Okay, friends. The bare bones of Treecycle Toronto's official site are currently up and running here. Eventually this will be replaced by an actual domain, but I'm waiting 72 hours to see if Go Daddy will relinquish the one that is no longer under my control there.
Let me preface this by saying I've built previous websites, since age 14, on various servers, with various programs, and taught myself basic html from viewing source codes and reading instructionals. I mean, website design was sort of in its infancy in terms of ease of use in 1998, so I had to be a little more adept then. Like a skill that lies dormant for so long, html coding isn't something I do much anymore - but I have built sites in templates since. I guess what I mean to say is that this isn't some giant unknown for me.
With that being said, I toyed around with Go Daddy's website builders for four or five hours, on two different browsers, with three different programs. I kept running into all sorts of system glitches and, as such, deemed it not user-friendly at all. I cancelled the account and requested a partial refund. Hopefully this will be honoured - but, if not, I'll simply regard it as one of many startup fees, because it was not worth the frustration.
WebStarts, on the other hand, ho-ly. I have never encountered a program and templates so incredibly user-friendly. I am confident that someone could walk into this with zero knowledge of web construction and have a decently beautiful and efficient site up and running in a matter of days.
The options here start with "free basic site" and transcend to different monthly costs and privileges based on one's preferences. Now, I wanted a basic storefront for Treecycle that showcases products, allows for an order request form, has an "about" rationale, and links to all other places we're kicking around on the web.
Therefore, I bought their most basic plan at about $58 for the year. I have to give WebStarts mad comparative kudos, too, for their customer service. I clicked on something by accident (as I thought it was just being added to my cart for final consideration) and this feature was claimed instantly and charged to my credit card. I shot them an email explaining the situation and saying I wasn't interested - could they refund? They responded within about 20 minutes - sure, yeah, done, no problem! Thanks, WebStarts.
This basic plan also comes with a domain name. As aforementioned, I have not yet claimed mine with the hope that Go Daddy will relinquish my previous treecycletoronto.com domain, so that it matches my business cards.
If not, well, by Monday or Tuesday, I'll claim some close variation and reorder my cards. I'll let you know if / when that happens, and what happens.
Ah, startup costs. Troubleshooting costs.
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