What’s Your Preference?

eNZee · #1 (**permalink**) 07-03-2009, 11:11 PM

So i've taken the leap and decided to start my own webpage thanks to some tips from wonderful contributors on DPS.

I've tried out webs and weebly but im not quite that happy with the templates they offer (webs being a bit better than weebly). i find i dont have enough freedom as far as what i want to do (please keep in mind that from a technical computer sense i have no idea what im doing so any "special" effects are far over my head) so really i cant do this unless i have a template im happy with. unfortunately i cant afford a fancy web designer to do it for me.

so on with my story....
im wondering - does anyone else know of any other websites besides the ones ive mentioned above that are good. i am willing to pay if i have to but i need something straight forward like the ones i've mentioned above.

thanks guys!!!

waffles · #2 (**permalink**) 07-03-2009, 11:34 PM

If you pay for hosting then you can get WordPress (also available as a free site but you can do a lot more if you host your own) or PixelPost.

PhotoPosts and Aminus3 both offer free photoblog hosting.

eNZee · #3 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 12:54 AM

what do you mean by hosting? (sorry that may sound like a dumb question)

waffles · #4 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 02:19 AM

Basically space you rent on a server. If you're uneasy with running your own site then I'd go with one of the places that I linked to.

Free hosted stuff like that is great, but you don't have as much freedom. Hosting your own stuff is great but a lot more things can go wrong. It's a trade off.

eNZee · #5 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 02:53 AM

you said that if i host my own stuff things might go wrong. what kind of things can go wrong if i choose that path?

OsmosisStudios · #6 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 03:49 AM

Find yourself a good web designer. Enjoy

NotDadsW41 · #7 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 04:31 AM

I like Joomla myself. It's free and their are countless templates available.

waffles · #8 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eNZee

you said that if i host my own stuff things might go wrong. what kind of things can go wrong if i choose that path?

You can be messing around with the code and screw something up, nobody is necessarily going to fix it for you. You can forget to pay the bill, they your site is gone. Mostly it's coding things though.

Honestly, I think the best solution is to host it yourself. Even with all of these problems. Free hosting places are great, but when they've got something set up like that it tends to be more restricted. For example, if you use WordPress you can only use certain themes and certain and certain plugins.

There are some hosting places that offer free packages (they make money by getting people to upgrade).

B.. · #9 (**permalink**) 07-04-2009, 05:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eNZee

what do you mean by hosting? (sorry that may sound like a dumb question)

It's an excellent question. It delineates the difference between getting a space on someone else's site (like webs or weebly or ... ) versus hosting your own site. It means you rent an 'empty' web space which you need to fully customize.

A service like webs or weebly are hosting. And they have customized their site. And they are sub-letting part of the space on their site, and giving you tools to further customize your part of their site. If you like their tools, that works well. If you don't, then not so much.

But if you're worried that it's a dumb question, then I'm guessing you're not a website geek. So then I would agree with the notion that you need to explore other host sites similar to webs or weebly, but who offer something that you like better. Hosting websites is one of the situations that careers are made of. If you don't sublet space on someone else's hosted site and instead get your own 'host' website, then you risk spending all your energy on customizing your website, and that could easily get in the way of your photography.