Website builder

[amy.woodward.9849]

Hi all, I am looking to set up a website and I was just wondering if anyone could recommend a site to set up a free one? I'm not very technical when it comes to websites etc so just looking for something that needs very little work to get set up. Thanks in advance.

 

[Jon]

Buy a domain

Install something like joomla or Wordpress

They are like the Microsoft word of web design to a certain degree
I wouldn't cut corners personally when it comes to buying a domain and making a website. Make your site look too cheap and it will backfire

 

[amy.woodward.9849]

Thank you, i'd been looking at moonfruit etc but wasn't sure what was best, ill look at doing what you've said thanks

 

[Flitterbug]

I've recently bought 2 domains with namecheap and it cost me £13 for both and they were both .com's I've got them hosted on Wealthy Affiliate which is $47 a month (or $30 a month if you pay yearly) but it's more than just a hosting website - it's got training on it too. I can pm you with more details if you like? They've got Wordpress integrated in their hosting and I'm finding it vast but relatively easy to use

 

[Jon]

i think in this case amy is just looking to setup a simple website

not sure if referral / affiliate central wealthy affiliate would fit the bill but i could be wrong

another idea would be 1and1.co.uk maybe

 

[Flitterbug]

I was just saying what I had really, if I had just said hosted at Wealthy Affiliate she might not have known what I meant so described it just a little bit. They include wordpress plugins in their premium membership which you can't get on the free version of wordpress. It's the main reason why I signed up with their membership really.

I had my old face painting website on 1&1, they were fine, no complaints but at the time I had it I didn't know about wordpress or anything similar so wrote my own website.

 

[Jon]

1and1 seem quite cheap looking at their website

You find any downsides at all?

 

[Flitterbug]

It was a long time ago, can't really remember... I remember signing into an FTP server and that I had to look up a few tutorials to help me work out what needed to go where. No idea how you would go about installing wordpress onto it but I'm sure there are YouTube videos.

It was a very basic site I had, just one or two pages one with info and one with photos so not much to go wrong really. I think I picked them because they were cheap

 

[FreeSwagSites]

Hi all, I am looking to set up a website and I was just wondering if anyone could recommend a site to set up a free one? I'm not very technical when it comes to websites etc so just looking for something that needs very little work to get set up. Thanks in advance.

If you want a free website then you will be looking at a sub-domain.
You can either go straight to Wordpress and find some YouTube videos to help you with the technical aspects of doing it correctly or (as Kelzky says) try a place like Wealthy Affiliate where you get free training and 2 free subdomain websites that can be converted to your own domain name later on if your blog takes off and you want to own it rather than have it squat on someone else's "cyber land".

I have never gone straight to wordpress before so I don't know how user friendly it is, but at WA you just choose a name, choose a theme and click "build website" button, et voila!

Either way, the most important thing is learning how to create content that will attract visitors by targeting keywords etc. No point having a nice looking website if no-one drops by to read it.

Obviously, I would love you to click the link in my signature and go down the WA route as my referral (like Kelzky), but if you choose one of the other routes I (and others here) would do our very best to help you out with any questions that you have about website building or SEO.

Either way, good luck - building your own websites is a very enjoyable experience.

PS. What's your site going to be about, or is that a closely guarded secret?

 

[Flitterbug]

Did you catch me trying to get a referral myself you're set with me Kristian I'm hosting my sites on there now so will be continuing the membership

Honestly though I wouldn't recommend WA if I didn't think it was worth it - but there are a lot of cheaper alternatives out there - which we will all be happy to help with

 

[FreeSwagSites]

Did you catch me trying to get a referral myself you're set with me Kristian I'm hosting my sites on there now so will be continuing the membership

Honestly though I wouldn't recommend WA if I didn't think it was worth it - but there are a lot of cheaper alternatives out there - which we will all be happy to help with

Sorry Kelzky, but you need to be a bit less subtle
I get the impression that Amy is just looking for a free website rather than building a more hardcore online business. The reason I recommended WA is because of the step-by-step video training tutorials which make it very easy for beginners.

I am so used to being the only WA fan around here ...

 

[Chammy]

Amy is setting up an ironing business so wants easy, simple and cheap which is why I recommended Moonfruit to her but said to ask here as you guys know more about this side than me ;D

 

[FreeSwagSites]

Amy is setting up an ironing business so wants easy, simple and cheap which is why I recommended Moonfruit to her but said to ask here as you guys know more about this side than me ;D

Ah, I see.

If it is a static website for an offline business then I'm not sure that a subdomain / blogging platform would be the best bet.
I still have some free codes for the online training course that I put in the "Contests" section of TMS if Amy would be interested. But, this course teaches how to set up a business website using your own purchased domain name and hosting as opposed to the free options.

If Amy isn't interested in Affiliate Marketing / running a dynamic blog site then WA probably isn't the best place to go since most of the training would be irrelevant.

Having said that, I would definitely choose Wordpress over one of the more basic blogging platforms for an offline business and she will still need to learn how to optimise the pages to get ranked well for local visitors or pay someone to do it for her.

 

[Flitterbug]

Would a facebook page be suitable? That's how I'm doing my business at the moment - then I'll be moving it to a website in time.

 

[Chammy]

Would a facebook page be suitable? That's how I'm doing my business at the moment - then I'll be moving it to a website in time.

Already on it

 

[Flitterbug]

Would a facebook page be suitable? That's how I'm doing my business at the moment - then I'll be moving it to a website in time.

Already on it

Ah good good!

 

[amy.woodward.9849]

thanks for your replies. ive got chammy on the case for my facebook page! i was just looking at websites for in the future. its only for a little ironing business so just wanting something very cheap and basic but think ill see how facebook goes on for now!

 

[Jon]

That sounds like a good be a bit of a money spinner if you advertise it on local facebook groups?

What is it you are offing? collection service as well or will people bring their ironing to you?

 

[amy.woodward.9849]

thats the plan jon, chammys making me a page so i can refer people to that. im charging £10 black bag and extra £3 if order includes bedding. free collection and delivery, i dont want to make a lot of money just enough to treat my family for a day out once a month.

 

[Jon]

I've seen people offer those sort of services before.

In Leeds (or at least North Leeds) we have a local magazines that people advertise services like that in. I've used them before for adverts and they don't charge that much and the audience if very focused.

Maybe do some posters in community halls as well. I started out with paying 50p a week for posters to be put up in newsagent windows when I was running a local IT Services company. Found it a great cheap way to advertise a new business.