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What is the best, easiest, open source website building software available?

by Cruiser
26 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
    • |
Hi

I am new to building websites. I need some good advice to start off with. I want to design a website for a business idea I have, but I don't know which software to use. I am focussing on Joomla and Wordpress and as far as I have read about them, Joomla is favoured!

Isn't there software available in which you can edit Joomla templates? Or build a Joomla template from scratch without having to learn technical coding? I only need a good looking website, and the most technical things it must have is a member's login and sign-up page, not very difficult I suppose!

It would help if you can post me links to good tutorials or e-books!

Thanks
#building #easiest #open #software #source #website
  • Profile picture of the author flimsy
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    • Profile picture of the author Cruiser
      I already installed Joomla and is running it on WAMP server as a localhost. I agree, it is very easy to work in Joomla, but it doesn't have a tool to build your own template from scratch. The other alternative is to download a template and edit it, which is quite hard as you need to know a lot about CSS coding. I have Joomla 1.5 and haven't quite figured out how to add an extension to a page or article. Maybe there's someone who knows about a good e-book or tutorial about creating your own template with Joomla without having to become an expert CSS coder?
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  • Profile picture of the author Roncham
    While it depends on what you need to accomplish with your website, I would go with Wordpress, it is much easier to work with and the vast amount of themes and plugins makes it a very good CMS.

    I've never used Artisteer, but it supposed to be easy to design with as well. It works with Joomla and Wordpress themes.
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  • Profile picture of the author waysofmylife
    Photoshop + dreamweaver + google
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  • Profile picture of the author kkchoon
    I love wordpress... hands down!
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  • Profile picture of the author Leon McKee
    If don't use WordPress make sure you take some time and learn basic SEO like how to silo the structure of your site. If you want some Google love within hours each time you add content then go with WordPress. Of course, your decision depends on your business model and your plans for scaling that model.

    Leon McKee
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  • Profile picture of the author mikey1090
    I use wordpress for nearly all my sites, blogs, landing pages. Perfect.

    Thousands of free themes. If one doesn't quite fit the needs, you can mod it.
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  • Profile picture of the author dawnpeterson
    Hi,

    Here's a few things to help. First, many of the hosting companies have templates and drag and drop software for creating sites. If you want it to be a blog, wp is the best and easiest, just login to the cpanel and click on fantastico, then wp, then new installation. Put the location you'd like it to be, like blog would have it show up at yoursite dot com/blog.

    If you want a website vs a blog, I suggest going to dreamtemplate dot com and getting a membership there and pick the template and drag it into your editor. Coffeecup is a good free option, so is nvu.

    Dawn.
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  • Profile picture of the author takingaction
    As an example, you can see 100 free wordpress templates that are well designed right out of the box:

    100 Amazing Free Wordpress Themes for 2009 | Developer's Toolbox | Smashing Magazine

    If you need to modify them considerably, you can hire someone here on the forum for a reasonable fee or you can check out a resource such as:

    Rockable Press Rockstar WordPress Designer

    which takes you through the ins and outs of modifying wordpress themes.

    Hopes this helps!
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    • Profile picture of the author michael074
      Hi there,

      Check out the FREE eBook in my sig. It will take you step by step through everything you need to know.

      Mike.
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  • Profile picture of the author ziggysblog
    I use WordPress on all my sites. It has never failed me yet. Checkout WordPress.org.
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  • Profile picture of the author bronnamdia
    I also use Wordpress with only minor problems.
    Wordpress is easy.
    Try it.
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  • Profile picture of the author rjoger
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  • Profile picture of the author Cruiser
    Thank you all so much! I downloaded a few e-books about creating a template in Joomla, and I realized the coding is quite hard for a beginner. So now I am going to try Wordpress. I have a great business opportunity and need only a simple website, but it must look very professional! I thought in Joomla it would be possible to design it WYSIWYG. Is there any e-books you guys can recommend for learning to build a website with Wordpress. I will Google it, but maybe you know of a tutorial which will be very helpfull.

    Thank you so much!

    To your success!
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  • Profile picture of the author DigiSumo
    WordPress... IMO
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  • Profile picture of the author GoPeterB
    If you are not a good programmer than I would HIGHLY recommend Wordpress.

    Ive used Dreamweaver, Joomla and Wordpress and Wordpress wins hands down! I use it for ALL of my sites. Its ease of use is great and there is a plugin for anything imaginable. I personally found Joomla to be overly complicated...but thats just me.

    Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author fabcsaby
    I recommend Joomla! Install it on your server and get a free joomla template from my website!
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    Joomla Templates | Web Hosting | Joomla Free Templates
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  • Profile picture of the author Wasim
    Without a doubt I would recommend WordPress.

    My site is now self hosted and i'm so glad I chose WordPress because previously I was only using Dreamweaver and Photoshop. While I did go through a brilliant learning curve it was all good practice too but I realised I didn't actually need to be wasting too much time, considering WordPress does it all for me.

    I've finally settled on a cool theme too ...... Phew. Anyway good luck.
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    • Profile picture of the author djbory
      Originally Posted by Wasim View Post

      Without a doubt I would recommend WordPress.

      My site is now self hosted and i'm so glad I chose WordPress because previously I was only using Dreamweaver and Photoshop. While I did go through a brilliant learning curve it was all good practice too but I realised I didn't actually need to be wasting too much time, considering WordPress does it all for me.

      I've finally settled on a cool theme too ...... Phew. Anyway good luck.
      Well said Wasim... If you are a newbie, just go with wordpress you will save yourselve a lot of headaches...

      DJBory
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  • Profile picture of the author dino_rhino
    you have two choices: blogger and wordpress
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  • Profile picture of the author smartsites
    Wordpress Hands Down! A huge support community and so many plugins you can do anything with it. You can install it in minutes and many templates available.
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  • Profile picture of the author bigman1234
    Well what I did is installed a joomla template .. then played with it till I learned how it works .. now I find it ez .. with all these programs you have to take time to learn
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  • Profile picture of the author Zanes
    WordPress.
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  • Profile picture of the author bg-011
    The best to set up and to start is WP
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  • Profile picture of the author Yisroelk
    Depends on what kind of site you are making. Try Wix.com
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  • Profile picture of the author dzulnaz
    Joomla is more complicated then WP.

    I prefer wordpress to start. We can easily customize the wordpress theme. And wordpress is good for SEO purpose. Try to use thesis theme from diytheme. They will tech you customize the theme.

    Regards,

    Nasrun
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  • Profile picture of the author fabcsaby
    I'm using Joomla! WordPress is great, but it is for blogs. If you want something professional, use joomla.
    You can use one of my free joomla templates if you want.
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    Joomla Templates | Web Hosting | Joomla Free Templates
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