grogirl Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 I was wondering if anyone could give me some pointers on which template website is best! I currently have an extremely basic website that I'm paying some ridiculous amount monthly for, I don't really like it, it needs updating and I think I have just about enough ability to do a better job myself, so,have googled around template sites, I think, I like squarespace? but was just hopping someone here could give me some advice before I commit too much time to it and find its shit!!! gg x x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danknorthwest Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 @@grogirl You can download pre made websites free they will only be templates and need editing to your liking, you would just need to pay for a domain which wouldn't be too expensive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishmael Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Wordpress is very good and free. You have to get your head around it, it's not a normal commercial product it's shareware or whatever. What it gives you once you have your site set up is a really easy and quick way to update it, to change it in any way. I had the same problem and I just decided to sort it out for myself, never looked back. The more you write and update the more google seems to like it, which is a bonus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grogirl Posted October 6, 2015 Author Share Posted October 6, 2015 Thank you @@Danknorthwest I don't mind paying for a template if it's any good or more user friendly! Hi @@Ishmael a friend mentioned Wordpress, and it is attractive but I'm worried it's too techy for me, its taken me an hour tonight to change my bloody avatar!!! How much computer literacy is required would you say?! I think I probably need it to hold my hand a little bit! I do think I'm going to have to bend my head around it though, I need to be more involved with it really, I'm embarrassed to direct people to it at the minute! You can practically see the dust on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bird Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 Weebly is a site where you can build your own commercial site from pre-built elements. I think they take a percentage though. Might be worth a look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ishmael Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 (edited) Thank you @@Danknorthwest I don't mind paying for a template if it's any good or more user friendly! Hi @@Ishmael a friend mentioned Wordpress, and it is attractive but I'm worried it's too techy for me, its taken me an hour tonight to change my bloody avatar!!! How much computer literacy is required would you say?! I think I probably need it to hold my hand a little bit! I do think I'm going to have to bend my head around it though, I need to be more involved with it really, I'm embarrassed to direct people to it at the minute! You can practically see the dust on it! there is a lot of guidance out there, and it's not unnecessarily techy but there is quite a lot of getting your head around it. Give it a day and see how it goes maybe. I heard good things about Wix, said to be pretty easy to use. I doubt any such system would give you as much freedom as Wordpress but they will be easier initially I suppose. Sorry, can't pretend to know loads about it but my site's been on Wordpress for more than 5 years and i don;t feel restricted by it yet - but I won't pretend it was simple to do. Edited October 7, 2015 by Ishmael Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blayz'd Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 there is a lot of guidance out there, and it's not unnecessarily techy but there is quite a lot of getting your head around it. Give it a day and see how it goes maybe. I heard good things about Wix, said to be pretty easy to use. I doubt any such system would give you as much freedom as Wordpress but they will be easier initially I suppose. Sorry, can't pretend to know loads about it but my site's been on Wordpress for more than 5 years and i don;t feel restricted by it yet - but I won't pretend it was simple to do. I heard Wix was good too. I'd have a look at that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madgiz Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Have a look at ipage.com.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grogirl Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 thank you @@Ishmael @@Blayz'd @@Bird and @@madgiz got some googling to do!!! x x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 11, 2015 Share Posted October 11, 2015 i used 123-reg.co.uk to set up a friends website it was pretty easy & looks ok. I think that mrsite.co.uk is cheaper and was recommended in The Guardian when i was researching, last year. Both the above are pretty cheap to design and then edit site. Its cheaper if you just take their bundle for the design/templates/edit bit plus the webhosting and domain. Though if you already have a domain its easy to use that. They include email addresses in the bundle too if thats any use to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormin Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 that Squarespace looks good, though limited? - seems they want more money for more functionality, that you could implement yourself for free via WordPress and some bolt-ons. ive recently bought some good themes myself - to redesign (and host) the website for the company that I work for - I work in IT, but not in web development, just something ive started getting into, as also in process of setting up my own ecommerce shop!.. [also used wordpress] fingers crossed I can make the shop work.. as working for someone else is becoming tiring :-) very simple with a good theme and WP, I had the whole of the old site ripped and redesigned over a Friday and Saturday evening (and there was quite a lot of content!..).. and it now looks 100x better than it was (found out my company were also paying 800/year for it as well, and it looked really cr*p - wasn't mobile friendly - you couldn't read the text on the screen.. just crazy spending so much for a 'managed web service' that provided the worst site ever built!..) google 'divi by elegant themes', its what ive used - took me a long time to say fk it and buy it ..(previously [for my own sites] I used bootstrap frameworks etc, for free - but really unless you know exactly what you're doing, its better/quicker/easier to pay for a good theme and go with wordpress in my opinion - where you're also not tied to a particular theme/costs for added functionality etc) , the company that makes divi have also just released (last week) a divi plug in that allows the very simple drag/drop features to be used with any theme! .. it's very easy, the hardest part has been choosing/buying some lovely images for the site! PM me if I can assist in any way - happy to help/show you what ive done myself - with little/no previous experience. I can assist in cheap hosting as well if needed - rather than buying a single hosting for the company I work for, I bought a package - that would allow me to also host loads of other sites (eg my own ecommerce shop!) - so hosting for cost price is something I could also assist with - not trying to sell you anything - as mentioned I don't do it for a living, but I am happy to help, be it just advise or otherwise.. as its something ive spent a lot of time going over myself the past few months. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grogirl Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Huge thanks @@Blunt_Wit and @@stormin X X that is brilliant. Had made a start with squarespace but agree with you storming about it being limited, and really it's not as intuitive as at should be. For a premium service I want it to be super simple, but still found myself getting into knots. So, thank you for your recommendation I'm going to ditch the squarespace and start again on Wordpress. I think if I've got to bend my head around anything it may as well be a more versatile platform(?) also will want to add a basic cart, with less than 30 product and I think there may be more options for this with Wordpress. I think that divi is a great recommendation, and will deffo pay for something like that. Going to explore that a bit. I'm lucky because I have loads of good images to use, but could use a couple extra where did you buy your images from? Thanks heaps for your advice. It is one of those things that I think I can learn but am coming from a place where the trickiest thing I've ever done is change my avi!! 😂😂 just don't see thepoint in paying monthly for someone else to 'manage' a template website for me! Specially one that looks crap!!! Thanks again X x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormin Posted October 18, 2015 Share Posted October 18, 2015 Hi Grogirl, before pulling the trigger on any template..definitely get a copy and have a play.. eg, divi.. PM me.. (I have a developer license.. so don't go out and pay for anything - i'm allowed to resell .. my current fee is any figure you deem appropriate to charity ;-) ..) .. but don't buy.. these things always look better than they are .. I firmly believe you need to have a good trial/play to make up your mind. I got a dodgy copy of divi first, after quite some time playing decided to buy (automatic updates etc)and again, my new site, I got a dodgy copy of a different template and tried it first - I'm keeping divi etc for work - but ive now paid for the new theme a couple days ago.. .. unfortunately that one is single site license only , so wouldn't be able to keep you updated with versions (like divi) - but I can give you the current latest copy to 'trial' ;-) ... to be honest, I still prefer divi (much easier to use still - and looks beautiful) .. but there was one feature in this particular theme that isn't there (at the moment) with divi.. hence paying 40quid for the new theme!... feel free to PM me anyway - I would always play with the theme first.. ive bought too many themes in the past (previous projects!!) on the basis of the funky looking sales page - only to find hands on its quite sh*t.. Divi is far from sh*t though.. I love it.. but can also show you the new theme which is eCommerce specific... though Divi does a fantastic job with eCommerce itself, just that one thing I needed was missing in divi (full page width product descriptions... you could amend the css files to fix that.. but by the time o'd sprted it and got it looking great.. I may as well fork out the money and be done.. ). PM if you like .. I can show you the sites ive done in divi - and the new theme I'm now using for the eCommerce store if you want an example.. happy to send on the theme files for you to trial in any case. If you wanted a fresh site to play with - (I have some dormant domains from previous attempts to get rich!) i can set you up with the themes to have a play with well away from your own domain .. nothing worst than losing what you have already got just to try a new theme/site out.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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