website builders

[Lucky7CompSolutions]

I need to get my web site built and ready, just wondering what you guys use to build your websites, i quick like the look of moon fruit, my hosting is with 1 and 1.

 

[Faevilangel]

eurgghhh

Please, if you do get a website built, stay far far away from website builders like moonfruit and wix.

They are flash based (so display poorly or not at all on mobiles), you're tied into their system (hard to move away) and you need to rely on them to keep providing the software / website.

Get someone (or use the installers built into decent web hosts) to install a copy of WordPress. It's free to use, so flexible and you can do what you want with the site.

Finally, move away from 1&1, the hosting is expensive and poor by comparison to UK based hosts (1&1 are Germany based). Lots of web hosts on this forum can offer basic hosting for WordPress for less than £30 a year.

If you're going to get a website, get it done properly, so you're not left with a website which leaves you feeling like a damp squid.

 

[SqueakyHinge]

I need to get my web site built and ready, just wondering what you guys use to build your websites, i quick like the look of moon fruit, my hosting is with 1 and 1.

It is good you asked for advice before you took any actions.

Don't use website builders.

Use wordpress. Take out a hosting plan with a company like vida host, who offer a 1 click installtion of wordpress, which will in total cost about £20 pounds.

Then find a free theme that has the layout you would like and then tweak around with it, or buy a theme.

Wordpress is more difficult than a website builder but for a spend of only a few hundred pounds you could get someone to get it how you would like it to look and school you on it if you aren't very techy.

website builders have so many drawbacks, so if you're planning on a website presence to make additional income you are best to avoid them.

 

[Talay]

I use a website builder as a half way house between knowing nothing and what I eventually want to have. Why ? because I didn't speak enough of the language to truly understand what I wanted and who to approach for it. When I went to website designers, it was all technobabble or wanting an open cheque book. Go with a budget and I got the feeling of a car salesman sucking air in between their teeth.

I'd learned a lot. I've been frustrated a lot. I consider it a worthwhile exercise and it is getting me to a place where I know what I want and when it is designed, I will be able to maintain it from an update perspective, something I view as critical and I would have had no chance of being able to do that before.

I mess about with their code, safe in the knowledge that I can revert to main code by ticking a box and there are multiple levels of backups performed automatically.

It is by no means perfect but I think it is the best means of getting the practice you will need to deal with your professionally built site.

I did have a look at Wordpress but it just didn't work for me. I will look at it again and at least get it up and running properly. At the moment, I enjoy playing about with my GoDaddy website builder, as low brow as that is !

 

[Lucky7CompSolutions]

eurgghhh

Please, if you do get a website built, stay far far away from website builders like moonfruit and wix.

They are flash based (so display poorly or not at all on mobiles), you're tied into their system (hard to move away) and you need to rely on them to keep providing the software / website.

Get someone (or use the installers built into decent web hosts) to install a copy of WordPress. It's free to use, so flexible and you can do what you want with the site.

Finally, move away from 1&1, the hosting is expensive and poor by comparison to UK based hosts (1&1 are Germany based). Lots of web hosts on this forum can offer basic hosting for WordPress for less than £30 a year.

If you're going to get a website, get it done properly, so you're not left with a website which leaves you feeling like a damp squid.

Cheers 1and1 comes with wordpress so going to have a play about with it later

 

[nouman]

It is nice idea to use word press or joomla as CMS (content management systems) they are very easy to instal and change products etc but mostly every theme requires to modify according to your company products nature and needs for that you can use some graphic designers for perfect dedication to your business nature if need more info for remote graphic designers contacts feel free to ask me.

 

[Rosewood Farms]

We have a website with Moonfruit and it is very easy to make a professional looking site (it receives lots of positive comments) which was a PITA with Joomla and never did look right. It is also easy to edit within seconds and although I've been offered professionally built websites that will increase my sales, I've not had anyone offer to do it with payment when it *does* match their predictions, so I've stuck with Moonfruit thus far. 75% of our business comes through mobile devices so it can't be doing too badly and looks ok on my phone. I'd like to duplicate the look of the Moonfruit site on Wordpress but just haven't had the time to spend on it when it isn't causing that many problems.

 

[Textlocal]

Another vote from me for Wordpress or Joomla... have loads of additional plugins too which will make your life easier as you grow.

 

[Deleted member 158328]

+1 for Wordpress.

Once you get your head around it Wordpress is no more complicated than using a word processing programme. Plus there's loads of free plugins available.

We use TSO Hosts for our sites. Hassle free and relatively cheap.

 

[VSpy1]

Cheers 1and1 comes with wordpress so going to have a play about with it later

I used 1&1 and to be honest, I found them to be a bit of a nightmare.... I have just signed up to vidahost.com (as recomended on here) and used their quick installation of Wordpress - costs me £2.99 + vat a month - bargain!

I also found an excellent tutorial on you tube which shows you all the basics....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Jv47_VIBOQ

Cheers

Happy Xmas to all!