I need help with making a web site

[smile]

Hey all, I'm planning on making a web site for my youth group with forums and maybe a chat. I've never done anything like this before, (there's a first time for everything ) Anyway, if any of you know of any good websites with info on how to make a website for a first timer, or maybe a title of a book I could read. Or if any of you have any suggestions or info, I would love to hear it. Well thanks alot!

Kemper

 

[Pete Harcoff]

Basically, all you need to learn is HTML and also learn how to upload files to your web server.

For this, I recommend the tutorials over at Webmonkey: http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/frontdoor/beginners.html

An alternative to actually writing out the code yourself, is using a program like Frontpage Express (I think it's included with Windows) and start creating a web page with that. But I'd still recommend learning HTML (it's pretty simple), as overall it will make building a web page easier.

 

[smile]

Thanks for the info and the website!

God Bless

Kemper

 

[doofus125]

I use Microsoft FrontPage.....I used to do sites in HTML (typing out the actuall code), but FrontPage makes it so much easier.....

 

[GodLovesUs]

When you actually learn the HTML avoid all the programs including FrontPage. They are so unfriendly when you switch editors. They add all this extra garbage code that doesn't need to be there. Just use Notepad and test the code in your browser then upload it.

 

[doofus125]

When you actually learn the HTML avoid all the programs including FrontPage. They are so unfriendly when you switch editors. They add all this extra garbage code that doesn't need to be there. Just use Notepad and test the code in your browser then upload it.

She's a first timer......FrontPage is much easier than learning the code.....

 

[GodLovesUs]

That's why I said 'when you actually learn HTML'

smile, sorry I didn't really help. FrontPage can still be a bit tricky if you're a first timer. The above link to webmonkey is the best answer so far...checked out their site and as far as I know they start by teaching HTML rather teaching how to use a program that makes web pages.

 

[Teniosa]

I'd say go with FrontPage.. I've made QUITE a few websites that way... and theres plenty of free spaces to upload 'em to (not geocities.. give me a minute im sure i can find the ones i used to use) and there is a way to attach a forum thats pre-made by another server to your website, I'll see if I can find that to.

Teni

also.. always around to help: aim: printeni yahoo: teniosa_lasiers msn: pony_prin@msn.com

 

[doofus125]

I'd say go with FrontPage.. I've made QUITE a few websites that way... and theres plenty of free spaces to upload 'em to (not geocities.. give me a minute im sure i can find the ones i used to use) and there is a way to attach a forum thats pre-made by another server to your website, I'll see if I can find that to.

Teni

also.. always around to help: aim: printeni yahoo: teniosa_lasiers msn: pony_prin@msn.com

I upload pages I make with FrontPage to Geocites....the trick is to create the pages, save them on your computer in the respective folder views and file names (in other words, if the web pages work on your hard drive you just need to upload them in the same folders on geocities) and then go to geocities and use the File Manager to upload the files.....

 

[Reader Nilus]

Geocities, Angelfire, Tripod, Bravenet, and 150m.com are just a few of the freebies, Angelfire is Front Page enabled.
Jeff the Finn

 

[Phleace]

Hey! If you would like to have forums and chat (as well as many other things for the site such as polls and news and whatnot), you will NOT be able to do this with HTML! ...but it's all good.

What you'll need is a webhost with MySQL and PHP. MySQL is a database, and PHP is a language. I would strongly suggest you buy a host and then download and upload PHPNuke. It's a complete community package, basically with everything you need and everything you don't. It's fully customizable with themes and settings and whatnot.

www.phpnuke.com

Don't be afraid to try this out, and if you need any help or any other suggestions, just let me know!

 

[smile]

Hey, thanks for all the info!

Phleance- Okay, but will I still be needing to learn html? And thanks for the info.

Kemper

 

[Pete Harcoff]

Hmmm, I glossed over the bit about forums and chat in the opening post.

Phleace is right, regular HTML will get you a web site, but not forums or a chat.

Setting up your own forums will require more advanced hosting options. PHP and mySQL is offered by almost every host out there, but you'll still need to get your own forum software (ikonboard and phpbb are a couple good and free options).

An alternative to that is using a forum service (like http://www.boardnation.com/), which provides a forum. Some places provide free forums (usually with ads to cover the costs) and others charge a monthly fee.

Since you've never created a web site before, though, I would start slow by learning basic HTML and using a free service like Geocities (or if your ISP provides web space, use that) to learn the ropes. Once you have an understanding of how to make a basic site, you can progress to more advanced things like setting up and running a forum.

 

[g00dreading]

Haveyou considered just modifying a free template?

Go here
hxxp://3w.freelayouts.com/templates/display/templates
hxxp://3w.templatesland.com/index.html (top site)
hxxp://3w.freewebtemplates.com/index.php


Learn HTML
-An Interactive Tutorial For Beginners
hxxp://3w.davesite.com/webstation/html/

 

[PennylessZ28]

As a professional Web Developer, I am going to strong recommend AGAINST FRONTPAGE, it is not a standard compliant software. I would recommend a program like Macromedia Dreamweaver, which you can download and use for free for 30 days.

As stated above, doing what you want to do it forums and news content requires a database driven website. Now this can be done with php and mysql true. It can also be done with asp, jsp, a few other coding languages that are about. Most forums run on the open source format of PHP.

Learning to program your own database, and coding these languages takes a lot of skill and knowledge, and I wouldn't' recommend it right off the bat to someone in your position.

I would recommend you try a program like Dreamweaver, and follow some online tutorials. The reason I recommend Dreamweaver for beginners is because it allows you to code and visually see what you are doing at the same time. It doesn't have a habit of adding sloppy code or non-sense code unlike programs like FRONTPAGE. Dreamweaver and Notepad, are probably the real standard in the development community. These are all I ever use when coding.

I spend my time developing forums much like this one. I use a program known as Bulletin, the same software this forum is using now. It is a complete forum pre-coded. Kind of like the free templates. You just upload, make changes, and your done. ikonboard and phpbb are a couple good and free options, but I don't' personally like them.

Setting one up can be a little tricky, but a novice user could do it.

A few examples of my work

www.hr3rdgen.orgwww.ttac.netwww.hrpe.net


The other thing you could consider is hiring someone or finding someone willing to help you out.

Something else, I would recommend visiting Vincent Flanders website www.websitesthatsuck.com <http://www.websitesthatsuck.com> and do not fall victim to becoming one of the billion horrible websites out there.
I would recommend online tutorials over books. I am not big on books. Most of what I have learned has come from self-taught practice and a lot of just messing around. I suggest you get something like Dreamweaver and read some tutorials and just mess around until you get the hang of things.

Then you can move to bigger and better goals.




Good Luck

 

[jono1]

theres actually some really really great free web forums out there. i personally recommend phpBB for its ease of use for the beginner and invision powerboard for the slightly more advanced user.
they both come complete and have easy setup (or so i'm told..i've never set up a powerboard, only a phpBB)....they both come with a very stylish forum that can easily be skinned to completely change the interface. and i'm not sure about powerboard but if you know html you can easily change the basic layout of the page in phpBB...

also if you're willing to pay then you could go for VBulletin which is what CF uses...but it's a lot more powerful and I wouldn't recommend it unless you're predicting that your board will be really big (ie, lots and lots of users)