Website Builder? Need some help

Flash is An implement of Satan. Also, it sucks unless the site is a game or mixed mode site.

Get yourself a WordPress site. Seriously. And why the desire for a site now?

NewKidOldKid said:

if you upload a pdf (I'm trying to post clips for editors to read), the only way for somebody to see it is to download it. The website won't allow the option of clicking on it and seeing it without downloading. I think this might put off potential readers.

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The problem here is that the way files like PDFs are handled is something that's determined by the browser, not the site itself. So if the visitor is using something like Chrome, then the file will open in their browser. If they're using some other browsers, though, it will depend on their settings.

Your best bet, if you want users to definitely read something in the browser, is to put it up as a page on the site itself.

Also, I have to second what everyone has said when it comes to Flash. Unless you have a very good, very specific reason for using Flash ("I don't want to learn HTML" is not a good reason. When you're building a Wix site you don't need to know Flash, and there are similar HTML-based site builders that don't require you to know HTML, Weebly being one of the best options). Flash is inaccessible from the iPad, the iPhone, and many other smartphone devices. Some people don't bother to keep their Flash plugin updated, which means parts of your site might not work. Some people disable Flash all together.

Again, I'd recommend Weebly if you want a basic site, or Wordpress.com if you want a blog.

Also flash is usually unsearchable make it very hard for bing or goggle to index your website.

cameron is right, opening pdfs depends on the settings of your browser, whether they have a pdf reader installed etc.

As Medievalist says, consider getting a free site from Wordpress.com. You can always have your domain point to that (if you have one) and it's pretty easy to move the content if you ever go with selfhosted wordpress.

(my 2 cents) I use webs for my publishing website (pinkphoenix.webs.com) and it has worked very well so far. Its super easy to use and it allows you to buy a domain name if you don't want to have .webs as part of your url. Also it allows you to input custom css templates, which may sound complicated but its really just copy and paste.

NewKidOldKid said:

Everything was going fine but then I realized something: Wix doesn't allow you to upload files to your website. Well, they do, but if you upload a pdf (I'm trying to post clips for editors to read), the only way for somebody to see it is to download it. The website won't allow the option of clicking on it and seeing it without downloading. I think this might put off potential readers .

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I think what you're really looking for isn't a Website Builder but Issuu.com. The site has a free option and it allows you to embed pdf files into your website with a nifty browser ebook style format. Your visitors won't have to download anything.

I hope that helps.

Medievalist said:

Flash is An implement of Satan.

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Unless you're a Satanist. In that case, it's The Other Guy's fault. Either way, exorcise it!

Flash is HELL. As for "looking professional", I can't imagine doing that in Wix. I've seen things...*shudders*. To me, that kind of site builder is a kiddie toy. To me, professional means useable. It means getting information up front, having navigation that works in more than one browser, not treating your site users like dumb sucker trash who must meet your criteria to be allowed in. It means taking into consideration that not everyone else has your computer, your preferences and tastes.

A site needs to fulfill its purpose. It is fine for sites aimed at teenagers of all ages to be high-end tech oriented and chock-full of bling. They do nothing but play online games and a site that is flashy and game-like makes tehm happeh. A lot of adults prefer not to be greeted by things that slide and wiggle and bump and make loud music. Many of us need flexibility too -- we need to make the page readable. We can't read dinky serif fonts, can't see the 6-pixel high letters on shiny nav buttons. When we try zoom the font larger, we are too often balked by fixed size page divisions that suddenly break, overlap, or conceal half of the text. We really f-ing hate that.

I'll stop before I give my whole dollar's worth

NewKidOldKid said:

I don't like wordpress/blogger for a website. I can always tell when somebody built their website using a wordpress template. It looks like a blog (unless they know HTML and then they can make changes).

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Learning HTML and CSS is not that onerous. It's not like you need to learn all that much to use a WordPress template.

You might look for free CSS layouts if you want to hand-build a static site; there are some lovely and easily customized ones.

Sorry for bumping the thread! Maybe someone could suggest me someone reliable to build a website?

It's a good bump, I reckon. I need to set one up too, but am years out of date now.

I've set up a couple websites previously with Wordpress and didn’t have a bad experience. Knowing a little html/css helps. But the last time was maybe 10 years ago. I've been on the Google and Microsoft 365 ecosystems since, which aren't helpful for a static site.

I used Wix a while ago. It's not the cheapest but it's really easy to work with, even for a computer luddite like me.

One more vote for WIX. Shopify is great for creating commercial website and Squarespace - for photographers.
Here there is a great article about the best free website builders which exist now - https://www.webbuildersguide.com/best-website-builder/free/, maybe you find the information you need there. There is no harm if you try few different programs and decided what is the easiest and best for you personally.

EricaFlynn said:

Sorry for bumping the thread! Maybe someone could suggest me someone reliable to build a website?

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There's no right answer or approach here.

I would first ask yourself a question: How much control and responsibility do you want?

If you want no responsibility and you're OK with using a template (i.e. having less control), Squarespace might be a good option. I haven't used it, but I know a lot of creative folks use it because it's basically plug-and-play (I think?).

If you want more control, and you're OK with taking on some responsibility (or hiring someone to help), WordPress is your best bet.

IMO, it's worth investing some time and effort to learn how to use WordPress. Modern themes are so sophisticated, you don't need to know HTML or CSS to have a great site. The Admin interface of WordPress is made for us non-coding folks, and it's no more difficult to figure out than any other software interface. You can buy a theme like Avada and set it up to look how you want. (Pssst: My website runs on Avada. At work [a tech company], we're about to relaunch our website... on Avada!)

If you go the WordPress route, you need to establish the foundation first:

1) Buy a domain name.
2) Buy web hosting, point the domain name there, and install WordPress there.
3) Buy the theme and install it.

Googling each of those steps, or something like "setting up WordPress website," will get you all the details you need.

Hope that's helpful. Cheers!

gtanders said:

If you want no responsibility and you're OK with using a template (i.e. having less control), Squarespace might be a good option. I haven't used it, but I know a lot of creative folks use it because it's basically plug-and-play (I think?).

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+1 for Squarespace as a good basic option, but I agree that WordPress is best for anything involving much more than a site for information. A few of my family members have their business websites on Squarespace. It does allow code injection to specific pages for tracking or SEO stuff, which is nice. But it has some limitations, particularly with the design aspect. I know people who "build" SquareSpace websites but they don't know a lick of Javascript or HTML/CSS, lol.

It's actually a great place to just try stuff because you can build a website as a "trial" (they give you a random link on the domain). If you like what you built then you can transfer the domain name and bam--there's your site! But yeah, the extensions and capability of WordPress are unbeatable and your professional web administrator/designer will thank you

NewKidOldKid said:

I started building a website with Wix but ran into a problem. I love Wix. It has flash and awesome templates. It's also VERY easy to use. I don't know HTML and I really don't want to learn right now, so wix is perfect.

Everything was going fine but then I realized something: Wix doesn't allow you to upload files to your website. Well, they do, but if you upload a pdf (I'm trying to post clips for editors to read), the only way for somebody to see it is to download it. The website won't allow the option of clicking on it and seeing it without downloading. I think this might put off potential readers .

So I'm looking for something similar to Wix, where I can build my own site but where files work the way I mentioned. I don't want to use wordpress or blogger. To me, they don't look professional. Even if you download a different template, it's still looks "bloggy" to me. And in some templates you need to mess up with the code to make changes (get rid of the annoying tweet icon, etc.). I don't want to deal with that.

Besides wix, any suggestions on a website designer that's easy to use and looks professional? With flash would be even better, but even a simpler one would work, as long as it looks professional.

Help?

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I might be wrong but I believe Wix has an optional PDF viewer you can install. Have you checked?

Mod: delete this if it isn't okay...

but there's a class for writers to learn to build their own websites in WordPress here:

I went through this whole thing very recently.

Someone suggested I try a free Google web hosting. Sounds great, right. I did a search and all I could find was Google Cloud.

What a nightmare. Now... given... I had already procured a domain name through Godaddy. Wordpress was some add in and it was so horribly, incredibly complicated that at some point I realized I was way over my head in pro territory, and before I got myself in too deep I did my best to opt out of all the things I signed in to.

My needs are simple. I'm not selling things, I'm just creating a website with a blog, some free short stories, and links to all my titles on Amazon. Maybe I refine that to include links to other retailers via D2D.

My limited experience with Wordpress was intimidating. I decided to go the Squarespace route given that I didn't need separate web hosting and a web creation application service. It ended up being exactly what I was looking for. Well, not exactly - one limitation with Squarespace is that it is somewhat inflexible.

But if you can work within its inflexibilities, it's pretty easy to deal with. The specific inflexibility is that you can't layer nested pages more than one deep. This manifested itself in my free short stories offerings. What I had envisioned was a landing page to my short story titles, with links to the stories themselves. For the links to my published titles, that approach worked because the titles linked to an external source. But there was no way to link a secondary page to an internal source (that is a known deficiency.) But there are workarounds. My workaround was to have the short story landing page set up as what they term a 'folder' under which you can group the individual short story pages with content under this folder, and on the main menu, there is a drop down menu under 'short stories' that allows you to select the page you want to display. That worked. And it is pretty slick actually. I could even do that for my titles, and it might even look more professional. Except I really want to display all the titles on one screen.

And by the way, there is a huge lapse in my computer knowledge timeline. I actually set up a company website (no, I'm not a web developer or a computer programmer by trade) in the late '90's coded in HTML, e.g. no web application or template. Just text edit HTML and some graphics. Of course it was amateurish. But the point I am making is that today, we do things ENTIRELY differently than we did back then. Or even from the original publication of this thread.

Lessons learned - I got my domain through Godaddy. I could have gotten it through Squarespace and that would have truly been a one stop shop. It was very difficult and took technical support on both sides to associate the domain with my Squarespace website. That was like pulling teeth. But, it is what it is. Other people have told me I'm better off going that route as my domain is secure and I can always ditch Squarespace later if I need. That's probably true.

I'm sorry you tried the Google cloud route. That's just awful and geeky. Squarespace and Shopify both have limitations and advantages. While pointing the domain is a pain, your friend was right: it'll be easier if you ever want to switch, although GoDaddy might not be the best, they're the most well known. (There's a little known one called NameSilo that offers free privacy and it's cheaper... I think it is older than GoDaddy.)

I love WordPress, but some hosting platforms load it up with a ton of bloat making it difficult to know what's WordPress and what's an ad.