# building website



## duffsaw (20 Nov 2008)

hi there people,
i want to build my own website. it will be for my business, nice clear but reasonably simple. but i will probably add features later.
i would like your suggestions on software and where to get it, hosting and anything else you think is important. any and all suggestions welcome

regards,

duffsaw


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## jhegarty (20 Nov 2008)

What does the site need to do ?


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## Tetragon (20 Nov 2008)

You need:

a domain name (godaddy.com or the likes)
hosting e.g. hostgator.com or its equals
If a blog ... WordPress will do the job ... it will also work for a static (non-blog) type site.

WordPress is a content management system ... it's free but there are many more CMS out there.

Rough prices (in dollars):

domain: $10 a year for a dot com
Hosting: approx $100 a year
CMS: Free 
Static site templates: lots of free ones out there

What do you want the site to do?


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## duffsaw (20 Nov 2008)

thanks for the replies,
i need the site to have about ten pages for now, maybe a contact enquiry page, some photos etc, basically a good brochure site.

regards,

duffsaw


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## Tetragon (20 Nov 2008)

A simple static site sounds like what you need.

Check out:http://www.oswd.org/

It has lots of free site templates. It will give you an idea of the stuff that's freely available for making sites.


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## blacknight (21 Nov 2008)

Most hosting providers offer a sitebuilder of some kind, which won't replace a professionally designed site, but could be a good starting point


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## milkbottle (25 Nov 2008)

Dear Duffsaw,

You can get a free website built by [broken link removed] up to December 31st if you take up the annual hosting plan for about €200. 

Should help you get started.


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## duffsaw (7 Dec 2008)

hello peoples,
sorry to bring this subject back to you but i've been doing a bit of research. its seems to me, the best thing is, for me to have my own design software? the big two i THINK, is dreamweaver and microsoft's expression. which is best for someone who is able to pick things up quickly, but i'm no code writer! whats your opinion people. i think this is the best way, do you?
regards,
duffsaw


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## PaddyBloggit (7 Dec 2008)

I like Dreamweaver. I tried Microsoft FrontPage (pre Expression) but found that it inserted a lot of unnecessary code.

You should also learn some basic html coding to get an understanding of basic page structure.

This site will get you well on your way: http://www.htmlgoodies.com/


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## Technologist (7 Dec 2008)

duffsaw said:


> hello peoples,
> sorry to bring this subject back to you but i've been doing a bit of research. its seems to me, the best thing is, for me to have my own design software? the big two i THINK, is dreamweaver and microsoft's expression. which is best for someone who is able to pick things up quickly, but i'm no code writer! whats your opinion people. i think this is the best way, do you?
> regards,
> duffsaw


Dreamweaver is pricey but, if you ignore Adobe's add-ins, it will allow you build a very standards-compliant site that will work with the widest range of browsers. It has good link-checking and standards validation built-in.

You're likely to find yourself paying for a lot of features you don't need.

I don't know if it's changed, but Microsoft's web-page editor software used be notorious for being heavily biased towards Internet Explorer.

As a reference, industry rate for a professional web page designer is €500/day. Kids will do it cheaper, but at your own risk.


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## Thirsty (7 Dec 2008)

have a look at www.homestead.com; includes site builder software, good support.  Easy to use for beginner, domain name, email etc., included.

have no connection but have used them for a number of years for a community group - no complaints.


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## duffsaw (8 Dec 2008)

thanks for replies. i went to the adobe website and seen the price of dreamweaver, $399, but when i went to buy it asked for my country and the price went up to €545. what gives?
where should i buy? thanks again.


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## Gadfly (8 Dec 2008)

Nice editors here and here. Free hosting here.


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## duffsaw (8 Dec 2008)

i've just seen an edition of microsoft's expression on amazon.co.uk for £120, is this good? i am finding it hard to justify the price of dreamweaver?


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## PaddyBloggit (8 Dec 2008)

duffsaw said:


> i've just seen an edition of microsoft's expression on amazon.co.uk for £120, is this good? i am finding it hard to justify the price of dreamweaver?




You can download a 30 day trial of Dreamweaver and I'm presuming that you can do the same with Microsoft Expression.

I think you should try some of the free editors before making a committed purchase. 

Google free html editors.

One such free editor is NVU which is worth trying before you buy anything:

http://nvu.com/


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## Lollix (8 Dec 2008)

Try these....

http://www.mrsite.com

http://www.webs.com/

http://www.homestead.com/


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## Technologist (8 Dec 2008)

duffsaw said:


> thanks for replies. i went to the adobe website and seen the price of dreamweaver, $399, but when i went to buy it asked for my country and the price went up to €545. what gives?
> where should i buy? thanks again.


It's been an issue for some time that Adobe charges more to European customers because of 'higher support costs'. 

For simple, standards-based HTML with no dynamic (programmed) content or database access, DreamWeaver is over-kill.


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## BurrenTech (9 Dec 2008)

€200 is pricey for webhosting. I have mine hosted by a US company, get all of the features of the celticprohosting, but cost is less than €50/year. Only drawback is no direct support for .ie domains, but then at €70+vat/year who would want one. For your €50 your .com is included! 

There are also many [broken link removed] KompoZer gets a good write up by Cnet, and a good rating from reviewers. If you're just starting out on the web design why spend any money, especially as its going to be an expense on your business.

The open source templates look good, will be considering them myself.


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## milkbottle (15 Dec 2008)

Yes admittedly but when I signed up they built the basis my website and trained my assistant to operate it. So I didn't find it expensive at all, and also they have no 'extras' everyone else seems to charge extra for lots of email accounts or space or something or other.


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## PaddyBloggit (15 Dec 2008)

Best idea for you duffsaw is to try and find a friend, family member, teenager connected with them etc. who makes website as a hobby. Somebody like that will build or help you build your site.


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## c00lcarl (26 Dec 2008)

duffsaw said:


> hi there people,
> i want to build my own website. it will be for my business, nice clear but reasonably simple. but i will probably add features later.
> i would like your suggestions on software and where to get it, hosting and anything else you think is important. any and all suggestions welcome


 
Dreamweaver is an expensive investment if your are aiming to create a relatively small uncomplicated website. Our own company offers an easy to use website builder which gives the option of adding ecommerce features, details can be found at www.websites-ireland.ie


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## Omniserve (7 Jan 2009)

Its already been covered in detail so you are aware there is plenty of free software and you can get good hosting here in Ireland and abroad. 

The thing to think about though is that what message do you want to give out from your website and do you want people to be able to find your site. It seems to me that you are investing a good bit of time and effort into this. If this is your business would you not be better investing that time in the business itself and let a company who can add more value looking after getting your business online and into Google? 

Just an alternate way to think about it. For example if you spend 10 hours on this and you charge yourself €50 per hour. Thats €500 cost to you. That is assuming you only spend 10 hours on it. Soon you end up spending more than you would if you had outsourced it all but yet since you do it yourself you think its pretty much free. 

Just an different viewpoint.


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## ValfrannyC (19 Jan 2009)

I would say dreamweaver, Flash, photoshop(for the images you need etc..) actually Ive done web pages in Photoshop and transportered them to dreamweaver (easy to compose layouts etc.. in photoshop) probably not the best way to go about it Im sure but honestly unless you know what you're doing etc...I would go to a graphic designer or a web designer(generally they're combined) and get them to do it for you!


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## irishlinks (19 Jan 2009)

You will get a pretty good looking website using wordpress. I use Blacknight (Irish based company)  and you get wordpress installed for free. (Hosting and domain for under €56 a year) Dreamweaver is good - but expensive and not for a novice. 
Wordpress is meant for blogs - but you can use it to build basic static page sites too. There are loads of free wordpress templates and free advice pages out there. If it's just a brochure type site letting people know about your business - Wordpress can do the job.


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