# To Build a Website



## sashbar (Jul 17, 2015)

I have finally decided to build my website, but I really know nothing about it.  There are various companies that offer easy solutions like Weebly, Squareace etc, which offer it all for free.

Knowing that nothing is for free, I wonder what are the pitfalls of using these website builders, and what are other options.

It is going to be a non commercial site, with just photos and possibly blogs.

But I do not want to build a great site, put all my images there only to learn further down the road that I need to pay not to lose it or to change it, or to add some services etc.

So what in your view is the best way for an illiterate internet user like me to get my own website these days?

Thanks.


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## JimMcClain (Jul 18, 2015)

WordPress - the stand-alone product (wordpress.org), not the network of blogs (wordpress.com). For many years I built static websites from scratch. I couldn't keep up with all the scripting languages, so I started using WordPress as a base. The software is free. Most of the plugins you would need are free, but there are a few premium plugins that are worth the expense. I recommend a quality theme too, which can be easily modified to create something unique to you. Of course, you pay for your own domain name and your hosting.

Hosting is important - don't go with GoDaddy or any other $4.95 a month low-cost shared hosing. If you want people to look at your photos, they better load fast and that means a quality server from a quality host. You can do okay from about 15 bucks a month and up. I am using a VPS (Virtual Private Server) with SSD technology and lots of RAM and horse power for just under a buck and a half (140.00), but I have a forum and several websites on it).

In addition to your own website, you can also set up accounts at 2 or 3 of the better photo-centric shops, like 500px.com, Flickr and SmugMug. I would stick to a specific theme for those, different for each one and always link back to your main website. If you use social networking sites, like facebook or Twitter, use them for teaser pics that always link to your main website or one of your ancillary sites.

Good luck,

Jim


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## sashbar (Jul 18, 2015)

JimMcClain said:


> WordPress - the stand-alone product (wordpress.org), not the network of blogs (wordpress.com). For many years I built static websites from scratch. I couldn't keep up with all the scripting languages, so I started using WordPress as a base. The software is free. Most of the plugins you would need are free, but there are a few premium plugins that are worth the expense. I recommend a quality theme too, which can be easily modified to create something unique to you. Of course, you pay for your own domain name and your hosting.
> 
> Hosting is important - don't go with GoDaddy or any other $4.95 a month low-cost shared hosing. If you want people to look at your photos, they better load fast and that means a quality server from a quality host. You can do okay from about 15 bucks a month and up. I am using a VPS (Virtual Private Server) with SSD technology and lots of RAM and horse power for just under a buck and a half (140.00), but I have a forum and several websites on it).
> 
> ...



Thanks Jim, much appreciated.  Have you used Dreamweaver for your sites?


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## JimMcClain (Jul 18, 2015)

sashbar said:


> Thanks Jim, much appreciated.  Have you used Dreamweaver for your sites?


No, it's not necessary with WordPress. Even back when I hard-coded everything, I didn't use Dreamweaver. Back then (I guess still) I could type code manually in a text editor. Now, when I need an editor to write code for my forum modifications, I use WeBuilder 2015. It's a glorified text editor that will highlight errors, complete common tags and has a whole lot of useful features I use occasionally. But I never have to use it for my WordPress sites. You just write your blog posts, articles and pages in the built-in WYSIWYG editor, drag & drop pictures - they make it quite easy.


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## Raj_55555 (Jul 18, 2015)

sashbar said:


> Knowing that nothing is for free, I wonder what are the pitfalls of using these website builders, and what are other options.


To answer your other question, there really are no pitfalls as such, if yours is an unpaid version from wix or weebly they will display a logo and a link (a big one) on your website redirecting traffic and increasing their customer base. Also the domain will read something like www.blabla*.wix.*com. For the paid version, you can get rid of the logo, access the source code in some cases and have a proper DNS set against your website even if it's hosted by wix.

But if you are serious about this, can't give better advice than Jim did!


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## sashbar (Jul 18, 2015)

Thanks Raj.  Something tells me that it would be safer to register my own domain rather than have blabla.wix because that kind of domain is owned by wix, and if wix goes bust... but I may be wrong.


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## Raj_55555 (Jul 18, 2015)

sashbar said:


> Thanks Raj.  Something tells me that it would be safer to register my own domain rather than have blabla.wix because that kind of domain is owned by wix, and if wix goes bust... but I may be wrong.


Yes, but the domain is just the pointer to the website. If you want that kind of safety, you are also better off putting your data (photos+other stuff) on a host you know will last like Jim suggested. It's better to stay away from wix and the likes altogether.


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## WYSIWYG (Jul 23, 2015)

I use wordpress as the backbone for all my websites. You literally don't have to code at all. You still be somewhat savvy to not spend too much time on it but like anything else theres a learning curve up front. Not too bad though.  
Hosting wise I use hostgator. I know other people who use bluehost that are happy with them also.  I would start off with shared hosting, the cheaper option, until you get everything up and running and figure out if you will really need a more expensive plan. If you do, you can upgrade whenever you want.


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## MariaManjelo (Jul 23, 2015)

id stay with Wordpress if you are new to this. Wordpress is user and google friendly and no need to learn the code. There are many templates for photographers out there. I am for one is using prophoto and i love it.


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## floatingby (Jul 23, 2015)

I use Koken for my photography site, it's a brilliant, without peers in fact, CMS for that since that's what it was created for, easy to use and come with great theming out the box, but unfortunately it is now abandonware, so, while it work brilliantly now, it will not be updated.
Wordpress is great for bloggin, not so great for a photography site, quite cumbersome in fact. You can augment its capacity in this function using plugins, most people do, but then you always run the risk of having the latest WP update breaking your plugins, therefore rendering your site non-functional.
If I was making a personal/photography webiste now using what I now know, I'd use an all in one service like Squarespace so I don't have to take care of the back end, just have to take care of the contents.


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## The_Traveler (Jul 23, 2015)

There are lots of solutions.
Word press requires a (or did) decent amount of work to keep running (version changes can break your code).
You can buy add-on themes for photography but they are a mixed bag. Several years ago, I put an enormous effort into getting set up with a very neat theme-on-top-of Wordpress site and then the theme company went under and the first WP upgrade broke it.

Now I use Zenfolio (like Squarespace or Smugmug).  
Reasonably cheap, relatively flexible and, best of all, little or no maintenance.
There is a new terrific feature that allows you to make any changes to the site's look and then preview it without committing any changes to the live site.
I use a J Friedl plugin for LR that uploads to Zenfolio directly.


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## FarazMalik (Nov 2, 2015)

Unlike other website builders, Pixpa offers the coolest way to edit your website content and theme layout. You can review your changes in real time while you are editing your site.
Pixpa provides the easiest way to build a website. It is designed for both beginner and advanced computer users to create a simple, professional website without the need to learn CSS and HTML or hire a web designer at a high cost.


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