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web site worthyness????

Started by bikedude73, September 16, 2009, 10:15:40 PM

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bikedude73

I am thinking of building a web site for my custom sawing business and did not know if anyone has tried it and if it is worth it... :P

Dan_Shade

where are you located?

I have a website, it's certainly nothing fancy, but a few people have contacted me due to finding my website.

Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

beenthere

The Forestry Forum has a resident web maker, in the Boss.

Give Jeff a PM and see what he has to say.

I think he has several websites to his credit, and he knows his stuff.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

sgschwend

A good web site can bring in the business.  From my experience much better than yellow page adds.

There are times when half of my jobs comes from my web page.  Take a look at it, see my signature below.  The designer is linked at the bottom of the web page.
Steve Gschwend

sjgschwend@gmail.com

pnyberg

I think a website is a valuable marketing tool that the portion of the population that's "on the grid" as they say. 

When I was in the position of being a homeowner with a few logs to saw, and no knowledge of sawmills or sawyers other than that such things existed, I started with a Google search for something like "portable sawmill Connecticut", and variations on that theme.  I quickly found the website of a guy about an hour from me, and if I had been a normal person, he would have gotten the job. 

But having been bitten by the sawmill bug, I kept poking around the internet, and found this forum and through an unlikely series of discoveries, eventually found the website for New England Saw and Lumber, whose mill is parked about 10 miles from my house.  Schuyler Montgomery admitted to me that he gets little or no business through the website, and he pretty much ignores it.

My point is that just having the website is not enough, people who know nothing about your business have to be able to find it using Google, or other search engines.  This isn't rocket science, but like most things, takes a bit of know-how.  If you don't want to get into hand-coding some HTML, then you should probably hire a pro.

--Peter
No longer milling

Magicman

backwoods sawyer has a very nice website.... :)
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Roxie

One of the useful things about a website is that folks (like me) go online and use the local yellow pages website.  All you need to do is type in what you need (plumber) and then type in your zipcode.  When I find a business near me, in addition to the phone number and address, there is a link to go to the website.  I like websites that list all the services the business provides.  I am more likely to call a business that has a website because it allows me to pre-determine whether or not the "plumber" is residential rather than commercial, and that the "plumber" replaces well pumps.   ::)

Say when

Raider Bill

I agree, Not that I'm in the sawing business but we have been dropping expensive yellow page ad's and listing with less costly online listing services linked to our web page.

Get a hold of Jeff, Knows web pages AND Sawing should be a great combination for you.
The First 70 years of childhood is always the hardest.

Dan_Shade

One point of note that I found, is that having pricing information on your website will just cause you grief.  I used to have a sample contract listed, I removed it after a while, it was a pain.

I tailor contracts to specific jobs now.

I have a list of several questions that I want to know when a customer is interested listed, like where is the septic system, how big is the log, how many logs, how accessable are they, etc...

it works well.  A good website can alleviate a lot of questions from the customer.
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

Magicman

Don't have a website, but on my contract I have several blank spaces that are filled in as I cover them with the customer.  Many times I really don't know what my charges will be until I see the logs.
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

Dan_Shade

yep....

The website is great to inform customers, but you don't want to set yourself up.

I pretty much "quote by the job" these days, I factor in size of logs, quantity of logs, scale of logs, location, etc...

I have made some pretty extensive spreadsheets to try to make it "easy", but i haven't quite gotten it a automated yet :)
Woodmizer LT40HDG25 / Stihl 066 alaskan
lots of dull bands and chains

There's a fine line between turning firewood into beautiful things and beautiful things into firewood.

backwoods sawyer

Thank you magicman.
My wife and I spent many hours getting it set up, as it was our second stab at it and it dose bring in business from out side our local area, and I do not mind traveling to go milling. If you just put up a website that cannot be found easily it will not be of much benefit to you. Sometimes it is better to hire a pro to do the job of setting up a web site. I also list my web site on my business cards so that after I have handed out a card to someone they can have a way of getting more information then with the initial contact. But don't just post a website and for get about craigslist, as it is also a good tool, as is a listing with the state forestry department. Another words spread a big net when networking. Nothing beats word of mouth whether it is good or bad. When milling put up a simple sign with what you are doing and a phone #, I get a lot of calls this way, and sometimes the mill is only moved over to the neighbors place.
Backwoods Custom Milling Inc.
100% portable. . Oregons largest portable sawmill service, serving all of Oregon, from our Backwoods to yours..sawing since 1991

bikedude73

Hey Backwoods I love your site....  I have a buddy that does sites for a living and he owes me a favor so he would do a awesome site for me.  I was just woundering about how much people thought they helped in this type of business.  Thanks for all the help and being here for the newbies...... :P

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