and proceed to a checkout which deals with all the £££'s for me and just gives me a list of which images to print and at what size.

Typically in say August, I could have as many as 10 galleries of 350 images each average. That's a lot isn't it? (Hence why they will only be up for a limited period).

I'm not in any rush though

What was my point.....I've forgotten wink

flish · #16 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> On my wedding site, not this year, but next, I want to put up all the images from a wedding shoot, say for instance 350. I only want them to be seen for a maximum of probably 4 weeks. I would like my clients/customers to be able to select images and proceed to a checkout which deals with all the £££'s for me and just gives me a list of which images to print and at what size. <hr /></blockquote>Technically, not a problem. All sorts of clever ways of doing that, the ecommerce bit's simple enough aswell. It's a matter of taking a a bunch of concepts that've been done a million and one times, and then wrapping them up in a Nemesis sized custom web app, catalogue, ecommerce type thingy ;-)

Or in other words, shoving all the images online via a database, categorising them and time stamping them. A pretty output put script that displays them in the style that fits with your site as a whole, a 'basket' concept to store which images are needed, passing over to Worldpay (or rimailr) to process the payment, and then letting you knwo waht's needed and when

#17 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

And a ball park figure for this kind of thing might be.....?

RicksAlfas · #18 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

What ever it is, triple the price and then add your age as a percentage. Oh, and allow for essential new hardware.
Time wise, go to the next unit up (days to weeks, weeks to months etc) and then double it.

flish · #19 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> And a ball park figure for this kind of thing might be.....? <hr /></blockquote>Ah, ballparks, the aka 'how long is a piece of string', or even guesswork ;-)

Ok, assuming suitable webhosting, bandwidth, secure certificates, worldpay account, and the main website is all done taken care of etc, etc.

The basic (read cheaper end of the spectrum) would be a web based admin section where you upload each photo one by one through the admin tool, give it a description, and then allocate it to a category (eg Fred and Mary's Wedding). The Category would have an expiration date at which point the photos inside couldn't be seen.

These tools but all the info into a database, which is used to automatically populate a catalogue of images which people could browse. If they saw one they wanted they could add to basket. Once done they complete checkout enter some details, redirect to worldpay and hand over CC details, which would then come back to the site and confirm that the payment was successful.

The actual catalogue above would be 99.9% branded to the same look and feel of the existing design of your website so it would slot in perfectly (The worldpay pages could be branded aswell, but not quite so customisable).

You then get an email detailing the catalogue numbers to be done for that order. In addition the admin tools store in the database a list of orders placed, and you can mark them as 'new', 'in progress', and 'complete'. That way you have a complete archive, and an instant summary of what stage orders are at.

Something like that would cost about £2500 Ex Vat as a custom application, but that is erring on my side of caution as there's too many variables. It could be knocked down to around £1500 including "mates rates" and less complex CC payment integration with Worldpay, equally we can automate further, do batch uploads of photos so takes you less time, etc, etc but that pushes the price in the other direction.

If you want to get a price nailed down let me known and we can to and fro some specs, needs, and some demo admin tools I have so you get an idea of what's possible.

HTH

flish · #20 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> What ever it is, triple the price and then add your age as a percentage. Oh, and allow for essential new hardware.
Time wise, go to the next unit up (days to weeks, weeks to months etc) and then double it. <hr /></blockquote>Ooh, are you a software engineer aswell?

Although on some projects I have been tempted to define a timescale as 'x' working days. And have a working day defined as any day where I wake up sober

RicksAlfas · #21 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by flish:
Ooh, are you a software engineer aswell?
<hr /></blockquote>No, no, no. Quite the opposite!!

I am the guy who gets his ear bent with
"We must have EtchASketch 9.01, but it won't work on a G3, but the G5's coming out, so we might as well get one of those, but then PageFlipper 2.3 will have to go to 7.6, but you can't do that many upgrades in one go, so we'll have to get 5.89 first, and then the scanner will need a new dongle, so we might as well get a new scanner too lah-dee-bloody-lah".
£500 software upgrade = £20,000.
rant

Oh and the other classic
"We no longer support that version, you must upgrade."
"So, do you mean to say you have simply woken up and forgotten EVERYTHING you knew about the software you have sold and supported for the last five years, and works fine and does everything we need?"
To carry on doing what we are doing, but with more bugs = £20,000
rant

flish · #22 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

<blockquote>quote:<hr /> To carry on doing what we are doing, but with more bugs = £20,000 <hr /></blockquote>Sounds about right, or the email sig from a mailing list I'm on;

Oracle: You need a new database, Larry needs a new boat!

Personally I sell support/maintenance contracts, it means 'repeat revenue'. But then I'm selling x hours of my time, so if you want an upgrade or two you know you've already got x hours in the bank.

VeloceMitch · #23 (**Post Link**) 14-07-2003

Nem
If you are totaly put off and scared ****less by all this. I built this website for my wife.
a1-mobile-therapies.co.uk
In about an evenings work with a program costing about £35.00, I had no experiance at all.
It probably won't cope with posting the photo's up on the web but but can't fotango do that?.
It would certainly get you up and running to let you test out the market.
If it all gets too much I can arrange a Massage instead if you like. wink

#24 (**Post Link**) 15-07-2003

How much

rant

I shall think about it. I need to do something and if it costs a lot, well.....

Mitch, the only thing about the offer of massage is that on the site it disappointingly says 'non-invasive'.....is it possible to pay extra?

BTW, my neighbour is building in his garage a double set of medieval stocks for 'a friends' basement/dungeon. It's turning into Amsterdam is Pateley Bridge I tell you wink

Amsterdavid · #25 (**Post Link**) 15-07-2003

There's a typo in your website, Nem.... in the price list you misspelled "album" once...

I reckon this is not a very common word for you...

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