[Closed] Making a website - Layman's terms

You need;

1/ A Host - Somewhere to store all your files - Millions to choose from

2/ A Domain name - So that you have the address www.tailslovelysite.co.uk rather than http://tails5412213124.hostingcompany.co.uk. Often hosting companies will offer you a free domain name.

3/ A Content management system - Could be fancy things like Wordpress, Joomla, etc. Or you could just write your own HTML code in a text editor.

To keep it simple and free, you could register on Wordpress for an account and set up a wordpress based site. It will host the content for you, offer you simple clear wordpress templates and give you a domain name along the lines of http://tails.wordpress.com

EDIT: Added a bit of extra info

So if I want wordpress will do all 3 for me? That sounds good

HTML is it like learning another language or does it get simpler?

Don't go with Joomla. I'm reasonably technically savvy, but Joomla is a nightmare.

HTML, again, is a pain in the neck. The basics are simple to learn, but you end up producing a site that looks like it's from 1995. To produce something that looks up to date, you've got to learn a lot more, and in my book, that's stepping so far outside most people's competencies as to be counterproductive. ie, if you're running a business, you'd be better off working on the business and paying an expert.

Ha. Just looked at your example site. That's very simple, basic HTML with a bit of Java.

I don't think it would be legal here though (for a business website), and it's not likely to google rank well - all the text is in images, so it's not accessible for disabled people, and google can't read it.

What exactly are you wanting to do?

It depends how clever you want to be, but in general for simple, clean looking sites Wordpress will do most of what you want (if you're happy with a http://tails.wordpress.com

I highly recommend this powerful and simple piece of software:
[url= http://www.xara.com/us/products/webdesigner ]http://www.xara.com/us/products/webdesigner[/url]

Try the demo.

I'll do you one cheap?

I can recommend 123reg for domain reg's, btw - used 'em for years.

wordpress is excellent.

I'd recommend 123reg too for domains and also A Small Orange for hosting (US based but the best support of any company I've used to date in 10+ years of web development)...

I CAN STRONGLY RECOMMEND NOT USING 123 they are buggy as hell use ukreg 7 years trouble free with them for domain names

Buggy how, exactly?

I use 123-reg and have used them for years, never a problem. I don't use them for hosting of a site though just simply to purchase and manage the domain name. I use Google Apps for hosting a website and or email which is free if it is a personal website and a smallish fee if commercial!

What exactly are you wanting to do?

I design buildings for a living but studied furniture design and would like to make a simple website where I can put images of my furniture work on so if I'm applying for work I can direct people to it. I need to be able to upload images myself (where not talking 100's) and I need it to have a uniform easy to navigate look. Basically an online portfolio but one where I have control of the aesthetic.

(if you're happy with a http://tails.wordpress.com

http://www.lookatmytails.com/ although you could still register that separately and point it at the Wordpress address, but that would cost).

So with a wordpress I'll have to have a .wordpress.com as opposed to a .com, any negatives to this? Does it look unprofessional? I don't want a rolling blog and i'm happy to leran a bit but don't want to spend weeks learning.

I'll do you one cheap?

How much? Any examples of your work?

Thanks for the links

Would this be easy to create http://www.asif-khan.com/

www.servage.net

More space and bandwidth than you'll ever need. You can register the domain name at the same time. Also has a website builder you can use.

I've been with them 6 years and can't fault them. Around £18 a quarter.

If you want to sign up please use this link then I get some reward for suggesting it http://www.servage.net/?coupon=cust12623

Nativespace are pretty good for costs and support, plus for something like £5.95/month you can have up to 10 sites/domains. WP-ready so you can upload any theme and away you go.

WP (out of the box) is great for starting out in blog-based sites, but the major widget/plugin-mongery can really only be done when you host it on your own domain. Then you can also check out themes etc from people like [url= http://themeforest.net/category/wordpress ]ThemeForest[/url].

A personalised address does look more professional than having a wordpress.com one. You could still set up on wordpress and then register a domain elsewhere and set up the domain to point to the wordpress site behind the scenes. In other words the user goes to http://www.tails-site.com but behind the scenes it is actually showing http://tails.wordpress.com/.

While Wordpress is commonly used as a blog, it can be used to create 'normal' sites too.

As for whether that's easy to do, it depends... It is relatively straight forward HTML and CSS, there doesn't appear to be anything more 'clever' than that going on.

I'm only advocating WP as I think it's an easy way to get set up. Arranging your own host and domain then building something from scratch could well be better for you but will need more "leg work".

As it's free, you could just play around with WP and see if it does what you want.

thanks verses I'll give that a whirl whats the worst that happens I end up with a black background and yellow pixelated text 😡

£18 a quarter seems quite dear in the free world of online the only things I pay for are flickr and ebay.

You get what you pay for 🙂

Talls, dont go down the seperate hosting route, just sign up for one of the free webpage sites. I use www.moonfruit.com which is brilliant and very simple to design a great site. Mine is at www.work-mode.co.uk

I have my domain name at 1and1.co.uk which Ive used for years with no hassle. So you build the website with moonfruit, take a note of the URL, and then direct your hosted domain name to that site page. Job done 😀

Gah... Moonfruit. Tails, I work in hosting so feel free to drop me an email and I'll see if I can help out/explain things a bit for you.

Thanks guys I will drop you a line after work atlaz. Moonfruit looks good from where I'm standing, but there lies the problem there are so many platforms.

Get a web designer 🙂 They spend their careers learning how to do this kinda stuff properly so you don't have to 😉 They help keep the web clear of DIY websites 🙂

Don't forget cross browser compatibility 😉 DIY sites usually forget about that.

No prizes for guessing what I do for a living 🙂

[url= http://www.dokimos.org/ajff/ ]Gotta love this site.....[/url]

TBH so long as amateur web designers know what looks amateur, they're in with a fair chance - just go for basic and simple. It's what Apple do, afterall 😕

simple doesn't usually equate to easy!

Do you think any old muppet designed apples look?

Trust me 🙂

Not to try and take anything away from pro web designers, for this users needs, the moonfruits of the world more than suffice. We arent talking dynamic content needed, no back end CRM or Sales system integration, just a little window on the world for an artists portfolio. Ive set up numerous friends websites for just such a purpose, and the hassle of building a site from scratch, ftp'ing it to the correct directory on the server, and then managing changes, is more than its worth. I dont think the MF templates look particularly amateur

Some of those moonfruit sites look really decent! was that site made as a joke giddyrob??? ouch!

I dont think the MF templates look particularly amateur

Each to their own, but I beg to differ.

I design buildings for a living but studied furniture design and would like to make a simple website where I can put images of my furniture work on so if I'm applying for work I can direct people to it. I need to be able to upload images myself (where not talking 100's) and I need it to have a uniform easy to navigate look. Basically an online portfolio but one where I have control of the aesthetic.

WP has evolved into much more than just a blogging tool. You can now buy (very cheap) themes to build all kinds of site - here's one that does something in line with what you want:

[url= http://themeforest.net/item/shiny-6-in-1-wordpress-cmsportfolioblog-theme/full_screen_preview/115320 ]Theme Forest - Shiny 6[/url]

Possibly a little more techie work involved than you'd like, but once you're familiar with it, it's pretty fluid. Loads more themes on the previous link I posted above.

 

So the question is... is the website for your busines or hobby?

IF it's for your business get a Web Design company to do it = you should get a much more professional, maintainable and expandable/scalable site.

If it's for a hobby then you can faff about and learn this stuff - the Free world of t'net is a flaky one.