Getting started with website development and hosting

[mosdef]

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Hey people

I am new here and on a mission to get the ball rolling on my own website. I wanted to get an idea of your experiences of having a website developed offshore. I am considering getting it done cheap in the first instance. I am not a programmer and sometimes I wish I was. Anyways, the idea is, I have my own linux hosting and domain. Just need to get the development and designing done. Has anyone used an open source CMS for their projects?

The following is what has been recommended to me.

Drupal
Joomla
Code Ignitor (not a CMS)

Is it fairly easy to manage with a CMS or does it get a little tricky moving forwards? I want to be able to enter my stores and codes etc and create synergies between the data being entered so I dont have to enter it 2 or 3 times in every page / section.

What in your opinion is the easiest way to do this?

Furthermore, which affiliate networks are likely to approve affiliates with an unfinished website / work in progress?

[scdlewis]

Hi mosdef,

I'm new to affiliate marketing, but from my experience as a programmer I'd suggest contacting a local company or designer instead of getting the work done overseas. That way it'll be much easier to have meetings when you need to expand the site or if requirements change etc.

What exactly will your website do? Instead of using a CMS it may be better to have a database that is customised to your business data. Your store information could easily be stored and displayed using MySQL and PHP, for example.

I think many affiliate networks will let you register while your site is still being developed - the problem will be signing up to the individual merchants. Most of them approve your website manually and won't approve a site that's still under construction. Once your website has been approved on their network though, AffiliateFuture have lots of merchants that you'll be automatically approved for, so no need to wait for manual approval.

Hope this helps,

Simon

[wellyfish]

Hi,

Difficult to answer 'which CMS' is as only you know your exact requirements.

For what it's worth though:

CodeIgnitor is a php framework and not a CMS - if you cant program then it's as much use to you as a chocolate teapot. It may speed up development time but it's not for you yet.

Joomla - possiblity but maybe a sledgehammer to crack a nut, some performance issues and some find it unwieldy.

Drupal - bigger sledgehammer, bigger learning curve - if you cant program then I'd recommend you stay away from it.

You haven't mentioned Wordpress - maybe take a look at that. CMS (although some may argue it's not) of choice for many, lots of plugins, flexible and simple to update.

Best advice would be to take some time to learn to program - php & mySQL will do most of the things you'll need.

Hope this helps

[mosdef]

Never been a programmer dont want to be either. I just dont think its worthwhile for me to do the learning curve and put a hold on my plans because I have to learn PHP etc. I just want to get someone to do this for me asap so I can at least start earning a buck.

I take on board your CMS suggestions and must tell you I have considered Wordpress as well. I am already using it for my blog. But since Code Ignitor is proving to be the fastest development wise, I am more inclined to get it done with that. I understand having an off shore set up is not ideal, but what can I say I just want to get the ball rolling and have very limited funds.

[pete_coles]

Coming at it from the other side of the fence I'd say there are two thing you need to communicate. Firstly your budget is important to communicate, it's very hard to quote without your developer/designer knowing this. Also try and be realistic with it.

Your employing someone from a highly-skilled profession to do a good job so expect rates to reflect this. If you're looking at something that may take 40 hours to complete with a designer and developer on board then don't expect it for £300, that would work out at £3.75 per hour per person.

Secondly communicate the scope and size or the project. As mentioned above, if you want loads of functions, features, bells and whistles then expect quotes to reflect this. Convsersly, if it's a simple wordpress theme or similar then it could well be a quick job with low-overheads, hence it might work ut very cost effective.

Sorry if that sounds a bit rude, I don't mean it to be, but speaking from the 'employee' side of this set-up it's better to get a clear indication early on of what it needed for what money. It might well be feasible within budget, if it's not and you've been clear about what you need then there is almost always a comprimise and a work around that can be found.

[kcheung]

have you considered wordpress, if not i strongly suggest you try it.

as far as getting approved, you'll need to get a site up before most networks will consider you.