Just trying to estimate what a nice website design would run for a small (less than 10 dogs) kennel?
Can anyone tell me what they paid for their websites?
What features do you like and what would you rather not have?
Music, graphics, backgrounds, etc.

TIA

I don't pay for my website as I do it myself. The only thing I pay for is the domain I have.

For me, I want a plain and clean website... that is bright and easy to look at.... and most important thing is that I love looking at websites with beautiful photos of the dogs!!!

I don't do my own,as I am computer illiterate!Creative Concepts does mine.$75.00 a year,$5.00 a page for updates(discount for multiple pages).Drew does a great job.No music,I've been on sites with music-makes me nuts!Plain and simple-showcasing the dogs.

Thanks for the info.

How much was it to create the website initially, Cathy? Was it $5/page then, too?

I believe the initial cost was $85.00,he hasn't changed prices that I know of.At only $5 a page for changes I can make them often without hurting my wallet!

That is a very reasonable price. Even the lower cost websites are more than that. You have a good deal Cathy.

I paid $250 for the original cost. That includes 4 pages. $35 a page for additional pages.It was done by Elizabeth Arellano.
Good photos make a good web page. Keep it simple, not wordy,no music,easy to navigate.

I paid $250 for the original cost.That includes 4pages. $35 a page for additional pages.It was done by Elizabeth Arellano.
Good photos make a good website.Keep it simple,not wordy,no music,easy to navigate.

I design & maintain websites for a flat $150 a year (unlimited number of pages, design & updates all included). The only thing I don't cover is the costs of the domain & hosting. http://www.kinderwoodlabs.com/websitedesign.htm

That said, I agree with whoever said to keep it simple. No music, etc.

Good luck!

I pay $70 a year with godaddy to host my website. And I create and maintain my own and others.

Keep your website:
- clean
- consistent (ie. menus, your font, background etc)
- NO flash, NO music, NO scrolling graphics
- photos that make your dog look its best on their individual pages
- fun gallery photos to show life outside of dog shows and perfection
- ability to go back to the original page or previous page (this helps a lot by keeping menus at top)
- UP TO DATE!
- test your website on all browsers, a laptop, ipad, and desktop to ensure its viewable.


Great examples of websites:
www.dickendall.com
www.wiscoy.com
www.lor-allabs.com

Are you wanting to create the website yourself? Or hire someone?

I am surprised at these prices. I thought it would be much higher. But, I am not seeing much customization.
What software do you use to create and maintain these websites?

I have mine hosted through Yahoo! and its very easy/simple to maintain. I don't get a ton of traffic, but I'm easily searchable and I like that.

It costs me $100 per year, thats hosting and domain and it takes about 5 minutes to do updates with the editor, its very simple, point drag and voila!

I just made a website for someone on the free site Yola.com and they are quite happy with it, and it is very simple to create a nice site!

I'm not sure what you mean by customization, but there are some diverse labrador websites out there as well as a lot of the same from the same designers. It is hard to come up with a novel idea but when it is executed well, people take notice. There aren't a lot of places to take a 'dog page'. You gotta have their registered name, DOB, clearances, pedigree and 1 or 2 'GREAT' photos - I'm a fan of very few quality photos that show the dog at its best rather than a large quantity of photos. How 'custom' can you get with that? You can arrange it in different ways, but it all has to be there.

Keep it simple and easy to navigate. Graphics are great, but don't over do it. Don't make the font so fancy that it is hard to read. Keep web pages the same color or at the very least, same design so that it is easy on your eyes when changing from one dog page to the next.

A lot of fabulous web designers that aren't dog people make beautiful websites, but they aren't functional for breeders. They also will charge you an arm and a leg. Stick with someone who does breeder websites.

Go Daddy costs about $40 per year for hosting and you can host unlimited sites with that single fee.

I see some designers that have created sites for other breeders. The problem is that all the sites from that designer have the same look. Be unique and have a different look than the others.

I personally don't care about the 'look' of the website as long as I can find what I'm looking for: GOOD pictures (plural) of the dog and get, pedigree with titles (since OFA doesn't list titles), and clearances that aren't otherwise public (like EIC, Optigen and ACVO if they aren't sent in).

I really like more than one picture, and love to see those that show the dog's personality too, and maybe a description of the dog's personality. Some dogs are real eager retrievers and others are super laid back. Hints to personality would be great to be able to read, IMHO.

You can really tell the more 'commercial' stud dog farms that just have the dog's name, clearances and picture vs the breeders that seem to treat their dogs like family and have pictures with people/children, playing together in the yard, going for walks, etc. Although some websites are beautifully done, it's more like a storefront for an internet shopping site. Now some are the opposite and are obviously geared toward pet owners and have too much of the fluff. I think there can be a nice balance if you try.

Laura at Woodhaven and Beverley at Tormentil both make beautiful websites too, FWIW.

We have the same ideas about hobby breeder websites and the ones that have created nice ones.

Laura, Beverley, Jill and Mary Ann of Mariwyl are the 4 I would recommend. That gives you a selection of different styles and prices. They all create classey sites but with the theme and colors *you* want. Find their web design link on their page and look at some of their work. I think Laura's is called WetDogs Designs. The rest should have links, if not just email and ask if they currently do sites.

Try to have an idea of how many dogs you want on your website, how many pages, types of backgrounds and graphic types. They can then possibly give you a roundabout price.

Who is currently doing websites today for the public is the question. All 4 have done many breeder websites. I don't know if they all do today or might have a wait list.

You could learn how to do your updates yourself or have the web-mistress do them for you. Updates shouldn't be expensive at all. Someone said $150 a year. That's crazy unless many changes are made. What if you have a title change on a dog for an entire year? It's usually done per update or by the amount of time spent updating as far as I know.

I recommend Go Daddy for hosting and site purchase. They're reputable and priced well. Some internet service providers give free sites to their customers. Most don't.

Happy surfing.

I'd check out Renee Willis of Cinnamire Labs too. She does nice work.

Barb

From the perspective of someone who is looking for a lab pup and has reviewed a lot of websites.

Please say where you are! I often stumble across fabulous lab websites, only to find they're on the West Coast and I'm in the East.

Please keep it up-to-date and have a "last updated" line. I will come back to your site, whereas if it's hopelessly out-of-date you will lose potential customers.

I appreciate nice head shots and good pictures of breeding stock.

Pedigrees and clearances on separate pages. I want to see your breeding stock to see if I like them first before getting into the nitty gritty.

Descriptions of personalities would be really nice, but very few breeders take the time to do this. Only the field breeders put weights it seems......

Upcoming litter plans give the puppy buyer something to think about for the future!

Making someone fill out a questionnaire before you will even reply to them is a bit much, esp. when you have no puppies available now. Perhaps people like the look of your dogs and want to plan ahead.....

No music, kids or fluff to clutter things up.

I agree, NO FLUFF, we want to see dogs, not kids. And dump the misic, that is soooo frustrating. I very often leave a site that has music.

I agree.... I often too leave websites that have music on...