Building a web site

Uncle C · Sep 29, 2014

I have a domain name and someone to host it, so I am merely looking for a web site that gives 'free' templates which will allow me to put together my own web site - I am a novice at this.

Most free packages seem to be tied to hosting web sites, unless you know better. :wave:

Bold Seagull · Sep 29, 2014

Uncle C said:
I have a domain name and someone to host it, so I am merely looking for a web site that gives 'free' templates which will allow me to put together my own web site - I am a novice at this.

Most free packages seem to be tied to hosting web sites, unless you know better.

I think you could do a lot worse than look into Wordpress. There are plenty of templates and themes that won't cost you much (or you'll find some are free). A bit more work in terms of preparing the site than one of the instant type ones, but you might have more control.

Weebly was another one I looked into which appeared pretty good.

Sweeney Todd · Sep 29, 2014

Try Drupal Gardens...

prawnsarnies · Sep 29, 2014

Bold Seagull said:
I think you could do a lot worse than look into Wordpress. There are plenty of templates and themes that won't cost you much (or you'll find some are free). A bit more work in terms of preparing the site than one of the instant type ones, but you might have more control.

Weebly was another one I looked into which appeared pretty good.

I use word press, it's easy to use and they have plenty of templates.

Goldstone Rapper · Sep 29, 2014

Go with Wordpress.com rather than Wordpress.org if you're a novice. No worries about security updates and backups

beorhthelm · Sep 29, 2014

if your hosting provider doesnt give any basic web site templates, see if they give the option for a packaged install of Wordpress as mentioned.

if they dont, change hosting as they arent providing a meaningful service.

Hiney · Sep 29, 2014

Or better still, speak to [MENTION=2647]gripper stebson[/MENTION]

timco · Sep 29, 2014

Try Here

http://www.tooplate.com/

burnee54 · Sep 29, 2014

Xara Web Designer 10. Free trial. If you are just building 1 website try this

http://www.xara.com/uk/web-designer/download/

True WYSIWYG no coding experience needed. Plus the free trial fully functional for long enough to get the job done. Makes a very professional looking site.

dadams2k11 · Sep 29, 2014

Joomla all day long for me, plenty of Youtube vids to help you build it.

GingerBeerMan · Sep 29, 2014

dadams2k11 said:
Joomla all day long for me, plenty of Youtube vids to help you build it.

Took the words out of my mouth. Joomla has more functionality as a 'classic' website than Wordpress IMO.

Uncle C · Sep 30, 2014

Have I got this wrong, but for most of the places offering the recommended software you seem to have to sign up for them to host it as well, and thats not what I want.

Ex-Staffs Gull · Sep 30, 2014

To be honest a badly designed web site is as bad as a badly written one. All the tools and templates out there are ok, but it is no substitute for someone who can tailor it to your product/service and put a design out that is user friendly and slick. If this is a main portal for generating business then seek professional help is my advice. It pays for itself.in the long run, just like a physical shop as opposed to a market stall provides a certain degree of additional confidence.

Uncle C · Sep 30, 2014

Ex-Staffs Gull said:
To be honest a badly designed web site is as bad as a badly written one. All the tools and templates out there are ok, but it is no substitute for someone who can tailor it to your product/service and put a design out that is user friendly and slick. If this is a main portal for generating business then seek professional help is my advice. It pays for itself.in the long run, just like a physical shop as opposed to a market stall provides a certain degree of additional confidence.

All that is true, but if the site is just to show off say photos and artwork and not for profit, then it's an unnecessary expense.

Grombleton · Sep 30, 2014

GingerBeerMan said:
Took the words out of my mouth. Joomla has more functionality as a 'classic' website than Wordpress IMO.

The only issue I have with Joomla! is that the admin panel is awful - so much harder to do the simple things in comparison to Wordpress.

I'd throw my hat into Wordpress (mainly as all the sites I design use it) - wordpress.com is free and you can point your domain name to it easily. As mentioned earlier, it's free and deals with all the updates on your behalf...it just doesn't have the same level of freedom as its self-hosted brother in terms of freedom of using themes or plugins.

Deleted member 22389 · Sep 30, 2014

Uncle C said:
Have I got this wrong, but for most of the places offering the recommended software you seem to have to sign up for them to host it as well, and thats not what I want.

Find out what hosting you have been offered. Space and Bandwidth per month. What is it, a Windows or Linux server.
Really if you want zero hassle you might as well sign up for a webhosting package. I have been with xilo for years and never had any real problems.

Their hosting packages do not break the bank and secondly you can install Wordpress, Joomla and anything else directly from CPanel. So know messing configuring databases, installing .php scripts.

http://www.xilo.net/shared_web_hosting/

Deleted member 22389 · Sep 30, 2014

Grombleton said:
The only issue I have with Joomla! is that the admin panel is awful - so much harder to do the simple things in comparison to Wordpress.

I'd throw my hat into Wordpress (mainly as all the sites I design use it) - wordpress.com is free and you can point your domain name to it easily. As mentioned earlier, it's free and deals with all the updates on your behalf...it just doesn't have the same level of freedom as its self-hosted brother in terms of freedom of using themes or plugins.

Joomla is right over the top and your right it's not the easiest thing to get going on.
I have also seen a fair few Joomla sites that get busy, end up throttling the whole server. I suppose if you don't have the programming skills to create your own database driven website then your left with these sorts of packages.

Goldstone Rapper · Oct 1, 2014

If you use a Mac I recommend Rapidweaver - design it on your computer, generate the files and then upload to your webspace. Perfect for static sites. Comes with lots of templates.

Ex-Staffs Gull · Oct 2, 2014

Uncle C said:
All that is true, but if the site is just to show off say photos and artwork and not for profit, then it's an unnecessary expense.

Correct, if it is for personal use then I would use something like word press. I wasnt sure what was required from the original post.

Uncle C · Oct 2, 2014

Ex-Staffs Gull said:
Correct, if it is for personal use then I would use something like word press. I wasnt sure what was required from the original post.

My fault for not saying. Thanks

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