How to set up a website

PoleStar

Hi

This may be a stupid question for this forum but anyhows here goes.

I want to set up a website. I wish to do this with minimal expense and do it mostly myself.
I am computer savvy ie have no trouble picking up things like office, spss/stats software, registry editing etc so I am sure its something I can get the hang of.

However I am finding it tricky when googling this to find a non commercial website which has a guide to doing this, software which might be necessary and the basics of this etc.

DOes anyone know any good guides on this topic?

Thanks a lot and apologies if this has been asked already!

Adam

1. Download Editplus

2. Visit W3C Schools and learn the basics of HTML & CSS

3. At this point Googling will be easier for you.

4. Visit somewhere like Open Source Web Design and download a few templates, play around with them, try taking them apart and reconstructing them etc.

PoleStar

Thanks for your help, thats exactly what I was looking for.

One more thing (remember I am a complete noobie at this!)

Once I have my design, what then, how do I get it on the web. Are there any basic guides on this?
Do I need to pay acompany for this part or how does it all work when I want to get www.mywebsite.com on the www?

Sorry if these are really dumb questions!

Webmonkey

Not dumb questions, everyone must start somewhere.

Once you've site developed just register with a hosting company such as blacknight.ie or hosting365.ie (or ones abroad - no problem there) and usually once signing up you will get a domain either free or cheaply.

DonkeyStyle \o/

PoleStar wrote: »

Once I have my design, what then, how do I get it on the web.

As webmonkey said, you'll sign up with a hosting provider... when you login to their site with your new hosting username/password, they'll usually have an area of the control panel where you upload your files.
I prefer to use an FTP client instead (try FileZilla)... the hosting provider should supply you with the settings you need.

Of course, the most fun part of getting hosting and a domain is bashing your head on the keyboard because every domain you can think of has already been registered

Liam Byrne

Can I ask a question ? Would you service your car or fit out your shop yourself ?

There's a lot of stuff behind the scenes to get a website to work properly (easy updates, search engines, etc) and I have to admit that it annoys me a little when people think nothing of paying a fortune for other marketing and advertising and other things but seem to view a website as an option for a DIY job.

Yes, it's better if it's DIY than if you pay 300 or 400 (which, in my view, is a complete waste of money) but make sure you have the bigger picture in mind when trying to ensure that a website reflects a professional business and also works to your benefit....

PoleStar

I have to admit that it annoys me a little when people think nothing of paying a fortune for other marketing and advertising and other things but seem to view a website as an option for a DIY job.

Aside from the fact that the last reply is toned very arrogantly if I might say, I might also say that you didnt even ask what the site is for.

This is a personal project, something which I hope will in the future develop into quite a good site! I plan to learn how to do things slowly as I am not in any rush and take the whole thing as a challenge for myself.

Plenty of people do things which at first they know little about but as they progress through what they are doing, become quite expert.

Replies like this just serve to dissuade people from asking questions in case someone like yourself gets up on their high horse.

NotMe

If you've already got a google account you can very quickly and easily setup a website at http://pages.google.com. Could be a good way to get started.

Adam

PoleStar wrote: »

Aside from the fact that the last reply is toned very arrogantly if I might say, I might also say that you didnt even ask what the site is for.

This is a personal project, something which I hope will in the future develop into quite a good site! I plan to learn how to do things slowly as I am not in any rush and take the whole thing as a challenge for myself.

Plenty of people do things which at first they know little about but as they progress through what they are doing, become quite expert.

Replies like this just serve to dissuade people from asking questions in case someone like yourself gets up on their high horse.

Well done to you sir. There are a few on this forum that take Liams approach to every post from a newbie regarding a self build or outsourced project. I'm just finally glad to see someone that isn't a regular poster here take issue with this elitist 'only us web dev pros can do it properly' attitude. So on behalf of myself and others I'm sure, thank you!

heggie

atleast the PoleStar's not trying to sell it to people

Adam

heggie wrote: »

atleast the PoleStar's not trying to sell it to people

Ha! Knew you'd crawl out of the woodwork. Not going to waste my time on you any more to be honest. Don't thread spoil.

/block