# Do I Get One Website Or Multiple Im Confused.



## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

I have been reading post on website info and it seems people say to try and stick with your main theme. im just starting out and i want to do what ever is possible meaning churches,company's schools etc..... but my main focus is sports so do i need to get a site for may athletic stuff and then one for all my others or what 
i cant see my site that has athletic clothes selling church shirts. maybe church sports. how would i accomplish this all in one or a cople of them with links to my others.


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## karlking85 (Sep 26, 2007)

I would only use one site, maybe set up a couple subdomains, but that's about it. It may seem tough to tie the products together, but if you are doing them, there must be some way after all. 

You may also just be able to set up each category as separate departments. For example, you probably wouldn't want to buy chicken tenders from the same place that you get your tires rotated, but Wal-mart has found a way to make this work.  Then you could just have a central homepage that links out to each department, with a brief primer on what the visitor can expect. 

I hope I am not rambling, that's just what I would do.


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

Thanks for the info yeah it seems kinda hard to tie them all together i was thinking of just having diff catagories but i got a long way to go. i just thought of something, just an idea but what if i start the new catagory of with say like sports with church themes and if there looking at that that probably means they are into church so ill havee some church based t's in there as well same with schools start off with school mascots now look who's rambling whatcha think


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## txmxikn (Jan 16, 2007)

If I remember correctly I saw another post where you said you want to get a vinyl cutter. SO I'm assuming (here we go again) you will be doing mostly custom work. IT that is the case then it shouldn't matter if they're church, sports, work, or reunion t's. The point to get across is that you are selling customized t-shirts.


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

for some reason i was not thinking that. i had it in my head that since my company name is a sports theme name i thought it had to be what was on my website but i dont have to have that as my site name right i should make one that deals with costum work .


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## txmxikn (Jan 16, 2007)

I actually have similiar concerns to you because I hope to target sports as well but don't want to limit myself. I haven't yet decided on a name yet and I was initially wanting to put sports into it but I have dediced to either go with my co. name and INK at the end (kind of a play on words) or Enterprise at the end. My name will actually not specify what my biz will do so I will just have to "spread the word" as to what we do.


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

i did not think of that before i cose my name but thats ok like you said i will have to get the word out as to what i do. before i found this site i had my mind set on just sports with screen printing but i didnt realize what the possibilitys were with just adding a vinyl cutter. so many things that can be done im glad i foung this sit


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## txmxikn (Jan 16, 2007)

I think I'm gonna tell my wife all I want for Christmal is a US Cutter vinyl cutter. I'll settle for their PCUT Series


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

ha!ha! yeah i just bought the roland gx-24 today from josh at imprintables


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

2STRONG said:


> I have been reading post on website info and it seems people say to try and stick with your main theme. im just starting out and i want to do what ever is possible meaning churches,company's schools etc..... but my main focus is sports so do i need to get a site for may athletic stuff and then one for all my others or what
> i cant see my site that has athletic clothes selling church shirts. maybe church sports. how would i accomplish this all in one or a cople of them with links to my others.


The posts you've read about multiple websites probably weren't talking about the same type business that you're doing.

Multiple websites are for people selling RETAIL to different demographics (their own designs) (like threadless, choiceshirts, etc)

But if you are selling PRINTING SERVICES, you only need one website. Doesn't matter if you are doing custom t-shirts for churches, sports teams, bands, etc), you just need one website for your custom printing services.

The website would just explain the services you offer, info about your company, contact information. You can also show a gallery of some past jobs you've done.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

Rodney said:


> But if you are selling PRINTING SERVICES, you only need one website. Doesn't matter if you are doing custom t-shirts for churches, sports teams, bands, etc), you just need one website for your custom printing services.


While true, even as a service company you might choose to have more than one site to target specific demographics more successfully.

For example, you could have a site for non-profits that sells up your good customer service, family values, feel good angle, with pricing structures that suit the market etc. etc. and hope to get better conversions from that market than if you were running a generic site.

The sports site might focus on durability, reliability, years of experience, custom numbering, etc.

Choosing a target market and focusing on it increases your conversion rate, but at the cost of people not in your target audience - that's true of service jobs as well as retail sales. _Less_ relevant, but still an option.

There's a printer in Melbourne who focuses not just on t-shirts, not just on band t-shirts, but on mostly black t-shirts for punk and metal bands. I don't know what his sales are like, but I'd bet he's doing a lot better with that market than anyone else in town.

When starting a company you always have to ask yourself who your target market is - and while that might be a *lot* broader with printing services, it doesn't go without saying.


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## karlking85 (Sep 26, 2007)

All good advice, definitely. I would weigh out the pros and cons of working on a couple different sirtes, and linking them together. Personally, I would still say that one should be enough, but you may have some ideas that I can't quite touch on as well as you.


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

nice Coments Thanks. My Brain Is Going Crazy Right Now. With So Many Things That Can Be Done Its Hard To Tie Them All Together I Think My Main Focus Is To Get One Site Up And Running Wheather It Be Same Area Or Multiple. But I Do Know That Christmas Is Fast Aproaching And I Want To Have It Up And Running Soon.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> While true, even as a service company you might choose to have more than one site to target specific demographics more successfully.
> 
> For example, you could have a site for non-profits that sells up your good customer service, family values, feel good angle, with pricing structures that suit the market etc. etc. and hope to get better conversions from that market than if you were running a generic site.


Good point about that, however there are some other things to consider when making multiple websites for the same company (like duplicate content in the search engines which could cause you to lose rankings and potential customers).

I think a service based website can target different demographics on separate pages/sections and still be cohesive.

But there is something to be said for having a website that totally attacks a specific niche so that you become "known" for that niche and are seem to your potential customers to more meet their needs for a printer.

Not all rock bands want to deal with a company that looks like them. They don't all have the black t-shirt hardcore mindset. Some want to deal with someone that is professional and reliable...maybe even someone totally different from themselves (like maybe they wouldn't trust themselves with their print work )


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## darwinchristian (Aug 24, 2007)

Rodney said:


> Good point about that, however there are some other things to consider when making multiple websites for the same company (like duplicate content in the search engines which could cause you to lose rankings and potential customers).
> 
> I think a service based website can target different demographics on separate pages/sections and still be cohesive.


hmm. good looks Rodney. I am working on a website now for my business that offers local services. it has a good feel and the colors and logo have been circulating the town for a while, so i don't want to change them. i think. 

my idea was to use the site as a sort of informational site. something to tag my business cards with and to add an element of professionalism and help customers and potentials to identify me as someone they want to do business with. (just started the company and am in my mid-twenties.)

i have been trying to write a growth model into my business plan that would allow me to target a niche via the web (service). the obvious downfalls to this approach are the setup and hosting fees. i can do most of the design work myself, as long as i'm not running the squeegie, which helps.

does this seem like a bad idea, anyone?


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

> my idea was to use the site as a sort of informational site. something to tag my business cards with and to add an element of professionalism and help customers and potentials to identify me as someone they want to do business with. (just started the company and am in my mid-twenties.)


That's definitely a good idea. First thing I look for when looking to do business with a local service company is to check to see if they have a website. It always adds an extra "point" in my book.


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## shirtjunkie (Oct 30, 2007)

I agree with Rodney to a point. But at the same time, domains and websites are so cheap, you can actually do two. If you want you can always crosslink them so they can see your other work as well.


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## 2STRONG (Oct 17, 2007)

I found out today that if you want to have multiple sites it will be difficult since you need to creat a whole new buisness for the second site name you choose, if you want to be able to use a merchant account. so if i do open another site i will have to use paypal then it will be ok.


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## darwinchristian (Aug 24, 2007)

shirtjunkie said:


> If you want you can always crosslink them so they can see your other work as well.


been thinking about this for a while. from what i understand it would be more beneficial to link from the local site to the "hallow corp" site, and not the other way around. as far as SEO goes. also i don't see a need for my potential internet clients to be informed of my local operation. this does mean, like Manny noted, that i will have to build a completely different identity for the online "business."

but so far it seems like the best approach.

ahh, in due time.


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