Web Design and Hosting, easy?

Crashtard

So my boss wants me to build a web site for our business. Trouble is, I'm not terribly versed in any programming language. I can manage some basic html code, but beyond that it would take me a while to learn it and get the site made. So, I guess what I'm looking for is a good hosting company that also has tools to help me design the page without having to code it by hand. Any good suggestions?

MagicPrime

Sometimes you can check with your ISP about hosting services. Especially if it is a cable or fiber-optic network.

amateurhour

Crashtard wrote: »

So my boss wants me to build a web site for our business. Trouble is, I'm not terribly versed in any programming language. I can manage some basic html code, but beyond that it would take me a while to learn it and get the site made. So, I guess what I'm looking for is a good hosting company that also has tools to help me design the page without having to code it by hand. Any good suggestions?

I like ipower. I've been with them a little while, and they're cheap and have been pretty reliable.

They've got some decent built in tools as well.

Szechuanosaurus

What sort of website do you want to build? There are different pre-packaged web site building tools for different needs, so it depends on if you just need a 'here we are' website, an e-commerce site, some form of schedule booking site, a news website, a content management system etc.



This post comes with the standard disclaimer that building your own website is basically a bad idea if you don't know what you're doing - in terms of designing, coding and hosting equally.

MagicPrime

Szechuanosaurus wrote: »

What sort of website do you want to build? There are different pre-packaged web site building tools for different needs, so it depends on if you just need a 'here we are' website, an e-commerce site, some form of schedule booking site, a news website, a content management system etc.



This post comes with the standard disclaimer that building your own website is basically a bad idea if you don't know what you're doing - in terms of designing, coding and hosting equally.

Pretty much the "Here we Are" website is the only one you could do without server-side software to run your e-commerce, calendars, news feeds, CMS, etc. etc. etc.

Crashtard

It's not going to be anything super elaborate. Probably no flash, news feeds, calenders, etc. Probably not even any commerce stuff, because our suppliers don't allow us to sell online because we have to be able to do warranty work on anything we sell. Basically what we want is a Here we Are sort of thing where we can show off the products we sell, give some basic pricing information, etc. I checked out IPower and I really like their pricing, but they don't really give you an idea of the tools it comes with to use.

amateurhour

Crashtard wrote: »

It's not going to be anything super elaborate. Probably no flash, news feeds, calenders, etc. Probably not even any commerce stuff, because our suppliers don't allow us to sell online because we have to be able to do warranty work on anything we sell. Basically what we want is a Here we Are sort of thing where we can show off the products we sell, give some basic pricing information, etc. I checked out IPower and I really like their pricing, but they don't really give you an idea of the tools it comes with to use.

they use a vdeck control pannel, it gives you 25 sql databases, php 4.0, and a not so simple to navigate page designer.

you also get all the e-mail addresses you would need.

edit: check the link in my sig to see the kind of site I built with them. I used wordpress for the site design though.

Crashtard

I'm not terribly worried about it being simple to navigate or learn, that's not really an issue. I just don't want to spend 3 months learning to code something in html or another language that I really can't maintain/troubleshoot anyway.

Szechuanosaurus

MagicPrime wrote: »

Szechuanosaurus wrote: »

What sort of website do you want to build? There are different pre-packaged web site building tools for different needs, so it depends on if you just need a 'here we are' website, an e-commerce site, some form of schedule booking site, a news website, a content management system etc.



This post comes with the standard disclaimer that building your own website is basically a bad idea if you don't know what you're doing - in terms of designing, coding and hosting equally.

Pretty much the "Here we Are" website is the only one you could do without server-side software to run your e-commerce, calendars, news feeds, CMS, etc. etc. etc.

Well, you could build a simple CMS or news website using remote software solutions such as Blogger or CushyCMS that don't require a database on your host (Blogger doesn't even require that you have your own hosting so long as you don't mind a blogger.com url) and I've noticed that several hosting companies also offer pre-packaged shopping cart applications and even pre-built ecommerce site templates along with their hosting as well as blogging packages although I've never investigated how they actually work.

Crashtard

Szechuanosaurus wrote: »

MagicPrime wrote: »

Szechuanosaurus wrote: »

What sort of website do you want to build? There are different pre-packaged web site building tools for different needs, so it depends on if you just need a 'here we are' website, an e-commerce site, some form of schedule booking site, a news website, a content management system etc.



This post comes with the standard disclaimer that building your own website is basically a bad idea if you don't know what you're doing - in terms of designing, coding and hosting equally.

Pretty much the "Here we Are" website is the only one you could do without server-side software to run your e-commerce, calendars, news feeds, CMS, etc. etc. etc.

Well, you could build a simple CMS or news website using remote software solutions such as Blogger or CushyCMS that don't require a database on your host (Blogger doesn't even require that you have your own hosting so long as you don't mind a blogger.com url) and I've noticed that several hosting companies also offer pre-packaged shopping cart applications and even pre-built ecommerce site templates along with their hosting as well as blogging packages although I've never investigated how they actually work.

Yeah, I've noticed that most places run 5-10 bucks a month and have site templates and whatnot for you to check out. Probably that's going to be the route I take, but I'm still open to suggestion.

Legionnaired

Crashtard wrote: »

Szechuanosaurus wrote: »

MagicPrime wrote: »

Szechuanosaurus wrote: »

What sort of website do you want to build? There are different pre-packaged web site building tools for different needs, so it depends on if you just need a 'here we are' website, an e-commerce site, some form of schedule booking site, a news website, a content management system etc.



This post comes with the standard disclaimer that building your own website is basically a bad idea if you don't know what you're doing - in terms of designing, coding and hosting equally.

Pretty much the "Here we Are" website is the only one you could do without server-side software to run your e-commerce, calendars, news feeds, CMS, etc. etc. etc.

Well, you could build a simple CMS or news website using remote software solutions such as Blogger or CushyCMS that don't require a database on your host (Blogger doesn't even require that you have your own hosting so long as you don't mind a blogger.com url) and I've noticed that several hosting companies also offer pre-packaged shopping cart applications and even pre-built ecommerce site templates along with their hosting as well as blogging packages although I've never investigated how they actually work.

Yeah, I've noticed that most places run 5-10 bucks a month and have site templates and whatnot for you to check out. Probably that's going to be the route I take, but I'm still open to suggestion.

You might think about getting a Wiki, setting it up as you like it with acceptable themes and skins to make it very un-wiki like, allowing only registered users to edit the site, and then just taking edit buttons off of it.

I'm not sure if there's a pre-packaged anything that'll do all of that, but pmwiki is a good place to start if you want to go that route. The authentication is relatively easy.

The hardest part is going to be finding a professional skin, but it can be done.

Free, too.

KVW

Just install Wordpress on whatever host you end up using. Install a theme you like, change a banner, add some images and you have a website that should look good with an easy to use WYSIWYG interface.

Crashtard

What I ended up doing was going through www.siteground.com It was suggested on the EvAv forums, and I really like it. Thanks for all the suggestions.

Jasconius

Siteground is alright if you just have one web site ever. They actually CHARGE you for having more than 1 web site, and their tech support is the worst I have ever experienced.

Good luck.