How do you start a web site?

Discussion in 'Technical' started by Minuteman, Oct 11, 2006.


  1. Minuteman

    Minuteman Chaplain Moderator Founding Member

    I know we have a lot of technical and computer saavy folks on here.

    I'm not one of them. I am wanting to start a web site and was wondering how to go about it, what places to avoid, how much does it cost, etc., etc.

    I have seen the ads on Yahoo and one for GoDaddy.com. Are these a good place to start?

    What I'm wanting is a site where I can post articles and information and have people post questions. Sort of like here, but not a discussion board. I will be the only one to post replies.

    And what about design and banners etc.

    Any help or advice appreciated. MM
     
  2. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    Sorry mm. I meant to get this to you in an email...

    I have used godaddy for Domain name registrations in the past. About $9 gets you a year. If you want it registered 'privately', you pay another $10ish. THis keeps your name, address and phone numbers of the public domain lookup services.

    Then you need to find a place to host it. For what you are talking about, GoDaddy hosting or another inexpensive service would do the trick. Search on web hosting and you'll find thousands of companies that can take care of you. I bet you can find a basic package for under $10 a month. Most of those places have some EZ, website design programs as well.

    I'm sure we can collectively help you as you proceed with the content.

    Buy your domain and find a host. We can help talk you through the rest here.
     
  3. Valkman

    Valkman Knifemaker Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I did everything through Godaddy because thay had a "Web Building For Idiots" feature. It's been ok but I've had massive problems being able to log in and Godaddy people were pretty much no help. OTOH the web site has been up 100% of the time.
     
  4. Minuteman

    Minuteman Chaplain Moderator Founding Member

    Thanks guys. I'll be getting it going pretty soon so I might be asking for help along the way. I wanted to get a good site and not one that would be down all the time. I got a couple of good leads PM'D to me too. I'll let you all know how it goes.
     
  5. Tracy

    Tracy Insatiably Curious Moderator Founding Member

    You might check with your internet provider service as well. My local provider has web space available as a service without additional charge and it has plenty of space.
     
  6. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    That is an idea as well.
    But, usually a free space gives you very little control over the actual site workings. you can upload some pictures and write some text but thats about it. But then again, that may be all you need. Also, you may have to deal with a site name like.

    http://comcast.com/personalpages/potitics/minuteman

    I've been wanting to create a site using Joomla. It's free and Cousin Jack's site is done with it. http://www.joomla.org/

    CJs site:
    http://goldsworthyknives.com/
     
  7. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    As I mentioned to Minuteman, I have a couple favorite servers. I've put many clients on Lunarpages (http://www.lunarpages.com) and several clients on Netfirms (http://www.netfirms.com)

    Both servers have excellent performance records and the rates are very affordable. I have another client on an Earthlink Server but that's an extremely busy site and very large site (hundreds of pages). Earthlink's pricey but they have the best stat reporting utility of any of the servers I use but that's only important from a marketing perspective.

    When I started designing websites, I hardcoded everything but now, I have several programs, each one with different strengths, and I combine those with any required hard code. The only one I NEVER use is Frontpage but that's because I have a strong bias against MS

    Since Minuteman's site appears to be primarily text based without a lot of glitz, the most simple html composer would probably be Netscape or Mozilla (both free).

    Just a few thoughts.
     
  8. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    Here is a really good one as well RH.
    http://www.nvu.com/

    Light, simple and open source

     
  9. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    I have one recent client on nvu and so far, I've been very happy there as well. I don't have enough experience with them yet to get a real feel for their reliability. Thanks for the endorsement melbo. That gives me a little more confidence to bring them to other clients.
     
  10. Minuteman

    Minuteman Chaplain Moderator Founding Member

    Geez, am I the only one on here who doesn't have thier own Website?

    I only bought my first computer last year. I just switched to DVD this year. I am slowly but surely moving into the 21st century!

    I have been looking at all the links and I think that my first impression is to go with the Netfirms.com that RH recommended.

    The NVU looks interesting but why do they solicit donations? Could it be a here today gone tomorrow site?
     
  11. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    Jump in feet first MM there is enough help here for ya!
     
  12. melbo

    melbo Hunter Gatherer Administrator Founding Member

    NVU is Open Source. Open Source means that it is free and cannot be sold ever. Free as free can get. Donations for thier work are accepted to keep it going however. I think RightHand misunderstood my link. NVU is a Web Site authoring program or editor rather than a Web Host.

    I tossed it up as an alternative to Frontpage.
     
  13. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Sorry if I didn't express myself well - too many hours cramed into 1 week. A recent client wanted me to get their basic design and startup done and then teach them to be able to maintain it thereafter with small changes. nvu seems to be working so far without and major client calls of disaster. I haven't used it enough to say how much I like it - I'm a creature of old habits but it was easy enough for the client to pick up the basics after just a few meetings. Time will tell.
     
  14. ricdoug

    ricdoug Monkey+++

    Building a website...

    Try http://www.geocities.com and http://www.freewebs.com . these are FREE programs and you can practice with them. Ric


     
  15. ghrit

    ghrit Bad company Administrator Founding Member

    Uh, no. But it looks like pretty soon I'll be the loner.:(
     
  16. RightHand

    RightHand Been There, Done That RIP 4/15/21 Moderator Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    You're not the only one ghrit. I don't have one of my own either. Some of my clients are kind enough to allow me space on their servers but I don't have my own domain. (I could make a crude joke about being the master of other peoples domains but I won't - LOL)
     
  17. Minuteman

    Minuteman Chaplain Moderator Founding Member

    Ok.I took the plunge. Pretty painless too! I read through all the links and recommendations. I went with GoDaddy. I thought some of the others seemed more proffesional, but GD seemed to be more "idiot proof". Most of my computer problems turn out to be ID 10 T problems.

    It was pretty easy to understand. I'm sure that they lure you in and then try to sell you more once your there. But I wanted a good package anyway and wasn't worried about the price to much.

    I got the domain name that I wanted, and got it registered. Then I paid extra for the websitetonight site creation. I got a 10 page package and creating the pages and the layout and design were easy.

    I completed the basic layout and published it. It says that it will take 24 to 48 hours for it to be available.

    Now I have to start creating some content and find some nice graphics and dress the place up a little.
    I will invite all my monkey friends to the open house when it's ready.
     
  18. Valkman

    Valkman Knifemaker Moderator Emeritus Founding Member

    Good for you! I got the small package and have always been kinda cramped - 10 page would've been better. It is easy to use!
     
  19. Quigley_Sharps

    Quigley_Sharps The Badministrator Administrator Founding Member

    COOL Congrats I kew you could do it!
     
  20. Minuteman

    Minuteman Chaplain Moderator Founding Member

    Been working on the site lately. Got it up and on the net. But, like a new house, it is pretty bare. I added alot of content the last couple of days. I have a lot more to do. It is more of an information site than anything else. I'm not selling anything. Lots of writing involved.
    Should get a lot done on it in the next few weeks. I'll be sending out a few invitations to the grand opening. I'll keep you updated. thanks again for the help. MM
     
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