Scorpio Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I was wondering if any of you had recommendations for website creation software. I know some of you guys have built your own websites or know how to. Did you guys go out and buy software or did you download it from the internet? Anybody have any suggestions? I don't want to spend a lot of dough but I'd like it to have bells and whistles. Secondly, I'm not a computer genius so anything user friendly would be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dudleydudley Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 Are you talking about Content Management Software (CMS)? I use <a href=http://www.textpattern.com>Textpattern</a> and I love it. You can do damn near anything with it and it's simple and clean. I will admit that it takes a little bit to learn, but it's well worth the time. If you are just going to put up a blog, there is specific blogware out there. All the good ones are free so I wouldn't spend any money for it, except for server space and bandwidth. I use Textpattern to power <a href=http://www.chunaezoh.com>my blog</a> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueB Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 is the pro choice. A bit clumsy, but graphics orientated. At the same time it would let you edit the code manualy. Boris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-PS Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I had the same problem until I stumbled onto glaciersites.com. It's easier to learn than a lot of the other programs I have tried and there is a phenomenal amount of bells and whistles. Plus it gave me the ability to get up and running quickly without have to learn about everything under the sun. Pros - it's an all-in-one solution so you don't have to think about anything just create your website. Costs about as much as a monthly cell phone bill. Cons - it's an all-in-one solution so what you get is what you get. Although they are constantly upgrading the program, so it keeps getting better. Let me know if you have questions or need more help, rj@exoticboards.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derf Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 As a web creation software, I use Nvu . It is the standalone derivative of Mozilla Composer. It is free (open source) and it works for me. It is pretty basic, bu so is my knowledge of HTML and such. As a CMS, I use Joomla (rebranding of Mambo). It may be overkill, but it works for me. It is extendable, so I added a photo gallery and commenting. The only drawback (for me) is that it requires an SQL database, so my website is slow because the server is really old(a Pentium 166). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Dold Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 I use 1st page 2000, and it's free. It's not a WYSIWYG editor, more of a code editor, but a real easy one to use. I like doing the code myself to avoid all the screwy code I see generated with things like Frontpage. It's either not at all what you are looking for, or is exactly what you are looking for. http://www.evrsoft.com/1stpage2.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Walters Posted October 27, 2005 Report Share Posted October 27, 2005 If I ever have to do a static page I just use notepad and code it by hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 the Navy was good enough to send me to school...Ive done a few websites with it and I like it...my wife uses Contribute which is infinatly easier Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Hey, Derf! I just started messing with Mambo/Joomla. Which picture gallery did you use? My personal web site (http://www.natew.com/) is handwritten HTML and a homebrew perl quasi-CMS on a 90mhz Pentium in a back room at home. My parrot site (link in signature) is built on a CMS called Drupal and hosted. I've been wanting to convert my personal site to a "real" CMS for quite a while but haven't decided which one yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorpio Posted October 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 It seems you have to have a basic understanding of code etc... I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to all this computer jargon. Lots of advice here. I guess I'll do some research on a few of your suggestions and see which is the easiest to assimilate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NateW Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Lets gets some basics nailed down... What kind of site? personal blog? family? motorcycle gang? church? crips? IBM? How many uses will be posting to it? just you? you and gang? the whole comany? What are going to be posting? Daily diary? Photos? Movies? Lists of stuff? Do you like to write? Do you like to do graphic design? What movitated this project? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJ-PS Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Good question NateW that will help us plot the course better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derf Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 Hey, Derf! I just started messing with Mambo/Joomla. Which picture gallery did you use?My personal web site (http://www.natew.com/) is handwritten HTML and a homebrew perl quasi-CMS on a 90mhz Pentium in a back room at home. My parrot site (link in signature) is built on a CMS called Drupal and hosted. I've been wanting to convert my personal site to a "real" CMS for quite a while but haven't decided which one yet. I use Gallery as it integrates very well with Joomla as you can see on my website in the photos section. I still haven't migrated the snowboard section yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorpio Posted October 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 To give some background, I was thinking about helping my girlfriend sell some of her custom made shirts online. Her friends have been asking her to make some so I thought it might be ambitous to try and sell them outside of her circle of friends. If she did, I'd help her out but neither of us have any idea how to create a website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dudleydudley Posted October 28, 2005 Report Share Posted October 28, 2005 If you are trying to set up an online store, and don't have a lot of experience building sites, I'd definitely pay someone to put one together for you properly, or use one of the template sites like glaciersites.com (or whatever it was). Keep in mind that you can also put up an eBay store or a Yahoo store as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 I use Gallery as it integrates very well with Joomla as you can see on my website in the photos section. I still haven't migrated the snowboard section yet. Really appreciate this post. I have been experimenting with several options and this post helped build a fire under me. The result is I have gone with Joomla as a CMS, use Dreamweaver as editor (for a few years now) ,Gallery2 for photos and phpBB2 for forum. Expect the change to effect the site in a big ways as soon as I am happy with the development sites. Derf, well done. That is exactly what I am looking for. I have even used the same template in some of the test sites I am working on!!! You are working same things on opposite sides of the world so to speak. I could sure use some help getting the buggs worked out. RJ. I understand the nead for a "Turn Key" site and yours looks very good. Basically another reason we need to TALK!!! Dude, when you see what these FREE opensource softwares can do , you will not want to pay a host/ turnkey outfit a monthly fee to do what others can do better for free. There is a learnining curve for sure and it can be VERY frustrating at times. I think CMS is the way. Live feeds, bundled PHP software support from every direction on the planet. Yes, knowing tags and hand coding is something everyone should learn that is going to build a site. (My local college instructor required everything we did be done on a non WYSIWYG editor just for that reason. However, it is a huge leap to go from hand tagging HTML that is validated to what is being offered now with CMS software!! Pretty exciting stuff. Now we mortals need to slow the frickin geeks down enough to explain it to us. The biggest issue I run into is the experts build this great stuff for other heavy users and the instructions leave out allot that the low level user need. Skipped steps and incomplete instructions are common. Thanks for getting this thread going. Bryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
www.oldsnowboards.com Posted October 31, 2005 Report Share Posted October 31, 2005 Are you talking about Content Management Software (CMS)?I use <a href=http://www.textpattern.com>Textpattern</a> and I love it. You can do damn near anything with it and it's simple and clean. I will admit that it takes a little bit to learn, but it's well worth the time. If you are just going to put up a blog, there is specific blogware out there. All the good ones are free so I wouldn't spend any money for it, except for server space and bandwidth. I use Textpattern to power <a href=http://www.chunaezoh.com>my blog</a> I loved the look and simplicity, couldn't get it to complete the install, hours later gave up. I know it is probably a dot or a dash away from working. Just couldn't "Get Er Done". Love to try it though. Not as "Heavy" as Joomla. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derf Posted November 1, 2005 Report Share Posted November 1, 2005 Really appreciate this post. I have been experimenting with several options and this post helped build a fire under me. The result is I have gone with Joomla as a CMS, use Dreamweaver as editor (for a few years now) ,Gallery2 for photos and phpBB2 for forum. Expect the change to effect the site in a big ways as soon as I am happy with the development sites. Derf, well done. That is exactly what I am looking for. I have even used the same template in some of the test sites I am working on!!! You are working same things on opposite sides of the world so to speak. I could sure use some help getting the buggs worked out. I'm really glad that my post helped you. Like you said in another post, I too find Joomla ressource intensive, but for now, for me, it "just works". I did not try others, but it seems that any other using MySQL will be ressource intensive. When a page is requested, my friend (who hosts the underpowered server) hears the disk swapping like crazy and the pages are slow to load. I am going to upgrade to a Pentium2 generation server in the next weeks so it will be a little quicker. If you have any questions or interrogations, feel free to email me. The Joomla forums are also a good source of information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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