devdisko{dot}comCMS http://devdisko.com shake your fake tan thru aerosol land Sun, 12 Jul 2009 23:24:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Building Your Own Website – The Basics http://devdisko.com/tutorials/building-your-own-website-tutorials/building-your-own-website-the-basics/ http://devdisko.com/tutorials/building-your-own-website-tutorials/building-your-own-website-the-basics/#comments Sun, 01 Mar 2009 00:03:07 +0000 ZWJ http://devdisko.com/?p=42 This is the first part of a ten part series called; Building Your Own Website. This part will detail some of the tools that, at a minimum, you will need to build a website. The focus will be on simplicity and cost efficiency.

Please see the Preface for the directory.

The Basics

So you want to build your own website? Great! Here is a rundown of what you will need. A lot of these points will be elaborated upon in further posts but this should give you a good idea of what you’ll be getting into.

1. Your own computer with internet access! This isn’t a deal breaker but it will make your life a lot easier. Also, keep in mind that for security reasons having a secure internet connection is very important.

2. You will have to decide whether you want to use a hosted service (your site is hosted on their server – but usually with limitations to you) or a self hosted service (you purchase server space and a domain address from a host but have essentially unlimited freedom).

There are dozens of popular hosted services. Some require that their domain be appended to yours (yoursite.wordpress.com) while some make their money from ad revenue on your site.

A couple examples of hosted services are:

Hosted services, on the other hand, allow you to work within the limits of the particular service you use. Most are infinitely flexible and use a plug-in system to extent a light weight core. There are also dozens for you to choose from. In fact, the bar has been set so high by the free packages that I will rule out any that charge.

Here are a few examples of self hosted services:

The package you choose will ultimately depend on your needs. It’s perhaps one of the most important decisions you’re going to make, so take your time and review all of the links above and any that you come across elsewhere. I will go into greater detail on the subject in the next couple of posts.

I should also mention that Devtronik is powered by Wordpress.org and hosted by Bluehost.

3. Once you’ve decided upon a service (we should probably be using the term CMS – although it might not apply to the most basic blogging software) you will have to choose a template, or theme. Chose a theme that fits your needs the closest as you will have to make the least amount of customizations. There are some fantastic themes out there. Generally, each CMS will have a theme directory to help you select a theme that works with their product.

4. You will need some kind of editing program. I use CSSEdit for CSS (I’ll elaborate upon this later) and TextWrangler for HTML and PHP code.

5. Some kind of image editing software if you plan to include custom images on your site. You can go with Photoshop on the high end or any of the free packages, such as Gimp. A lot of great websites don’t use any image editing software at all. Things like font color and size, header color can all be changes using CSS.

6. Most of all, you will need patience and persistence. Stalk the forums for information. Use Google. If you are stumped on something and can’t find a solution ask on the forums.

So, in summary, to begin building a website you will need…

  • a computer with internet
  • a CMS and perhaps a host
  • some style and code editing software
  • some graphic editing software
  • patience!

Please feel free to post any questions or comments below! The next installment will be about choosing a Host.


]]> http://devdisko.com/tutorials/building-your-own-website-tutorials/building-your-own-website-the-basics/feed/ 0 Building Your Own Website – CMS http://devdisko.com/tutorials/building-your-own-website-tutorials/building-your-own-website-cms/ http://devdisko.com/tutorials/building-your-own-website-tutorials/building-your-own-website-cms/#comments Sat, 28 Feb 2009 23:02:08 +0000 ZWJ http://devdisko.com/?p=30

This is the third part of a ten part series called; Building Your Own Website. This part will deal with CMS – Content Management Systems. As always the focus will be on simplicity and cost efficiency.

Please see the Preface for the directory.

The most important thing you need to keep in mind when choosing a CMS is that depending on your choice you may need to be self-hosted (see my tutorial on hosts). You will also want to have some idea of the size and scale of your planned website as certain CMS’s better suit larger sites.

I will focus only on free and self-hosted software.

Choosing a CMS

Let’s have a look at some of the better known CMS’s.

WordPress – Started as blogging software, WordPress has exploded into a full on CMS in recent years. I very happily use it for all of my sites. I the case of my art gallery site I use WordPress along with bbPress (forum software by the same folks as WordPress and ZenPhoto gallery software. WordPress has an extremely helpful support forum and well established community. Recently it has introduced an instant upgrade feature that has saved me a lot of headaches. More than anything, though, I get the sense that the folks behind it are very dedicated to it’s continual improvment.

Joomla!

No matter which of these you choose you will not go wrong. Most people who swear by their CMS have never tried another. The most important thing is to spend a little time getting a feel for each system and to go with the one that best suits your criteria.

]]> http://devdisko.com/tutorials/building-your-own-website-tutorials/building-your-own-website-cms/feed/ 0