Help needed building a website!

[NWS]

Probably you have seen this thread a lot of times but I really need to know what's the easiest way to make a website... I need to make a site for my new hair accessories business but I can't afford to hire a design agency yet, and I don't have the time to learn scripting... A few friends recommended me using Dreamweaver or FrontPage. Is this really the easiest and fastest way to make a site or there are other possibilities? I'd appreciate any information and opinion you could give me.

 

[Thanee]

You could use a template. Many bigger webspace providers offer fully functional website templates, you can choose your layout from amongst a couple choices, enter some details and you are done, pretty much.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Ayrk]

The template is probably the easiest way. I know that my host, Jatol.com, has them.

Also you could go somewhere like Open Source Web Design, www.oswd.org, and get a template there. Fill in the text, create the link, upload, and you are done.

 

[Cergorach]

Use a CMS (Content Management System), there are a couple of good ones available for free. I use Joomla (www.joomla.org), it's free, it's Open Source. Install is reasonably easy (nice installer), the backend is userfriendly and can be easily filled with content, and there are good free templates available.

If you want a shopping cart system to go with it you can use Virtuemart (www.virtuemart.com). It's a component for Joomla and is also very easy to install and operate.

Note that you'll need webspace that supports both php (the script engine) and mysql (the database).

 

[Sir Brennen]

A friend of mine uses http://www.templatemonster.com/ for several sites he and a few buddies created. It's pretty extensive.

 

[ssampier]

Use a CMS (Content Management System), there are a couple of good ones available for free. I use Joomla (www.joomla.org), it's free, it's Open Source. Install is reasonably easy (nice installer), the backend is userfriendly and can be easily filled with content, and there are good free templates available.

I have played with several CMSs. I know HTML and CSS, I can't figure them out. I know it's simple, but I'm lost... I did build a simple CMS with PHP and MySQL, that works ok.

 

[dvvega]

I've done what you are wanting to do and I've explored all the avenues that have been mentioned here. Granted I do this for a living, however some points for you to consider:

Where Are You Hosting It?
You need to consider where you are hosting your website etc. Do they support ASP, PHP, Java, what?

Scripting
You will have to learn some form of scripting at some time. You can never NOT know any. Even products like Dreamweaver or Frontpage (do not use Frontpage BTW it sucks) can't do everything for you.

CMS - especially Joomla
These are a pain in the butt to manage/install/set-up if you're not very experienced. In addition you will not use half of the offerings from such products. You would be better off looking for something that provides what you need ... leading to ...

E-Commerce Kits
There are many e-commerce kits out there on the WWW and a lot of them are open source. I've used a fair number, but my most recent client was built using osCommerce. Why was this? It was straight forward to install (if you follow the instructions) and comes with a basic look/feel. You can modify that with a bit of work or download templates. It hands everything from stock display to online purchasing and PayPal payments.

Your Tasks:
1) Find out where you are hosting your website (and what is available)
2) Then come back and tell us - it would greatly improve our ability to help you.