Has anyone here made their own website? Any tips?
 

Using godaddy.com, etc.?

If so, show me what you've done! I'm interested in setting one up, would like to see what others have done, and hear any tips, etc.

What I'm thinking of is a biz website, small (maybe 5-6 pages total) but needs to look very professional.

i did mine on godaddy
the pre made templates work ok, but i am still contemplating having a site professionally made

Host my own server, do my stuff in a plain text editor. Use godaddy for registration and that is it.

Welcome!

gruv.org

matchmaker trading company

Try Wordpress.

+1 for Wordpress. Tons of themes and templates out there. I've been doing web design for almost 1.5 decades and the CMS platforms out there are incredibly advanced. Drupal, Joomla, Wordpress, PHPNuke/DotNetNuke are all good.

Another +1 for Wordpress.

I would recommend 'think ahead'. Map out what you would like your website to accomplish today, next year, and in 2 years. Make sure what you do now won't hinder your future plans.

Go Daddy's templates are pretty good, especially if you are just going for a 'presence' on the web (your 5 page site seems to indicate that) - if you are going for eCommerce or something more complicated I would look elsewhere.

Auto Gas Springs Store

Prefer 1and1.com for hosting personally.

Built this site for my wife's business.
I used the text editor from Frontpage.
Hosted by godaddy.

marlenesjewelry

Here's a site made from a template, simple as it gets and has looked just like this for 10 years:
914-4

This is built using drupal. Back in the day (in the 90's) I hand-coded everything. CMSs make like much easier

www.nostatic.com | analog soul -:- digital world

Thanks all.

Wordpress looks like it is more for blogging than a professional biz website?

In researching, I've read a ton of bad things about godaddy. Bad support, unreliable, take your domain hostage, etc.

This is not for ecommerce, it's a professional services site.

A somewhat simplified version of this random sample would be good! Can I DIY accomplish something this polished?

About Michaels Law Group • About MLG • The Go-To Firm for Business Transactions and Automotive-Related Disputes

Hi,

If anyone is interested I do websites professionally, both HTML and Wordpress. Have a look, JAS Global specializing in Search Engine Optimization and Video Production and Marketing, Medford, Oregon and Yellow Raven Productions Video for Medford Oregon They are both my sites. Contact me for any further information johnskuja@jasglobalmarketing.com I am reasonable..

John

We created our company website on godaddy and it was very fast and easy. Maintaining it, not so much...

Try the free demo at citymax.com Pretty easy website builder with tons of templates...

You can achieve really impressive results using Wordpress these days. In the past, it was a blogger tool, but its grown and is much more powerful now. I'm going to PM you with more info tomorrow, but for now, here's a bit of inspiration:

24 Great Examples of Websites using WordPress in New & Imaginative Ways | Web Design Blog | Web Design Fan | Resources for Web Designers and Graphic Designers

30 Awesome Examples of WordPress Being Used for Websites - tripwire magazine

Get a CMS, WordPress, getSimple, Drupal is great (requires a strong skillset), Joomla which has great off the shelf stuff but tries to do too much so gets to be a pain in the ass.

The nice thing about a CMS is to be able to set up internal templates for things like product detail pages. Once the template is built adding a page is as simple as plugging in product specific text and graphics into their placeholder areas.

This
SouthPeak Games | Dementium II for Nintendo DS

and this
SouthPeak Games | Trine for PC

are generated dynamically plugging in the non unique assets

Some of mine

Drupal

Stronghold 3

Two Worlds II - Enter Your Date Of Birth

Tap and Teach: The Story of Noah's Ark - Activities

Real simple one done in simpleCMS

Minor Lords

No offense intended but if you are not a creative individual, have experience as a graphic artist/designer then likely no.

Same as thinking that since one has a copy of Photoshop one is automagically an artist.

Find a template you like and resist the urge to change anything but the images specific to your business.

+1000 on that. A good graphics person and a good copy editor are crucial!

I use Ipage, so far I have had good luck with them. Im no expert at web design or creation but it has become a hobby of mine for about a year now. Everything has been self taught and slow going.

What I've done:

Wht2du.com

"...but needs to look very professional."
So maybe you need to hire a professional designer???
Just saying.

I made my own with Frontpage around 2004.
It looked like this: Performance Aeromotive, Inc - HOME

Last year I paid a professional.
Now it looks like this: Performance Aeromotive | Aviation Repair Station Service | Aviation Safety Auditing

Questions you need to consider are
What is your purpose for having a website?
What image do you want to convey?

I've been making simple websites since the mid-90's by hand-coding HTML. Today I use DreamWeaver to manage, create templates, etc. Templates are the key, whether Wordpress or any CMS. For example, on January 1, I update the copyright year on the template, it flows through to all pages created using the template.

The single biggest issue, as others have pointed out, is few people have a creative eye or ability to implement a design in their head. That's why canned templates or designers are important. For basic websites, consider a template library to give you the .css, structure, and layout then insert your own photos and code. Here's an example that's only $65:

http://images.template-help.com/scre...4-drupal-b.jpg

If you are not a copywriter, find one. Then use the spellchecker. BTW, Cash, your top line menu misspelled "Salvage" ;-D

Lots of great advice on here. I use godaddy for hosting my site. I find their webpage a burden to navigate, but their prices are alright and I've had success with the customer service (once you get over the constant attempts at upselling).

As others have suggested, find a designer to help you out...allowing you to do what you do; there are plenty of hungry creatives out their that could probably kick your site out quite quickly.

I have worked for years primarily by word of mouth (still do in fact), but when I was brought on as a consultant to an AE firm that was in the running for big project, I had to provide a website for their review. So a colleague of mine and myself created the site over a weekend.

Take it easy, not done by a professional

It did the trick but the way it was constructed makes it very cumbersome to update...which is why it hasn't changed in a year and half.

Like I said, do what you do and let a pro handle the site.

Lots of great advice, thanks guys!

cashflyer - your homemade one looked nice, but wow, the professional one is a big upgrade! For my business, I could not use one at the level of your homemade one, but could use the pro one.

Sarc - you did that in a weekend? Very nice. I could use that, I like its elegance and simplicity.

Don - that $65 template looks nice. Would work for me.

stomachmonkey (and others) - I fully agree, I have nowhere near the artistic ability to create an even halfway decent site, graphically. I'm not adverse to using a template, though.

Thanks. Yeah, I was pretty pleased myself for a first effort...I just wish we would have done it the right way. The friend that helped me has since become well rounded in the discipline, so I'm hoping for another go here soon.

I just ordered some stuff! My wife digs that kind of jewelery.

Dan,
You have made my wife very happy. That's not something I enjoy saying to strange men, but none the less, she thanks you very much.:D