I need to set p a website but am confused about how to go about it...anyone able to help???

[jeangenie]

so I have checked whether the domain name is available using 123 and it is - so I can grab that for £2.99 a year or whatever it is but they are also offering a hosting package and a site builder thingy - presmably I need this, or do I? How do I put a site together and host it otherwise?
aarrrgh!

It depends what you need a website for - do you need an ecommerce site?

It depends what you want to do.

Can you tell us a bit about what you're trying to achieve?

i went through 'do your own site' which is v cheap and helps you build it step by step, so it looks prefessional without any exceptional user knowledge. YOu may not need to subscribe to the 'host' bit - it depends what the website is for. my website is www.findmummybracelets.com if you want to see what I achieved using their package (it only took 1/2 day to do)

JINX!!!

No returns!

It is a minefield! I used 1&1 when I did my own, restrictive re lay out and options but was good initially. Reasonably straight forward ever for me!
Renewed site was designed (using X-cart) by designer and also hosted by same company, did get Businesslink bb grant of £500 towards it and works well, easy to manage and very easy to change thing.

What do you need the site for? Selling a service or products?

lol

I used Moonfruit.com to build my site but haven't gotten around to getting my Domain name yet. According to my Moonfruit I just add my domain name when I get it to a certain part of their site, so intend to do so in the near future.

Why not check Moonfruit out and see what you think?

wow - you guys are fast!

at the moment I don't need ecommerce - althogh I guess I might want to add on in future, but don't really need to consider it now so we can discount it for the purpose of this discssion

it just needs to be simple enough - I am starting a small business running art classes - I want to be able to give general information, and then week by week updates. Want to receive emails, but the volume won't be high to start so can just do that through google mail

I have a pipex account and possibly have hosting space with them , will also check out moonfruit...

am a bit clueless about how it all hangs together (despite working in technology )

I'd say all you need is a blog. blogger.com or a host of other solutions are really good.

Jeangenie, check out my site if you wish to see what I did... I have just the basic package which is free, as they have ads down the side.

Happy website building whichever way you go! I have had loads of fun doing mine

klaw - your site looks great (as does what you do) I'll try moonfruit and see what happens

Thankyou Jeangenie, if you have any questions just ask.

Good luck with the art classes, just wish I had time to do some drawing and painting

oooh - check it out - can you guys spot anything glaring I need to change?

it's running from moonfruit and I pointed the domain at the site I made there (somehow!)

feels very exciting to have my own website - thanks guys

Jeangenie, this is my constructive critiscm based on my artistic background and experience in Graphic Design, and personal preferences!!

Too many different colours and I would also prefer paragraph spacing on 'About me' and 'What we do'

I tend to work to Simplicity in Design - 2 fonts maximum, and keep to a very simple colour palette, you can inject a burst of colour for a highlight.

I like the background but wonder if it should be on a pale shade of colour rather than on white? Maybe if the colours were more simplified I'd not find the white so harsh....

I like the 50s style menu and if it were me I would base the design of the site more on that, with muted colours and plain black text, and then use a childrens colourful pic to create a highlight.

You're right to use a fancy font for headings and a plain sans font for body text as it is so much easier on the eye when reading.

Just my random thoughts so feel free to ignore!

This is fun, isn't it?

Another tip, if you need business cards/leaflets etc check out Vista Print

Thanks a lot Klaw - it's my first time doing web design (and I did it in about an hour at saturday midnight!)

I just chose one of the moonfruit sitemaker backgrounds - not sure if I can change that, will have a look

Jeangenie, you can change it to any colour on the palette box, have just checked....... practically everything can be changed, I am just a tad pissed off that the menu text has only about 8 colours to choose from, nevermind

hey, thanks - I see how to do it now
I need more pictures...