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building a website. dont know much about computers

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  • 18-12-2015 7:11pm
    #1
    shugy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 409 ✭✭


    Just as the tittle suggests. Im going to try and build a web-site following a youtube video but thought id come on here to see if anyone has done it before who doesnt know much about computers. Any videos ve watched to date, they seem all american based and wondering would this matter. Will i run into any difficulties because im here in ireland with hosting or other.

    If you know of any videos thats suited to us here in ireland that i can watch, please share or pm me.

    TBH, even thou im a bit clueless when it comes to computers, im very confident i can pull this off. The website will be mainly what i do as a handyman/builder and basicly just lots of pictures, written stuff and maybe a video or 2. Ill also be linking in my facebook page where i have my work pics.

    As of now, ive purchased my domain name a month agao, watched a few videos and thats about it.


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    #2
    Nollog
    Registered Users Posts: 5,406 ✭✭✭Nollog


    Set up a wordpress.

    wordpress.com


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    #3
    shugy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 409 ✭✭shugy


    /\/ollog wrote: »
    Set up a wordpress.

    wordpress.com

    Sorry haven't replied to this thread in awhile. Been really busy.


    When I download WordPress, this is what I get! Really frustrating to say the least. I have some free time at the moment and I'm going to try and use it learning to build this site.


    IMG_20160131_220639015_HDR.jpg


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    #4
    ED E
    Registered Users Posts: 36,164 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    IMO you're too novice to attempt this. No point re-inventing the wheel.

    Pay for a service like Squarespace that does the backend for you and just lets you drag and drop or pay a professional to do this for you.

    A badly done site will just remain unpatched and get taken over and defaced.


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    #5
    shugy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 409 ✭✭shugy


    ED E wrote: »
    IMO you're too novice to attempt this. No point re-inventing the wheel.

    Pay for a service like Squarespace that does the backend for you and just lets you drag and drop or pay a professional to do this for you.

    A badly done site will just remain unpatched and get taken over and defaced.

    I understand that im a novice but since ive some free time, i want to learn from scratch.


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    #6
    Xenoronin
    Registered Users Posts: 1,307 ✭✭✭Xenoronin


    Might be worth getting a subscription to lynda.com or some other training site. You get 10 days free. Can get the basics of setting up your own website. I would agree that squarespace would be a better option for a novice, but if you want to get into this you'll need to get at least these basics.

    Buying a domain name.
    Buying hosting.
    Using FTP (optional as some hosting providers allow you to simply click a button to install something like wordpress).
    Customising wordpress with themes and content.

    More advanced would be starting from scratch. Learn HTML, JavaScript, CSS from Codecademy. It's an excellent resource and it's a good idea to get these basics down if you want to look at making websites. You can also learn PHP which is a little confusing but very powerful.
    If you want a real challenge you can try setting up a website with Node.JS or Flask, though those are only fun once you know what the hell they do (don't be like me and jump into Node.JS without a clue :-D)


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    #7
    Asmooh
    Registered Users Posts: 1,468 ✭✭✭Asmooh


    I always buy my own websites including the CMS if needed.. I hate using pre-desgined stuff, sucks that my current website is already "in progress" for more than a year since I dont have time to do anything


    @Xenoronin you forgot PHP for any DB related things nevermind


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    #8
    Xenoronin
    Registered Users Posts: 1,307 ✭✭✭Xenoronin


    Yup, PHP (can be thought of as code that runs on your server) and SQL (language for communicating with a database) are also a really good area to study. Web development is a pretty massive area that I've only dug the surface on. It can be a little intimidating which is why it's a really good idea to get the basics in first. It will help you understand why things evolved the way they did. Don't fall into the trap of "new and shiny" startup thinking. Stuff like NoSQL databases and frameworks like Flask, DJango, Node.JS, etc are not where you start learning. They are where you move to once you understand their purpose (and even then, that's a questionable decision, especially databases like MongoDB). I learned this the hard way.
    A lot of the newer technologies also have the worst documentation. Since it is written as if you understand all the terminology already, it's very very hard to get a foot on the ladder. Old technologies like the standard, HTML, CSS, JavaScript (Web frontend tech), Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, (Known as the LAMP stack for your server) have mountains of documentation and resources to learn.


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    #9
    K.O.Kiki
    Registered Users Posts: 18,697 ✭✭✭✭K.O.Kiki


    @Xenoronin

    Do you, by any chance, watch a lot of LinusTechTips? :D


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    #10
    K.O.Kiki
    Registered Users Posts: 18,697 ✭✭✭✭K.O.Kiki


    @Xenoronin

    Do you, by any chance, watch a lot of LinusTechTips? :D


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    #11
    shugy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 409 ✭✭shugy


    Xenoronin wrote: »
    Might be worth getting a subscription to lynda.com or some other training site. You get 10 days free. Can get the basics of setting up your own website. I would agree that squarespace would be a better option for a novice, but if you want to get into this you'll need to get at least these basics.

    Buying a domain name.
    Buying hosting.
    Using FTP (optional as some hosting providers allow you to simply click a button to install something like wordpress).
    Customising wordpress with themes and content.

    More advanced would be starting from scratch. Learn HTML, JavaScript, CSS from Codecademy. It's an excellent resource and it's a good idea to get these basics down if you want to look at making websites. You can also learn PHP which is a little confusing but very powerful.
    If you want a real challenge you can try setting up a website with Node.JS or Flask, though those are only fun once you know what the hell they do (don't be like me and jump into Node.JS without a clue :-D)



    What's the final costs for squarespace and Lynda.com?


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    #12
    Xenoronin
    Registered Users Posts: 1,307 ✭✭✭Xenoronin


    K.O.Kiki wrote: »
    @Xenoronin

    Do you, by any chance, watch a lot of LinusTechTips? :D

    Only recently started following them :D
    The number of squarespace ads i've heard on podcasts though!

    I haven't a clue tbh on the costs. They are both fairly open about the costs on their respective websites anyway to the best of my knowledge.


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    #13
    ponzook
    Closed Accounts Posts: 114 ✭✭ponzook


    Have a look at Joomla or Wordpress. Easy enough to setup and all the work is done for you.

    It'll take you a long time to have a decent looking from scratch for a beginner.


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    #14
    challengemaster
    Registered Users Posts: 16,931 ✭✭✭✭challengemaster


    Xenoronin wrote: »

    Buying a domain name.
    Buying hosting.
    Using FTP (optional as some hosting providers allow you to simply click a button to install something like wordpress).
    Customising wordpress with themes and content.

    Year of free hosting with Amazon. Should easily do for a website like this


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    #15
    shugy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 409 ✭✭shugy


    Few hours of messing about with squarespace and was happy enough with my progress. I was following a video on youtube with a step by step and was saving it untill tomorrow so decided to fast forward to the end of the video and noticed ive to pay 192dollars a year for this service. Would this be the same with wordpress and other sites. I honestly thought they where free, well going by what others hae said to me i believed this to be true.


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    #16
    ED E
    Registered Users Posts: 36,164 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    shugy wrote: »
    Few hours of messing about with squarespace and was happy enough with my progress. I was following a video on youtube with a step by step and was saving it untill tomorrow so decided to fast forward to the end of the video and noticed ive to pay 192dollars a year for this service. Would this be the same with wordpress and other sites. I honestly thought they where free, well going by what others hae said to me i believed this to be true.

    Wordpress the software is free, hosting is not. Nor is your domain name.

    At a minimum €60 p/a for hosting and ~$12 p/a for a .com or €20 p/a for a .ie


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    #17
    Xenoronin
    Registered Users Posts: 1,307 ✭✭✭Xenoronin


    You can reduce that a lot by looking around though. Taking a non traditional route and using something like Scaleway would save a lot.


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    #18
    shugy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 409 ✭✭shugy


    ED E wrote: »
    Wordpress the software is free, hosting is not. Nor is your domain name.

    At a minimum €60 p/a for hosting and ~$12 p/a for a .com or €20 p/a for a .ie



    I already have my domain name. Bought it 6 months ago. I never knew hosting was that much. I'm near sure when buying my domain name I was offered it a lot cheaper than 60euro


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    #19
    shugy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 409 ✭✭shugy


    Xenoronin wrote: »
    You can reduce that a lot by looking around though. Taking a non traditional route and using something like Scaleway would save a lot.

    What do you mean by saying take a non traditional route!


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    #20
    irishgrover
    Registered Users Posts: 2,496 ✭✭✭irishgrover


    have you looked at something like godaddy or wix? Again there is a monthly cost involved, however you may have a better chance of creating something that looks professional, without going nuts in the process.
    (I'm not sure if you need a customer facing website where look and feel are appropriate or if yo uare doing this purely as an educational process, so that might have a bearing on the amount of time and money you want to invest in this)
    best of luck anyways


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    #21
    irishgrover
    Registered Users Posts: 2,496 ✭✭✭irishgrover


    ..


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    #22
    shugy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 409 ✭✭shugy


    irishgrover wrote: »
    have you looked at something like godaddy or wix? Again there is a monthly cost involved, however you may have a better chance of creating something that looks professional, without going nuts in the process.
    (I'm not sure if you need a customer facing website where look and feel are appropriate or if yo uare doing this purely as an educational process, so that might have a bearing on the amount of time and money you want to invest in this)
    best of luck anyways



    I was all for using WordPress but any videos I've seen, you need hostgator to use it(well any videos I've watched) but I also wanted to know if I do go down this route, will it be OK to use here in Ireland because to me, it looked very Americanized to me and that aroused suspicion that I might have problems.

    As for the site I'm looking to build, basically its just somewhere where I can show pictures of previous jobs I've taken on. Before, during and after and maybe somewhere where clients can post their reviews. Its also for educational purposes as well just for my own curiosity to see how well I can make it. As for costs, I wasn't expecting it to be 192 dollars. I knew I needed to pay for a domain and hosting but didn't think it would this much.


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    #23
    nava
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 4,739 Mod ✭✭✭✭nava


    To get you started on building the website why don't you try with 000webhost.com they offer free hosting, once you are familiar you can move to a paid service, I use hawkhost.com plans are about 36USD per year or less with discount code.

    Once you have the hosting you can look at wordpress or joomla to create the website, you can find tutorials online


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    #24
    irishgrover
    Registered Users Posts: 2,496 ✭✭✭irishgrover


    I guess it depends on how valuable your time is and what is the effort worth..
    sites like godaddy and wix cost money... I think I pay in the region of €12 pm (much less or possibly free if you are happy to have their banner on your production site) However using template site building services makes it very easy to edit / update the site, and to me I'd rather spend that money on wix for ease of use. I could build a website (and used to in the past) but realized my time would be better spend on doing what I specialist in to make me money or just increase my leisure time..

    But one way or the other, either through direct spend or though your own time it will cost you a few hundred a year if your content is in any way dynamic and changing


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    #25
    irishgrover
    Registered Users Posts: 2,496 ✭✭✭irishgrover


    .


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    #26
    shugy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 409 ✭✭shugy


    nava wrote: »
    To get you started on building the website why don't you try with 000webhost.com they offer free hosting, once you are familiar you can move to a paid service, I use hawkhost.com plans are about 36USD per year or less with discount code.

    Once you have the hosting you can look at wordpress or joomla to create the website, you can find tutorials online


    So is that the steps to take, buy domain name, find hosting then build the website.If so, I thought it was buy domain, find somewhere to build your site on them find someone to host it on the internet for you.


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    #27
    shugy
    Banned (with Prison Access) Posts: 409 ✭✭shugy


    irishgrover wrote: »
    I guess it depends on how valuable your time is and what is the effort worth..
    sites like godaddy and wix cost money... I think I pay in the region of €12 pm (much less or possibly free if you are happy to have their banner on your production site) However using template site building services makes it very easy to edit / update the site, and to me I'd rather spend that money on wix for ease of use. I could build a website (and used to in the past) but realized my time would be better spend on doing what I specialist in to make me money or just increase my leisure time..

    But one way or the other, either through direct spend or though your own time it will cost you a few hundred a year if your content is in any way dynamic and changing




    I don't mind spending my time learning how to do this. I go through stages where I'm flat out working and no time at all to having to much time wasting it on the internet. I could use this wasted time learning how to build a website for as little as possible. I think my yearly domain is 20€ and thought hosting was about 40ish a year. I honestly thought building my own website was totally free(apart from my time) If you google some handyman sites in Ireland, basicly that's all what I'm looking just with my own content.


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    #28
    nava
    Moderators, Business & Finance Moderators Posts: 4,739 Mod ✭✭✭✭nava


    shugy wrote: »
    I don't mind spending my time learning how to do this. I go through stages where I'm flat out working and no time at all to having to much time wasting it on the internet. I could use this wasted time learning how to build a website for as little as possible. I think my yearly domain is 20€ and thought hosting was about 40ish a year. I honestly thought building my own website was totally free(apart from my time) If you google some handyman sites in Ireland, basicly that's all what I'm looking just with my own content.

    For a basic website you can use joomla or wordpress, they have templates you could use, just add your text, pictures, etc.

    The order with most hosting plans would be domain (you can register with them, change DNS or change registar to them) after you contract your hosting.


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    #29
    challengemaster
    Registered Users Posts: 16,931 ✭✭✭✭challengemaster


    Nobody paying attention to free web hosting with amazon web services? Nobody?


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    #30
    Darkglasses
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Sports Moderators Posts: 14,526 Mod ✭✭✭✭Darkglasses


    I'd also suggest taking a look at weebly.com. It's very quick, simple, reliable and cheap.


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    #31
    Graham
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 17,642 Mod ✭✭✭✭Graham


    shugy wrote: »
    I don't mind spending my time learning how to do this. I go through stages where I'm flat out working and no time at all to having to much time wasting it on the internet. I could use this wasted time learning how to build a website for as little as possible. I think my yearly domain is 20€ and thought hosting was about 40ish a year. I honestly thought building my own website was totally free(apart from my time) If you google some handyman sites in Ireland, basicly that's all what I'm looking just with my own content.

    What's more important to you?

    1) Learning to build websites
    2) Getting an inexpensive website for your business?

    Your answer to that will dictate the most appropriate approach. E.g. a site builder (quick, easy, monthly cost) or WordPress/HTML/Joomla (cheap, flexible and harder but potentially smaller monthly cost).


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