Websites

[graydragon2]

This question is for anyone who has had their webste professionally done. I was just wondering who everyone used to design their sites and also a general price range. We are looking into a website for ourcome haunt

[Frightener]

Welcome! From another newbie.

Man, if you have any REAL pc repair shops that you can trust, ask them about building you a site. Tell them who you are and that you need a good price on one.

Just remember ANYTHING WILL WORK! It doesn't HAVE to be fancy! GO CHEAP just to get it done. You'll be surprised at what it can do for you.

[HauntedPaws]

Website is one thing but a haunt look with images is another. A QUALITY website is not something I would care bout getting a deal on as it can make or break you. Quite a few use these folks and they seem to only allow several bookings a season.

http://www.rogueshollow.com/

[Frightener]

Well there ya go!

We've built sites from our store before for events like this. even the cheapest of the cheap still had 750 hits. That's exposure to close to a 1,000 people. Now, they had their site onto their car as well. So driving around town and with phones the way they are now days, they'll see the car on the road and look it up right then and there.

that site looks good. Nice design. Resolution seems off with the links at the top but, lol my monitor is a 14.5 old CRT haha! Could be that :P

My only point was, just get one up! NO matter how small, but yes, a great site will do much better. Phones: Limited to times that you can call and get info. A site is up 24/7!

[Raycliff Manor]

I highly recommend Rick Whitlow at http://www.rickwhitlow.com/websites.html He has us listed as having done our site in 2009, but he's been doing updates to the site ever since then as well. He's very reasonably priced and he does a great job! He also creates all of our print ad materials as well. Hope this helps!

Kel

[Badger]

I use and recommend Thorn Web Designs. Jimmy Talkington is a member of this board (and acts at Wells Township Haunted House and knows this industry pretty well) and can answer any questions you may have.

www.thornwebdesigns.com

[HouseOfHorrors]

I think "going cheap" and "just throw something up" is the worst advice someone could give. Having a good quality website and eye catching artwork is one of the most important things in my opinion. When people hear your radio ads and go to your site and it is cheesy and doesnt look professional-chances are they wont come. They will check out all the websites of the nearby haunts to see times + dates, prices, etc. and 9 out of ten times they are going to go the one that has the coolest looking site. You could have the best haunt in the world but if your website sucks people will look at it and think "this looks lame" etc... on the flip side you could have a terrible haunt but have a killer website and people will go "Hey this looks awesome!" and probably show up! That will only work for one season though if the haunt sucks.. you'll suffer the next season if people feel duped. I use www.thevillageofdarkness.com for my website and Brainstorm studios always does my artwork/graphics.

-Tim
www.thehouseofhorrors.com

[hsmag]

Thanks for the kind words Kel. I agree and disagree with some of the posts on here. Yes, a website is essential AND it doesn't have to be fancy BUT it should definitely be easy on the eyes and easy to navigate. In the last 10 years that I've been designing websites for haunted attractions I've learned that a website is more than just a destination on the web; it is an interactive, online billboard that advertises your attraction. If your website and/or marketing looks cheap people will see your attraction as being cheap as well. You can have the best haunted house in the world but if your advertising (both print and on the web) doesn't convey that message people won't see you that way.

If you're looking to have a site designed for your attraction (whether it's home or professional, I've designed for both) if you'd like you can email me at hauntsearchmagazine(at)yahoo(dot)com and tell me some more about what you're looking to have done and I'd be happy to give you a quote. If you'd like to see some examples of sites I designed this year you can click the links below.

http://theindustrialslaughterhouse.com
http://twistedwoods.com
http://midnightmanor.com
http://thedeadland.com
http://chelseafeargrounds.com


-Rick
http://rickwhitlow.com

[NateTheGreat]

I believe that having an excellent website is the most important piece of marketing for a haunt. I wouldn't go cheap on this. Chad did ours from SinisterVisions. I highly recommend him. Here is our website: www.fearoverload.com

Your website is your key instrument to getting people to your haunted house. With strategic online advertising and search engine optimization, you can really increase your customer base. So make a website that makes people want to come visit you.

[Frightener]

I completely disagree. My company builds sites all the time. Sites that have basically no links, no menus, nice pictures with all the correct info such as contact info, dates and times etc. We've done simple formats for all kinds of Fairs, Arts and Craft shows, Harvest Fests etc. ALL OF THEM were the basic of the basic. Cheapest of the cheap and EVERY ONE of them reported record attendances since adding the sites and some even asked when purchasing tickets where they saw the ads.. "the website" was the biggest hit. This is MY industry. I've been in PC repair and websites for 10 years or more. By no means does that mean I'm a pro, but being in retail all my life and IT for 10+, yeah I'd say that I know how to read the numbers.

HOWEVER, I DO understand what you're saying. But to us and it doesn't fail, it's just like business cards. You DON'T HAVE to have fancy, expensive and laminated business cards. ANY CARD with your info is all you need. It's the spreading of the word, not the quality of the word. Now, we also have to think. A LOT of you fellas are TOP NOTCH pro haunts. Of course you guys NEED the high end sites, but for any of us lower / younger haunts that are just that, "haunts" not full blown attractions, all we need is our name out anyway possible. If a customer's planning on upgrading the site later, we always put the flag up on the site "Temporary Site: Under Construction" basically.

For example, this is one of our cheapest sites we have that we can do. THAT"S CHEAP and still nice. Gets to the point and no b/s. That's the main reason we built it that way, to show what you can build with a budget. The differences are WHO DOES IT and and who does it RIGHT. This site is on our "budget" list.

TBH, I think our footprints are different. You guys have the mindset of what you are. I have the mindset of the basic, young haunt. You won't see sites like that for fundraisers etc. Cost too much. Those are nice sites though btw.

http://m3computers.com/

EDIT* Yeah, GOOD GAWD, those places are ridiculous. We're on 2 different pages. I'm thinking for MUCH LOWER end haunts. Gawsh man, the longer I stay on this site, the more places I add to my bucket list! It really amazes me of how extravagant of facilities you guys have, yet still not open more than seasonal.

[Graveyard]

Quality Website Designs...

We worked with iDesigns this past season for our website. The site and service are excellent... also the content management system that comes with the site is a huge bonus. This will help get your site listed under the keywords you want to be found when people are searching for your site on search engines. Support is key.. when in a crunch you want to make sure they are there to help.

Here is their link:

http://idesignssolutions.com/

------

Our site: ChambersofFear.com

There are lot of good companies out there in the industry who can help you out, this is just who we went with.

Thanks,

Paul Boyd

[UnDeRTaKer313]

Alright so here is my take on this.

I would not recommend going "CHEAP" with your haunt. Your haunt isn't getting 750 hits like Frightener stated. Your site can get upwards of 50,000 - 100,000 visitors and over 200,000 page views in october alone.

Make your website represent your haunt. YES you can go cheap and you will be better off than nothing.

My other advice is... get your artwork done inside the industry and go outside the industry to have them build you a website. If you provide the logo and the artwork companies will build you websites of greater quality for 1/10 of the price as people inside our industry will charge.

[MovieRelics]

Hey GrayDragon,

If your needing a website built, I can help you out with that. I've built the websites for HauntersDigest.com, SouthernHaunts.com and the new Midwest Haunters Convention website at midwesthauntersconvention.com. You can visit my personal website at charlesterry.net to see samples of my other works that I've done in the past. If you would like to discuss what your needing, feel free to contact me and I'd be more than happy to help you out.

[HauntedPaws]

I have to disagree. Every haunt is a show and as others have said a good website perceives a good show. You have a short time to grab their attention.

[Jim Warfield]

I Have Always Wondered?

If a haunt web site is very, very tricky, tons of those bells and thistles.. could this possibly be too entertaining for some computer nerds to ever actually be able to shut off their computer, get in the car, and drive to actually attend the haunt, thereby making the haunt some income/profit?
(Or maybe there is a part of the computer population who will Never leave their keyboard or take a drive?)
Just wondering?
No, internal photos of the The Ravens Grin will not be found on our website. I believe people should become ticket buying customers to satisfy that curiosity.