Building your Website Starts from the Inside Out
You have that great idea that you are ready to put onto the web. How do you go about building your presence? There are many options available, most of which we dont even think about or know exist when we visit the websites we enjoy so much.
There are many ways to create webpages. For example, if you have Microsoft Word, especially the newer versions, you can create and even publish your web pages directly from Word to your hosting site. This is easy in appearance, but you will be lacking in some of the more common features available today.
One option is buying a website creation software package. These programs do have a learning curve, but have the capacity to manage and publish your website, and offer many great features.
There is another direction you can take, and that is choosing a content management system. These systems are integrated web site design and pubishing programs that give your website a foundation. Themes and add on features are always available for these systems.
A couple of the popular Content Management Systems, or CMS or short, are Joomla and WordPress. Both of these CMSs are build with Open Source, meaning that the code is provided to help others to build supporting components. This shared environment makes open source programs an amazing creative collective that has resulted in a wide array of features. Some of these features are fee based, while many are given freely or by donation.
Joomla has been around for many years, and offers many great features. Start by visiting their website, look at some of the free templates offered, as well as the plugins. Joomla also has a forum that is well managed and supported.
As far as popularity goes, WordPress is a great system. There are many websites that offer templates as well as the additional features known as plugins. Many articles are published to support and enhance your use of WordPress as well. You can have a wordpress site hosted at wordpress, or use the software on your own hosting site. Many hosts have Fantastico which automates the installation of the software.
If you want to have a community type setting you can always consider WordPress MU. This software is a variation of the typical wordpress installation, but lets you run multiple sites with only one install. You can control the features available for each subdomain within the MU community.
Building a website takes time and a lot of thought. When you build from scratch you need to know both languages for the html or php code that gives your site form and structure. Using a content management system will save you a lot of time by providing structure, freeing you for the more creative aspects of your website.
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