Website Building

JDieseljoe69

JDieseljoe69

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Mar 16, 2010
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I am looking to set up a website down the line and I honestly have no idea where to begin.
Any help getting started would be appreciated!
 
I'm in the same boat as you are - I'm looking to start a website for the Non-profit group I work for. While it won't be a ton of help, I can probably give you a couple of places to start.

Basically, in order to start a website you need two things - a domain name (web address) and a web host. I'm assuming you weren't looking to host your own website (run the website from your own computer or a secondary one). Some companies will offer both web hosting and a domain name (Like Godaddy) but a google search will turn up a load of different options. Ipage seems to be a popular one for those who don't have much experience in web design. However, many of the sites offering easy to use or "drag and drop" web building tools, don't look quite as professional as some nicer web pages I have visited.

My suggestion - if your looking for a really well made website, something professional for a business or similar, I would either find someone who can help you get one started and show you how to maintain it (I might go that route :D), or look into having one designed and hosted for you (Godaddy offers that option though it's much more expensive - 50 bucks a month if I remember right). That way, you get a nice website and you won't have to worry about running into problems with server issues, downtime, etc. I have never gone that route though, so I don't know too much about the end result.

I've been looking into designing my own (to save money :thumbup:) - I'm probably going to register a domain and host it through Wordpress. I just recently found out that they offer hosting and even though it's more blogging orientated, I can still design one that looks more traditional (if that's the right word for it). There's a lot of information on how to start a website, how to learn HTML coding, uploading pre-made websites, etc. There's also many different programs and places to look into for web-design - Dreamweaver seems to be very popular as a paid program. I would look at Drupal, Joomla and Wordpress too for open-source options.

Here's a few links for a bit more info on everything...

http://www.thesitewizard.com/gettingstarted/startwebsite.shtml

http://support.hostgator.com/articles/hosting-guide/starting-a-website-for-beginners

Hope this helps and good luck!
 
Be certain that you end up owning your domain name. Some hosting services will offer to register your domain name for free, "saving you all that paperwork." (The "paperwork" takes about three minutes.) The twist is that they end up owning the domain name. If you ever decide to change hosting services, you'll either have to pay them whatever their asking price is, or get a new name and leave them free to sell your old one to someone else. Or, if they go belly-up, the ownership of your domain name could left legal limbo... for years.

So, my suggestion is to register the domain yourself with a separate registrar company. Own your cyber real estate outright. It doesn't cost that much.
 
I use on of the more popular domain registrars/hosting companies (not sure if its ok to mention name?)...but they sponsor a very popular female stock card driver ;-) I have multiple domains registered there and have a hosting account that allows me to host my own and other customers sites. I'm not into web design much now but do have a few customers that I still support. It's cheap and and their customer service us US based/excellent. The design side of things is the next challenge. Most of the registrar/hosting companies offer some type of free design template for a basic site. There are a lot of free web design programs out there also but the challenge is learning one of them and getting your pages/content uploaded onto the server space. You could even register a domain and direct it to a Google Blogspot account. I've never created a site there but I've seen some fairly nice ones. There are a lot of options out there to choose from. Another advantage of owning your own domain name is that you can have your own private email at your domain name...that way no matter what your ISP is, you'll always have the same email address as long as you keep the domain registration up to date.

John
 
My day job is at a web host. What do you want to do with your website. Just blog and post pictures, or sell things? The former is pretty simple. The latter would likely require professional help.
 
I know a few guys who use wordpress and really like it. It does have a learning curve, and you really have to dive in, but the upside is you can find someone to get it going, and you can take it from there. Do your research with your domain registrar and your host. In some cases you get what you pay for, and some are just there to take your money. be sure to read the terms of service carefully, as some are insane.

The other thing to look at is semi-professional web design people are literally a dime a dozen. For those of us in the digital generation, its as common a skillset as guys who could tune carbs a generation or two ago. So finding someone you can work with and get along with should be pretty easy. Lots of guys like to make it seem like they are the only one who can do this stuff, but the reality is very different. Plus since websites by nature are online, there is no need to have a local person take care of things if you cannot find one, freelance web designers are everywhere. Depending in your skills and budget, that might be the thing to do.
 
Thanks for all the suggestion's!
I am looking to get a site for a business, if I decide to go that route. Not sure on it yet.
How hard are they to maintain and set up?
Thanks
 
If there's a specific Doamin Name you're looking at- Buy it via GoDaddy. It's only $12 for 1 so if you decide not to pursue it it's not a big loss.
 
JDieseljoe69 said:
Thanks for all the suggestion's!
I am looking to get a site for a business, if I decide to go that route. Not sure on it yet.
How hard are they to maintain and set up?
Thanks
Click to expand...

If you are trying to set up a site for business, I assume you mean a site that sells products (not simply an informationational site about your business). If so, you should seek a professional to help you. This is a vastly more comlex project that setting up a blog or Wordpress. You need to connect to payment gateway, install website security, etc. There are off-the-shelf products, but they are all fairly complex and there's a lot to learn. I say hire a pro.
 
braillediver said:
If there's a specific Doamin Name you're looking at- Buy it via GoDaddy. It's only $12 for 1 so if you decide not to pursue it it's not a big loss.
Click to expand...

I do have a specific name I would like, I might go ahead and do that. Might be worth it.
 
calvinw said:
If you are trying to set up a site for business, I assume you mean a site that sells products (not simply an informationational site about your business). If so, you should seek a professional to help you. This is a vastly more comlex project that setting up a blog or Wordpress. You need to connect to payment gateway, install website security, etc. There are off-the-shelf products, but they are all fairly complex and there's a lot to learn. I say hire a pro.
Click to expand...

Not 100% sure how I am going to work it, I would like to put information up and possibly sell stuff on it also down the line.
You said you did this as your day job, would you mind if I contacted you?
Thanks
 
Not to get too far into a discussion of the ethics of various businesses, I wouldn't trust GoDaddy any farther than I could through them. a little while ago, they made a mistake that started costing them customers, and they pulled a couple dirty moves to make life hard on those trying to move. There are other ways to buy a domain.
 
JDieseljoe69 said:
Not 100% sure how I am going to work it, I would like to put information up and possibly sell stuff on it also down the line.
You said you did this as your day job, would you mind if I contacted you?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Yeah, you can email me. Email address is on my signature. I can't help you with coding or anything like that, but I can get you started by explaining the core concepts.
 
Just in case it helps you at all, I did the same thing you aretalking about (website for a non-profit) about a year ago. I ended up going with 1and1 for my domain names (cheaper than GoDaddy) and I used Weebly for free hosting. My son-in-law who does website design recommended them and they were extremely easy to use and have very good support. They also offer the chance to upgrade to a paying site with many more features and even more support. Although it doesn't have a shopping cart, it does have a "Donate" button that feeds into a merchant account. This was all done by someone with no prior experience.

If you want to judge the results, go to forbettereducation.org (I hope that is OK to post, if not, mods please feel free to remove.) The content will probably be re-written, and the site has not been officially "launched" but you can see what can be done very easily and with no experience.

Calvin, will I have the problem you mentioned with 1and1?
 
MVF said:
Just in case it helps you at all, I did the same thing you aretalking about (website for a non-profit) about a year ago. I ended up going with 1and1 for my domain names (cheaper than GoDaddy) and I used Weebly for free hosting. My son-in-law who does website design recommended them and they were extremely easy to use and have very good support. They also offer the chance to upgrade to a paying site with many more features and even more support. Although it doesn't have a shopping cart, it does have a "Donate" button that feeds into a merchant account. This was all done by someone with no prior experience.

If you want to judge the results, go to forbettereducation.org (I hope that is OK to post, if not, mods please feel free to remove.) The content will probably be re-written, and the site has not been officially "launched" but you can see what can be done very easily and with no experience.

Calvin, will I have the problem you mentioned with 1and1?
Click to expand...


1and1 is a very legit domain registrar.

Actually, GoDaddy is very legit too. They might have made a mistake or two in their business practice, but you're not going to lose your ownership of a domain name with them. They are by far the largest domain registrar in the world (they're about 3 times larger than the 2nd place registrar).

Domain name registration is the simplest and cheapest part of a website. $10-$15 a year. With most registrars, you can prepay for years in advance. Please avoid all the free domain name registration offers. Just pay the $10. Building a pro website might cost you a few thousand dollars, don't go cheap on the domain name registration.
 
Domain name registration is the simplest and cheapest part of a website. $10-$15 a year. With most registrars, you can prepay for years in advance. Please avoid all the free domain name registration offers. Just pay the $10. Building a pro website might cost you a few thousand dollars, don't go cheap on the domain name registration.
Click to expand...

Exactly correct and well-stated. The problem with the "free" registrations is that you don't end up owning the domain. The first year is free, but then you are at their mercy because they own "your" domain.

I have used dotEarth.com for many years. Whatever registrar you use, make sure that they are an ICANN-accredited registrar. Ultimately, you end up registered with ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (if anyone can be said to run the Internet, it is ICANN). ICANN only takes registrations from accredited registrars. The shady places, the "free" places, have to pay an accredited registrar to register the domain names they "register." You should just go directly to an accredited registrar and register your name yourself. It is a simple on-line form to fill out -- nothing technical -- and costs very little. You will be asked for an IP address. This will come from your hosting service. You can register without it just to secure your domain and fill it in later when you get your site ready and hosting secured. So, just to get your domain name, there are no "technical" questions to answer, just name and address type stuff.
 
I'm not sure about other registrars but GoDaddy posts discount codes on Facebook all the time so you can easily register a domain for just a few dollars and they also send you promo codes by email and those are applicable towards renewal as well. Simply like the registrar of your choice on Facebook.

John
 
I appreciate all the suggestions!!
I ended up getting a website from go daddy, calvinw, I will contact you with some questions soon.
Thanks again
 
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