Roadrunner Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 How would you go about building a website for a small business? There seem to be lots if options online, but hard to sort through. This isn't for online sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I'd look at some site templates from sites I like, get an HTML manual and start modifying the sources. Or I'd hire a computer savvy high school student or have my own kid figure it out as part of their computer skills education. (When she was 13, my DD taught herself html and css and designed websites for a local business and a local organization as part of her homeschool education) It is easy if all you want is a website as a front, and not have online sales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5of5 Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 You said it isn't for online sales, but how elaborate would it be? Will you have just a single page and maybe a contact page, or would it have a lot of sections? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted April 27, 2014 Author Share Posted April 27, 2014 You said it isn't for online sales, but how elaborate would it be? Will you have just a single page and maybe a contact page, or would it have a lot of sections? Not to elaborate, just a public face of a service. Just to have an online presence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roadrunner Posted April 27, 2014 Author Share Posted April 27, 2014 I'd look at some site templates from sites I like, get an HTML manual and start modifying the sources. Or I'd hire a computer savvy high school student or have my own kid figure it out as part of their computer skills education. (When she was 13, my DD taught herself html and css and designed websites for a local business and a local organization as part of her homeschool education) It is easy if all you want is a website as a front, and not have online sales. I was looking at this article from Forbeshttp://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2013/12/10/key-steps-to-building-your-small-business-website/ They just have a variety of providers they recommend, so I was hoping somebody is using one of them. I am not sure I want my 9 year old messing with it just yet :) but you just gave me an excellent idea to design a class around building a website (separate from what I am building now :) ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5of5 Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 A lot of people use WordPress, but that is more suited to a situation where you will be constantly updating content. If your site is mostly going to be static (graphics and text that change very little), then you could use a HTML based template. A lot of web hosts have software and templates they provide for setting up a simple web site. I like Hosting Matters but there very, very many out there. URL: http://hostmatters.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I use hosting matters and like them. I also really, really, really love my website making software, no coding required!! Freeway Express. It is like Power Point for websites, although the buttons are different, you do have to learn the buttons. I made both the phoncs page website and 40L.org with Freeway Express. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lanny Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I began with M$ FrontPage 98 and then we bought the Upgrade to M$ FrontPage 2000. I am still using that to create our Static HTML web sites, as are a lot of other people. The HTML code it produces is not pretty, but the pages load fast and it is very easy for me to use. However, if I was starting out today, I would use WORDPRESS. I have begun a WordPress Blog for my Wife and/or Daughter to use, and everything I need to do in WordPress is a mystery for me. It is up and running and looks fine, but everything is done with a Plug In, or by modifying a "Child Theme", so I need to learn as I go along. There is a huge amount of information available on WordPress.org and on the web and it is free. One can use WordPress for Blogs and also for Static web pages. For anyone starting out today, I would *strongly* recommend WordPress. For those who begin with WordPress, it will seem "normal", and not the "mystery" that it does to me and to other old timers. WordPress is free. All you need is an inexpensive Shared Web Hosting account on a Linux web server. Hopefully, a server that has the cPanel Control Panel. If you change web hosting providers, it is easy to move your WordPress site, from one cPanel server to another. There is NO way that I would recommend to anyone that they use a "Site Builder" provided by a web host, or, one found elsewhere. One provided by a web host may be proprietary, or something they paid to license, and it could be hard, or impossible, to find another provider who uses the same "Site Builder". In other words, it might be difficult or impossible to migrate to another web hosting provider. We have had our web sites hosted by OLM in CT since December 2001 (?), and now I have a "Reseller" account with their affiliate, Global Space. They are far from perfect, but probably far better than many providers. They have their own Data Centers (2) in CT. There is a large forum, WebHostingTalk.com that has lots of offers and reviews. Avoid any web site that has a "Top 10" list of the best web hosting providers. Those are all pushing the companies that pay the most for affiliate sales. There is an "offer" section there and discounts are available. ALWAYS pay for web hosting services on a month per month basis. NEVER get your domain name and your web hosting services from the same company. If there is a problem with your provider, you may lose your domain name, which is the most important part of your web site. People who do that to get free domain name registration frequently lose their domain names... Those who pay their web hosting provider for their domain name registration also frequently lose their domain names... Companies I have seen many excellent reviews of on WebHostingTalk.com include HawkHost (based in Canada, but with servers in the USA), MDD Hosting and there are others. There are probably many thousands of web hosting providers. Check them out before you sign up. ALWAYS keep your own backups. Your web hosting provider may or may not have backups and if they do, and if they are needed, they may not be recent or they may not work properly. It is not their responsibility to keep backups for their clients. That responsibility is the clients. Keep backups in your own house/office and also somewhere in "the cloud" (DropBox, etc.) and NOT in the same data center where the web server you are using is located. Avoid ALL hosts owned by EIG. That includes HostGator and approximately 50 other web hosting providers. EIG companies have a horrible reputation on WebHostingTalk.com HostGator was a wonderful company, before it was sold to EIG. GL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahinwa Posted April 27, 2014 Share Posted April 27, 2014 I love Weebly.com. It is incredibly easy to use with a potentially excellent and polished finished product. I have used a variety of platforms, but weebly is definitely my favorite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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