webmastering?

[Wendy]

Is it hard to do a website? I am a member of a club that needs serious help with a website. I found a host for cheap, like $12 a year and it doesn't have to be fancy, just have meeting and contact info, maybe a few pictures, and some trip reports. Would this be hard to learn to do? I don't think I am a complete idiot, so I think I could do it.

 

[CBulla]

Its not overly tough.. most of it is knowing how to use one of those proggies that help you write a page if you don't know how to author html.

 

[sealkie]

if you want something really basic - most word processing programs will allow you to save pages as html - so you can create a page in your favourate word processor and save it - If you are completely new to this you might want to get some to help you with the initial setup but once it`s up maintaining it should be a sinch

I use an option in photoshop to create web galleries - it works really well

 

[diversteve]

Is it hard to do a website? I am a member of a club that needs serious help with a website. I found a host for cheap, like $12 a year and it doesn't have to be fancy, just have meeting and contact info, maybe a few pictures, and some trip reports. Would this be hard to learn to do? I don't think I am a complete idiot, so I think I could do it.

Actually you'd be surprised how easy it is. For your requirements all you'd need is a basic HTML understanding - read a book or two on HTML 4.0 - get an easy-to-use HTML editor, a really basic understanding of how hosting/file transfer works and a little basic image editing experience.
If you want your own vanity domain name, you'll need to register it once, then pay $10yr. to keep it.

There's a lot of HTML editing programs available starting at free and going up to hundreds of dollars. If you have the full version of Netscape 7.1, there's an HTML editor built in called Composer. It would allow you to create HTML documents and add pictures, links to other pages etc. as necessary. And it has a feature to allow you to simply upload your finished work to your hosting site. It will only generate pretty stock looking code though. Google HTML Editors for a list of free, cheap and better HTML editors.

Microsoft Word can convert any document into an HTML format - although it will also generate useless excess code. Microsoft Frontpage is Microsoft's HTML editor, although it's a little non-standard.

Basically all you need is a drag/drop editor that will create the code for you as you edit your pages. Then you'd add any photos, text, and upload the entire page to the hosting provider's server space. You can even automate this process with most editing programs so that any additions or changes are sent to the right location.

As long as you don't want the site to do anything complex , such as streaming video or hosting a chat site or forum, most of what you want to do can be done almost for nothing with a basic understanding of the fundamentals.

A lot of this is really going to depend on how much maintenance work you're willing to undertake. For example - everytime someone in your club wants to publish a trip report, are you going to let them upload it automatically or will you do that for them? In the first instance, you'll need to add and configure a content management system so that the trip report is put in the right place and the page is updated - a lot like how adding a posting here works - or you'll have to manually update the trip report page and add the new information. Same basic process with pictures and any other information on the site.

Thank NetDoc and the other Scubaboard administrators for how seamlessly this goes on here, it's a lot of work to maintain it all - I used to webmaster for ASU so I have an appreciation for the amount of time it takes.

It's likely that the maintenance and update of the site is going to be most of the work, the initial setup for something like you're talking about should take days/weeks at the most - I could do it in about 4 hours - it's what I do for a living.

Actually if your site is small enough one of your members could host it on their webspace - most ISP's let you do this as long as the site doesn't get a lot of traffic, then they'll ask you to move it to paid hosting. I have a client who's hosted his business info site for the past 3 years this way. There's also free hosting options, but then you have to deal with their banner ads being displayed on your site all the time, it's how they offer it for free.

PM me if you have more specific questions,

Steve

 

[ae3753]

Nice overview, sjspeck.

For information on the structure of HTML, check out NCSA's Beginner's Guide To HTML . Goto the "The Minimal HTML Document" section and see how little it takes to put up a web page.

 

[jiveturkey]

There's always geocities as well. If you need something quick and you don't require any flash, they are always an option.

 

[Mick_O]

In my experience there's always some *nix-nerd around (berfore y'all start bashing me, I am a card-carrying nerd) who would be more than happy to flex some muscles (?) and set up a small linux box running Apache, PHP, MySQL, and everything else you need to run a site. If you're looking into hosting options, there are many. There are hosting options starting at $9 per month. Or, if you (like me) have a semi-high speed connection at home (DSL, cable modem, OC3), feel comfortable buying your own domains and using services like ZoneEdit for dynamic DNS updates, you can run your server right in your home (which is what I'm doing for a couple of domains). A web server does NOT need a lot of horse power. I ran four domains on a dual PPro/200, and it wasn't even breaking a sweat.

Apps like FrontPage will do the job if you have a provider with FrontPage extensions, although I personally like DreamWeaver better (heck, vi is my favorite HTML/php editor...)

HTSNRH (Hope This Somawhat Nerdy Response Helps!)

 

[MikeC]

Wendy, how about a hosting compnay that is cheaper than $12/yr? First, do you have the domian name registered? If you pay more than $10/yr, you are being ripped off. For domain name registration check out www.godaddy.com. For hosting check VizaWeb. If you use VizaWeb, they include the domain name for free, but it is better sometimes to have hosting and domain name registration seperate, in case you change hosts.....

 

[orangeBloke]

Like Mick_O I like Dreamweaver too, it's a very nice appliaction and you can get through it next to no HTML experience if you're only creating simple pages. You can download a 30 day trial from Macromedia's site at http://www.macromedia.com/cfusion/tdrc/index.cfm?product=dreamweaver

 

[Wendy]

Wendy, how about a hosting compnay that is cheaper than $12/yr? First, do you have the domian name registered? If you pay more than $10/yr, you are being ripped off. For domain name registration check out www.godaddy.com. For hosting check VizaWeb. If you use VizaWeb, they include the domain name for free, but it is better sometimes to have hosting and domain name registration seperate, in case you change hosts.....

the webpage is for a caving grotto, and the host is the NSS, off their website, so we wouldn't have a domain name exactly. if you wanna see where it would be its at www.caves.org