Ever build a do it yourself website?

[reklawd]

I've been building websites since the late 1990s. Don't let anyone tell you that it's hard to update your site. Well, it may be depending on the platform they use. But they're probably lying if they tell you, "We're the only ones who can update it." Especially with Wordpress, it's extremely easy. If you can type in Microsoft Word, you can update your site. Happy to help if you want.

I have an old Dreamweaver 3.0 site. Can you help? I've been trying to get some college kids to help for free ... but this site has been around since before they were born. I'll pay $10 per hour since you are a pro. PM me.

 

[reklawd]

This.

Wordpress is very easy, especially if you are not already burdened with doing things another way (like Frontpage).

Continually paying Godaddy a monthly fee to use their tool is a waste of your money.

Wordpress is FOSS which is pretty much socialism.

 

[Discollector]

Wordpress is FOSS which is pretty much socialism.

Could you explain? I want you to bear something in mind:
I'm finishing school (studying Christian education) and in a few weeks, my focus will be on a ministry.

AMONG the key Tenets of Faith that I strongly believe in are unalienable Rights - and that means a God given Right to Life. That means I'm pro Second Amendment. That, of course, puts me at odds with socialists.

As of current date, lots of social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube) have been systematically locking out people with views that are right of center. I genuinely need a website, but don't want to build it and then have it taken down by political hacks from the left.

 

[Deleted member 79987]

As of current date, lots of social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube) have been systematically locking out people with views that are right of center. I genuinely need a website, but don't want to build it and then have it taken down by political hacks from the left.

I feel like you need to make a distinction in your own mind between the social media platforms you mentioned and publishing your own website.

Those social media sites are created and owned by for-profit corporations who exist to make money. If you use YouTube for instance, you must operate under their rules and terms of service (have you ever read them?) because you are "in their house" and you are the product they are selling. So while social media companies may provide a "free" service to try and entice you to use what they offer, it's an illusion of control. If you must use these types of sites, try an alternative like https://diasporafoundation.org

On the other hand, if you pay someone some minimal hosting fees, you can publish almost any type of website + content you want -- as long as it's not against the law. If you host the whole thing yourself on your own server, even better. In this case your own website is under your control.

 

[Discollector]

I feel like you need to make a distinction in your own mind between the social media platforms you mentioned and publishing your own website.

Social media sites are owned by for-profit corporations who exist to make money. If you use YouTube for instance, you must operate under their rules and terms of service (have you ever read them?) because you are "in their house" and you are the product they are selling. So while social media companies may provide a "free" service to try and entice you to use what they offer, it's an illusion of control. If you must use these types of sites, try an alternative like https://diasporafoundation.org

On the other hand, if you pay someone some minimal hosting fees, you can publish almost any type of website + content you want -- as long as it's not against the law. If you host the whole thing yourself on your own server, even better. In this case your own website is under your control.

I understand what you're saying, but the left started with the most indefensible people they could. Stormfront (white supremacists) had a website and it got taken down. I'm sure they probably started it back up again somewhere else, but I don't want to get involved with a left wing company that claims a website violates their TOS just because a political or religious stance offends them.

 

[reklawd]

Could you explain? I want you to bear something in mind:
I'm finishing school (studying Christian education) and in a few weeks, my focus will be on a ministry.

AMONG the key Tenets of Faith that I strongly believe in are unalienable Rights - and that means a God given Right to Life. That means I'm pro Second Amendment. That, of course, puts me at odds with socialists.

As of current date, lots of social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube) have been systematically locking out people with views that are right of center. I genuinely need a website, but don't want to build it and then have it taken down by political hacks from the left.

FOSS stands for Free Open Source Software.

A lot software is proprietary, meaning 1) you have to pay some type of licensing fee to the owner who created it, either directly or indirectly 2) you don't have access to the "source code" that makes the software do its thing. Technologies like Wordpress and Android (i.e. non-Apple smartphones) are built by businesses and/or a community of developers and given to the public to use, modify and distribute for free.

I was joking that FOSS is "socialist" because it is free making it kind of anti-capitalist and it is often built and supported by the more liberal people in the tech community. But tons of people and businesses make money off of FOSS. Also, it has gotten to the point where everyone uses it from all walks of life and it is everywhere. Someone posted a site of an extreme ring wing speaker and rally the other day ... and it was built on Wordpress. So don't let my joke stop you from using Wordpress. No one can lock you out of it besides some shady developer as mentioned early in the thread. It is yours.

If Jesus were around today and he was a software developer instead of a carpenter, he would be working with open source software exclusively.

 

[rbstern]

I'm in need of a website and companies want to build one for me, but they never give me a direct answer as to how hard it is for me to change the info on the site. New products come on the market; maybe you want to add to your commentaries, etc.

Like anything else, the details matter. For example, several people have commented about how easy WordPress is. Mostly, it is. I've built scores of WordPress sites. I've learned the choices I make in building the site dramatically impact how successful the site owner will be in keeping it up to date. If I design and organize it well, label things carefully, give them good training and support, they succeed. And if I don't do those things, well...I try never to do that.

So, I started looking at all these companies that tell me I can build the website myself... then they are short on answers. You just sign up and start building. Surely, there is a wealth of information I'm missing. Can I put my own logo on those el - cheapo websites? Make changes without being computer literate? What are the pros and cons? Anybody here know?

Yes, you can put your logo on the el - cheapo web sites. And a lot more. Most of the modern site builders have a ton of capability.

But Bryan's example above (sorry for picking on you, Bryan) is a perfect example of what happens when you put lots of tools in the hands of people without experience. Yes, he's got a web site, and maybe that's all that matters to him. Viewed thru a professional lens, it's got a ton of (important) mistakes that a professional web developer wouldn't make. And Wix, Squarespace. and others like them, are proprietary platforms; makes it hard to leave if you aren't happy with the service, because your web site likely won't work on other, industry standard systems. Godaddy is a little better in this regard, but they bring other baggage to the table.

I'm not arguing that you can't succeed on your own. Plenty of folks do. There are lots of details that matter. Figuring out which ones you should focus on depends entirely on what you are trying to accomplish.

Can't build it for you, but if I can help with some advice, either in the thread or via PM, I'll do so. Understanding what your goals are would help.