Hi! So first post. I got hit by the idea of creating a website, mostly for myself but also for anyone that might need some help with traveling more easy. Traveling, first and foremost with bus and train, and how to survive on the road and the cities basically. However, I've never created a website before if not a simple blog on WordPress counts. And this idea of mine includes some tricky features. 

 

So, short background first so the point of usage might be more understandable. I don't fly much but love to travel, therefore mostly by bus or train. Since money is an issue (isn't it always) I often take the time to see new places when I'm traveling from one place to another. For example like now - traveling from Barcelona where I have lived during the summer, to Gothenburg (Sweden), using Flixbus and ferries, along with local public transportation. On the road I've googled like crazy about: how to get to the different cities (there are many great search engines but usually they only work for one area or country), to get around in the city, what to see, what the local supermarkets are called, luggage storage, public toilets and so on... Sure, asking locals could (and would) have solved it, I know... Either way, if all these informations and more would have been accessible on one website I could have saved so much time. And that's where this idea came to exist. 

Overall idea: I want to create a website that helps me to store all this information that I'm gathering during my travels, and if anyone else wants to use it, great! But I want it to be funcional and stylish as f as well. 

Problems: don't know anything of programming and creating websites. Also, if possible, I would prefer it it was free. When searching about it, it sounds like there are so many different ways and platforms.  And most of the costs, that's why I'm writing here to get som advice on which to choose. I'm an easy learner but don't mind if it was as simple as possible. 

The website (and all of its functions) :

1. I want the main page to be like a map of Europe, with the bigger cities. When someone click on a city, information will appear. If it's too difficult the dream would be a small window (is it called pop-up windows?) where you can see overall information about the train and bus-station or city. Like symbols for luggage storage, wc, food, colored in different colors to show how cheap/expensive it is. And if you click any of this symbols, you open another window, or web page, with more information about it.

2. Another, maybe more difficult one. There will be route-options. You can choose between night route/day route, train/bus, and thereafter the routes that are available for example during night time will appear. Here I would use the same background, but different routes will appear depending on what there is. And when you hoover above the route it will kinda glow up (to show that you have selected it). And if you push it you get more information in a small pop-up window (like with the stations) about travel duration. If you click it further another window open and you can read more information.

3. In this other windows with even more information, I will write more like a blog forum. Basic info that's good to know and about my personal experience.  This I don't think will be that difficult. In the comment section however I want it to be similar to ex. reddit. Here people, or myself, can add questions like "Did it have a luggage storage?" and then other people can pitch in and answer. And if it's a really popular question that many are interested in they can upvote it, it gets pushed to the top, and I can see the interest in it. No one but me will be able to add information on the website, but they can provide me with information in the comments.

4. This will all be a as-I-go-project. I will add on routes, cities and info along as a travel. 

Questions: 

- Is this dream too big with no experience? 

- Is it possible to do this without programming? Like using a platform that allows me to do all this? Which? The cheaper the better. 

If you've read this far, thank you so much. If you have a constructive advice for me about the idea, even more thanks to you. And if therecis anything that's unclear, please ask. 

EDIT: 

I've read about WordPress.org and Hostgator. Do you think those would be options when creating this site? 

 

 

Edited September 28, 20187 yr by Lillixx

My first question would be, how does this differ significantly from the services Google provides via their Maps functionality? All of the features you've listed above are currently available: 

I can search for a City and  I can read about all the different things there is to see and do. This is linked in with Google Reviews/TripAdvisor. So, I can read what others are saying, see photos, consult opening times and pricing. I can also do searches based on what is Nearby. For example, consider I was at a conference in Berlin at the Berlin Congress Center, I could have Google provide me with a list of hotels in the vicinity, view the reviews, check out the prices, and be linked directly to the hotel's website to make a booking. 

Maps also provide route planning, so I can get around easily. In one-click, I can toggle between driving, cycling, walking, trains or buses. This provides me with a detailed route, time and distance. I can also download the instructions straight to my device, for offline use. If I need to use a train/bus, I am provided with the service number and a link directly to the provider so that I could buy tickets online. 

What your proposing is a serious undertaking, and it would be extraordinarily difficult without programming experience. I think even one developer would struggle with a project this size. Beyond that, however, an even greater challenge would be collating all of the data you would need to make this usable. Where are you going to get the maps of all the cities? The train/bus timetables, all of the information about things to see and do? There is only one repository that I know that could provide this, and that is Google Maps, and as I said they already offer all of these features. So, you'd essentially be re-building Google Maps using Google's various APIs. 

I don't want to dishearten you, it seems you have a project which you are excited about, which is really cool. However, for me, the first step in any undertaking is to scope out what has already been done. I would then gauge the suitability of the project based on that. For example, are there any glaring issues with the current solution? Could I bring something new to the table? And a bunch of questions of that nature. In this case, I think you would struggle to improve upon the solutions already available. 

Why not consider creating a travel blog? You could write about all of the places you've been, the things you've seen and experienced, plus provide useful insider knowledge and tips to people looking to travel to the places you've visited. That is is something that would be of value to visitors. Providing your content is interesting. It's also something that will be much more achievable without having a programming background. Find yourself a decent free WordPress theme (there are hundreds out there) and you're good to go! 

If you like the idea of having maps of cities where you can provide your own insights, you could use Google Map's API. Embed a map in your website, create your own custom pins for places of interest, with your own content. You could place this on your blog's homepage and have each pin contain some useful info, and then a link to full blog post about your experiences.