DNS issues with Weebly and new kiwi.nz domain

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mattwnz

20155 posts

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#1000131 6-Mar-2014 13:36

tkayed: So, I bit the bullet as I have no faith that Weebly will solve this anytime soon, and did the following:

- purchased the domain: hypnobirthinghb.co.nz
- pointed it to the Weebly website, waited one hour until I got the Weebly Site Not Published page
- renamed the website "www.hypnobirthinghb.co.nz" and re-published
- verified that both "www.hypnobirthinghb.co.nz" and "hypnobirthinghb.co.nz" loaded correctly.
- created a URL redirect from the domain: "hypnobirthing.kiwi.nz" to "http://www.hypnobirthinghb.co.nz"
- sat another 1 hour for the changes to take place.

Finally, all is (somewhat) right with the world!

It's a bandaid solution but it works. Hopefully it won't effect any future seo or get penalised by google. I will keep you posted on whether Weebly eventually sorts anything out for the kiwi.nz domains.

Are their websites all that search engine optimised though? That is one of the problems with software as a service websites, they are only as good as the support they provide, and you can't move provider without losing the website. 2 days to wait for support is a long time, especially if they aren't resolving the problem, or investigating it more indepth.

tkayed

21 posts

Geek

#1000143 6-Mar-2014 13:57

mattwnz: Are their websites all that search engine optimised though? That is one of the problems with software as a service websites, they are only as good as the support they provide, and you can't move provider without losing the website. 2 days to wait for support is a long time, especially if they aren't resolving the problem, or investigating it more indepth.

Weebly has some very basic SEO and I surprised to see there was a mobile display option.

I don't normally design for Weebly - I usually use a very competent web developer which provides responsive design, custom solutions, a good CMS and SEO AND can handle all the IT issues (because honestly I can't keep up with all of it!). BUT this is outside the budget for many clients which are just starting out in business, or are creating sideline businesses or projects. This particular client needed something less expensive, and these are its limitations.

So there is an understanding that by using Weebly they are getting just the basics, no special bells or whistles, no custom scripts or modules, no real ownership control, etc. I do not want to get into the habit of troubleshooting issues for them, only providing them with a starter website at an introductory rate to get them up and going, and building the rest of their brand thru collateral materials and basic marketing strategies. Everybody has to start somewhere, and eventually if they have success there will be the need to upgrade and the capital to do it. And they'll come back to me. :-]

mattwnz

20155 posts

Uber Geek

#1000150 6-Mar-2014 14:08

tkayed:
mattwnz: Are their websites all that search engine optimised though? That is one of the problems with software as a service websites, they are only as good as the support they provide, and you can't move provider without losing the website. 2 days to wait for support is a long time, especially if they aren't resolving the problem, or investigating it more indepth.

Weebly has some very basic SEO and I surprised to see there was a mobile display option.

I don't normally design for Weebly - I usually use a very competent web developer which provides responsive design, custom solutions, a good CMS and SEO AND can handle all the IT issues (because honestly I can't keep up with all of it!). BUT this is outside the budget for many clients which are just starting out in business, or are creating sideline businesses or projects. This particular client needed something less expensive, and these are its limitations.

So there is an understanding that by using Weebly they are getting just the basics, no special bells or whistles, no custom scripts or modules, no real ownership control, etc. I do not want to get into the habit of troubleshooting issues for them, only providing them with a starter website at an introductory rate to get them up and going, and building the rest of their brand thru collateral materials and basic marketing strategies. Everybody has to start somewhere, and eventually if they have success there will be the need to upgrade and the capital to do it. And they'll come back to me. :-]

Are you reselling it to them, or are they paying weebly directly. I hope you are charging for your time in sorting out issues if you aren't making anything from reselling it to them. You may want to consider squarespace, as I believe it offers a lot more control, even though it is also a software as a service.

tkayed

21 posts

Geek

#1000241 6-Mar-2014 16:16

mattwnz: Are you reselling it to them, or are they paying weebly directly. I hope you are charging for your time in sorting out issues if you aren't making anything from reselling it to them. You may want to consider squarespace, as I believe it offers a lot more control, even though it is also a software as a service.

In this particular case I handled the setup and design under the client's account - charging an hourly rate. I was pleased with the process (except the pesky domain issue) and so setup a Designer Account where I can manage client sites under my own account and add a margin to the hosting.

I'll be sure to check out squarespace - I don't think I've heard that one before. I am curious about Wordpress, but as stated in an earlier post I just don't want too much responsibility for the tech or IT side of things. I prefer to work with a developer, but also want a solution for those clients with limited budgets and very basic needs. I do know html and css, which I can access in Weebly for a bit of customisation - unlike Wix, another option I was considering - but as far as scripting and real coding goes that's out of my toolbox! I do enjoy the process of learning, but gosh its not my core business and I just don't have the time. I studied Fortrann 77 and Pascal (am I dating myself?) alongside graphic design at Uni and enjoyed it (I love math!), but unless you spend your days in code its easy to forget and quick to fall behind.

I try to focus on building my clients' brand - with clean design, effective content and consistent messaging across print and web - and believe there is a solution for every budget, albeit limited.

jarledb

Webhead
3257 posts

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#1000419 6-Mar-2014 22:49

WordPress is what I do for a living.

If you are not tech savvy or have someone tech savvy at your disposal, go with a managed WordPress solution. Cheapest is WordPress.com - it does not give you all the functionality of a self hosted solution, but they keep the software updated (which is VERY important).

There are some other as well, but probably not in the "keeping the budget low" category, so won't waste your time on those.

With a WordPress.com site it is still possible to move to a self hosted (or managed hosted solution somewhere else) when you feel the need for more functionality. And any other CMS solution worth their salt should also be able to import from WordPress (being as it is the most popular blog/CMS software out there).

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mattwnz

20155 posts

Uber Geek

#1000423 6-Mar-2014 22:55

jarledb: WordPress is what I do for a living.

If you are not tech savvy or have someone tech savvy at your disposal, go with a managed WordPress solution. Cheapest is WordPress.com - it does not give you all the functionality of a self hosted solution, but they keep the software updated (which is VERY important).

There are some other as well, but probably not in the "keeping the budget low" category, so won't waste your time on those.

With a WordPress.com site it is still possible to move to a self hosted (or managed hosted solution somewhere else) when you feel the need for more functionality. And any other CMS solution worth their salt should also be able to import from WordPress (being as it is the most popular blog/CMS software out there).

Most will import 'in' from wordpress. But the problem is the exporting out of a propratary sysytem at a later date, as they don't want to make it easy for you to move. The good ones do let you both import and export.

jarledb

Webhead
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#1000424 6-Mar-2014 23:02

Good point Matt. That is what I would look for as well.

There is a lot of work involved in coaxing content out of some of those publishing systems. Bad for the customer but not all that bad for me ;)

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