building website

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village idiot

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hi there people,
i want to build my own website. it will be for my business, nice clear but reasonably simple. but i will probably add features later.
i would like your suggestions on software and where to get it, hosting and anything else you think is important. any and all suggestions welcome

regards,

duffsaw
 
You need:

a domain name (godaddy.com or the likes)
hosting e.g. hostgator.com or its equals
If a blog ... WordPress will do the job ... it will also work for a static (non-blog) type site.

WordPress is a content management system ... it's free but there are many more CMS out there.

Rough prices (in dollars):

domain: $10 a year for a dot com
Hosting: approx $100 a year
CMS: Free
Static site templates: lots of free ones out there

What do you want the site to do?
 
thanks for the replies,
i need the site to have about ten pages for now, maybe a contact enquiry page, some photos etc, basically a good brochure site.

regards,

duffsaw
 
A simple static site sounds like what you need.

Check out:http://www.oswd.org/

It has lots of free site templates. It will give you an idea of the stuff that's freely available for making sites.
 
Most hosting providers offer a sitebuilder of some kind, which won't replace a professionally designed site, but could be a good starting point
 
Dear Duffsaw,

You can get a free website built by [broken link removed] up to December 31st if you take up the annual hosting plan for about €200.

Should help you get started.
 
hello peoples,
sorry to bring this subject back to you but i've been doing a bit of research. its seems to me, the best thing is, for me to have my own design software? the big two i THINK, is dreamweaver and microsoft's expression. which is best for someone who is able to pick things up quickly, but i'm no code writer! whats your opinion people. i think this is the best way, do you?
regards,
duffsaw
 
I like Dreamweaver. I tried Microsoft FrontPage (pre Expression) but found that it inserted a lot of unnecessary code.

You should also learn some basic html coding to get an understanding of basic page structure.

This site will get you well on your way: http://www.htmlgoodies.com/
 
duffsaw said:
hello peoples,
sorry to bring this subject back to you but i've been doing a bit of research. its seems to me, the best thing is, for me to have my own design software? the big two i THINK, is dreamweaver and microsoft's expression. which is best for someone who is able to pick things up quickly, but i'm no code writer! whats your opinion people. i think this is the best way, do you?
regards,
duffsaw
Click to expand...
Dreamweaver is pricey but, if you ignore Adobe's add-ins, it will allow you build a very standards-compliant site that will work with the widest range of browsers. It has good link-checking and standards validation built-in.

You're likely to find yourself paying for a lot of features you don't need.

I don't know if it's changed, but Microsoft's web-page editor software used be notorious for being heavily biased towards Internet Explorer.

As a reference, industry rate for a professional web page designer is €500/day. Kids will do it cheaper, but at your own risk.
 
have a look at www.homestead.com; includes site builder software, good support. Easy to use for beginner, domain name, email etc., included.

have no connection but have used them for a number of years for a community group - no complaints.
 
thanks for replies. i went to the adobe website and seen the price of dreamweaver, $399, but when i went to buy it asked for my country and the price went up to €545. what gives?
where should i buy? thanks again.
 
i've just seen an edition of microsoft's expression on amazon.co.uk for £120, is this good? i am finding it hard to justify the price of dreamweaver?
 
duffsaw said:
i've just seen an edition of microsoft's expression on amazon.co.uk for £120, is this good? i am finding it hard to justify the price of dreamweaver?
Click to expand...


You can download a 30 day trial of Dreamweaver and I'm presuming that you can do the same with Microsoft Expression.

I think you should try some of the free editors before making a committed purchase.

Google free html editors.

One such free editor is NVU which is worth trying before you buy anything:

http://nvu.com/
 
duffsaw said:
thanks for replies. i went to the adobe website and seen the price of dreamweaver, $399, but when i went to buy it asked for my country and the price went up to €545. what gives?
where should i buy? thanks again.
Click to expand...
It's been an issue for some time that Adobe charges more to European customers because of 'higher support costs'.

For simple, standards-based HTML with no dynamic (programmed) content or database access, DreamWeaver is over-kill.
 
€200 is pricey for webhosting. I have mine hosted by a US company, get all of the features of the celticprohosting, but cost is less than €50/year. Only drawback is no direct support for .ie domains, but then at €70+vat/year who would want one. For your €50 your .com is included!

There are also many [broken link removed] KompoZer gets a good write up by Cnet, and a good rating from reviewers. If you're just starting out on the web design why spend any money, especially as its going to be an expense on your business.

The open source templates look good, will be considering them myself.
 
Yes admittedly but when I signed up they built the basis my website and trained my assistant to operate it. So I didn't find it expensive at all, and also they have no 'extras' everyone else seems to charge extra for lots of email accounts or space or something or other.
 
Best idea for you duffsaw is to try and find a friend, family member, teenager connected with them etc. who makes website as a hobby. Somebody like that will build or help you build your site.
 
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