Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

[Hooe]

Foremost, correct me on any assumption that I have that is wrong; as the title suggests, I'm a n00b to this.

So I'm looking into setting up my own personal webpage and domain for purposes of logging projects I work on (this page will act as a sort of supplement to my resumé); given that I'm in the computer science field and that my CS friends all seem to already have such a page set up, it seems like it can't be a bad thing to have.

With that, I'm looking into web page hosting solutions. Through some preliminary questioning of my friends, I basically have two options: A) buy my own server and host my webpage personally for free forever, or B) pay for hosting through some external source. Either route, I understand that I must obtain a domain name to use for said hosting.

Right now, I'm leaning towards option B, since I don't have the money to purchase my own server nor the space to put one in my eight-person college house. Is there a disadvantage through going this route that I should be aware of? Is there a particular host you'd recommend (right now I'm looking at http://www.justhost.com/ and http://www.godaddy.com for both a hosting solution and domain name acquisition, and leaning towards the former)? Anything else I should know?

Thanks in advance.

[pfunk880]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

JustHost looks like a decent option. I definitely wouldn't host it on your own with the space and shared connection you have. I'm not a fan of GoDaddy.

I'm currently using 1&1, mostly because a class I was in required it and I haven't bothered to switch since I haven't really had problems. I've also used Dreamhost in the past and thought it was quite good.

[CMH]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

Going the second route isn't a problem at all. I'm sure there are advantages to hosting your site on your own, but it doesn't cost much to have another company do it and you give them the headache of maintaining the server (and someone to complain to if things go wrong).

I've been using GoDaddy for the past year plus, but it's up to you. I don't really see the difference between hosting sites. A host is a host. They all do the same thing. Some might offer you more customization or options to look at statistics or for ease of use, but really it all comes down to how you create your site.

No hosting company is going to determine that for you.

[Phobia]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

I have a question for this actually. I am in the process of doing the same thing. Just bought my domain and now in the process of looking for a host.

Now I have my domain through godaddy and will most likely just do hosting through them also if its up to par.

But my main question comes into web design. What is the best way for this. If you need certain things and have certain ideas for how you want it to look. What are your best options from a money stand point and a design stand point.

From my understanding the options are A) Build it yourself with a program(I have no skill in this) B) Pay a company to build it (pricey) C) Use those wonky template based designs (horrible IMO)

What is the best route to get a website designed the way you want and not break the bank?

[Cyros]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

I'd say you could use Dreamweaver. It'll allow you to build your website without knowing any code, but I'm not sure how far you'll get without knowing the ins and outs of code.

[Phobia]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

I'd say you could use Dreamweaver. It'll allow you to build your website without knowing any code, but I'm not sure how far you'll get without knowing the ins and outs of code.

So dreamweaver is like 300 bucks from what I have seen. Is that one of the better options? How on par is frontpage with dreamweaver. Only reason I am asking that is I have frontpage on my system already. Just never attempted to even open it.

[Stumbleweed]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

My recommendations for hosting are HostGator because it's the cheapest/best deal available or LiquidWeb because they have the best support available 24/7.

[CMH]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

So dreamweaver is like 300 bucks from what I have seen. Is that one of the better options? How on par is frontpage with dreamweaver. Only reason I am asking that is I have frontpage on my system already. Just never attempted to even open it.

Dreamweaver is more advanced than FrontPage. Both pretty much do the same thing, but Dreamweaver is definitely built for the coder and the designer in mind.

I use Dreamweaver. I absolutely dislike the designer layouts any of the two programs have. I much prefer to write in code.

An important thing to consider: I never studied web design in school. I took one basic html course that covered things you already know. Trust me, if you go on message boards enough, you already know most of the basics of html web design.

On the rare occasion I need some help, I just type in "html [enter whatever here]" in google and the internet gives me the answer.

However, unless you really know html code like the very good web designers of the world, you are likely not going to make a very cool looking site (not to say you still can't make a very good looking one). Web Designers get paid bucks for a reason.

[Dirty Turtles]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

I've been building webpages for like 10 years now. From starting out on Angelfire with their crappy autopage layouts, to sitting down and learning code on my own. I would do it for a living if it wasn't for the fact that most non-corporation people who want websites are willing to have their pages be ultra basic, or learn to do it themselves. The web design field is overcrowded with people in ranging talents from experts to amateurs, all vying for your business.

Anybody can code, basic coding isn't hard at all. I found the learning experience to be an extremely fun process. I gobbled up how-to books and articles online to further my abilities. I did all of my coding in notepad and basically applied trial and error. The really big thing with web design is the graphic design portion of it. Without good graphics, your pages are bland and uninteresting. This is where I always struggled through the years. I was able to make decent looking graphics in MS Paint, but I didn't have the time or money to invest in programs such as Photoshop.

Having Frontpage already, you can build specific things automatically with the program and look to see how the program codes them. You can help teach yourself the ins and outs of coding and build better looking and more compact coding than FP could ever do for you.

As for hosting, I use hostmonster.com, we've used them for a few years for forum hosting services.

[NYJets]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

But my main question comes into web design. What is the best way for this. If you need certain things and have certain ideas for how you want it to look. What are your best options from a money stand point and a design stand point.

From my understanding the options are A) Build it yourself with a program(I have no skill in this) B) Pay a company to build it (pricey) C) Use those wonky template based designs (horrible IMO)

What is the best route to get a website designed the way you want and not break the bank?

Depends what exactly you are trying to do, and whether you want to take the time to learn. Learning html and putting together a basic website would not be all that difficult. Using a program like dreamweaver is fine, but I wouldn't do it without at least getting a decent knowledge of HTML.

If the site is going to be more complicated and require more advanced programming and/or graphics, than it's going to take longer to learn, and you might want to consider paying someone if your looking to get a good site up and running soon.

[Phobia]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

Depends what exactly you are trying to do, and whether you want to take the time to learn. Learning html and putting together a basic website would not be all that difficult. Using a program like dreamweaver is fine, but I wouldn't do it without at least getting a decent knowledge of HTML.

If the site is going to be more complicated and require more advanced programming and/or graphics, than it's going to take longer to learn, and you might want to consider paying someone if your looking to get a good site up and running soon.

This pretty much sums it up. It is not some simple throw together personal webpage. What I have in mind will be a little more complicated and will have some options that not just the average joe like myself will be able to code. Plus time is a issue to a degree. It is not a necessity that it is up ASAP, but the soon the better for sure.

[Scott]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

i use godaddy for my website, see it in my sig. I've have no problems with them.

[mgoblue]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

If you're a student you should get some free web space to tinker with until you're ready to pay the monthly hosting fee...

There are free text editors out there that highlight syntax and whatnot as well. You can get free ftp programs to connect to your space and create/edit files as needed (assuming it's a somewhat simple site)...

More extensive sites and database access will depend on your host and knowledge.

[The GIGGAS]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

i use godaddy for my website, see it in my sig. I've have no problems with them.

Is that GoDaddy hosting as well?

[RockinDaMike]

Re: Making a personal webpage: n00b questions, help plz

I work for godaddy so you can ask me any quesitons through pm. You can host with anyone and will work fine with what you are doing. a site with low traffic and low content so any program should work. I wouldn't go out and buy any program as you can use simple free programs like wordpress, joomla, drupal to make a site.

If you are using front page, make sure your not using anything with frontpage connections as most host don't support it anymore. if you do need it godaddy does offer support but make sure to call and purchase since it will be an old type of hosting you'll need for front page extensions. As for any program, buying the lowest play should be more than enough which is 5 bucks a month.

Most companies will also offer there own template program but these are sites you don't get to keep as they only work on that companies host and you can't move it or back it up yourself.