How does I make website?

[A.M. Thomas]

How is url formed?


I want to make a personal, blog type of thing, but I want my own url and I want it to look nice.  Is there a book I can read that teaches me website design?  What program would I even use to design the site?  I have access to photoshop.  Where can I buy a domain?  Can I somehow use blogspot as a host or template?

I don't know anything about this.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I should add that I'm willing to pay for this, and if any of you have experience doing this, I would definitely pay you to set me up.

[yesno]

I used to just use iWeb, .Mac, and Godaddy before I deleted all my web stuff.  Kiddie pool style compared to what the web jockeys on here do, but I liked just having basic stuff on "my" site and then linking elsewhere anything complex.  For example, make a nice page for yourself and then just add a link to a blogspot or a twitter or what have you.  (Although you can embed RSS feeds in iWeb.)  Seriously, every Inter-nerd looks down on tools like iWeb but it works for what it does.  Rapidweaver is a slightly more sophisticated choice.

I like this dude's site:

http://www.eudaemonist.com/

[chrisfoll577]

I like this dude's site:

http://www.eudaemonist.com/

That's really a simple and elegant site.  It makes me wish he made the wordpress theme public.

[KickTheBobo]

How is url formed? - you buy a domain for about 6-8 bucks a year. go here: 1and1.com

I want to make a personal, blog type of thing - you can use blogger

but I want my own url and I want it to look nice. - buy a domain from 1and1.com, point it to blogger. they have nice themes you can use.

Is there a book I can read that teaches me website design? - there are a million books and websites that can guide you.

What program would I even use to design the site? - you can use something simple, like notepad or something robust like dreamweaver. I would use a combo of notepad++ and the web developer toolbar in firefox.

I have access to photoshop. - Photoshop is a great tool for making banner graphics. you can also get GIMP, which is free.

Where can I buy a domain? - 1and1.com

Can I somehow use blogspot as a host or template? - Yes.

[cutout]

I'm biased bc I use it for nearly every project, but I'd strongly recommend WordPress. The documentation is massive, there are good books on it, there is a huge plugin and theme community, it gets frequent updates, it's easy to use. At this point it's surpassed Movable Type, Blogger and the rest of them by light years.

[erechoveraker]

KtB already posted lots of stuff you should do, but I will also add that Wordpress is a great blog engine, and really easy to customize too with simple html skills. And it's really easy to set up as well.

Try out blogspot for awhile though to see if you'll keep up the desire to update/run a site. I've had lots of friends buy a domain, spend time getting it ready, get all excited, then never updated it again after like 2 months. Save yourself a little time and money and just use the free thing for awhile to see how it feels.

Good luck.

[cutout]

^very true. All the best infrastructure and design doesn't matter if the thing collects dust, like so many blogs do after a few months. So many good writers quit early, yet people like Perez Hilton post 5 times a day with passionate intensity. There's a Yeats quote in there somewhere.

[erika]

I'm biased bc I use it for nearly every project, but I'd strongly recommend WordPress. The documentation is massive, there are good books on it, there is a huge plugin and theme community, it gets frequent updates, it's easy to use. At this point it's surpassed Movable Type, Blogger and the rest of them by light years.

I just want to plug another vote for Wordpress! I'm using the MU version now and it's fantastic.

[hugman]

I use dreamweaver because once you get over the steep initial learning curve it's pretty fun, although my site probably looks like it's from about 1995. (you can see it in all it's art chantry ripoff glory at http://www.joelhuggins.com) I do use wordpress for the blog portion of it.

My wife uses wordpress for her site for her business, and I highly recommend it.

[erechoveraker]

So many damned creatives type FOT, we need to start our own linked in network or something, wowzers.