Creating personal website, and need help

[skaertus]

I decided to take a look at how to create a personal website. This will start as a hobby, so it has to be easy and inexpensive as a Netflix subscription. I only consider it if it really turns out to require a minimal commitment of time, effort, and money. Perhaps it grows on me in the future, but, for now, I am not willing to make it more complicated than I have to. And, as a novice, I would need some advice.

From what I understand, I would need or want the following:

• a domain name;
• a website (duh!);
• somewhere to host the website; and
• an e-mail provider with the domain name.

There are some services that offer the integrated whole package, so I would not have to worry about it. As I live in Brazil, prices and services are different from the ones in the U.S., and I would have the following choices:

• Wix: $3.80 per month (for one year). It offers a free domain for a year and a website builder which looks great. It does not offer a personalized e-mail, though, and it recommends the Google one, which is expensive.
• GoDaddy: $3 per month (yearly). It offers a free domain as well, and a website builder which does not seem so good as the one offered by Wix. No SEO tools offered. The advantage is that Microsoft has some sort of partnership with GoDaddy which allows me to use a personalized Outlook e-mail with my current Microsoft 365 Family subscription (for no additional money).
• HostGator: $2.50 per month (yearly) or $1.90 per month (in a 3-year package). It also comes with a 1-year free domain. It is very, very cheap, and comes with a personalized e-mail. Its website builder looks good. The downside is that renovation costs will be higher.
• WordPress: $2.40 per year (yearly) with a free domain for 1 year. No premium themes, no SEO, no e-mail.

I can also buy services separately. I can, for instance, use GoDaddy to register the domain, WordPress to build the website, HostGator to host it, or Wix for both the website and hosting and another service for e-mail. The whole package sounds attractive to me as I do not have to worry about making all things work together. If I buy them separately, it will be up to me to have the domain name redirecting to the website, the e-mail working and the service properly hosting the website. If it works easily and seamlessly, like a walk in the park, with just one or two additional steps, then it is fine. If it requires too much effort or time, or if it will bring technical complexities, then it is a no-go for me.

I wonder which would be the best option. I really have simple needs and I do not want things to get overly complicated or expensive. However, I found some opinions such as the following:

• Avoid GoDaddy at all costs!
• HostGator is terrible because it is owned by EIG.
• Use WordPress instead of proprietary platforms for website building.
• Hire someone else to build your website.

It started to sound confusing. Why is GoDaddy so bad? What is the problem with HostGator after all? Is WordPress complicated for someone who never built a website before?

The bottom line is that I will build the website as long as it is easy and cheap. It is just a hobby and not my work. I am no web developer and I do not have much time for this. If I have to learn how to program a website, or have to deal with technical difficulties, I will give up the idea in the first place.

So, I thought about posting this thread on MacRumors, as I want the experience of building a website to be great (just like using a Mac for the first time is). Any recommendations? Thanks.

 

[DJLC]

I'm not a fan of GoDaddy personally. But frankly, for a first timer, ain't much wrong with it.

If you want easy, look into Wix or Squarespace.

If you want something that can grow with you or that you could hand over to a pro eventually, I'd go toward Wordpress on a third-party host. DreamHost's DreamPress product is pretty great. There is definitely a learning curve, but you don't necessarily have to touch code or anything too crazy, and with DreamPress you also get support.

 

[skaertus]

I'm not a fan of GoDaddy personally. But frankly, for a first timer, ain't much wrong with it.

If you want easy, look into Wix or Squarespace.

If you want something that can grow with you or that you could hand over to a pro eventually, I'd go toward Wordpress on a third-party host. DreamHost's DreamPress product is pretty great. There is definitely a learning curve, but you don't necessarily have to touch code or anything too crazy, and with DreamPress you also get support.

Thanks.

I tried WordPress and I think it is OK, but I found it not to be really intuitive. I would have no problem in going with a proprietary platform.

Squarespace looks fine, but it is far more expensive, as it does not get localized prices. Wix or HostGator would be more affordable. Wix looks great, but does not come with an e-mail. HostGator is cheap, and comes with e-mail accounts. Plus, its editor seems to be very simple to use. Would any of these two be a good idea?

 

[EastHillWill]

I went through this process about 2 years ago. Tried them all and went with Wix, which I still use today. Some random thoughts:

-You can potentially save money using different providers, but it's also nice having everything under one roof. For something like domains though, you probably won't touch it very often so it's not big deal to go elsewhere
-Keep an eye out for discount codes. Podcasts especially have some good SquareSpace ones
-I think responsive sites are important, and Wix has a selection of them
-Wix's builder is the most intuitive of them all, or at least it was when I was comparing. The help feature is also very good in case you need to use it

Good luck!

 

[skaertus]

I went through this process about 2 years ago. Tried them all and went with Wix, which I still use today. Some random thoughts:

-You can potentially save money using different providers, but it's also nice having everything under one roof. For something like domains though, you probably won't touch it very often so it's not big deal to go elsewhere
-Keep an eye out for discount codes. Podcasts especially have some good SquareSpace ones
-I think responsive sites are important, and Wix has a selection of them
-Wix's builder is the most intuitive of them all, or at least it was when I was comparing. The help feature is also very good in case you need to use it

Good luck!

Thanks. I am between Wix and HostGator.

Wix has a great website builder and is inexpensive. But it does not have personalized e-mails; how do you handle it?

HostGator is the cheapest one, but it requires a three-year subscription for this price. And then I have to renew for another 3-year period. Not sure if it is the way to go. The builder looks great too, even simpler than Wix, although with less features.

 

[Geoff777]

Just to add to the mix...... I was looking at this last year and ended up going to Siteground for hosting etc. - their customer service is top-notch and they helped me out many times, quickly (usually through an on-line chat with a person, not a bot!). Comes with domain email too.

They do have site builders, including WordPress but most are an add-on cost if you want anything other than basic.
I ended up buying Blocs (one time purchase, not subscription) for building a site and it's a cool programme.
I did look at Wix, HostGator and several others but chose Siteground, for several reasons, over the others.

It was for what I thought would be a new business but that didn't come off! However, don't consider it wasted money as the learning process was fun and kept me busy!
Good luck!

 

[BrianBaughn]

The best answer likely depends on what you're going to be putting on the website and how often that would be updated.

 

[skaertus]

I ended up choosing Wix. It offered me a discount and I chose the unlimited plan for $1.48 a month for 2 years (including the domain name for 1 year). Plus, the domain name renovation is cheaper on Wix ($9.82 a year) than on GoDaddy ($13.02). All these prices are in local currency converted to U.S. dollars, so it will be different from what they charge in the U.S.

So far, Wix looks very nice. The only thing I will not have is the personalized e-mail.

 

[robertmile]

Why don't you contact the dedicated development team - mlsdev.com? Or hire a freelance worker for these tasks?

 

[svanstrom]

Why don't you contact the dedicated development team? Or hire a freelance worker for these tasks?

Congratulations to being rich; now get a course in what it's like being an average person. ?

Your first lesson comes right here: "[M]inimal commitment of time, effort, and money." usually doesn't involving hiring teams.

To answer OPs question: Wix.

If you want my opinion: A good way to start this as a hobby is to actually learn how to write the HTML yourself. When you start out it's as simple as writing a text document on your own computer; and you will fairly quickly be able to progress from there. If you want I'll even follow you here to make sure you'll get answers to your questions along the way.

 

[admwright]

Thanks. I am between Wix and HostGator.

Wix has a great website builder and is inexpensive. But it does not have personalized e-mails; how do you handle it?

HostGator is the cheapest one, but it requires a three-year subscription for this price. And then I have to renew for another 3-year period. Not sure if it is the way to go. The builder looks great too, even simpler than Wix, although with less features.

I would suggest getting the domain name separately. Most of the domain name sellers will include the email with the domain name - you just set up the re-direct / forwarder to the actual email account you are using and the hosting provider. Wix have information about how to setup the domain name to use their servers (I have done this from Krystal to Wix), I am sure the other companies will have similar information.

 

[skaertus]

Why don't you contact the dedicated development team? Or hire a freelance worker for these tasks?

Thanks. I would if I were using this for professional purposes. My firm already has a professional website, and I do not want to compete with it. This is for personal purposes, I do not need it, and I am only willing to do it if it is cheap and easy. Plus, if I hired someone to do it, I would have to rely on them to modify it as well.

 

[BrianBaughn]

Whatever you pick or picked may not be the best solution but at least you're starting. After you gain an understanding of how it all works you can reevaluate your needs and change.

Wix doesn't include email? That's a pain. Your email hosting is probably going to cost more than your web hosting.

 

[skaertus]

Whatever you pick or picked may not be the best solution but at least you're starting. After you gain an understanding of how it all works you can reevaluate your needs and change.

Wix doesn't include email? That's a pain. Your email hosting is probably going to cost more than your web hosting.

I suppose so. As have I never done this before, I should start somewhere.

Wix does not include e-mail. It suggests I get G Workspace, which is more expensive than Wix. I will not get an e-mail account right now, as I do not need it. If I transfer the domain name to GoDaddy, I will be able to use my Microsoft 365 account with a personalized e-mail. Perhaps this would be a solution.

 

[BrianBaughn]

A lot of the simplest, barebones web hosting plans include email capabilities. I have one such site up now using Wordpress. Paying $0.95/month. I use the email but move the messages to a different account/server when they come in.

 

[LeeW]

Just remember that with Wix any content you put on there cannot be moved somewhere else, once you are with Wix, you stay with Wix. Ok if all you have is a couple of pages that can be easily re-created. If you have a lot of pages or blog often then you are at risk of losing that content in the future.

Seen it happen many times. Easy comes at a cost with these site builders.