Ok, here what I am up against. I am starting my virtual assistant business. I need my own website, Ialso have a few unrelated domain I want to get sites up for and I want to offer all my VA clients a website free of cost. Now, I have basically little or no web developing skills and I cant afford to outsource all the designs. What should i do, learn html, css etc or learn a CMS to develop these sites? I want to make the right decision, can you guys please give me some advice?
I am a newbie. see "peon" under my user name. start simple apply the KISS system! Keep It Simple Sucker! Go with what newbies already know html, then add css and move on from there. Hope this helps you. new to web used to work for Pat and Turner. Pat the sidewalks Turner the corner!!!!! HAHA
Well if you want good quality work within tight timelines a good suggestion would be you can outsource the task. One good Web-Design Development company i know is http://www.megalith.in These guys are very professional , and can provide you good solution. you can contact them at MSN : Regards,
Learn HTML and CSS; you'll gain a valuable skill. If you see a website that you like, press CTRL and U to see the HTML code. To see the CSS style sheet, look for the file name ending in ".css" in the header of the HTML code and copy and paste it at the end of the website URL.
I cant afford to outsource the sites. Will I eventually need to use a CMS if my business takes on may clients?
CMS is a good alternative/addition to html/css. Definately grab source code and css files of the site you would like to emulate. This is a great source of knowledge. To understand the css files, just change little bits at a time and see how your html page changes. Also, I like to add a notes.html file to the project I am working on and put all the little code tid bits I use or like in it. Then I know where everything is when I need it.
If you want to start professionally soon, any well known CMS software should be your first choice. Sound knowledge in HTML and CSS is a plus but if you want to offer free sites to all your clients (as you said) then you have to show more professionalism and fast working. So I think CMS is the best choice for you this time.
I think you overestimate what it would cost you to outsource. There is no way that you'll be able to give a quality product to your customers by starting to learn now. I've been in and out of the computer field for 8 years and I'm still very much a newbie in terms of web design. IMHO you need to concentrate on the big picture. Give your customers what they paid you to do. A website can come later (and at their expense). Just my 2 cents....
I also had no knowledge of html or css, but I was able to make a decent site within a week. Try using dreamweaver, its a what-you-see-is-what-you-get editor. Dreamweaver really helped me learn a bunch of code as well. At the end of the week i did half my site in code and the other half in dreamweaver. Another and much simpler way is to use a host that has scripts and php that you can install for free. I use bluehost which has Fantastico. Installation and customization is extremely easy and virtually no html or css is required. Any host with Fantastico should be able to install what you need. Or you can just get the scripts yourself, but thats a little harder.
Your website is your storefront. If people don't like what they see, they won't buy your services. If you don't know a web-programming language, make friends with someone who does. If you can't afford to pay them, offer a free service or product in return. Another alternative is to find a free template that is well-designed and aesthetically pleasing.
As others have said, in your situation a content management system (like Joomla or WordPress - yes, WordPress is a CMS, but is more popular among bloggers than regular CMS users and can be turned into a first-rate CMS with a little bit of work) and a theme (template) for the site are going to be your best bet for quick turnaround times. Just be warned however that templates are just that - templates. They're not unique and chances are that another site will have the exact same look as yours, even if they're not in the same business. That's the problem you have with templates. However, they are a good stopgap measure while you learn HTML and CSS, as well as a graphics program (or find a friend who does). If you want to learn HTML and CSS, I strongly advise that you go to your public library and see if they either have or can get you a copy of Build Your Web Site the Right Way with HTML and CSS by Ian Lloyd (I've included a link to the book's page if you want to buy it yourself or take a look at what's available). If you want to try out various content management systems before you actually use them, go to www.opensourcecms.com and try out the demo control panels until you find one that you think will meet your needs. When you find one you like and that meets your needs, go hunting around for free or low-cost templates for those CMS scripts and add them to your CMS. If you need help doing this, feel free to ask here (or on another reputable Web design forum, like www.webdeveloper.com/forum or www.sitepoint.com/forums/ and someone will be more than happy to help. If the person offering to "help" you tries to get you to pay them in exchange for their "help" report them to a moderator and let the forum staff deal with it (and don't accept the "help" of course). You can also hire someone to set up a custom design for you. There are two ways to do this. Place a job listing or start a coded design contest. Some places (like SitePoint - I don't know if DigitalPoint does or not, since I don't usually leave the HTML and CSS boards here) have contest boards or areas that people can start contests in and enter. You might want to look into that as well. If you need anything else, as I said feel free to ask. Hopefully I was able to help you out a bit. Best of luck with your business!
Thank you guys very much, i have started html(i had basic knowledge prior) and im learning css. I am also playing with cms too. I will build my own sites first. I will keep you all posted.