Starting a website.

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rza

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I have been wanting to start a website for months now, could please explain the process to me in simple non-IT language. I have tried to read some of the topics on websites but they don't make any sense to me.

I know that you have to get a developer and a host, but that's about it. How much would I pay a developer and host for every page on the website? Who gets to update new articles into website, me, developer or host? Besides hosting, what does a host company do to assist me to manage my website?
 
You have come to the right place , search the forum and you will find lots of information , there are also some very talented developers that can help you design the site and host it as well... Good luck
 
Custom web development can be expensive, and you would require the developer to create and upload new content, unless you are savvy enough to learn for yourself.

I suggest you look into blogging. You can get a free blog from wordpress.com and upload the content yourself. It's easy, and cheap.
 
mister said:
Custom web development can be expensive, and you would require the developer to create and upload new content, unless you are savvy enough to learn for yourself.

I suggest you look into blogging. You can get a free blog from wordpress.com and upload the content yourself. It's easy, and cheap.
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How much are we looking at for developing and monthly hosting fees?

I could do that, but I know it (blog) won't last for long.
 
Thanks guys, it doesn't look that difficult.
 
FarligOpptreden said:
What would be the scope of the Christian material? It sounds interesting and I might be interested in helping you out...
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1. A Daily Devotion
2. Maybe 2 articles per week
3. Testimonies from people
4. Hopefully a newsletter in the future
 
Instead of trying code everything yourself (or paying a developer to do it) rather go for an existing framework as mister suggested. The opensource revolution is happening - the days of doing everything yourself are long done.

I'd suggest using the blogging way of doing things - the old way being boring "Homepage, FAQ, Contact Us, etc, etc". www.wordpress.com is a blogging framework. The advantage of using such a framework is that users can easily find info on your site, since you tag each post. One day, you might write something interesting that you read in Revelations, which you can then tag a "revalations, endtimes". The next day you'll write something about a new Christian book dealing with marriage, and tag it "books, marriage, relationships". The nice thing about this is that people can find this info months later by clicking on the "popular tags" system that comes with wordpress.

Check out this site for example:
http://achristian.wordpress.com/

Then there's also a whole bunch of free Christian related templates: A quick search in google bought back a ton of results:

http://www.magictemplate.com/files/free-christian-wordpress-themes.php
http://www.ozzu.com/designs/wordpress_themes/keyword/christian/

...and there's more. Search google for free Christian wordpress templates.


The nice thing about choosing a blogging system (as opposed to the "normal" website system) is that it gets you in the habit to update you website and create content. CONTENT IS KING! It is the golden rule of the web and I've seen far too many people with "normal/brochure websites" that promise to update their sites, but because it is such a hassle, they never update once the site is a month old.

With wordpress, you can easily write entries to your website by using a firefox plugin called scibefire. Click a button, start typing, hit sumbit - viola - your site is updated.

But yea, if you really want to go the old fashioned way and do most of this yourself, check out www.yola.com (the old synthasite). You can do the website layout using their system, download the html and css and then integrate that with your website (it worked this way last time I checked anyway)

Hope this helps. Good luck with the whole process - it's pretty fun actually.
 
Last edited:
DeamonLizard said:
Instead of trying code everything yourself (or paying a developer to do it) rather go for an existing framework as mister suggested. The opensource revolution is happening - the days of doing everything yourself are long done.

I'd suggest using the blogging way of doing things - the old way being boring "Homepage, FAQ, Contact Us, etc, etc". www.wordpress.com is a blogging framework. The advantage of using such a framework is that users can easily find info on your site, since you tag each post. One day, you might write something interesting that you read in Revelations, which you can then tag a "revalations, endtimes". The next day you'll write something about a new Christian book dealing with marriage, and tag it "books, marriage, relationships". The nice thing about this is that people can find this info months later by clicking on the "popular tags" system that comes with wordpress.

Check out this site for example:
http://achristian.wordpress.com/

Then there's also a whole bunch of free Christian related templates: A quick search in google bought back a ton of results:

http://www.magictemplate.com/files/free-christian-wordpress-themes.php
http://www.ozzu.com/designs/wordpress_themes/keyword/christian/

...and there's more. Search google for free Christian wordpress templates.


The nice thing about choosing a blogging system (as opposed to the "normal" website system) is that it gets you in the habit to update you website and create content. CONTENT IS KING! It is the golden rule of the web and I've seen far too many people with "normal/brochure websites" that promise to update their sites, but because it is such a hassle, they never update once the site is a month old.

With wordpress, you can easily write entries to your website by using a firefox plugin called scibefire. Click a button, start typing, hit sumbit - viola - your site is updated.

But yea, if you really want to go the old fashioned way and do most of this yourself, check out www.yola.com (the old synthasite). You can do the website layout using their system, download the html and css and then integrate that with your website (it worked this way last time I checked anyway)

Hope this helps. Good luck with the whole process - it's pretty fun actually.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info, I'll consider blogging if I find a website to be too much stress.
 
You could use Drupal or Joomla to get a decent website up and running, with what you suggest. Give Farlig or me a shout if interested.
 
rza said:
Thanks for the info, I'll consider blogging if I find a website to be too much stress.
Click to expand...

A Blog is a website, but presented in a different format. I think you need to do some research, try and find other sites that are similar to your idea.

Web hosting can cost R50 per month and up to R1000's for your own dedicated server, which you dont need at this point. Just make sure the hosting package you choose has enough space (MB) and a database. You should also think about registering your domain name in the mean time, they tend to either be taken already or disappear a week before you think of a cool one.

Since it a religion based site, cant you find someone to help you at your church? Once again do lots of research, because whether you do the site yourself, get someone to help you or pay someone, your expectations need to be met, and they wont if you dont clearly define your goals and outcome for this project.
 
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