Weary of Make Your Own Websites

Marissa D

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Not quite sure what you're asking here--do you mean tools/platforms like WordPress and Wix and Blogger? What is it you dislike about them, in general or in particular?

I've been happy with a self-hosted WP site, but plan on fiddling with changing themes next month to improve it.
 

Dennis E. Taylor

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I use wordpress, and it's 'good enough'. I have a laundry list of ways that I wish the site was different, but I'm unwilling to put in the time and effort.

That's what you get when you use a general-purpose tool. The more flexible the tool, the more options it'll have and therefore the harder it'll be to use.
 

AW Admin

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Use WordPress. If you have your own domain and server, use WordPress.org; most server hosts have a one click install.

If you have money and don't have your own server, use WordPress.com. A free site can be quite nice, but you don't have a lot of control.

You should have your own domain name, if this is a professional/writer/author site. You can use wordpress.com with your own domain, but you will have to pay.

Google's blogger is not bad; it's less flexible than WordPress, but if you own your domain name, you can point your free blogger site at it, at no cost and with no server fees.

Do not use Weebly; you don't really control the content, you can't even export it or move it.
 

Southpaw

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I'm not sure what you're asking here either but as someone who's coded from scratch, software like wordpress and even blogger is a big time saver when you want to focus on your writing.

I use self-hosted WP, which give you lots of flexibility and design options.
 

CaesarNaples

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I've used Google Sites since it was recommended to me. I first heard of the platform around the time Google Apps, an online workplace, was developed. Some of the features have evolved, and there's a whole new website builder for more modern websites. What I've found is that it's a great resource for writers. For a custom domain name, you must have a Google for Business account per the new system. But the things you can do with your sites outnumbers Wordpress in my experience.

1. Add a table of contents for direct links to story parts. If you copy and paste a story onto the page, you can insert a table of contents which will link to the bookmarked headers. This is great for long documents you don't want split into multiple pages.

2. Add a cross-site search engine. As your projects grow, you will inevitably make new sites. By adjusting General Settings, you can change the search bar to include those sites for easy referencing. I put all my writing on Sites so I can find anything I want when sharing and researching.

3. New Sites is a blast and makes quick and beautiful sites. If you need a site to serve a function like displaying a pdf, you can add widgets with the new Sites and keep a modern style.

4. Robust site organization. By adding page-level permissions, you can section off the site into parts where only certain members can visit. This is useful for preview and private content.

5. Unlimited Sites with great hosting. Similar to Gmail, you're given a lot of space for hosting. Plus, you can start a new site whenever you feel like it.

6. Highly customizable appearance. This makes Wordpress's Customize tab look weak. You can change all aspects of the layout, from sidebars to prompts. It's easy to add images to the layout such as headers, backgrounds, and logos. My sites are a repository for great images.

I encourage you to try it out.
 

Laer Carroll

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I use WordPress.com & rent a domain name. I've constructed web sites for friends using it and found there is an enormous amount of control of the look and feel and of the capability of your site. For instance, I use HTML to make my chapter samples look similar to how they'd look if printed. If you need more than simple HTML you can buy an option for that, but I didn't need it.

WordPress.org allows you to use your own server and lets you to add capabilities WordPress.com does not have such as complex market fronts. WP.org gives you tools to easily transfer your .com site to a .org site. A useful practice is to construct a .com site, since it's free, and then convert to a .org site if and when you need the extra capability.

For anyone curious, here is the HTML I used to give a printed look to chapter 1 of one of my books. Feel free to copy and use it, changing it if you want.

<p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8pt; font-family: Times New Roman, Times, serif; color: #0000aa;">© Copyright 2016</p>

<div style="line-height: 120%; text-align: justify; text-indent: 1.5em; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Times New Roman, Times, serif; color: #000000; background-color: #ffffff; border: 2px solid blue; padding: 15px;">

<p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0;">On the morning of July 1st, her eighteenth birthday, Annalisa King was sitting outside the military recruiting center in the mall in the northern LA suburb of Riverview. She watched two men and one woman unlock the glass double doors and go inside. She waited for them to get settled in. Meanwhile she refreshed her memory of several items she'd bookmarked on her slate.</p>

ETC.

<p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0;">Which was just as well now that she'd gotten the news about her birth parents and received their birthday gifts. She needed a lot of practice with them before she went to boot camp.</p>

</div>
<div style="line-height: 120%; text-align: center; font-size: 14pt; font-family: Times New Roman, Times, serif; color: #000000; background-color: #f5faff; border: 2px solid blue; padding: 15px;">
<p style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0; text-align: center; text-indent: 0;">Continued in <a title="Chapter 2 - Recruit" href="http://laercarroll.com/confederation-tales/stories/the-star-woman/chapter-2-recruit/">Chapter 2 - Recruit</a>.</p>

</div>
<p style="text-align: right; font-size: 8pt; font-family: Times New Roman, Times, serif; color: #0000aa;">© Copyright 2016</p>
 

SarahGallgher

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I have used three "Make Your Own Website" providers in about the past 7 years. First I used WebStarts, which I quickly came to feel was not really fulfilling my needs and was too costly. Then I used Weebly which I liked for a long time but it was expensive and hard to manage after a while and I decided I need more fulfillment also that this one lacked. Then a couple years ago I began again with Wix, which I a happy to report is fulfilling of all of my needs and desires with having my own website. and is easily manageable and affordable, and I can design it in any way I want to also.

So it took me learning from things that didn't work out as well for a few years but I found at least what I consider to be the very best Make Your Own Website Host Provider through Wix.com. And I would highly recommend it to anyone who is wanting a website of their own.

Though I have never used WordPress, but as I've experienced for myself, some things work better for others than certain things do for others to meet certain needs.