website creation - for non web programmers?
- by Tim
I thought I would find decent questions and answers for this, but none really caught my eye...
I am a C++ developer and I own a few domains. I'd like to start off with simple web sites for each with a minimum of time and fuss and minimum learning. I have too many projects going and don't have the time to learn how to build websites.
One is for a company that currently has only a single product with custom development as well. I hacked together some really bad html with paypal links on it. It is just one simple product. I want to add uservoice to it and maybe some other stuff like FAQ, forums, etc. Right now I just link to a google group I created.
Another is a startup in development phase, but we want to provide simple content like whitepapers and press releases and a section for investors. - mostly an "about us" type of thing. We will also be providing details about our product.
Then there is a blog site - currently using godaddy's quickblogcast. Not a bad start but I suspect I want to move to something else.
The question is - is there a framework that I can use that will make decent, if not outstanding, sites? Again, I have my hands full with three projects in addition to my day job and don't have time to learn web programming. I also don;t want to just pay a web person and then be out in the cold for upgrades, changes, etc. I have been burned before. I am happy with a web-based app or a desktop app that builds html or whatever and then I can ftp it up to the hosting servers.
To summarize:
- simple to get started
- low time to get a web page going
- ability to integrate with a few hand-done pages
- pay pal integration
- uservoice integration
- ability to put under my svn would be nice too
EDIT
Thanks to the responders. I understand now why my original searches failed. I was not searching for "CMS". I'll go back and do that. I would expect that this is a many-times-duplicate...
EDIT:
I am considering using Wordpress and Drupal - one for each of the sites. I did one Drupal site quickly just so I could qualify for one of the Microsoft programs for discounted dev tools - anyway - it was a quick and dirty homepage and I am still on the learning curve. I look forward to playing with it. So far it has been ok. I am not sure about doing a taste-test between the two - might be a waste of time where I could just become that much better at Drupal faster than spending time on wordpress...
Will keep updated.
EDIT:
Selecting the Drupal answer by slim for now. That is what I am going with. Don't have time to check them all out. Wordpress sounds like a good option too, but such limited time...
Results:
I have tried wordpress and drupal so far. Wordpress is great for blogging or for a site that you want to run ads from, but I disagree that it is ready for a corporate site, unless you want to spend lots of time making your own theme, etc. But if you spend that time, why not work with drupal?
Drupal was a little intimidating at first - but after spending about 4 hours reading the overview and step-by-step guide online was a HUGE step. I got a simple site up and running easily after that. Trying to make a website just by going to the admin panel without reading anything is a waste of time. You really need to read the docs. The site is great.
start here:
http://drupal.org/getting-started
I'd suggest drupal to anyone. It has amazing capabilities, lots of support and lots of users.
Just doing blogging? Wordpress is really great for that.
So now I've got two sites running with a lot of the functionality I wanted - and they look good.
ONE MORE EDIT
Well, I have switched back to wordpress after buying a theme and then getting help from web developers. I guess either one will work - it is just a matter of getting comfortable witht he basics, using the right tools and trying things out.
