There are literally hundreds of Web Design Programs available to use on a website and if you keep your website for any length of time, you are sure to grow and try out different programs.
No one can advise you on the “Best” web design program, because it depends on how you are going to use your website, what your personal preferences are and how good you are at learning and absorbing different types of programs.
So, my first suggestion is for you to try different programs and see which one “fits” your particular need. The one thing I can promise you is that even for someone with my years of experience, every program becomes a new learning experience, simply because each developer and programmer places buttons and files in different locations AND they all seem to use their own unique language or wording in order to describe things.
With all that being said, I would encourage you to look for several features BEFORE you decide on a program.
I would encourage you to write out a list of features you need to decide on. I don’t know what yours will look like, so all I can do is share a list of things I look for.
I could spend days describing all the things I look for and will from time to time make additional posts as to things to be aware of, but for now, I am going to show you where to find these programs that are FREE, through a certain part of your control panel.#1: How is their security?
How long has it been since the creators of the program updated the program files. To me, if it has been over a year since they came out with a security update, I won’t take the risk on that particular program.
#2: Do they offer templates that will allow users with a cell phone, tablet and desktop all be able to see and interact with your website?
#3: Do they offer a “Manual” or any documentation on their website to help beginners learn how to use their program?
#4: Do they offer a Forum where users can post questions and ask for help, WHEN you are having trouble trying to figure out how to use a particular feature?
You need to log into your control panel and scroll down to the bottom in order to find …… one of the greatest advancements in web design called Softaculous.
Depending on how your hosting company lays out it’s panel, you may have to actually look around for the icon that loads or opens this program.
Be sure to click on the images below in order to see them clearer.
Once you find the app, you will see a long list of web programs that you can install for FREE. I would encourage you to play around with them. Test a few of them out and when you find one that doesn’t work, simply delete it and try something else.
Screenshot soft 1
Here is a list of just BLOG type programs you can check out.
Below is an example of how you would install a web program.
Choose Installation URL
Pick the domain name you want to install the program on. If you followed my earlier instructions on setting up a SSL security certificate, you can change the http to https here, in order to maintain a more secure website.
Pick the “Folder” where you want to install it.
IF you are not sure where you want it, you can leave the word “fusion” where it is, or you can change it to “program1” or any words you choose, but keep in mind the name of the folder WILL be seen in a person’s Internet browser, so it should be something polite and descriptive. You can also leave that block blank and the program you are about to install will be in the root area of your HTML section, which is an acceptable practice IF you want it as your main web program.
To further explain the MAIN part of your website vs sub folders, you can have yourdomain.com point to fusion. Then yourdomain.com/photos point to a photo gallery then yourdomain.com/inventory point to a part of your website where you have merchandise for sale. So basically you can create an unlimited number of “folders” for additional “web programs”.
Site Name
Type in a short name that you want the public to see, when they come to your site. This does NOT have to be the same name as your URL. For example. If your domain name which is referred to as your url is ADB.com and you want people to see All Dogs Bark as your website title, you could use the All Dogs Bark in this box. Also, depending on the program you are installing, most of them will let you change this setting later.
Site Email
This is WHY I had you set up an email before you came to this part of the installation. Some programs require that you use an email address containing your domain URL in this area.
Admin Username
For security reasons, I would suggest that you select an unusual Admin user name. Pick something that a hacker might not guess.
Admin Password:
I would suggest that you pick a unique password containing at least 10 letters and numbers, such as the street address of your first pen pal (if you are that old) or some old vehicle license plate number. Also, you can change this password anytime you want to, by coming back to this page.
Admin Email
Use any VALID email you want to.
User Password
Not many programs will ask for a user password AND an admin password, but this one does, so you will need to come up with one and for security reasons, it should be different then the Admin password.
INSTALL
Don’t forget to hit the install button and then follow the link that is displayed on the next page that lets you sign into your new website. That is where the fun and the work really starts.
One final step.
Since you now have a program on your server you can go back to step 3 and rename the index.shtml file to index.shtmlxx so the index file on your newly installed web program can take over.
If you have any questions or need some help, you can post them in the appropriate reply on this forum
Also, after you get your site up and running, if it involves helping the fight against Industrial Solar and Wind Power takeover of our lands, please send me a link and I will include you in our "chain" of websites, which will help drive search engines and traffic to your site.
Good Luck and may God Bless
FTW[*]