Web Hosting

For this project, I will create a webpage for my Dad's bakery - Meringue Bakery. They have an existing webpage that is very outdated. I would like to completely revamp this page to bring it to life. I researched other local bakeries in DFW to get an idea for what type of information I want to provide. 

I want this website to provide an overview of services (wedding cakes, cupcakes, specialty orders), basic information (location, hours, phone #), and a gallery of completed cakes. I want prospective consumers to visit this page and feel WOW-ed by the cakes they see. The images should inspire them to visit the bakery. For this project, I think visuals are key - more so than text - since the product is a cake. 

Below is my general outline

Homepage

• Large static image of wedding cake + text with brief information about the bakery and the services provided
• Links to other pages
• About Us - background on the bakery 
• Wedding Cakes - will have a gallery within page
• Specialty Cakes - will have a gallery within page
• Cupcakes - will have a gallery within page
• Contact Us - hours, phone number, map/address, email
• Order Form 
• Links to social media pages (Instagram, FB, Twitter) 
• Link to schedule a free consultation

Sites I visited for research: 

• http://www.elizabethscakesplano.com/
• http://www.sweetarleens.com/
• http://www.paninicakes.com/
• http://dallasaffairescakeco.com/
• http://www.soonjasbakery.com/
• http://anniesculinarycreations.com/
• http://societybakery.com/

Web Hosting:

In all honesty, I was not impressed with any free host site I found. I felt like they were all gimmicky and I wouldn't trust them. If this is for a proper business, I would prefer to spend $10/month to ensure it is done correctly. I liked some sites that had great templates, but in turn you had to use their name in your URL OR you couldn't edit the code itself. I felt like this was a big limitation because there are certain parts of my website I would like to customize. 

I read a lot of articles about best free and premium web hosting sites. After reviewing these articles below is my feedback -

Wix - I really liked the templates and user flow of Wix. I found it really easy to design a webpage. It flowed very easily and had a lot of room to customize. I did not like Wix because I couldn't edit the code. I could add code, but not alter the entire page. 

50Webs - I  felt OK with this website because it didn't look like a gimmick. I liked that there are no ads and that I can use WordPress. I am struggling to understand the portal and how to use it. The user flow feels very outdated and confusing. 

GoDaddy - With all the marketing they do, this is the first company that came to mind for me. They do not have any free options, but apparently offer great customer service. They also offered a lot of benefits like email accounts (since I would want the brand to have an @meringuebakery.com email account), and 24/7 support.