ok... I'm in need of some help!!!

I need to start a website for my fiancee but I'm kinda difficult, plus it doesn't help that I really don't know what I am doing!!!

WHAT I NEED:
-Easy to use web builder (the easier the better, i don't have any html knowledge) Templates would be great!
-If possible I don't want any ads... if i have to have them, NO POP UP ADS... I hate those things!!!
-Own Domain name (me.com NOT me.them.com)
-Message Boards pre-installed ( i don't think I would have the patience to ad one on to the site..... would I, remember, i don't really know what I am doing!)
-As cheap as possible!!!!

OK, i think thats it... ANY AND ALL HELP VERY APPRECIATED!!!!!

THANKS!

If this is something you want done quickly I would hire a webdesigner.

If not let me know and I can dig up some tools/websites that might help you.

It's not something I wanted to finish quickly... just get it started quickly....

THANKS FOR YOUR HELP!!!!!!

Hi Cindy,

Wish I could be more help, but they say misery loves company, so I hope you will be OK with this. I have the same problem. I am a graphic artist, and am trying to move into the future. I am trying to learn Web Design, but I am not really sure what I have done is professional. My husband is telling people I will soon be able to design their websites. I designed something for our company on Front Page, which is pretty easy, but since we don't have a web-host yet, I don't really know if it will work. I am still typing in information and hope it is not a waste of time. I really don't know if I am doing this right. Maybe we can get a little help from the pros.

If MicroSoft Front Page is acceptable to the real webmasters, that might be your best bet, because it is easy. You would like it I am sure because it has wizzards which do most of the work. You just fill out a little questionare on what features you want and it puts them in. Then you go in and customize what it does. It puts in little paragraphs where the text goes and in these paragraphs, it puts in suggestions for the kind of things you want to tell about your company. I was able to put in my company logo faded out to 20% as a background picture, and still use a template which makes the whole site match. It looks really cool! The real question is will it work, and also could you get paid for doing this or would you have to learn code and dreamweaver, and god only knows what else.

I hope the Web-Masters will come to the rescue soon with the real answers. All I can tell you is that Front Page is easy. If it is really doing what I think it is! Which is a big question for me.

Good Luck Cindy!

FreakyCat

From all I have learned in the four years of hanging with webmasters is that front page is their nightmare.

It apparently munges the code so badly. Also it has been said that a page will end up larger in KB etc. than it has to be using frontpage because it adds so much unneeded code.

I never could make heads or tails out of using those things anyway so I learned plain HTML.

I have a site or two that might help you and help you to realize just how easy HTML really is.


P.S. Love your nick.

While I started out using Frontpage, I would not go back to it! It does bloat your code and if you use a theme then anyone who's used the program can tell at-a-glance that you used Frontpage, even if you do customise it a little!

Having said that, it is a swings and roundabouts issue... Frontpage has a shallow learning code to the likes of Dreamweaver (that program really scared me with it's strange interface!)... chances are, if you can use MS Word, you will find your way about using FP. This will get you started quickly... but if you want to produce something that doesn't have FP stamped all over it, then I suggest you take a little time to learn HTML (the basics are easy).

Cindy, as you are new to all this hosting and whatnot, you might be interesting at taking a look at my guides. So you Want a Site? looks at the issues of site ownership and raises a few issues you might not have thought about. Not quite sure what hosting to look for to have the type of site you want, then my Guide to Web Hosting would be worth a look... I don't go recommending hosts, but I can help you discover the features you will need to have the site you want.

I've also go a few Book Reviews you might be interested in... depends on what you are looking for really...

HTH - just sorry I couldn't point you in a specific direction... but I certainly recommend you do your homework before choosing your host, particularly since you have the opportunity to try and get it right first time!

Originally posted by Drachewyn
FreakyCat

From all I have learned in the four years of hanging with webmasters is that front page is their nightmare.

It apparently munges the code so badly. Also it has been said that a page will end up larger in KB etc. than it has to be using frontpage because it adds so much unneeded code.

I never could make heads or tails out of using those things anyway so I learned plain HTML.

I have a site or two that might help you and help you to realize just how easy HTML really is.


P.S. Love your nick.

Unneeded code? Definitely! However, that is a characteristic of most easy-builder programs that I know of. You could make the same case with Dreamweaver. However, Frontpage remains one of the easiest programs to use (even though I haven't figured it out totally; I started immediately with HTML).

While HTML is easy, it does become tedious for beginners because it takes quite a bit of experimenting. You constantly have to save and recheck to make sure everything looks alright before you proceed (at least that is a common habit of mine). Also, it is difficult and very time-consuming to create a very professional-looking site full of complex features (requiring the use of tables across the screen to format the page correctly). So I guess coding in Notepad has its advantages and disadvantages. The biggest advantages are that you have total freedom and that you can optimize the code.

FreakyCat, believe it or not, many professional webmasters use Frontpage because they create so many sites that they don't have the time to properly format each one! However, most of them do go back and delete the junk that Frontpage adds.

With all that said and done, Cindy, I recommend that you use:

http://www.homestead.com/

People today are lucky when it comes to webdesign. Maybe that's why so many people are doing it nowdays. When I started there weren't that many to choose from and WYSIWYG was just some characters that few people knew what it meant.

Using FrontPage might be real easy but anyone who is actually serious about making webpages should buy an HTML book OR do what I had to do and look at existing source. Go open up notepad and get your learn on.

Thanks so much for all the advice, I'm going to check out all the info!

As far as learning this HTML thing..... I want to, just seems like I don't have the time!!!!!

BUT.... Thanks again for all the help!!!!

Cindy,

Here are some links that cover the basics of HTML. This was how I started learning before I bought a book. If you can at least understand the basics of how it works then learning the rest would be no problem. It will also help you if you should decide to use an editor in spotting the bloated code.

http://www.geocities.com/SiliconVall.../ten_html.html

http://www.ilearnhtml.com/lesson/lesson2.php

And saving the best for last...

This one is my very favorite. Ah the nostalgia.

This one helped me the most four or five years ago when I just started my journey of webdesign.

http://www.geocities.com/karenw/html.html


I hope these help.

I still strongly think you should use Homestead. They're cheap and easy to use. I think Maxpages has a similar online WYSIWYG editor, but I don't know if they're even up anymore.

And what about the classics?
http://www.geocities.com/
http://www.tripod.com/
http://www.angelfire.com/

I can't believe I forgot those!

I got like 4 or 5 html books if anyone wants them.

Originally posted by redcircle
I got like 4 or 5 html books if anyone wants them.

If you want, PM me with the titles and particulars. I might be interested. That's all I'm gonna' say here so I don't get in trouble for bartering in the wrong forum.

Dave

Whelp..ill tell ya a real quick one....postnuke....its predesigned...just do a search for prenuke on Yahoo..or google.com.....add the content that you want....pretty simple...or you can use .....blogger.com....its a real basic site that comes with a template. Take care and good luck

Alton

but my real name is jeff...they call me Alton on here...I don't know why !

Originally posted by altonpost
My real name is jeff...they call me Alton on here...I don't know why !

Simple realy, it's derived from the ID you gave yourself when you signed up.

I'm referred to as Tiggy on all the message boards I take part on... but of course, those that know me well enough know my real name is Rosemarie (but Rosie is my preferred personal nickname).

I had to laugh one time, a mate a University was trying to get my attention in a shop he saw me in... tried calling me over, but he didn't manage to get my attention until he shouted "Tiggy"... I hope no-one thought he'd lost his cat, as we were in the middle of a Dixons!

Originally posted by altonpost
Whelp..ill tell ya a real quick one....postnuke....its predesigned...just do a search for prenuke on Yahoo..or google.com.....add the content that you want....pretty simple...or you can use .....blogger.com....its a real basic site that comes with a template. Take care and good luck

Alton

but my real name is jeff...they call me Alton on here...I don't know why !

Hi alton,

I call you Alton because that's what you put as your closing line (and it's short for your username ). At least it's better than having to type "altonpost" out, and I'm a lazy person.

Does PostNuke come with a control panel that lets you modify the text? I always thought that they gave you the template and you had to manually modify the HTML (i.e. type it in yourself).