Got my domain, webspace. What now??

J

janplank

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2010
Messages
483
Reaction score
217
Location
JHB
I got my domain registered and purchased some web space. I learnt a bit of HTML, CSS. Built a small web page with links and fooled around.

Now what?

I came across CMS. There is so many of them and the documentation on them is so much, it will take me forever to read through it all. It is like I am opening a can of worms....
Can someone suggest a cms for a beginner? Reading through my cpanel, there is php, sql databases. So many to choose from. Just want to make a small blog or forum site.

I have a trail version of some software that has templates of the sites in droopal, joomla, wordpress and so on.

somebody that can give me some pointers what to start with first?
 
Step 1 : Decide on what you want to do.
Step 2 : Decide on what you want it to look like.
Step 3 : Decide on the functionality required.

Okay, now you can begin to find stuff that can look like you want it to look with the functionality you need, otherwise, you end up exactly where you are now.
 
Its not that difficult to learn- I started, with absolutely no web experience, learned how to use drupal and had a site up and running in just a couple hours
 
ave said:
Its not that difficult to learn- I started, with absolutely no web experience, learned how to use drupal and had a site up and running in just a couple hours
Click to expand...

Same, I started with Joomla (took a day to get to grips with it)

Back when i started with Joomla I had no CSS/HTML expirience!
 
Joomla is pretty popular, big community with a lot of custom extensions. I found it easy to learn and very powerful. I'd recommend you give it a try.

But for more specific web sites, such as a forum or online shop, I think you're better off using a CMS specifically designed for it. These tend to be easy to setup, at least the forums I tried were generally easy.
 
wordpress for blogs and simple ui
joomla for nice themes and overall general use
drupal for fine-grained control and customisation

well, that's my opinion. i'd start in wordpress if i were a noob.
 
what on earth is a cms? I had a problem with one of my websites and the hosting company asked me what cms i was using. I said its written in php, and there was just silence on the phone. Does every website have a cms?
 
Silver-0-surfer said:
what on earth is a cms? I had a problem with one of my websites and the hosting company asked me what cms i was using. I said its written in php, and there was just silence on the phone. Does every website have a cms?
Click to expand...

It's a content management system like Joomla, Drupal, Xoops, Typo3 and Wordpress.

Just a script that helps you control and publish information/media to your website.
 
I'd also recommend davemc's suggestions, Step 1 is very important:

davemc said:
Step 1 : Decide on what you want to do.
Step 2 : Decide on what you want it to look like.
Step 3 : Decide on the functionality required.
Click to expand...

Way easier to find solutions for set goals, even if it's just a "fool-around" kinda project.

If you're considering making this (webdesign/development) a long term investment, you're probably better off starting with the basics, html + css, you will have a way better understanding of websites and cms' and other designers / developers will also be more supportive if you've got the basics down.

This site looks dated but I actually still refer to it, try starting here:
http://www.tizag.com/beginnerT/

Good luck JanPlank
 
Last edited:
davemc said:
Step 1 : Decide on what you want to do.
Step 2 : Decide on what you want it to look like.
Step 3 : Decide on the functionality required.

Okay, now you can begin to find stuff that can look like you want it to look with the functionality you need, otherwise, you end up exactly where you are now.
Click to expand...

I Know what I want, I just find it difficult to decide how to get there, hence the post.
Just wanted to get other people's feelings on how to proceed.

Thanks for all the pointers. At least I can try something now with confidence.

Silver-0-surfer, I know the feeling...:erm:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X