Web Design

[Lunchcutter]

Hi I have been asked my a good friend to help her with development of a website for her 6month old daughter who has recently been diagnosed with TSC - (Tuberous Sclerosis Complex) was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on what is the easiest programme to use for this purpose.... many years ago I remember front page was the programme that was used widely... is this still the case and is there any alternatives that are user-friendly as both my friend and myself are novices at this. Also, what sort of costs are applicable when finding a host for a domain... can bigpond host this type of site? if not who else can and what sort of dollars are involved? is it a yearly fee? etc... is a broadband connection required to upload the pages etc - any responses will be greatly received... thank you guys and gals

[Dissident]

Hi LC.

Nice idea - and I hope it works out well.

Frontpage is still an easy program to use. There are a plethora of programs around, some free, some cheap, some $$ so it pays to look around. It also depends on your experience and knowledge in the area as well. Dreamweaver is another nice program.

As for hosting the site - it depends on what you want the "name" to look like. You can register a domain name, and then get it hosted but that's probably the more expensive solution. If you have an ISP account (ie Bigpond) you can probably use the "users space" that comes with your account, so that you'll have users.bigpond.net.au/~lunchcutter for example (I don't know what the BP one looks like).

If you do want to register a name, the cheapest solutions is a .com, .net or .org which you can get for around $10EURO, so around $15 - $22AUD. That gets you the domain, NOT any hosting or anywhere to put the site, or email.

Hosting can be extremely cheap, but beware of ones who seem too good to be true.

The place Wedgie originally hosted SAfooty, and where I host all my sites is a good option, costing around $7USD a month, so around $10 - $12AUD. I would look at about $100 - $120 a year to host a domain.

Depending on space requirements, and other needs - Wedgie or I could probably help you put on our domains. Depends on what you want really.

Broadband is better for uploading pages but really - it doesn't matter. It might take longer on dialup but it is far from impossible. I did it for years. (In fact I hosted my own domains at home, on a dialup connection).

Shoot me an email or PM with some more details and I'll see what I can work out.

D

[Lunchcutter]

for your prompt response... we are still in the planning stages at the moment... i am going to get her up her speed to broadband (just because I can get frustrated if upload/download becomes too slow)... i will take you up on your offer for further information in the next couple of weeks after we have had another couple of sit-downs. thanks again your posts are always interesting and full of good information. thanks diss.

[Dissident]

Not w problem.
Let me know if you want any help with designing it too.

[Wedgie]

Id recommend Dreamweaver, I started out with Frontpage but its crap compared to Dreamweaver IMHO and others Ive talked to.
Frontpage used to have a few issues especially with the amount of code it used.

[zipzap]

Ordinarily I'd suggest Dreamweaver too. It's a joy to use compared to FrontPage, though that has improved over the years.

However, if you are after ease of use I can recommend signing up with Webcity for a domain name, hosting and site builder. It's dirt cheap, very user friendly and quite flexible. http://webcity.com.au

My dad wanted me to make a website for his business that HE would be able to update from anywhere without having to learn how to learn web design. Ordinarily I hate the idea of 'shake and bake' websites but for him this worked out perfectly - so easy to set up and manage plus it looks good, it really surprised me. It does lots of tricky things instantly - it's a joy to update I have to admit. No need for FTP. There are literally hundreds of templates to use as a starting point and then adapt to suit your needs. Here's the website as it is at the moment:
http://www.woodfast.com.au

I think it cost $39 for the domain for 2 yrs then under $10 a month to host it.

[Lunchcutter]

i need all the help I can get