Website building help

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   David 470posted 13 years ago

   I would like to build a website,however, my knowledge is very limited. I enjoy writing here on hubpages, but would like to make a website in a specific niche within a niche. Mostly information text/pictures/maybe videos, and would like to have a forum and stuff for visitors.
   
   Whats the first step when building a website? Do i need a domain first?
   
   I heard that website palace was a good place for hosting. Then I heard about website tonight for building a website.
   
   I would really like to work on a website to expand opportunities.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Yes you need a domain first, then you need to sign up with a company that will host the site on their servers.
      
      A lot of Hubbers have their website hosted at Hostgator.  I've heard complaints about speed but I've found them very helpful, which is important for a newbie!
      
      They have a free website builder, but you could also download Wordpress - it's a fairly easy to use software and very powerful both for blogs and websites.

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         David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         What about Godaddy.com? You can get a domain name and a website builder called website tonight in one deal....
         
         The thing is, I am not entirely sure if I would get economy deal, deluxe, or the premium. If i got premium, it would only be one month though to see how things go.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Google Godaddy, you'll find a lot of negative results.  It's good for buying cheap domain names, but awful for hosting.

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               David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

               One review for godaddy says
               
               Reliability: C+
               Server Speed: D-
               Customer Service: C-
               Cost: B-

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               chenqiang123posted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Deleted
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                  David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Deleted
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                     Bill Manningposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Spam, I reported it.

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                        David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        holy crap, that person is posting a lot of spam everywhere......

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      archbishop1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      It sounds to me like you would like for focus more on content versus web building. I would go with Word Press that is hosted with a provider that uses cPanel such as JustHost. One click installation with Fantastico. You will still need to learn a bunch of development type knowledge; however, it will not require the tons of coding skill to develop a fully fledged site. Word Press will do all the heavy lifting for you such as handling accounts and cross browser issues. With that said...
      You can turn WordPress into any type of site you like. It is not just a blog. It can be used with static pages and dynamic content. You can put up message boards and everything. WP automatically creates the database when it is installed with Fantastico and then it is easily backed up and managed with numerous plugins that will likely do the rest.
      Another benefit is that there are tutorials readily available on how to do the specific tasks that you will need to do, and they will be relevant to your package as well.
      Hope that helps. The other method will require books on multiple languages and lots of time before you can put up a competitive framework with top-notch functionality.

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         David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

         So wordpress is defined as a blog, but acts as a website? Maybe I'll check into it. I basically want to have an archive of information, with pictures, and perhaps some video. Then a forum so visitors will have things to discuss and such.
         
         Also maybe a weekly voting thing? A poll.....I would like it to be information, but have things that visitors can do to interact and such.
         
         I am assuming wordpress allows google adsense?

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            Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Wordpress is a Content Management System (CMS).  It "allows" anything. There are thousands of free and paid add ons for Wordpress.
            
            You can easily test it at Wordpress.com.  You would want to move to your own site eventually, but starting there is easy and only limits you slightly.

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               David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Yeah, I actually just read a hub that mentioned CMS. Essentially, a site builder yes? (or in this case a blog sort of)
               
               I did not realize you could move it your own site though.
               
               So
               
               1) I need a domain name
               2) A good host
               3. CMS

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                  Pcunixposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  Ayup. Add content and stir.

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            Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Wordpress.com is a free blogging platform, similar to Blogger.com.  It doesn't allow Adsense.
            
            What we're all talking about is Wordpress software, which you load on your own website.  Because it's your own site, you can have any kind of monetization you like - you have total control.
            
            Wordpress software was originally designed for blogs but it can easily be used for a website because you can create static pages easily.  Even better, you can use it for a website with an associated blog.

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   frogdroppingposted 13 years ago

   The very first step should involve research - the niche, the market, estimating the likelihood of success v failure. And use what you have - which of your hubs are better, perform better? A good place to start your research.
   
   Then you can think about homing in on a domain. Considering the hosting package, who with etc. Lots to think on but get the basics in place first.
   
   There are lots of hubbers that have written all about websites, how to go about it etc. Go do a quick search, figure out the wheat from the chaff (not hard to do) and study

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      David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Well, some of my gaming niches are doing very well. I think in this method:
      
      General, major detail, specific detail.
      
      I want to create a website more specific than just games in general. I also want to eventually make a fitness website or something, but thats far down the line for that.

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3. 92

   Urbane Chaosposted 13 years ago

   ....what frogdropping said.
   
   A couple other thoughts - instead of a website, many people are creating their own blogs.  I've found that that takes less time, and there's not a lot of pesky code involved.  Many things you can do with a website you can also do with a blog. 
   
   Besides blogs, there are other options as well.  One that I don't think gets enough attention is using Wiki's.  Wikispaces is a great site for that.  Most wiki's can be made to look like websites and include all of the features that a site would have.  An added benefit is that they are also interactive - if you want them to be.
   
   Good luck with it!

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      David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Personally, I am not a big fan of blogs because there usually for personal stuff. I may make a blog for something though...

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      David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      wikispace can not use adsense

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   Pcunixposted 13 years ago

   If you are expecting to make money, you don't want cheap.
   
   Cheap means shared. Shared isn't necessarily bad, but if they are loading up the server with hundreds of sites, your site will suffer.
   
   Ask how many sites will be at your server.

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5. 71

   Bill Manningposted 13 years ago

   Just my two cents. I now run around 2 dozen websites and blogs, plus many that are both. Every single one of them is a wordpress site.
   
   So yes, you can make a regular website, blog or a combo of them with wordpress. However it all takes time and learning.
   
   I also use paid hosting on shared virtual servers. However I made sure they don't overload it with sites.
   
   Last I always use my own paid domain name. So, I own every single thing and can do whatever I want.

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   Lifeallstar1posted 13 years ago

   I would look into godaddy.com. The customer service is excellent. They are overly helpful. Only reason why it might have gotten those reviews for customer service is if people expect things to be done for them. They will do whatever you want but they have to have the content and they also need to be told exactly what to do just like any site. Website tonight is cool for most things that you'll need but if you want something more than what it offers you have to have them design it. They do an awesome job and are around to help 24/7. I really like them and you'll learn a lot from really nice down to earth knowledgeable people. I would at least look into it especially if you want some guidance.

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      Lifeallstar1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      BTW, you can call them at any time and tell them exactly what you want to do and they will tell you how to go about it. They do not push things you do not need on you either. At a minimum call them and get some advice. You can also take it elsewhere. It's worth a call. They will be helpful, I'm positive about that. You'll be happy you called.

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         Bill Manningposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         No offense but no webmasters who really know what they are doing uses godaddy. They overload their servers causing slowdowns and page not found errors.
         
         They also try to push lots of extras on you. Plus they don't help you with tech stuff that any good host will do. They are fine for personal sites and people playing around, but not for a money making website.
         
         Again no offense, but in pro webmaster circles godaddy is a joke.

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            Lifeallstar1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            I wasn't saying an IT specialist would use godaddy.  For someone starting out who doesn't want to spend a lot of money and needs help setting up, I would recommend it. You can't put down the help unless you have personally gotten help from them. They do make it easy and they never pushed any products. You own whatever you create and can have it moved at anytime. Once it gets larger and more involved. It's a good place to start if you are just starting out. That's my opinion. I'm not here to self promote. I have no desire whatsoever. Most people probably think I am some naïve young kid and that is probably true in certain area's but i have accomplished more in my life business-wise than people twice my age. I'm here for a reason much different than many and it serves that purpose tremendously.  The bottom line is that I was giving what I felt was an educated opinion on someone who said they do not know anything about setting up a website and wanted help. They obviously already looked into godaddy a little to know some of what they offer and I know for a fact they would help accomplish their starting goals. I never once said it was the absolute best and I will stand by the fact that they are helpful. I only comment on info I have experienced and know. Just as you do but never once was pro anything brought up. If they wanted to set up a site for IBM I wouldn't have suggested it. It's perfect for what they are looking for because this person will need advice and help and they are very helpful(my opinion). Just speaking from experience as I've been in their shoes. If you look at the big picture, In my opinion, it's a good fit for now. Again, only my opinion and I gave the reasons why. They do not have to listen but I wanted to put it out there since I truly feel it was helpful information or I wouldn't have bothered commenting.

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               Bill Manningposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Relax, I know your just trying to be helpful. That's why I stated twice to not take offense. So you yourself are happy with godaddy, great.
               
               So you recommend them based on your experience with them, nothing wrong with that.
               
               The reason I don't recommend them is because of the many people I know that got a godaddy account and ended up hating them. I personally know around 2 dozen like that.
               
               All of them have said how godaddy keeps calling and emailing them, trying to make them buy more extras.
               
               All of them have said when they really needed help they got none or very little. Plus the sites get bogged down and so on.
               
               So if you have been happy with them that's great and I can see how you'd recommend them.
               
               I happen to know of many different people who are not, so I'm not recommending them. It would be a disservice to the OP to not tell them what I know about godaddy after someone else recommended them.
               
               So now that the OP has gotten both pros and cons about godaddy they can now make up their own mind.
               
               Welcome to hubpages BTW, I have not seen you around much.

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                  Lifeallstar1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  I didn't take offense and I apologize if it came across that way.  I just wanted to make clear that I only suggested them because I felt it was a good option for what was said. I think it's awesome for you to say something referring to the fact that you know people who were so unhappy. That definitely should be stated. I personally have had a great experience with them. I didn't want it to come across that I happened to throw advice out there without being able to back it up at all. I wouldn't want someone doing that to me. That's all.
                  
                  Thank you for welcoming me!

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                     Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     Just bear in mind that, if you've never used any other host, you're not really qualified to judge their service. For instance:
                     
                     - You may think they're helpful, but you may not know enough to judge whether their advice is best it could be.
                     
                     - You may be happy with the speed of your site, or you may not even know how to measure that.  However, it's important even for a beginner, because it's one of the things Google measures when assigning page rank.
                     
                     I started out with an Australian hosting company.  I would have recommended them to any Aussie website owner, because I thought their customer service was great - I loved the fact I could actually ring them up and speak to a real person at a reasonable time of day. 
                     
                     However they were expensive, so I switched to Hostgator.  I was anxious about switching to a big "faceless" company which wasn't even in my time zone - but in fact, I've found their customer service every bit as good and I've saved bucketloads of money.
                     
                     Over the last two or three years I've lost count of the people I've met, who've been unhappy with GoDaddy and Bluehost. I've only met two or three who were happy, and I suspect they were greenhorns. Whose opinion should people trust?
                     
                     You may say they're OK "to start out", but the risk is that you'll sign up for a longer term to get a cheaper deal, so you can't get out when you outgrow them.  And there are other hosts just as cheap.

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                        Lifeallstar1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                        You're right, I was not doing a comparison.  I was just giving my personal experience with godaddy since they were mentioned.  I did not really experience a downside ever. I happened to really like them. If I didn't I would have said that and gave reasons why. I can only speak from what I know about them.  I am not currently using them because I joined forces, so to speak, with another organization who has its own staff person that takes care of the website end. It's not something I have to worry about anymore but when I did I used godaddy and liked them. I found them helpful and honest plus no real headaches. I'm sure other places are worse, as good, and much better than godaddy. I assumed with multiple posts by everyone contributing to David's question that it would help enough to make an educated decision.  I totally get what you are saying though and next time I will make it clear that I am just giving my experience without a comparison. That's a good point.

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                           David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                           Thanks for your input Lifeallstar, I am going to make decision eventually, but its a lot to take in. My main focus is to continue to write here on hubpages, however, I would like to make a website(s) in the future.
                           
                           I know one thing, Godaddy.com sure advertises well lol
                           
                           It seems the majority of people say buying domains from godaddy.com is okay, but the service is not as good as other hosts.
                           
                           I'll look into it further (others experiences with godaddy's domains) as thats the first step anyway.

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                              Lifeallstar1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                              Your head must be spinning!   You probably want nothing to do with a website anymore LOL. JK! Hopefully more people will post here and you'll be able to find out more views on the topic. You can start by looking for domain names, like you said. That's a good idea and kind of fun.  Good luck and if I can help in any way, just ask.

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                     David 470posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     lol I did not realize that this forum would become a bit controversial

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                  lrohnerposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  I agree that it is always good to hear both sides of the coin.
                  
                  I do use GoDaddy and have for years. I have never received one call or email pushing products, their tech support (available via phone 24x7) couldn't be more helpful and they have certainly bailed me out when I've goofed several times. And I haven't noticed any significant down periods or slowdowns.
                  
                  That said, I wouldn't call myself a "professional webmaster," although I do make decent coin on my sites.
                  
                  Just my two cents.
                  
                  @Sunforged--Good idea. I think I will try my own comparison at some point. Thanks for the info!

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               bewilderizeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               I have been using godaddy for 5 years now and have no complaints about them. I agree with Lifeallstar1 in saying that they are a great place to start. I host over a dozen sites with them and never had a complaint. The best thing that I do love about them is that if I have a problem at 3:00 a.m. (which has happened), they have been able to help me...and in a language I understand. However, I do agree with Bill that they do try and inundate you with extra products when purchasing a domain or hosting. If you want to avoid that, just call them directly and tell them exactly what you want.
               
               As for Wordpress, it was started as blogging software for your website. However, because of a very large community, it has also become a content management tool for many people. I do know for a fact that towns in the state of Delaware are using it content management (and no, it's not being hosted by godaddy There are a bunch of books and sites you can use to to get started. I personally like the "for Dummies series of books". But, that's just me.
               
               Lastly, godaddy has a quick install of Wordpress available once you get your domain. When you call them, they can help you set it up. Good Luck!

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   sunforgedposted 13 years ago

   I have active hosting accounts with godaddy,hostgator and myself(undisclosed reseller account)
   
   i started with Godaddy and only have them still because its boring to do the migrations over to my other accounts.
   
   All the negatives in this thread are true - Godaddy always tries to upsell you, they have a great sales team.
   
   The difference in speed is tangible.
   
   Their tech support once you are actually doing something technical is quite limited, I find the HG staff to be way more savvy.
   
   The big mark against Godaddy is in a failure to protect customers property.
   
   I switched when my supposedly unlimited godaddy hosting which was more expensive then the Hostgator equivalent had limitations in databases and emails. (neither which exists in the Hg equivalent)
   
   The Hostgator package is a MUCH better deal.
   
   i find customer service to be equally friendly with both.
   
   has anyone else used multiple hosting companies in order to properly compare?

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      Bill Manningposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I've used a total of 3 different host. Each time I thought the one I was using was great. Then a few things happened that finally added up to me switching.
      
      Right now I use Hawk Host. I have 4 different reseller accounts on 3 different servers, each one in a different location.
      
      So if one placed burned down tomorrow or the server crashed, 2/3rds of my sites would still be up.
      
      I find Hawk Host to be great. Fast customer service, they don't overload their servers and having 3 locations is great if you have multiple sites.

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         Ign Andyposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Bill I signed up with Hawkhost as well, they support is great, response email less than 1 hour and helpful as well to find code error .

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   Eric Graudinsposted 13 years ago

   I'd strongly suggest that you don't use the Daddy company for ANYTHING.
   
   See www.nodaddy.com
   
   I use and recommend namecheap for domain registration, and hostgator for hosting.
   
   I also have a series of videos on my blog specially made for people who want to set up websites, but know nothing about domain registration, setting up hosting, copying files, etc.
   
   However, if I post the link, I'll probably be banned for self promotion.
   
   So use your initiative if you want to find out more. they're not that hard to find.
   
   
   regards,
   Eric G.

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      Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      If I post it, it's not self-promotion - and there's lots of useful, relevant stuff on your site:
      http://theinternetbloke.com/before-building-a-website

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   lrohnerposted 13 years ago

   Huh, that's a new one I haven't heard of. Thanks Bill!

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    Ign Andyposted 13 years ago

    Domain: check name.com or namecheap.com and few more look for iCANN accredited domain reseller.
    
    Hosting: I use Hawkhost but Host Gator is great option and they offer unlimited plan. I suggest to buy plan with ability to host multiple domain in one account.
    
    CMS: Wordpress is the easiest platform compare to Joomla or Drupal, have so many plugins and themes and support by community.

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    danishpageposted 13 years ago

    Hi there,
    
    I struggled with this same problem when I was starting out! I used Dreamweaver for my websites and Wordpress to inform others about my newly created websites and what I was offering.
    In all honesty, it took a few days to understand the whole concept, but with repetition, things will get much easier!
    
    Best of luck to you!
    
    Smiles

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    Trekkiemelissaposted 13 years ago

    A lot of people here have suggested Hostgator.  I would suggest that too.  I started out with their cheapest plan and have worked my way up to their VPS.  I actually resell hosting on mine in addition to keeping my many projects on there.
    
    I have tried godaddy and they are just to limiting.  Hostgator has been very good about answer tickets and questions.  I would suggest using wordpress as its all in one blog and CMS.

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    hostingpromotionposted 13 years ago

    The easiest thing would be to buy a shared hosting plan which offer free domain and "Fantastico" script.
    
    Then intall Wordpress with Fantastico and it could be done in seconds. Start publishing "blog pages" or posts.

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    smelloftruthposted 13 years ago

    If you need videos, there are heaps of it in Youtube and its free.

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