Need suggestion for site design

[Lex224]

Howdy.

I've recently made my own website and have decided that my current design is not really what I want but I have limited choice as I've no experience at all in web design and html etc so need some recommendations to what I should do.

This is my current site: lex224.com

Somebody made the layout and design for me for free about a month ago now and although I really like it's look, it's not exactly what I want. As you can see it currently consists of a blog like front page with a forums and some other pages.

What I really want is a proper blog for the front page that I can easily add to. My forums are phpbb3 and are really the heart of my site as this is where I can discuss stuff with my community.

I want a contact and about page on top of my front page blog and forum.

What do you suggest I do to get all this. I want it all to be part of the main site apart from of course the forums, unless theres some way to put my forums into my site somehow.

EDIT: I need the front page blog to have an area for ad's so that i can begin to use adsense and maybe a place for an affiate link thingme.

Tyvm in advance!

[crystalq]

Depending on who your host is and limitations, you should use jamoola or mambo they have really awesome templates, but bear in mind you will need to take a couple of days to learn it depending on your knowledge

[Lex224]

Hmm well I've tried many CMS's and they are way too complicated for what I need and they will just clutter up my pages with loads of uneseccary stuff that I can't remove or customise.

Is there no way to just integrate wordpress into my front page?

[jsb]

You could install wordpress into your root directory and that should give you want you need. You're going to have to make sure your host allows a 2nd database though.

[Lex224]

i could do that but then id have to make a new theme so it looked as if it was part of the actual site and i cant do that at all. any other suggestions?

[Stefan]

here's a suggestion: i'll redesign your site to your custom specs for $100. that includes code.

[iDerek]

It sounds like you want something you can maintain yourself. IMO, the easiest customizable blogging program would be Cutenews. It adapts to your stylesheets so the flow from your layout to your cutenews is uninterrupted.

I would be able to create a layout for you to go with the cutenews if you like. I charge a minimum commission of $25.00, depending on the layout's intricacy. You can see examples of my work at habbotrax.com.

[Lex224]

Yes I want to maintain it myself. And the thing is that I don't only want a blog so maybe that cutenews things isn't what I'm looking for?

I just want a blog with links to a few pages with some content all under the same theme etc. and phpbb integration would be good but not essential.

[iDerek]

Yes I want to maintain it myself. And the thing is that I don't only want a blog so maybe that cutenews things isn't what I'm looking for?

I just want a blog with links to a few pages with some content all under the same theme etc. and phpbb integration would be good but not essential.

If that's what you're looking for than I suggest Wordpress. It too is also very easy and is the best alternative.

[Lex224]

hmm well ive installed wordpress but it looks nothing like a proper site. I want like proper navigation links not just some small text links on the side which people cant see. Is there a way of changing it to look more like an actual site and not just a blog?

And thanks for the suggestions so far, much appreciated!

[iDerek]

hmm well ive installed wordpress but it looks nothing like a proper site. I want like proper navigation links not just some small text links on the side which people cant see. Is there a way of changing it to look more like an actual site and not just a blog?

And thanks for the suggestions so far, much appreciated!

Yes, there are several skins that allow that or you can customize it yourself. I've never toyed with it much so I cant tell you a whole lot.

[Lex224]

ok then. im still experimenting with all the stuff in my fantastico so ill have a look around.

what about Joomla?

[Stefan]

id suggest wordpress, and either getting a custom skin made ($200 roughly) or finding a free skin. there are some brilliant free skins. if wordpress isn't your thing, even though wordpress is 100% customizable (take a look at www.csscatwalk.com for example, its running on wordpress), then go with drupal. www.drupal.org

[Lex224]

Ah ok then. Thanks a lot for the advise!