OT- Create a website Software?

[BluesKeys]

I was looking at 80's web questions and realized we have a bunch of IT guys here, of which I am NOT one.

 

NEED

I need to create a website for my NEW band, pronto. I was wondering if there is an EASY software package or download that will help me do this on the CHEAP? If so where do I go for a host, so that I can put up cover songs as well as original material.

 

I just created a websit on Yahoo for my massage business. Granted it is from a list but I was happy with it and would use it for the band if I thought Yahoo would let me put cover songs on it.

Any suggestions?

[J. Dan]

Well, it kind of depends both on your skill level and what kind of functionality you ultimately want. I'll kind of classify your options:

 

1) Template Sites: Sites that handle hosting and don't really give you full control of the programming, they give you sort of a template with a back end you log into to enter your content. You have a few choices of overall looks you can use. Some are more customizable than others.

 

2) Templates for your own site: These are things like Joomla (which is open source and free and runs on php). It's free and you can get a site up and going fairly quickly, but honestly I've found this method to be more of a pain than it's worth, I'd rather roll my own from scratch, but maybe that's because I know what I'm doing. You still have to buy hosting somewhere

 

3) Use your own authoring software: For this, there are packages out there ranging from basic WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) HTML editors, to more dynamic packages like Adobe Dreamweaver, on up to very complex development packages like Microsoft Visual Studio .NET. The latter of these would be over your head, and even with the simpler ones, you'd benefit from learning basic HTML (which is very easy by the way - if you can use the ubb script on these pages, you can do html). So it comes down really to determining your comfort level and going from there.

 

As far as hosting, if you choose to roll your own with a software package and want a hosting service that pretty much allows you to put whatever you want on it, there are a ton out there. The only consideration would be if you decide to eventually do anything more complex than basic HTML - like server side scripts or a database, then you have to pick hosting that runs the right kind of script. For most of that stuff, I'm guessing you wouldn't be able to program it yourself, but there are lots of free code samples on the web you can use for basic stuff like letting somebody post a comment and have it emailed to you. Most of this will be php, which will run on a Unix server. If you choose a Windows server, you'll be likely runing visual basic for your server script. Hosting services allow you to have your own domain name, a certain amount of space and bandwidth on a shared server, and a bunch of email accounts.

 

Following are the ones I've used:

 

edatarack.com - php/mySQL, cheap, customer service isn't the greatest, but lots of bang for the buck. My band site is on this.

 

hostmysite.com - Windows Server, more expensive, used for my old band web site, my personal site, and did a side project for some clients running SQL server and doing e-commerce. Excellent customer service.

 

You're talking about $3/month vs $12/month - so unless you need a windows server to run ASP, the Unix/php/mySQL route is a lot cheaper.

 

Others can probably give you advice on sites that offer online site builders as well as lower level HTML editors.

 

I find THIS site to be an excellent resource for learning anything I need to know. Start with basic HTML and Style Sheets (CSS) and you'll be on your way. If you know those, then using a basic editor will be pretty easy to put a site together.

[BluesKeys]

Thanks Dan... I just took the test and made a 30 on it. I would say I am illiterate at HTML. But I will study this site and see how much I learn. Thanks....

[Stormfront]

Like many things in life there are three choices (at least for this illustration).

 

Cheap, good looking and easy to update. Pick two!

 

Seriously, I have recently built a couple of websites based on Wordpress. Makes them very easy to update and all the software is free. Just another place to look. If you find a template that will work for you give that a shot.

 

Pete

 

[J. Dan]

Thanks Dan... I just took the test and made a 30 on it. I would say I am illiterate at HTML. But I will study this site and see how much I learn. Thanks....

 

I never tried the test - just tried it and got 95%, not sure which one I missed. Knowing it off the top of your head isn't as important as knowing how to use it and where to find it. I use that site as a reference - to look up how to do something.

 

I always did Microsoft based sites before - ASP with Visual Basic, Access, SQL Server, or XML databases, etc. I had no experience whatsoever with php. When I took over the band, the hosting service they had supported php. I used the link above to look up the syntax for the code and wrote all the serverside stuff to dynamically generate the content on the existing site, as well as add a mobile site. It's a pretty good resource.

[NoLights]

I've had to do a couple of quickie websites lately -- and used templates. I really like these: http://allwebcodesign.com/ They have step-by-step instructions, but you can also add to them and embellish them as you gain skills.

[Joe Muscara]

Jim, you're not on a Mac, are you? I know some great web site creation programs, but they're all Mac-only.

[kanker.]

I used Joomla, pretty simple. I know enough HTML to be dangerous, so I take templates and modify them. I'm not much of a design/layout person, so that helps me a lot.

 

 

[Aidan]

Unless the client specifies otherwise, I now use Wordpress for all the sites I create, including my own. It helps to know a bit of HTML and php to customise these to the max, but there are enough templates out there for you to start with something close to what you want and take it from there. There are also countless plugins for Wordpress which can sav you from reinventing the wheel.

[MonksDream]

Easy and cheap suggest WordPress or Joomla to me. If you're on a Mac you can do worse than iWeb. For a really cheap way to go you can get a free Blogspot or Wordpress.com account. They both use templates however I'm not sure how tweakable they are. If you need a cheap host there are GoDaddy's cheaper packages which come with some web hosting.

[Big Tick]

I recommend Wordpress as well.

[Joe Muscara]

I don't recommend GoDaddy. They have lots of cheap stuff, and it seems to generally work, but I've found they always try to sell you stuff and their control panel couldn't be more complicated. They're constantly tweaking it too, which means the next time you try to do something, they may have moved it.

 

I've not used Wordpress, but what I've seen of it seems pretty good. I've also heard good things about Joomla.

[Steve Nathan]

Fatcow.com for hosting.

Easy, cheap, good support

 

I'm surprised at some of the websites done with Iweb and little to no programming knowledge.

 

My favorite restaurant's site was done by one of the employees who has no programing skills whatsoever, using only Iweb and a few tricks he learned after googling "Iweb hints" It's not fancy, but it gets the job done.

 

cafenonna.com

 

 

I've just started goofing with the program to see if I can get a site up for my wife's paintings. So far, it's been fun and since she wants a very uncomplicated site, it's pretty easy.

 

[Bridog6996]

+1 on Joomla or Wordpress, even if you know a thing or two. I've found it saves a lot of time to find a template that's close to what you have in mind and tweak it from there rather than starting from scratch. Both are pretty flexible, and the plugins/add-ons are extremely convenient.

 

For hosting, don't go anywhere near Globat. Absolutely horrendous performance and customer service. I used them once because they had a stupidly cheap promotion going on, and even considering how little it cost, it wasn't worth it. I have a site on Dreamhost right now, and I've been very happy with it so far.

[wineandkeyz]

Jimmy, you should check out Bandzoogle (http://bandzoogle.com/). A friend of mine built his band's website there, and he knew absolutely nothing about web design.

[Threadslayer]

+1 on Joomla or Wordpress, even if you know a thing or two. I've found it saves a lot of time to find a template that's close to what you have in mind and tweak it from there rather than starting from scratch. Both are pretty flexible, and the plugins/add-ons are extremely convenient.

 

For hosting, don't go anywhere near Globat. Absolutely horrendous performance and customer service. I used them once because they had a stupidly cheap promotion going on, and even considering how little it cost, it wasn't worth it. I have a site on Dreamhost right now, and I've been very happy with it so far.

 

Listen to what the man says about Globat - I had the same experience.

[MidLifeCrisis]

I have a site on Dreamhost right now, and I've been very happy with it so far.

 

+1 for Dreamhost. Have been using them for about 5 years and love them. Great performance and customer service.

 

Don't ever think about GoDaddy. Has a site hosted there and it literally was hacked by Chinese when they penetrated their servers. They did absolutely nothing about it and refused to acknowledge any liability in what transpired. They said I needed a court order to discuss it with them

[BluesKeys]

wineandkeys, Bandzoogle looks easy enough to set up. I wonder how their support is. And I guess you never own the site.

 

I talked to a friend who knows html that might help me with setting up a site. I need to send her a link to Wordpress so she can have a look.

 

I also talked to a web designer from the left coast who set up my old bands website and he offers a site for $200 plus hosting for a year @ $25 a month with full support (his or partner only 2 person op) and after a year I own the webpage. A little more than some but less than others I have talked to.

 

Can I really do this myself with a little html assistance?

[wineandkeyz]

Jimmy, my friend's website is www.thepapagrooveband.com. They built it using bandzoogle. I'll shoot him an email and see what he thinks of their support. If I hear back from him, I'll forward it to your email address.

Don M

[J. Dan]

$200 is dirt cheap, but $25/month is expensive. Of course by the end of the year, you've paid about what most people would charge for a web site.

 

Looking at your old site, that stuff is all really easy. I could throw something like that together in a day, and I suspect with a little noodling, you could put something together yourself that's decent.

 

A lot of times, the time killer is in all the image editing and stuff like that, which isn't really specific to doing a web site - but that all depends on how fancy you want to get with the menu buttons and other stuff.

 

Also, if you don't do much or any code for image rollovers (when the buttons change their look when you mouse-over), then everything should be pretty straightforward and go pretty quick.

[BluesKeys]

Jimmy, my friend's website is www.thepapagrooveband.com. They built it using bandzoogle. I'll shoot him an email and see what he thinks of their support. If I hear back from him, I'll forward it to your email address.

Don M

 

Don, I didn't recognize you my friend... glad to have you on the forum. Great community here. Thanks for the effort of checking with your friend. I just changed one of my email addresses. So look at your in box to see if you got the update.

[Meisenhower]

Jim, you're not on a Mac, are you? I know some great web site creation programs, but they're all Mac-only.

 

Joe:

 

What Mac programs would you suggest? I need to start thinking about a new site and need something plug and play.

 

Thanks.

 

Ray

[wineandkeyz]

Hey Jimmy, yeah I've been incognito here for a while.

I got your new email address at home, so if I hear back from Ken I'll forward it along.

[Eric Jx]

$200 is dirt cheap, but $25/month is expensive. Of course by the end of the year, you've paid about what most people would charge for a web site.

 

I'm in the line of work where I find myself referring a lot of clients to web designers.

 

 

I find there are 2 categories of web designers:

 

* Those who will not even consider doing any site for less than $2000

* Those who will be out of business soon.

 

You can't make a living designing sites for $200.

It can't be done.

 

[J. Dan]

$200 is dirt cheap, but $25/month is expensive. Of course by the end of the year, you've paid about what most people would charge for a web site.

 

I'm in the line of work where I find myself referring a lot of clients to web designers.

 

 

I find there are 2 categories of web designers:

 

* Those who will not even consider doing any site for less than $2000

* Those who will be out of business soon.

 

You can't make a living designing sites for $200.

It can't be done.

 

Actually, now that I read my comment back regarding by the end of the year - I'm off a decimal place from what I was thinking. I was figuring $3000, but that's only $300, plus the $200 is $500 at the end of the year - still dirt cheap.

 

Last one I did about 5 years ago was for $10,000.00, but it included database work and credit card transactions, and I way under-charged for that. Consulting companies who have people who do this sort of work bill them out at anywhere from $60 to $200 per hour depending on their skill level and what's involved.

 

But again, it really depends on what you're after as far as complexity, etc. The good thing about doing it yourself is that you know how to make changes when you need to.

[Joe Muscara]

What Mac programs would you suggest? I need to start thinking about a new site and need something plug and play.

First of all, there's iWeb. From there, try Freeway from http://www.softpress.com. There are 30 day full working trials, so you could actually build the site and never pay for the software. (If you do buy from them, tell them I sent you. They're good friends of mine and I've done a lot of work with them over the years.)

 

I've also heard good things about RapidWeaver and Coda, but I haven't used them myself.

[BluesKeys]

I was looking on the Wordpress site at hosting sites. Is anyone using www.bluehost.com ? It is the first one on the Wordpress site and is a little cheaper than Dreamhost. I am all about saving some money but not at the likely hood of problems.

[wmp]

I've been using bluehost for a few years. No gripes.

[BluesKeys]

You guys who have used Wordpress, you say there are templets? Well I am guessing they have several different pages to add to your site, like Home, Bio, Schedule, songlist etc? Or do I have to take the page layout and use the html language to create these pages?

[Bridog6996]

You create pages using the same template. Check out the first link in my sig (brainbheats.com), which was made with Wordpress. All the different pages are embedded within the same template. It's all pretty self-explanatory once you get in there and start working with it.