Website design

[helen0722]

Hello everyone,

I’m looking to design my own website for my business and II would like to know what is the best website development platform to use? I would also like to have a discussion forum linked with my website if that is possible. Any recommendations of best free web platform to use will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Kay Mankoo]

Hi,

Have you had any experience with web design and web development before? If you're a complete novice, I'd suggest taking a step back think about what it is you exactly need for your business online presence.

There are many platforms out there, and each has it's own learning curve. Some will need quite a bit of technical knowledge, whilst others will need very little, and are more straightforward.

The one's that come to mind are Squarespace, Webflow and Wix. Out of these I'd suggest going with Squarespace, however keep in mind that if you've never used a web builder platform, there will be quite a bit to understand before you get started.

A discussion forum, much like this one will need to be a standalone platform which would need to be installed on a web server, or you could potentially sign up to a hosted one which you can link to your website.

We use platforms like WordPress, which have a bigger learning curve, and will need web hosting, and techincal knowledge in order to get things working properly. WordPress has the ability to connect plugins, which extend the functionality of the website, giving you the ability to add more features (forms, forums, online shops, job boards) very easily.

Without knowing your experience with web design and develoipment, and your business and what it does etc, it's going to be difficult to find a best match.

 

[fisicx]

@helen0722 - there is no best. You just choose the one that works best for your business.

Wordpress is free and well supported worldwide. But if you want an onlone store maybe look at Opencart.

You can set up a subdomain to host the forum. There are plenty of free forum scripts you can install. But again, it all depends on the sort of community you want to create.

The other option for both is to use SAAS. This is where someone else hosts and looks after the website, all you have to do is add the content and choose the layout.

Apologies if this all seems a bit woolly but without knowing a bit more about your business it's difficult to give detailed advice.

 

[Paul Carmen]

This is too vague a question to be able to offer any meaningful help. The best platform will depend on several key factors; your budget, level of technical/web development experience, and what is needed based on your marketing plan.

The marketing plan and customer/competitor research should drive all the pages, functionality and specification needed.

You can then either rule out platforms and systems that don't offer what you need, or are too expensive, or go to a web developer with a spec that will allow them to recommend options and build it for you.

 

[John Martin]

This is too vague a question to be able to offer any meaningful help. The best platform will depend on several key factors; your budget, level of technical/web development experience, and what is needed based on your marketing plan.

THIS!

Regarding your marketing plan, what do you want to achieve with your website? Do you already have a large customer base and just need a website for them to go there and carry out certain functions? Or are you hoping to grow a customer base from your website?

The reason I ask is that some platforms, such as wordpress have very good SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) capabilities whereas others, such as Google sites do not.

 

[WaveJumper]

You could of course ask a decent AI bot and see what that comes up with design wise

 

[helen0722]

Hi,

Have you had any experience with web design and web development before? If you're a complete novice, I'd suggest taking a step back think about what it is you exactly need for your business online presence.

There are many platforms out there, and each has it's own learning curve. Some will need quite a bit of technical knowledge, whilst others will need very little, and are more straightforward.

The one's that come to mind are Squarespace, Webflow and Wix. Out of these I'd suggest going with Squarespace, however keep in mind that if you've never used a web builder platform, there will be quite a bit to understand before you get started.

A discussion forum, much like this one will need to be a standalone platform which would need to be installed on a web server, or you could potentially sign up to a hosted one which you can link to your website.

We use platforms like WordPress, which have a bigger learning curve, and will need web hosting, and techincal knowledge in order to get things working properly. WordPress has the ability to connect plugins, which extend the functionality of the website, giving you the ability to add more features (forms, forums, online shops, job boards) very easily.

Without knowing your experience with web design and develoipment, and your business and what it does etc, it's going to be difficult to find a best match.

Thank you. I’ve create a web forum some 20 years ago. I know of PHPBB and MySQL and WordPress which I’m leaning towards more now it sounds like what I’m looking for. I’ve done some coding just a newbie really but I would like to have a go again. I’m into the health and social care sector. I’m a care consultant for 10 years therefore it’s time I think to put a website up since the care sector is now privatised.

 

[helen0722]

@helen0722 - there is no best. You just choose the one that works best for your business.

Wordpress is free and well supported worldwide. But if you want an onlone store maybe look at Opencart.

You can set up a subdomain to host the forum. There are plenty of free forum scripts you can install. But again, it all depends on the sort of community you want to create.

The other option for both is to use SAAS. This is where someone else hosts and looks after the website, all you have to do is add the content and choose the layout.

Apologies if this all seems a bit woolly but without knowing a bit more about your business it's difficult to give detailed advice.

Thank you appreciate it. No worries I think I’ll try WordPress and see how I get on.

 

[helen0722]

THIS!

Regarding your marketing plan, what do you want to achieve with your website? Do you already have a large customer base and just need a website for them to go there and carry out certain functions? Or are you hoping to grow a customer base from your website?

The reason I ask is that some platforms, such as wordpress have very good SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) capabilities whereas others, such as Google sites do not.

Thank you, I’m already established I liaise with public authorities. I have access to prospective clients. I just need a website and add all contents to. I think WordPress will be the one I’ll go for. I’ve heard of Wix but not sure how good they are I will check them out.

 

[ctrlbrk]

I’ve heard of Wix but not sure how good they are I will check them out.

Just to make you aware, Wix is owned by an Israeli company who is pro-Israeli propaganda.

 

[fisicx]

There are two types of wordpress. One where they host it for you and one where you host it yourself.

I suggest you get some cheap hosting and install wordpress. Most hosts have a simple one click install process.

 

[Deleted member 367548]

Hello everyone,

I’m looking to design my own website for my business and II would like to know what is the best website development platform to use? I would also like to have a discussion forum linked with my website if that is possible. Any recommendations of best free web platform to use will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

As others have said it does depend. I have used both wordpress and squarespace. I think both have AI tools now that help you but we did our own.

Wordpress is VERY simple for a basic site. Squarespace gives a lot more flexibility. Both have e-commerce add on elements as well.

When you say design to you mean look and feel? If you don't want to spend cash again there are AI tools, but I would be nervous on using them atm, canna makes design easier, but IMO if you want to build a brand you need the site to look good and sadly that takes skills or budget

 

[Deleted member 367565]

Really interesting thread — and some great input already.

I’ve faced a similar challenge running a product-based business with multiple, loosely related categories. In my experience, splitting things up can definitely help with SEO if each site has a clear focus and serves a distinct customer type. Google seems to favour niche relevance — and customers do too. Someone shopping for recycled scaffold boards doesn’t want to feel like they’ve landed on a general safety equipment wholesaler.

That said, managing 5 or 6 sites sounds like a headache — especially when it comes to things like reviews, branding, and upkeep. One approach I’ve seen work well is creating a main “hub” brand site, and then spinning off micro-sites or subdomains for each category. That gives you SEO clarity and keeps your structure manageable. It also makes it easier to cross-link and explain the relationship between the products under one brand umbrella.

On the review front, I'd echo the advice about focusing on service — customers rarely rave about the product itself (“Wow, what a bucket!”) but they will shout about fast delivery or great communication. So, one Google Business Profile can work across all the sites, as long as you’re consistent with branding and contact details.

Hope that helps — happy to chip in more if you're still weighing the options!

 

[Dave SEO]

If you want WordPress with more of a drag-and-drop builder, go for something like Kadence Blocks and the Kadence theme - this will give you more of a visual aspect to the building. You could also look at Elementor (slow) or Divi (not quite as slow).

My advice would also be to consider how big and busy you see the site getting - I work with many clients who migrate huge sites from these page-builders to bespoke themes as the site size, optimisation requirements, and functionality requirements outgrow these hobbyist tools.

The truth with all DIY builders is that sooner or later, if the site is successful, you will need to rebuild it - usually bespoke, as any DIY apps or plugins are slow, and as your site gets more successful, speed, even milliseconds, becomes more important.

Steer well clear of Bakery Builder or Beaver Builder for WordPress - they equal a mess.

It doesn't matter what your site is doing/selling, really - the key things for all sites remain the same:
Speed - for SEO
Content - for SEO
Clean code - for SEO

If organic traffic is not a concern, you can be more relaxed about what you use to build it.

Personally I don't use any page builders as bespoke-builds are the best way to approach any site, but they are, of course, a little more expensive up-front.

 

[Shopclicks]

You could also look at Elementor (slow)

Elementor is not slow. Generally, it's the theme you use it with that slows page load speeds.

My advice would also be to consider how big and busy you see the site getting - I work with many clients who migrate huge sites from these page-builders to bespoke themes as the site size, optimisation requirements, and functionality requirements outgrow these hobbyist tools.

Probably could have been fixed with a fast theme, faster (low contention) hosting and caching.

 

[GriffithAccts]

Hello everyone,

I’m looking to design my own website for my business and II would like to know what is the best website development platform to use? I would also like to have a discussion forum linked with my website if that is possible. Any recommendations of best free web platform to use will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Hello Helen,

I have a very good business acquaintance that could help you with this for design and a good price. If you are interested, please PM me.

Best,

Daniel

 

[PatrickStephen]

Hello everyone,

I’m looking to design my own website for my business and II would like to know what is the best website development platform to use? I would also like to have a discussion forum linked with my website if that is possible. Any recommendations of best free web platform to use will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

We have used WOCode.com and relume.io in the past to design websites.

 

[DoolallyTap]

25 years ago our new website cost £thousands to build. 4 years ago I built one using EKM, which was quite simple because all the back office stuff was mostly already included. Earlier this year I had a web guy build me a Wordpress site for £300 with all the back office stuff so with prces like this and the effort involved in getting right why not have someone else do it for you

 

[Hostyler Group]

If you’re looking for a free or easy way to get started, one option is to create your website yourself using WordPress with Elementor which is a drag-and-drop builder that makes designing pages simple, so you can create a beautiful, responsive website on your own without needing to code. There are plenty of tutorials online to guide you step by step.