pls help a newbie

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janplank

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I want to design my own website and host it on the net in my spare time. I did a bit of browsing on the net regarding this matter but the amount of information is overwhelming.:( Hopefully some of the experts on the forum can point me in the right direction.

Here is what I am not sure about.

For my website, what language should I use to write it in? I know that WYSIWYG is quite easy, but I want to learn more through writing code... I found a ebook about xhtml and started with that. should I continue or am I wasting my time?
after my website is done, I understand I must upload it to a web server and get a domain. who should I approach for some cheap web space?
100mb should be fine for now but might later go to 1GB.
How much will it cost me a month?
I do not want to sign a contract. FTP would be nice as I want to upload photos to the server for all my friends that can log in and view them.
Where do I register my domain? I am sure a .za.net would be fine. I understand it is free. which one should I apply for first, the domain or the web server?

any help would be appreciated.:)
 
You can do it for free, just google free cpanel hosting. You can also get a .za.net domain for next to nothing.

After that I would go for joomla or another content management system. Cpanel should allow that.
There are also hobbes of resourses on joomla available.
 
First of all, welcome, and good luck. :) You're starting with a static website, obviously. XHTML is fine to start with - get the essentials under your belt before getting into the server side code, I say. You'll want to look into CSS for styling your XHTML, and Javascript if you want to make it dynamic - but this doesn't have to come right away.

Everyone will come in with their own preferences for online hosting. I use Circle hosting - link through my website (signature) if you want to use my affiliate link. It's R35, reliable and the service is good.

Registering a domain - you can do this yourself, or use your host to get it setup for you. za.net should be fine if it's a personal site.
 
wow, that was quick.

Yes, I want to start a static website. I had a look at joomla, but it is not what I want and I HATE all the ads they stick up there.
I played around with macromedia too and it is fun to things "come alive". I will then continue with the XHTML. I am getting married in September and I want to upload all the pics from to my site for my friends and family to see...Hope I will make the deadline...
I will need to incorporate login's and want to put up a shout box or forum type of thing so users can leave comments.

what is the private risks are involved in such a website mentioned above? I don't want people stealing my stuff.Or is that part of the web hosting services??
 
ok for the website- you should look at a program like joomla or drupal- they are content managers and do all the work for you- creating professional pages with little work. from there, you can still modify the code, so yes it is still a good idea to get up to speed on your web coding.


go to www.awardspace.com for a hosting service- they have a great free hosting option available that you can start on, then if you need more space eventually you can take one of their pay services for a nominal fee each month. The free option is great if you want to first try it out- need a platform while you develop you site

as for the domain registration- www.godaddy.com for .com registrations and www.co.za for local.
R70 bucks for a .com a year and R50 local
godaddy has a nice web panel thatyou use to administrate your account, with co.za you have to edit a text file and email it back to them, but its still automated


Edit*

Joomla adds? joomla doesn't put adds on your pages?

if you want a log in, photo browser then I would definitely recommend a content management system- you can limit certain pages to certain groups of people- give log in names and passwords, only allow certain people to comment on the photos etc
 
Last edited:
janplank said:
wow, that was quick.

Yes, I want to start a static website. I had a look at joomla, but it is not what I want and I HATE all the ads they stick up there.
I played around with macromedia too and it is fun to things "come alive". I will then continue with the XHTML. I am getting married in September and I want to upload all the pics from to my site for my friends and family to see...Hope I will make the deadline...
I will need to incorporate login's and want to put up a shout box or forum type of thing so users can leave comments.

what is the private risks are involved in such a website mentioned above? I don't want people stealing my stuff.Or is that part of the web hosting services??
Click to expand...

Logins, shoutboxes :erm: and forums will require server-side coding. For those purposes you'll either need to use something like Joomla/Drupal/SimpleCMS/[Insert CMS here], or code it yourself. Personally, if you're looking to learn, you may want to give it a go yourself, and try the CMS/prebuilt route once you understand what they are doing.
 
Check the link in my signature (realbigdreamer.co.cc). I have created a walk-through for creating websites on my blog. I also recommend using a CMS.

RBD
 
I second the recommendations for using a CMS here. I use Joomla and am not aware of it putting ads on your pages, maybe some of the free hosting services do this?. The best way to control access to content is also by using a CMS imo.

B
 
btw- if you want to give drupal a spin- go to www.drupalcafe.com and sign up for a free account- everything is set up for you already, only catch is that you dont have the ability to add your own plugins which severely limits the options available, but its cool if you just want to get a feel for it.
 
ave said:
Edit*

Joomla adds? joomla doesn't put adds on your pages?

if you want a log in, photo browser then I would definitely recommend a content management system- you can limit certain pages to certain groups of people- give log in names and passwords, only allow certain people to comment on the photos etc
Click to expand...

Sorry, I was mistaken Joomla with Yola.
 
CMS are convenient and probably a good solution for conjuring up something quickly
But from one newbie to another
Stick with the XHTML lessons and then learn CSS and how it styles your markup, they are both very easy to grasp. And understanding them is good long term investment in yourself
Once you feel comfortable i would try play around with the two languages with nothing but a text editor and photoshop. This is a great way to learn and probably the best advice i have ever got from this forum. ;)
Then once you happy that you have tried writing your own website move to dreamweaver(some might disagree)
I have fallen from dreamweaver lately... but two years ago when i didnt know html or css i struggled to grasp what dreamweaver was doing. Now that i know markup dreamweaver is a blessing and it feels im able to do more creative things
 
Hi there.

I have read this post and almost fell over from confusion :) I have no idea how to make a website and thought a good start would be to download Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer since it's free from Microsoft's website. I also thought it would be great for someone like me who hasn't got a clue what's going on as it's reported to be "what you see is what you get" :)

My goal is register a domain soon, once my cc is regsitered & active. Thereafter I want to "build" and "maintain" my own website. My skills in IT are limited to the technical side and I'm very doff when it comes to programming. I want to make a really nice, striking website as it will be displaying my photography portfolio online.

I'm not in the financial position to just go pay someone to make me a website. Does anyone have any advice for an extreme novice?
 
Sharepoint? Wow, you want to delve head first into a volcano without any protective apparel... Good luck with that! :p

Seriously though, rather download Visual Web Developer from MSDN, it's also free and has a good balance of WYSIWYG and explicit markup coding. You can even have a split view of markup and WYSIWYG to see what happens when you drop a control from the toolbox onto the page. I think that would be the ideal place to start with...
 
I have to agree - Sharepoint devs get paid plenty moolah - because it is complex enough to drive you (me) mad. :)

There are plenty of free IDEs out there, and FarligOpptreden has hit on one of the better ones. Rather give that a shot instead.
 
Thanks FarligOpptreden & Raithlin!

Yeah, I had failed to mention that I had already downloaded MS SharePoint Designer. I felt like I went to bed with a fat slap on my face from trying to fiddle for 2 hours and got absolutely nowhere :)

I have just downloaded joomla while re-reading this topic, but I will also take your advice and get Visual Web Developer.

Again, thanks for your advice, it's highly appreciated :)
 
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