Hey guys. I'm looking to set up a simple website for my life coaching business and this fella has offered me the following deal. £220 (one off fee) for 1 year of hosting, 1 year domain free, logo design, business card card design and of course the website. I've spoken to him and he seems like a legit dude. He says he's gonna be using wordpress though so I'm wondering how easy it would be for me to just set that up myself? Is it a case of just uploading a template and you're ready to roll? I'm not that bad with computers but don't wanna start getting into coding really. If I'd be able to just use a template and customize the images and text, I'd rather not shell out all that money. But if it's gonna be a bit tricky to set up, I'd rather not. I've bought a domain name before and set up hosting for a previous website I tried to create, so I'm ok with that side of things. Thanks  

 

 

It’s not a bad deal but Wordpress takes about 5 minutes to set up. It’s all automated as most hosts include an install function.

There are thousands of free themes to choose from as well as plugins to add functionality.

Do you need a logo and business cards?

Ok, one of you implies it's a good deal and the other one says WordPress is easy to set up. So I'm still unsure where I stand 😕 

£220 is a lot of money to me as I'm unemployed, so I want to be sure, that's all

Yeah I suppose a logo would be quite handy, for the website. Don't see the point in business cards really as nobody's networking at the moment. 

Edited November 27, 20205 yr by Guest

Get some hosting and install Wordpress. It really is very easy if you follow the instructions.

You can then login and start adding content.

If you want to change how it looks you can install a different theme.

Admittedly I been doing this for years so I  can get a site set up in under an hour. But my mum managed to do it all on her own without any help from me.

If you need help there are plenty of people who will do this for you. If they charge more than few pounds they are over charging.

You don’t need a logo.

9 hours ago, robbydesigns said:

So you'd add a theme then change the text and images for his own for "a few pounds"?  Too many clients undervalue the time of Dev's and Designers. 

No. That’s what they do themselves. Installing Wordpress and a theme can be done in less than 5 minutes.

The OP said they were unemployed. They  have no cash but they do have time to learn how to use WP. Just like millions of others who have set up their own websites. No need for a developer or designer.

Its not going to be bespoke but it will function and generate new business.

Also, it's not always about making money. Sometimes a good deed is just a rewarding. If helping @Alexlamb442 to set up a website that generates some income then I'd do it for nothing.

You guys were both really helpful, thank you. Really good to see the costing broken down @robbydesigns, good job! I can see that if I was someone who wanted to save a bit of time and had the money to spare then this is a really good deal. I'm gonna do what @fisicx said for now and build my own. If his mum can do it then so can I  I like what you said about good deeds too @fisicx. Heart-warming to read such things. 

If you have the domain name and hosting there is usually an option in you control panel to install wordpress. If you follow the steps it should be fairly straightforward.

There are bazillions of tutorials, forums, blogs, videos and whatever to help you get started. Google is your friend here.

Thanks for breaking that down @robbydesigns. Good 'heads up' regarding the email thing too. Is getting a mailbox with your hosting much more efficient? I mean is it something I should prioritise or is forwarding easy to set up and hassle free? I've always liked the idea of using Outlook for business emails as it has a more 'pro' feel and you can set up folders, tasks etc. 

In terms of hosting, I've noticed you can sign up directly at Wordpress. Why do people choose to go with a third party and install Wordpress instead? Or are WordPress just doing the same as the Third party does basically? Just wondering if signing up directly might be preferable. 

I wanted to try Wordpress out first but they seem to make you buy a domain name and sign up. I thought you could just use a domain with their name in it for free. You used to be able to I'm sure. Maybe it won't have any of the features I'll be using with a full package anyway. 

Edited December 18, 20205 yr by Guest

There are two flavours of Wordpress. Wordpress.com is where they host it and you can pay for a premium service. Wordpress.org is where you can download the package and install on your own hosting. This is totally free.

Most hosting packages include a Wordpress installer, email and ssl.

You can use outlook, but you still need an email server to actually send and manage the emails. Or you can use something like gmail where they do everything.

Either way, whatever you choose to do you need a domain name and hosting. Without these you can’t do anything.

Thanks man! 

Have set up email forwarding using bluehost but I'm getting this error message back when sending a test email:

Any ideas? 

Edited December 21, 20205 yr by Guest

Does that email address exist? If so where is the email account registered?

if bluehost are managing your emails you don’t need email forwarding.

We've figured it out now bro. We had to change our name server to Bluehost or something as we bought our domain name from somewhere else. So now we're all set up with a Wordpress site, partly thanks to your good advice  I have Elementor installed as it was recommended in a video I watched. Seems like a really easy way of editing your page although I don't know how much easier it compared to not having it really. 

Are there any plugins you'd recommend for a beginner? 

Try to avoid using plugins. Especially avoid Elementor. It’s a bloated clunky monster that will slow down your site.

@fisicx Do you mean avoid too many plugins? I thought Wordpress was basically just comprised of plugins. I like the fact that Elementor allows me to see my changes happening in real time. It's a shame to hear it'll effect the performance of my website

Wordpress is a database. You display the contents of this database using a theme. That’s it. You don’t need any plugins.

You really don’t need Elementor to build a site. The very best sites are simple without all the fancy gizmos.

Do you mean avoid too many plugins? 

6 hours ago, AndrewShane said:

Do you mean avoid too many plugins? 

Yes. Avoid anything that affects performance. This includes the theme and your choice of hosting 

You can have this from  https://rebeliation.com/ too. Its a best place for  vlone clothing shop.

On 1/7/2021 at 1:22 PM, fisicx said:

Yes. Avoid anything that affects performance. This includes the theme and your choice of hosting 

With that in mind I'd avoid WordPress entirely (Or any PHP CMS) apart headless version of WordPress and have your site statically built and served directly from a CDN.  It will perform miles better than any typical Wordpress website that's having to run a backend and database for each visit.

See https://www.gatsbyjs.com/blog/what-is-headless-wordpress/ for more information 
 

Quote

However, classic WordPress is starting to show its age. FIrst-generation WordPress websites are plagued by slowness, security vulnerabilities, poor SEO, and other issues. For now, many companies are making do with their legacy solution; for them, WordPress is still good enough. It keeps the content flowing. But forward-thinking companies focused on digital transformation have already ditched their traditional WordPress. For them, “good enough” is no longer good enough. 

You can do this with a Gatsby.JS plugin and headless WordPress now also supports GraphQL which is loads better than REST for most applications. See https://www.gatsbyjs.com/plugins/gatsby-source-wordpress/ for me info

Edited May 6, 20215 yr by rbrtsmith

It's hard to figure out how much this deal is worth without knowing more about the person offering the service and what they can do. But, all in all, it seems like a good offer. If you aren't sure you can set up a WordPress website on your own, you might want to think about the offer.