I have to give a vote to Weebly.com which I have been using to create a website for my woodcarvings. Really easy to get started and the basics are free.
I realize this is never going to happen, but the thought occurred to me that it would be sensible if Model Railroader/Kalmbach had a business arm that did nothing but host web sites for model railroaders wouldn't it? I realize a lot of folks are complaining about the new Trains.com right now, but it still seems obvious to me that the organization that is at the tip of the spear would also provide modelers with the means to host web sites showcasing their work - thus promoting the hobby all the more.
Andy
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Milwaukee native modeling the Milwaukee Road in 1950's Milwaukee.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/196857529@N03/
I might not have a website but i have two youtube channels and i just recenty made a change on the channel name
I keep a blog on blogger. It's free, it's up 24/7, it's easy, just type on it to post. I can add photos easily. No programming required. It allows my readers to reply to me.
David Starr www.newsnorthwoods.blogspot.com
I've used Weebly for my business for quite a few years and have had no issues and it was very easy to set everything up the way I wanted. There are no third party ads and it is completely free.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Andy,
I used Microsoft FrontPage 2003 to get my NY&LB web site up and running back in 2009. I think it's now gone the way of the dinosaurs but I'm still hanging with it due to the fact that it's simple and I know how to use it. It does have its limitations though but it's a no-brainer program for a novice like me.
As for a host, I use HostMonster and have been very happy with them.
I'll most likely port my site to a modern web site editor as spare time permits, but for now I'm keeping it simple as I'm doing nothing more than logging my progress and sharing it. I'll leave the bells and whistles (ha ha) for everyone else.
If I was starting a web site now, such as you are, I would absolutely be asking the community for input on the best publishing software. Good luck!
Jerry
The Milwaukee Road WarriorI'm basically looking to have two big sections on the site: one for my layout and another for MILW RD history.
You might want to look into creating subdomains -- so you could build two seperate sites, i.e.www.MRW.com/history and www.MRW.com/layout or something like that. Or register two domain names!
The Milwaukee Road WarriorI dunno, maybe I just need to dive back in, but the idea of templates and (mostly) pre-written boilerplate code really appeals to me right now. Maybe I'm making too much of this, but I really don't have the time to figure out how to write code again.
Personally I prefer this. I generally like teh way WordPress lays out the pages. I have a rudimentary knowledge of HTML and other markup languages, and WordPress gives you the option to view the page in WYSIWYG mode or in HTML, so you can code out any weirdness that creeps in.
Thanks guys for the good input here. I've been spending time looking around on your various web sites to see what I like for formatting.
I'm basically looking to have two big sections on the site: one for my layout and another for MILW RD history. Both would include pictures and captions but I don't see much else being part of the site: i.e. I'm not looking to open any kind of store or sell anything. But I may want the ability to include/embed video at some point. Pretty simple really.
I do like what Jerry has done here as a basic template:
https://nyandlb.com
...although I would format slightly differently (having the empty space on the right side of the screen throws me off a bit: I would justify text differently but that is a small thing...)
I like the opening screen/crawl that comes up on Mark's site as well:
http://thecbandqinwyoming.com
Back in 1997 (!) I wrote prehistoric code for a band website during college. (I was the bass player ...so naturally that meant I was going to be the website maintainer, right?..)
I'm sure coding has changed since then to be a bit more user friendly/intuitive, but to be honest I'm not looking to get into the weeds with html. I think this is a product of the fact that my C++ programming class was BY FAR the worst class experience I had in college (I still have nightmares).
I dunno, maybe I just need to dive back in, but the idea of templates and (mostly) pre-written boilerplate code really appeals to me right now. Maybe I'm making too much of this, but I really don't have the time to figure out how to write code again.
Or maybe my preconceived idea of how much time you guys spend crunching out code is waaaaaaay over-inflated.
Sounds like high school kids are doing just fine with coding... ha.
Go-Daddy worked fine for me. Fairly decent interface, very good price (i thought), and was pretty much hassle free.
I recommend doing your own html though.... that way - you know whats in the code!!! And any ole text editor can do html, so nothing special needed there.
PMR
When I used to maintain a couple of websites for some non-profits, I used Bluehost to host the domain and the website (they need not be the same but for simplicity, I'd go that route).
Now that you have a home, you need to build the content for your site. Bluehost excels at hosting website that uses Wordpress as the engine that drives the content for your site. It's free to use. There is a learning curve but it's not too steep. Wordpress was originally intended for blogging sites so it's got a lot of tools to make that easy. However, it can easily be used for non-blogging sites.
There's tons of website templates that are available for free that might work okay for your situation. Even more are available for a small one-time fee. Just google Wordpress templates and watch out for the firehose.
I've not used any other tools such as Wix, etc. for maintaining web content.
Background: I'm not a web designer. I'm computer proficient but far from a Web whiz. I have a handful of my own sites (projects I've never finished, including a train review site!) and I am the Webmaster for the club site as well.
I use two providers, InMotionHosting for my own web sites and Bluehost for our club site (www.pmrrm.org). I was steered to them (along with Hover, see below) by someone who designs sites for a living. On both sites I have Wordpress installed and use that to set up the site. I used an existing template because it just makes the maintenance simpler, though it limits what we can do a bit.
I register my own domains through Hover.com and redirect them to InMotion, though there's no reason not to just register through the provider -- I just happened to buy my first domain through Hover, they were great, and it's easier to have them all in one place. I think we registered the club's domains through BlueHost.
Both providers give us unlimited email accounts, unlimited storage, and unlimited bandwidth. InMotion gives me 5 active web sites, I forget how many we have with BH. On teh club site we have the capability to do members-only areas, ecommerce, etc., but so far the members haven't wanted/needed to do that. We'll do a members-only area at some point -- for minutes, copies of rules and policies, etc. Just a matter of time.
For the club site, one of our members wants to go with a professional web designer to get a fancier site. My concern is that we have to pay any time we want changes. My priority is maintainability and WordPress gives us that. I think it took me 3 hours to set up the initial model for the site and I haven't really changed it since.
I've been happy with both providers. Haven't needed much support for the Club site, but I have used InMotion's support a few times and I've been very happy with them.
Can't remember what we're paying but I think both providers charge between $100 and $150 per year, plus the domain registration costs, which are about $15 a pop.
I'd recommend InMotion in a heartbeat. Bluehost has been fine too, I just can't evaluate their support because I rarely need it.
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have specific questions.
Aaron
I use IONOS webhosting. Very barebones but extremely reliable and very inexpensive for unlimited bandwidth. I have several sites there and free domain names as well.
I use Dreamweaver templates for the site design - haven't searched out any templates on the IONOS site - don't know what they offer.
I have domains at Godaddy and am not a fan. In the early days they spammed me daily with all sorts of "offers" and were more expensive than other services. They have changed their ways more recently to a more reserved customer interaction plan.
If you are looking to add material on a weekly basis as opposed to every once in a while, I would go with one of the blog sites. It is much easier to update a blog than a website.
Over the years I have become less interested in adding material to the website - especially in the past year when all of my work has moved to online and the excitement of the train website has worn off. My site link is below the signature.
My two cents,
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
I use Google Blogger for my site, it’s a freebee and I haven’t had any problems with it since I first started up in January 2009. Google does do upgrades from time to time without problems. One thing I find nice is you don’t need to learn HTML, Blogger does it for you.
Another thing that really helps me is I use my blog for picture hosting to the Forum. I created some Pages for hosting my pictures and when I remove a picture from my hosting page the Forum pictures don't go away like PhotoBucket pictures did.
EDIT:
I might add that Google has lots of neat tools to help set up and manage Blogger (Gadgets). Mel My Model Railroad http://melvineperry.blogspot.com/ Bakersfield, California I'm beginning to realize that aging is not for wimps.
I've been happy with Wix.com. Very nice templates (as a starting block) and it's free. Or, you can pay a set amount per month in order to get rid of the Wix ad at the top/bottom of the page and an increase of photo storage space and traffic capacity.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
I use godaddy for hosting - very good customer technical and non-technical support, and not horribly expensive. My website is in Wordpress.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
The Milwaukee Road WarriorI intend to develop my own web site dedicated to my layout and the Milwaukee Road.
depends on purpose: blog entries describing progress, documenting the layout along with archiving techinical information, sharing operation information, ...
i picked up maintanance of a club site, mostly for the purpose of archiiving information. it's on GoDaddy.
i'm familiar with html for creating pages, which i learned while maintaining personal websites at work.
greg - Philadelphia & Reading / Reading
I used Go Daddy for my web site when I had the home inspection business.
I'm not sure whats out there now.
The blog thing, like what Harrison and Mel use looks good.
Mike.
My You Tube
My two youngest daughters both created their own websites (dot coms) with GoDaddy when they were in high school.
I paid for them, and they were happy with GoDaddy.
They both wrote all the code themselves.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
I use wordpress for my blog.
https://northcountrytrains.wordpress.com/
It has pros and cons. I like that I can make the thumbnail my NCT logo. I don't like that they show ads, and I get none of the profit. I also don't like that you only get 5 GB of space for media. I'm not sure how this compares to Blogger or the others but I know there's no ads on Blogger.
Hope this helps.
Harrison
Homeschooler living In upstate NY a.k.a Northern NY.
Modeling the D&H in 1978.
Route of the famous "Montreal Limited"
My YouTube
I intend to develop my own web site dedicated to my layout and the Milwaukee Road. Off the top of my head, I can think of two web development/hosting sites: wix and godaddy.
I would like to hear thoughts/advice from others here who maintain web sites in the same vein: what did you use to build your site? Who hosts your site? Platforms to use/avoid, pros and cons...
Thanks