I'm about to embark on a bit of a project and need to put together a website. I'm not hugely into web developing so would prefer something that has some kind of 'easy build' tool with decent templates and plugins etc.

It is firstly going to be used to kind of establish a brand and will then be built upon, probably in time need some kind of facility to purchase items from, newsletter subscription etc etc. It will be a music-based projects too, so will need something that fits into that, e.g. hosting of media, linking with likes of Spotify, YouTube, Soundcloud etc ideally.

Any suggestions or recommendations for something decent? And the cheaper the better, plus free is good

 

Usually free hosting is bad, unstable, and end up costing more than the usual ones.
Godaddy has some kind of do your own website and there is German hosting company that offers something like that too I cant remember their name. And there is 1and 1 too.
Godaddy is not the most inexpensive but it is very reliable. I used their services intensively for several years.

 

Often used:



1- Adobe Dreamweaver CC
2- Adobe Muse CC
3- َAdobe XD
4- Corel Website Creator
5- EZGenerator Website Builder
6- Incomedia WebSite
7- Xara Web Designer
8- Serif WebPlus

 

Last edited by a moderator: Mar 3, 2018

I’m not sure if you have looked into wix . com but they offer hosting, easy build site templates and many features including social media links, integrating mailing lists, web stores, etc. they can be more expensive vs buying your own domain and hosting services but it would depend on your budget, time, preference, etc.

 

Depends on how much you are willing to spend, free is not the best solution if you are trying to put a good foot forward.

Can you swing 3 quid a month for your project? If you can then you have sea of options at your finger tips.

The most important thing is not where you host your site, but where you get your domain. I found it better to separate the two concerns even if it ends up costing a bit more, a good domain provider is worth ten times what a good host is worth. You can always move where you host, and just point your domain somewhere else nobody will even notice, but if you start having issues with your domain you are in for a world of hurt.

You could start off with something like WIX which is a copy/pasta everyone looks the same with set templates and when you need something more if you ever need anything more just point your domain somewhere else. If you are going to have a shop and process payments and such make sure you go for a secure solution. Don't get sucked into something easy and think you can scale it into something that is resilient.

The horror stories I constantly hear about php blogging platforms cross purposed as shops or information depots are dreadful.

If I were you I would just start off with static pages, and then if the need arises for expansion and you need a solid web-app because you can forsee a future where the site can help to pay for itself you can take it from there and do it properly. The most dangerous thing in the world of the internets is when you try to use a plastic playschool hammer to try to build a skyscraper. When it comes time to upgrade don't be afraid to scrap what you have and build something proper.

 

I agree with wix. It has many facilities to integrate with your need easily (w/o the need to learn html/css/javascript etc,), also many others easy to add-on features for your site: https://www.wix.com/app-market/main

Another site with more or less features similar to wix is weebly: https://www.weebly.com/app-center

You can start both for free, and then gradually upgrade when you need to. Flexible.

 

Last edited: Mar 4, 2018

SquareSpace? It has 'reasonable' prices. ;)

 

I have some sites up for 4+ years, I'm absolutely no pro, so here is just my experience:

Free (like Olymoon, mozee already mentioned) it's a no go.. I'd spend between 3-6$/mo for a 2 year plan, let's say. For that, you will have a lot of tools that you might not need at the beginning, but will soon become handy. And, believe me - you don't want to change your hosting every couple of months. BTW - when you are looking for price, many offers are "discounts" valid only for the first period. Then they usually charge you 2x as much.

The host should offer at least a month money-back, all the tech stuff (SSD, backups, security,...) ..but for you right now the super important thing is 24/7 human support. You will build your website on some platform. My preference is Wordpress, but again - they should offer you any other one, including "one-click, drag&drop" kindergarten options.

There is the question whether keeping the domain registration/hosting separate or keep them together on your host. While I don't disagree w/ mozee - there are good reasons for keeping those separate, I'd just say IMO there are pros and cons.

Registering with your hosting service
pros: almost all h.s. will offer (one) domain for free, that means one account - you manage/renew/etc. everything from there, no need to direct domain nameservers to your web server, somewhat easier for a beginner..
cons: theoretically the best registrars and best hosting services are best at what they do.., theoretically any registrar (your webhosting in this case) can "kidnap" your domain (highly unlikely but the possibility is there), a good con reason would be also if you have more domains and don't want to host all your sites in one place..

ATM I have my domain registred with my webhosting (it's free and I kinda trust them - otherwise I'm screwed anyway;). This depends also on how famous you are. You wouldn't trust ww.roll ingstones. com or arianag rande.c om to just anyone, ha! ;) One note about this. If you have in mind a really good name, do NOT go and check online if it is available. There is some speculation that "a service" registered checked domains, so they could sell it to you later.

Finally on sister there is a (very outdated) course by I think the same guy that recently made some live10 ones. It's a mess imo, but he definitely goes through putting up a website "for artists" from the perspective of a "not hugely into web dev." guy. Just search for "websites".

 

Last edited: Mar 4, 2018

@Bunford

Have a look at 1and1
I have been hosting my clients' web site there for over a decade (domain registration included). They have plenty of options, depending on what you need, they have several different packages to propose.

Regarding the domain registration, don't hesitate to have it there to. You get at least one domain included free with your package and if you ever wish to move it elsewhere there is absolutely no hassle with them everything is manageable from your control panel. I have had the experience of moving a couple of clients' domain through the years for different reasons (client's company changing owner, etc...)

Good luck!