Looking to create a basic website, anyone know any free software or the easiest way to go about it.

I know I need to look at getting a domain name and a host but its the actual site I need to develop.

Cheers.

WordPress is free, fairly easy to learn and has huge potential

What sort of site do you want to build?

Blog, company site, personal interest?

What kind of site? Easiest is something like a WordPress site – pick the style, write some text, off you go. I use WordPress for several sites. For something more complex but drag-and-drop, Netobjects Fusion is good.

As already said, it really depends on the type of site you would like to create!

weebly is fast, simple, easy, and has a free version. WordPress is simple but can be powerful, but its history as a blogging platform shows through. Try weebly first if it’s a website, wordpress if it’s a blog.

+1 for weebly.

weebly is easier and can look better than the site we paid a lot of money for.
http://www.beudybanc.weebly.co.uk

It’s a site for my wife’s business, just really to show what she does and a few links to pictures etc.

Sngletrackworld is built on WordPress, I believe.

As a simple site for your wife’s business, I’d start it’s weebly then. But note that building the site is rarely the hard part; the tough bit is getting people to know about it. Regularly adding content helps, so adding a monthl blog of news and updates will help it in search engine rankings. Keep it simple, clean and crisp, too.

Cheers everyone.

I created a website for my fiances bakery. I did try using WordPress first, but as we’d already paid for hosting and a domain name, by the time I’d figured out how to upload the WordPress site I had learnt enough basic HTML to write a really simple site.

It’s done ok for us anyway, we’re getting about 100 hits a day
http://www.hartsbakery.co.uk

If you’re ever in bristol come check us out. We are bike friendly!

I do have plans for something a bit more fancy later this year, so might persevere with WordPress or check out weebly as it looks pretty cool. Manually writing the HTML is not that hard if you keep it simple, just a bit limiting for a newbie like me.

For me I find the hard bit is actually the design, layout, content etc. And then keeping it up to date! Actually building it I know I can do eventually.

I would highly recommend using Google Analytics. It is easy to set up and is really powerful. Tells you how many visitors, how they found you, time spent, clicks, where they are, what browser etc…
Also mailchimp if you’re doing newsletters will give you similar stats and figures

I’ve found weebly really easy and the free version is plenty for most sites. Very quick to update. Only problem I had was large bits of custom html. Quite easy to customise the built in themes too if you learn a little bit of CSS.
http://www.southernxc.net

I had a web designer build my first site and after constantly telling him it was no where on google had a new site built by another guy on wordpress.

Im now, after only 3 weeks, on the front page i have a blog that i update regularly which i beleive helps.

It was so good my wife has had one built to.

So yes i like wordpress.

If you’re after a site you can regularly update then a blog may well be the way to go. As said WordPress sites can look very professional with a bit of time and thought into the design and layout.

If you’re just after something to show case your things/work/hobby then a standard site may be a better way to go.

I had a web designer build my first site and after constantly telling him it was no where on google had a new site built by another guy on wordpress.

Im now, after only 3 weeks, on the front page i have a blog that i update regularly which i beleive helps.

So yes i like wordpress.To be fair though that’s got nothing to do with wordpress.

I’ve had sites take months to appear in Google results then rank in the top 3. It’s all to-do with Google’s processes, any decent SEO company will tell you it could be up to 6 months for a new site to appear. 3 weeks is just getting lucky with Google’s update schedule.

And with regards to blogs on the front page…
Done right this can help, Google likes fresh content. Done wrong it’s only going to damage your overall ranking.

Depending on your market fresh content is not always necessary or appropriate. Of the 5 sites I manage only one has a blog yet they all rank well (min top 5) for targeted keywords.

I was bought a domain and hosting for Christmas to showcase my furniture etc…
Literally just started looking into it but it’s based around Joomla.
I am waiting for the book on it as I am completely lost on how to start it at the moment..

Ning ?

phil.w knows job.

I’m a big Joomla fan as it has so many potential extensions to increase functionality…

If you pay for hosting and webspace, you’ll probably find the host has a function to install a wordpress/joomla/other content management system from within their website. It’ll save you a bit of effort if you don’t know about FTP/SQL etc.

WordPress can be quite daunting, just because there are so many templates and plugins out there. Also, trying to find out which bit of code controls what can be an utter ‘mare.

I recently built a basic WordPress site based around the Eclipse template. It was by far and away the easiest and best-looking one I’ve tried. http://bristoltrailsgroup.com/

We used to be on a Joomla-based site but there were security issues with the platform and it was hacked. I don’t know if this has been addressed in the meantime but it put me off using it again.

If you’re ever in bristol come check us out. We are bike friendly!

Fully intend to, Pete! *dribbles at the thought of Eccles cakes*

If it’s for a business and you want it to look professional then use a professional. From the sounds of things you don’t want anything very complicated so if you look around I reckon you could get it pretty cheap.

If it’s for a business and you want it to look professional then use a professional. From the sounds of things you don’t want anything very complicated so if you look around I reckon you could get it pretty cheap.

This ^^

Find someone who knows their salt about creating sites. Not a ‘designer’ – most of them know very basic html/css and sod all about SEO. Find a developer, and then either purchase a cheap theme he/her can adapt to your needs or go spendy and hire a graphic designer to work you up something bespoke.

Theme Forest has a good selection of ‘Off the peg’ themes which a good developer could easily adapt to your needs/brand.

WordPress is a popular platform, but it’s not black magic, it’s just a platform (or CMS) like Joomla, Drupal etc. So be guided by what a developer feels would suit what you need. If you’re looking at a simple one or two page build then WordPress would be overkill. However, if you plan on adding a blog, contact form etc then WordPress (or any of the other platforms) are more than capable.

I’ve built several sites on WordPress and prefer it to Joomla and Drupal, my most recent being http://andyward.co.uk/.

We used to be on a Joomla-based site but there were security issues with the platform and it was hacked. I don’t know if this has been addressed in the meantime but it put me off using it again.

Wordpress is also often hacked, mostly through user error (which is easy to make).

Professional sites take professional people to design -some pros are great, some are awful, some know about SEO, some know about design, some about usability, some about maintainability – some about none of these. If you’re going to get a pro, ask around, look at what they’ve done, get client references, see if they meet your needs. I make one part of my living doing bits of this (mostly advising big companies) and there are many small outfits who are excellent. But you can often do just as good a job yourself if you have some time, some advice, and ongoing motivation…..

In the case of the Joomla site above, the guy who designed it knew what he was doing, it was just an unaddressed vulnerability with one of the plugins.

I’d say getting a pro to design your website will almost certainly result in something better looking than a home-brew job. There could be potential issues if it’s something that needs updating frequently in ways that fall outside the content management system (CMS). Trying to change something like contact info in a footer can be hideous if you don’t know your way around the site, necessitating a return to the original designer.

Another issue that’s barely been touched on (except via talk of Google) is how to ensure that once you’ve built your amazing website, how you get people to look at the damn thing, given that many people these days are glued to one or two social media sites.

Wordfence has been recommended to me as a WordPress security plugin and no hacks to date on the 5 sites we have it on. Doesn’t seem to slow things down too much either.

Also important to keep your WordPress install, theme and plug-ins updated.

Don’t forget your Google+ business listings, they’re starting to appear more often in SERPs now and Google will often put up a Google+ profile for businesses that used to have a Google local listing so you may as well take ownership of it.

My site is on wordpress . http://Www.allmountainventure.com

+1 for Weebly. It’s great to be able to edit the site from anywhere too as its all online.

I run a site created in it …. Very easy.

Scooter Racing Uk

Mr Agreeable – Member
Another issue that’s barely been touched on (except via talk of Google) is how to ensure that once you’ve built your amazing website, how you get people to look at the damn thing, given that many people these days are glued to one or two social media sites.

Exactly! and this is why the last thing you need is a website. I say ‘last thing’, because just having a website isn’t enough. The website needs to be part of a whole ‘presence’ strategy, and will be the last thing to go in place.