How do you start/operate a website?

[MichealKnight]

Disclosure: I still mostly use DVDs, and frankly wish I had a VCR still blinking 12:00 -- that's how tech savvy I am

I don't mean just a blog. Or a simple website I think starting those are kind of step by step, not hard. I mean - a real, usable public website. For instance, ike this site we're on now. The format. The ability to let people register and have passwords. Organizing the website categories and boards. Mod Powers.

If you don't want a cookie cutter site---and you want to actually meet someone face to face, describe what you want in layman's terms and sort of work with them to construct it - where does one begin, what kind of professional is needed? Thanks for any feedback.

 

[COcheesehead]

There are good template/hosting companies out there. My wife uses one for her photography business. If you want completely custom, hire a web development firm and expect to pay thousands for design and content creation. You’ll need copywriting, photos and hopefully video created. All will cost you.
But wait, that’s not all, once you build it, you will need to be able to be found, that’s search engine optimization, SEO. That is an ongoing process and expect to pay hundreds per month, at least, for decent service.
I lived this process several times with my business. It takes time, you’ll need to refresh content regularly and it’s time consuming for 100% custom.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

It's a lot more complicated than you would probably think.

Most web sites of the type you describe would be built upon a productized platform (that you pay for) and that you customize via settings and some level of writing computer code (html, CSS, javascript, etc.). Not all that easy for a complete novice.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

That's almost like saying how do you build a building. Not a house, a building, because sites can be the equivalent of anything from a prefab gardening shed to a house to an industrial complex. This site is based on vBulletin, which along with phpBB are two of the main bulletin board/forum platforms that make it easier to start those up. But there's still a LOT of customizing, even for those.

So if you're not looking for a bulletin board, what information or features did you want to have on your website? I've worked mostly in Drupal, and I love it, but it's a database at its core, and so it does database functions very well. If you have inventory, it could store all kinds of information about thousands of products....although doing e-commerce on Drupal is not simple, as it's not really designed for that as much as just holding and displaying information. But if you wanted to catalog something and allow users to view lists based on any criteria or field, Drupal is awesome. If you just wanted a few pages of static text that you can update, it might be overkill, I would look at WordPress, which is made more for blogging and non-technical writers.

 

[braumeister]

It's a lot more complicated than you would probably think.

Absolutely. 25 years ago I designed and built a bunch of websites for local nonprofits. I did it for free, as a hobby and to help them publicize themselves. It was easy back then, with just HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

But today's websites are as different from them as night and day. I wouldn't even begin to attempt it now, as they have become so complex due to new technology and the far greater need for security. I certainly haven't kept up with it, and I doubt whether a novice could learn enough to do it in a reasonable time.

 

[The Cosmic Avenger]

Absolutely. 25 years ago I designed and built a bunch of websites for local nonprofits. I did it for free, as a hobby and to help them publicize themselves. It was easy back then, with just HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

But today's websites are as different from them as night and day. I wouldn't even begin to attempt it now, as they have become so complex due to new technology and the far greater need for security. I certainly haven't kept up with it, and I doubt whether a novice could learn enough to do it in a reasonable time.

But it also is more user-friendly than 25 years ago. Drupal comes with built-in themes and downloadable themes that require no knowledge of HTML or CSS, and even allow a fair amount of customization. In some ways things have become more complex, sure, I'm working with a VERY complicated website right now, but to be honest 25 years ago I probably would have needed to hand-code the whole site, now it's much easier for someone who is not a full-time developer or programmer to get a template up and running and customize it, IMO, whether in Drupal, WordPress, SharePoint, or something similar. (Those are the only ones I have experience managing and developing.)

 

[Aerides]

That's almost like saying how do you build a building. Not a house, a building, because sites can be the equivalent of anything from a prefab gardening shed to a house to an industrial complex. This site is based on vBulletin, which along with phpBB are two of the main bulletin board/forum platforms that make it easier to start those up. But there's still a LOT of customizing, even for those.

This is the key. What kind of website?

A message board/forum?
A shopping site?
A blog/information place?
One with tools and widgets?
User engagement and ability to post and chat or only static?

Many different types. Your first step in the "how do you start" is to define what you want, and sketch out some ideas of what that looks like, then you start looking at platforms and builders (and yes it's harder than you think, especially once you have user security and email integration, the ability to render on multiple different browsers and mobile, etc.)

 

[Car-Guy]

How do you start/operate a website?

If you are at the "VCR level with technology" and still really need one, just pay someone (or organization) to do it for you. Including the hosting of the website and it's on-going mtce. You probably would be better off managing the content once the site is up and configured like you want.

I've built servers/bulletin boards and even Internet facing firewalls "years ago" but I haven't kept up and wouldn't want to try it these days.

 

[OldShooter]

Truthfully, the plumbing and wiring tasks involved with building a web site are far from being the most difficult part.

The first thing is, @Aerides implies, is to define some objectives. If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there.

Then, the reality check: How many other successful web sites like the one you envisage already exist? Competitive analysis, IOW.

Then the killer question: What is the unique selling proposition that will cause people to visit your web site instead of visiting/staying with your competition?

From that work (if you have favorable results) you can start to define the web site you want.

While that is happening, figure out how to reach potential visitors. Social media, signing up on competitive web sites, paid per click advertising, paid emailing lists, print ads in specialty association newsletters, ... Hint: paying for some SEO and sitting back to wait will almost certainly lead to failure.

My favorite internet success story is pilkguns.com. 20+ years ago Scott Pilkington was working alone as the pistolsmith to the US Olympic team and as a gun engraver. Long story short/Scott's unique selling proposition was who he was and his method of building traffic was via the precision shooting community that he already knew. (Also, he happens to be a great guy.) From his web site he built a very good little business with several employees and his targettalk.org site developed into a great forum. Visiting his page today it looks like he has gotten busier than he wants to be, so he is cutting back the services and products he offers. Good for him!

(I guess this is sort of OT versus your OP. Sorry. HTH, though.)

 

[Qs Laptop]

Disclosure: I still mostly use DVDs, and frankly wish I had a VCR still blinking 12:00 -- that's how tech savvy I am

I don't mean just a blog. Or a simple website I think starting those are kind of step by step, not hard. I mean - a real, usable public website. For instance, ike this site we're on now. The format. The ability to let people register and have passwords. Organizing the website categories and boards. Mod Powers.

If you don't want a cookie cutter site---and you want to actually meet someone face to face, describe what you want in layman's terms and sort of work with them to construct it - where does one begin, what kind of professional is needed? Thanks for any feedback.

I've had several web sites over the years and here's how I would do it. I'm proceeding on the assumption that you want to construct a website that will host a forum with you as the moderator.

1. Pick a name for your website (the domain name) then check to see if that name is available , i.e. www.knightchatter.com. If the name you want is not available, find one that is and purchase it. I suggest GoDaddy.com for buying domain names. This will cost you about $20 for 1 year, much less if you snag an introductory offer.

2. Using pencil and paper make a rough layout of your website. At the top of each page write the page name. Then fill in what you want on that page. For example:

The main page (the landing page.) Your logo and the forum menu tree structure.

How to Register and Login Page

About Us and FAQ Page

The Individual forum subject pages.

Terms and Conditions page

(Other pages you would like)

3. Find a graphic artist/website developer that is experienced in creating websites. If you are intent on having a forum be sure to find one that has specific experience with forums. There's a lot of behind the scenes setup and testing that needs to be done with forums that you won't have with a traditional website. Be ready to pay $75 to $100 an hour.

It would be best to get a website that is easy for you to make changes in content and do updates. I would recommend a Wordpress site as it's easiest for non web designers to make changes to content, that is, if you are planning on making the changes. If you're going to be the bankroll and moderator and are going to farm out any content changes then this point will not be that important to you. Just be sure to tell the designer if you want to have the ability to make changes yourself or not.

Explain what you want to the website designer. Example: "I want a website that hosts a forum. I envision a website of approximately 10 pages to start with. These pages are Home page, About Us and FAQ page, etc. etc. I want to be able to easily make text changes myself and maybe make simple changes to images."

Don't worry about color combinations. You might suggest a general idea as to a color scheme but the designer will take it from there.

Then find out about the cost to maintain the website and cost to add pages as needed.

The key starting point is to find a website designer that is experienced in the type of website you want. Then find out how much it will cost. If you decide to proceed you will need to find a web hosting service. I use SiteGround because it's geared for Wordpress sites, but there are many, many web hosting services out there.

Good luck!

[edited to add: domain name knightchatter.com is not available.]

 

[Sunset]

OP - Without incredibly clear goals and written down detailed ways a website will be used, it will be a waste of money.

If you want a cookie cutter site, it will only cost hundreds of dollars to thousands of dollars to set up.
Then a few thousand in yearly costs for updates, modifications, etc.
If you want a unique one of a kind type of site, it will cost $30K -> $300K to set up and tens of thousands to update/modify each year.

Plus you have the hosting costs of hundreds to thousands per year or more.

This Retirement site is a cookie cutter variety with some choices/customizations to give it a unique identity.
It's based on a product you can see here: https://www.vbulletin.com/

 

[jollystomper]

Absolutely. 25 years ago I designed and built a bunch of websites for local nonprofits. I did it for free, as a hobby and to help them publicize themselves. It was easy back then, with just HTML, CSS, and Javascript.

But today's websites are as different from them as night and day. I wouldn't even begin to attempt it now, as they have become so complex due to new technology and the far greater need for security. I certainly haven't kept up with it, and I doubt whether a novice could learn enough to do it in a reasonable time.

+1

Part of my work for Megacorp included what we called at the time "Webifying" mainframe applications for clients - building a web-based interface to front-end those applications. That was a lot of (but well paying) work 10+ years ago). Just the security aspect takes a lot of planning, as hacking methods have evolved to be quite sophisticated these days.

Based on what the OP said was the desire, plan to spend tens of thousands for setup and maintenance. *Many* forget the maintenance aspect of websites, which takes time and will end up costing more than the initial setup. But if you do not maintain it, People will quickly learn to stay away.

In truth, you have to approach this not as a hobby, but as a work project.

 

[mpeirce]

If the name you want is not available, find one that is and purchase it. I suggest GoDaddy.com for buying domain names. This will cost you about $20 for 1 year, much less if you snag an introductory offer.

Unless GoDaddy has reformed in the last few years, they were pretty scammy 10 years ago when I last was paying attention.

My experience with hover.com is that they have good customer service, don't push upsells and offer reasonable pricing.

There are LOTS of options for purchasing domain names.

 

[CaptTom]

Former GoDaddy customer here. I would never go back.

 

[Qs Laptop]

Unless GoDaddy has reformed in the last few years, they were pretty scammy 10 years ago when I last was paying attention.

My experience with hover.com is that they have good customer service, don't push upsells and offer reasonable pricing.

There are LOTS of options for purchasing domain names.

Former GoDaddy customer here. I would never go back.

GoDaddy hosted one of my websites for several years. I left them years ago and I agree I would never go back.

However, they are the world's largest registrar of domain names and have the best deals on them. That's why I suggested them.

 

[donheff]

In early 1994, as a PC newbie and HR manager, I hand coded a family website and maintained it for many years. I did it because I found the early Internet fascinating and wanted to learn about the technology involved. IIRC, one of the main search engines at the time (Lycos or Alta Vista) listed something like 250K websites. This was in the days of "Cool Site of the Day," for anyone who goes back that far. In the first few years the remained fully hand coded and pretty easy to maintain. It mainly contained text, and photo galleries in tables, and I learned simple JavaScript and later PHP to add fun enhancements.

I eventually transitioned the site from a commercial Unix host to a Linux server in my basement which allowed me to learn all kinds of new things. After I ERd in 2005, my site was stagnant and security updates became a PITA, so I moved it back to a commercial host and discovered that their security was worse than mine. After a server-side flaw allowed script kiddies to deface the dumb thing, I took it off the air and let my domain expire.

As the web took off over the second half of the 90s and into the 2000s, the development environment became exponentially more complex. It rapidly became the domain of professionals and a simple commercial site involved site systems administrators, web developers, data base managers, and on and on. Today, a normal person, organization, or business has to rely on the pros, or become one.

You can lease a modestly sophisticated, framework-based site fairly cheaply. If you stick to the basic framework and just add your own graphics, text, items for sale, or whatever, you can probably get by although you will have a steep learning curve just to use the prebuilt tools. If you want anything that requires customization of the framework, you will definitely need to hire help and it will quickly get expensive. If you need lots of customization, Katie bar the door on the dollars.

Here's a snapshot of my homemade site circa 1999.

 

[JoeWras]

That's almost like saying how do you build a building. Not a house, a building, because sites can be the equivalent of anything from a prefab gardening shed to a house to an industrial complex. This site is based on vBulletin, which along with phpBB are two of the main bulletin board/forum platforms that make it easier to start those up. But there's still a LOT of customizing, even for those.

I like this. I'd go farther and say you can start with a tent on a field.

I thought it would be fun to start from scratch. I put up a tent that looked a lot like donheff's. It blew away (hackers compromised it). I put up a garden shed (Wordpress site), and the Russians smashed it by exploiting a common Wordpress hack at the time.

This was mostly because I was 100% DYI. Today, if I ever really wanted to do a site, I'd contract it out. I was a software engineer, but this was not my specialty. I was like an orthopedic surgeon trying to do eye surgery. I knew the language, but my technique was terrible.

 

[Ronstar]

I made a simple website for our company back in my work days using dreamweaver. Can't remember how I did it.

Later I made a personal one using Squarespace. Very easy.
https://www.squarespace.com

 

[target2019]

Disclosure: I still mostly use DVDs, and frankly wish I had a VCR still blinking 12:00 -- that's how tech savvy I am

I don't mean just a blog. Or a simple website I think starting those are kind of step by step, not hard. I mean - a real, usable public website. For instance, ike this site we're on now. The format. The ability to let people register and have passwords. Organizing the website categories and boards. Mod Powers.

If you don't want a cookie cutter site---and you want to actually meet someone face to face, describe what you want in layman's terms and sort of work with them to construct it - where does one begin, what kind of professional is needed? Thanks for any feedback.

https://www.webhostingtalk.com/ has a large number of active users who are doing the work you speak of. You can probably find cost estimates of the various business pieces. Site builder, hosting admin, security, code maintenance, and so on. The business is changing all the time, and the requirements for maintenance will ebb and flow, as an example.

 

[kingkarmann]

Years ago my DD was the marketing director for a large non profit.
After experiencing burnout she decided to start developing websites for clients on the side, eventually making it a full time business.
As others have mentioned, building and sustaining a web presence is work.
Now my DD has transitioned from building websites to teaching others how though an on-line academy.
The change is much less stressful for her and much more productive and profitable.

 

[gauss]

If you wanted to get some first hand familiarity with this, without putting out much cash, you might want to checkout the site https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/.

You can get started for $0.25 and they don't charged a fixed monthly fee, but rather they charge you on based on how much resources you consume. I think I paid maybe $3 a month for a production site that I ran for a decade or so but it was only a few hundred people accessing it. You fund the account in advance and then monthly your account is debited. If it goes to $0 then your sites go offline and eventually will be deleted.

Having some first hand experience may help you distill your requirements and help you to speak the language.


-gauss