Hi everyone,

 

I'm a young boy from the Netherlands and I want to do something what sounds easy but will probally be harder then I think. I want to buy a domain name and create my own website. I got some simple questions and I hope you guys can answer them.

 

Buying a domain name is simple.

This website has to run on a server, will the server be just my home server or do I have to buy a new server for the website. And do I have to upgrade the server when there will be more and more website visitors?

 

Then about the website it self. I want to design this website by my self. So I can create it excatly how I want it to be. Ofcourse this requires knowledge and practice. Where do I have to start, if I bought my domain name...what will I get? How can I design it and what do I need to learn (http etc?). I know it will be a long road to learn it all but i just need to know where to start.

 

For now this is the only questions i need to ask so i can go on.

Edited October 25, 201510 yr by blaches

Hi Blanches,

 

Welcome to WDF.

 

Buying a domain name is super simple, the hardest part is finding one that hasn't already been snapped up. There are many different Domain registrars out there you just need to google it. As an example GoDaddy are a pretty large web hosting company that deal with domain registration as well. However this is just an example, please do some research first as they may not be your best choice.

 

As for hosting, you can either host it on your own local server, however this isn't advised. I'm not sure how the ISP's work in the Netherlands but here in the UK you often get a dynamic IP address which changes each time you connect your router to the internet. For a website you'd be much better off hosting it through a web hosting company as these have static IP addresses which don't change.

 

You wouldn't need a whole server to host your site, there are plenty of shared hosting packages that can be bought for pennies, however again first make sure you do some research to find the hosting package that meets your needs. Maybe once you move on to developing larger sites and more of them you can look at renting a VPS or a dedicated server.

 

For learning to develop websites, you'll firstly want to look at HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) this will give you the base code for developing websites, at the same time you will also want to learn CSS (Cascading Style Sheets), which is used to style your websites (colours, layout, etc..). Once you are competent with those you'll want to start learning and using JavaScript (not to be mixed up with Java), this is used for adding more functionality to your site. A really good place to learn these from is TeamTreeHouse, this is where I'm refreshing my knowledge and a few others on the forums have also used them to learn and improve their skills.

 

FYI HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is a protocol not a web development language.

Oh wow. I've just checked out that Treehouse. It looks awesome for brushing up on skills and learning more. Do you think it's worth the money? I'm definitely going to free trial this.

Oh wow. I've just checked out that Treehouse. It looks awesome for brushing up on skills and learning more. Do you think it's worth the money? I'm definitely going to free trial this.

 

Yes. absolutely It got me into a position where I could get my first job as a developer within just over 6 months of full time study. It would have taken years if wasn't for Treehouse.

It's very well organised with clear paths to follow which is ideal for beginners. There are better resources for more advanced developers, but it's fantastic for beginners.

Oh wow. I've just checked out that Treehouse. It looks awesome for brushing up on skills and learning more. Do you think it's worth the money? I'm definitely going to free trial this.

 

Yes it's defiantly worth the money

 

Yes. absolutely It got me into a position where I could get my first job as a developer within just over 6 months of full time study. It would have taken years if wasn't for Treehouse.

It's very well organised with clear paths to follow which is ideal for beginners. There are better resources for more advanced developers, but it's fantastic for beginners.

 

 

 

Yes it's defiantly worth the money

 

Great thanks guys.

I was looking at some courses but they are so expensive and like you say, can take up to 6 years as I wouldn't be able to study full time. And I just don't have that time or patience. Super excited about Treehouse

If you are referring to Treehouse then it's not expensive at all when you consider the return on investment. £20k for a degree, now that's expensive!

 

I doubt it would take you 6 years. If you could manage 2 hours in the evenings and put in time over weekends you could do it within a year. It all boils down to how badly do you want this? I was doing 70 hours a week - because I wanted it badly and wanted to get my foot in the door as soon as possible. The old saying if you don't have time then make it rings true.

If you watch tv then stop, stuff like that. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made if you want to better yourself

 

I still manage to put in 20 hours a week of further study despite working a 50 hour week and I can find time to train, watch the odd movie and spend some time with my girlfriend. It's not easy, but then rarely is something worth doing easy.

Edited October 26, 201510 yr by rbrtsmith

If you are referring to Treehouse then it's not expensive at all when you consider the return on investment. £20k for a degree, now that's expensive!

 

I doubt it would take you 6 years. If you could manage 2 hours in the evenings and put in time over weekends you could do it within a year. It all boils down to how badly do you want this? I was doing 70 hours a week - because I wanted it badly and wanted to get my foot in the door as soon as possible. The old saying if you don't have time then make it rings true.

If you watch tv then stop, stuff like that. Sometimes sacrifices have to be made if you want to better yourself

 

I still manage to put in 20 hours a week of further study despite working a 50 hour week and I can find time to train, watch the odd movie and spend some time with my girlfriend. It's not easy, but then rarely is something worth doing easy.

 

I'm referring to Open University courses. I don't think Treehouse is expensive.

 

I understand what you are saying about time, but with all due respect, I don't have a lot of time left in my days. I work full time in IT recruitment and run my own business at home after that, among other things, so as much as I would LOVE to dedicate that amount of time to studying, I can't. I will fit it in where I can of course, but peoples time differs my friend and I generally do not have a lot of it to spare.

Edited October 26, 201510 yr by hippysunshine

 

I understand what you are saying about time, but with all due respect, I don't have a lot of time left in my days. I work full time in IT recruitment and run my own business at home after that, among other things, so as much as I would LOVE to dedicate that amount of time to studying, I can't. I will fit it in where I can of course, but peoples time differs my friend and I generally do not have a lot of it to spare.

 

Wow you sounds busy! There are plenty of free tutorial sites you can use so you can start from the basics in your own time, such as http://htmldog.com/guides/html/beginner/

 

I'm referring to Open University courses. I don't think Treehouse is expensive.

 

I understand what you are saying about time, but with all due respect, I don't have a lot of time left in my days. I work full time in IT recruitment and run my own business at home after that, among other things, so as much as I would LOVE to dedicate that amount of time to studying, I can't. I will fit it in where I can of course, but peoples time differs my friend and I generally do not have a lot of it to spare.

 

And that's what makes something like Treehouse great because you can pick it up whenever you have time, I often get into work early and spend up to an hour on Treehouse.

 

And that's what makes something like Treehouse great because you can pick it up whenever you have time, I often get into work early and spend up to an hour on Treehouse.

 

Yeah, so I'm very much looking forward to trying it out

 

I'm referring to Open University courses. I don't think Treehouse is expensive.

 

I understand what you are saying about time, but with all due respect, I don't have a lot of time left in my days. I work full time in IT recruitment and run my own business at home after that, among other things, so as much as I would LOVE to dedicate that amount of time to studying, I can't. I will fit it in where I can of course, but peoples time differs my friend and I generally do not have a lot of it to spare.

 

That's understandable in your case. Many who claim they don't have time though would have plenty if they managed it properly, but you do sound genuinely busy though.

Like the others have said with Treehouse you can work at your own pace just don't be under the impression you need to learn everything to get a job, most junior roles don't actually ask for that much, and then you can learn on the job.

 

That's understandable in your case. Many who claim they don't have time though would have plenty if they managed it properly, but you do sound genuinely busy though.

Like the others have said with Treehouse you can work at your own pace just don't be under the impression you need to learn everything to get a job, most junior roles don't actually ask for that much, and then you can learn on the job.

 

That is exactly how I feel, like I need to know everything before I get a job, but I know you're right about the junior roles.

I have the CSS and HTML basics down, I'm just gonna brush up on those with treehouse and then get to learning JavaScript.

Do you think getting a junior role is needed or do you reckon once I have the skill and confidence, I can just do freelance?

Depends what you like doing? If you prefer to code and work on bigger projects as part of a team then go for the employed route. If you prefer dealing with clients and working for yourself then go freelance.

 

But even if you do wanna go freelance, don't discount the skills and experience you'd gain in an employed position working with more experienced developers who you can learn from.

 

I chose the employed route after being a freelancer and I much prefer what I do now

Edited October 26, 201510 yr by rbrtsmith

 

I think you'll struggle BIG TIME if you go straight into freelance. Working with other developers and designers and gaining commercial experience is probably the most beneficial thing you can do when you're starting out.

 

Depends what you like doing? If you prefer to code and work on bigger projects as part of a team then go for the employed route. If you prefer dealing with clients and working for yourself then go freelance.

 

But even if you do wanna go freelance, don't discount the skills and experience you'd gain in an employed position working with more experienced developers who you can learn from.

 

I chose the employed route after being a freelancer and I much prefer what I do now

 

Hmm ok. I have a lot of thinking to do.

I would not suggest freelance for a beginner, do not underestimate the amount of time involved in not only finding clients but the ongoing process; it's not just about the design/development of the site. Start at a local company if you can and get some actual experience under your belt.

Just to clear things up, I'm not technically a beginner. I have freelanced previously, i've just been out of the game for a few years as I was concentrating on my business for a while.

hippysunshine, I was referring to the OP