Using Wordpress for commercial business? (No coding experience)

[LightHouse]

The three of you and anyone else considering a hosted SAAS platform like webs.com, weebly, wix, squarespace, etc... need to consider something very very important.

OWNERSHIP

The problem with these services is you do not own what you create. You are at the mercy of the parent company.

I do a lot of website migrations where folks get fed up with support or their fees get jacked sky high and owners want to move their sites, only to be told they can not and they have to re-invest to get a new site built on a platform they can own.

Sure it is fast and easy to get something up, but just as fast as you put it up, and invested time and money on it, things will change and you are shackled to their service whether you like it or not.

I would NOT recommend building a commercial or production site on any host like this if you plan to keep it long term. If you are just testing an idea or service and need something quick. good. If not, or if you move forward, get on your own software as soon as possible.

I use squarespace.com I built several sites: Building a new one at www.robotnik.com right now.
I found using Squarespace way easier than WP.

I had zero web building experience and researched the best builders for people like myself.

Weebly is what I ended up using. I created a fully functional eCommerce site in a few days of work.

Cost was minimal, if it's not an eCommerce site, then a basic business site with unlimited pages was ~$20 a month.

wordpress and wix were two other top choices.

If you do not have webdesign experience I would suggest 2 options

1) Use www.Weebly.com I have created a website over a weekend that looks real slick and I have no programming experience and its FREE (can upgrade to paid subscription if you need more advance features) Use drag & drop system, with hundreds of templates etc... They received PC MAGAZINE Editors Choice Award

 

[justbreathe]

Thanks man, I have a good HTML/CSS book here in my house, do you recommend I learn WordPress and HTML/CSS at the same time?

Start with WP, if you run into a coding problem then start figuring it out.

 

[Lex DeVille]

Definitely start with WordPress.

If you've got time and access to Google, then you'll be able to solve most issues on your own.

It doesn't take long to learn once you get it installed, but it can be time consuming.

If you choose a theme with drag and drop options, then you won't even be doing much coding.

You can have someone from Odesk set a site up for you for about $100.00.

I've tried Wix, Weebly, Yola, and WYSIWIG and all of them were a waste of time compared to what you can do with WP.

 

[FLYmk]

https://wordpress.org/plugins/shrinktheweb-website-preview-plugin/

...exactly what I was going to post.

Also, I'm a WordPress fan and not a developer (though i can work around some code) and built many websites. Be careful not to use a theme that is bloatware as it will play a factor in load speed. I've purchased and tried over a dozen themes. Now, I just stick with one theme and use it for nearly all the sites I build because it's so well developed and very flexible.

 

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[Andy Black]

I use Wordpress and the Optimizepress plugin.
Simple landing pages are all you need to prove whether you can make a sale.
I've then invested to get the pages I knocked up look better.
Don't overthink it. Just get started.

 

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[Milkanic]

Also, if your business can run off one of the services, you probably don't have much of a business.

Skip to 1:50

 

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[CycleGuy]

I had zero web building experience and researched the best builders for people like myself.

Weebly is what I ended up using. I created a fully functional eCommerce site in a few days of work.

Cost was minimal, if it's not an eCommerce site, then a basic business site with unlimited pages was ~$20 a month.

wordpress and wix were two other top choices.

 

[justbreathe]

@JahvonCreamCone

It's very reasonable to learn how to create a WP website for simple web page ideas.
$200 is a perfect amount to jump in and get started yourself.

It will cover hosting cost (Google hosting deals, theres plenty) and a premium theme if you opt for one.

I learned a bit of CSS/HTML while creating what I wanted out of my website.
I had no prior coding experience.

Now I know what kind of website I can create and how fast I can have it up.
One month is plenty of time to learn and get going.

Learn and it'll benefit you for a long time.

 

[CycleGuy]

Wow that sounds pretty , convenient thank you!

You're welcome! I hope it gives you another outlet to at least try.

 

[SlowlaneJay]

If you want to move ahead with WordPress, I've been using Pagelines DMS. It's technically a theme, but is really like a web building app on top of WordPress. So you can still use all the plugins and access the colossal amount of documentation available for Wordpress.

It has a free version too which is really all I need, you may want to upgrade depending on the complexity of your websites.

 

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[JahvonCreamCone]

Start with WP, if you run into a coding problem then start figuring it out.

Ok, gotcha.

 

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[healthstatus]

https://wordpress.org/plugins/shrinktheweb-website-preview-plugin/

 

[SlowlaneJay]

Good call on page load time, @FLYmk. OP, you may want to use:
http://tools.pingdom.com/fpt/ to see where your pageload might be choking.

I also use:
http://www.imageoptimizer.net/Pages/Home.aspx to make all my images load faster.

 

[Kuda]

Hey fastlaners. Last night I was up all night in my bed, going crazy. I'm currently in a state of inertia.

You see I have a bunch of pretty simple website ideas. One of which would be a website that displays pictures and descriptions of people's websites. An online directory basically.

I have no coding experience, but I hear that WordPress can be used to make most sites. But then I also hear that even though you use WordPress, I should hire a dev to build the Wordpress site for me. I simply cannot afford this.

My plan would be to learn WordPress, and create the site using pre-existing plug-ins and themes. All I want the site to basically do is show pictures of customer websites, give brief descriptions and take you to the site when the picture is clicked on. the site would require categories, and sign ups. It would also be a membership site.

To me this doesn't seem very difficult. Concerning the visual design most themes can cover that, but then again I'm not a programmer so I have no clue what this would require on the backend. My budget is honestly around $200 dollars. If I did this by myself, is it reasonable to expect to learn how to build a website within a month, and create the site in one month?

Really as a developer myself I would say if you really believe in the idea you better invest more money than what you're offering. Remember you get what you pay. If you want to seize an opportunity I would recommend reading Discovery Driven Planning. This books will help you answer the unknowns. Sure you can build a website for cheap but its it lack credibility no one will buy from it.

 

[Avus]

+100 on Wordpress. I still have no coding experience but have built 10+ wordpress sites. They are easy and fast once you get the hang of it. Some edits you will need to edit code, but people on fiverr can usually knock that out really quickly.

 

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[~Phil]

I think WordPress is a great way to get started. I use a free theme called weaver ii. Easy to use and very custimmizable . You'll learn tons by getting in there and getting your hands dirty. Build it, break it and learn to fix it!

 

[Heckler]

I jumped in with both feet creating my first website and choose Wordpress. After a couple of days of learning about the themes and plug-ins. I was able to get a basic site up and running. I have NO technical skills and yet it wasn't too difficult. My only real advice is to choose your theme wisely. Don't invest a lot of time into learning and working on your site and finding out later it doesn't have all the features you wanted. Good luck.

 

[Yankee427]

Yeah, I just went through some learning to get my wordpress site up and running properly for my business. You definitely want to find the correct theme to use off the bat. If you use a theme that does not have the features you need, it is just a waste of time.

I went through about 5 themes before I figured out the theme I wanted to use.

If you search through google and the wordpress support forums, they have a wealth of information to go from. There are also thousands of widgets and plugins created to do really anything that you need.

 

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[Ninjakid]

One of my favourite websites in the world
https://github.com/

Confession: I'm not very literate with Javascript/jQuery, so I usually go here and find code I wanna use

You can probably learn to make a website in less than a month if you really hustle at it, and deal with all the frustrations of getting stuck. But luckily, there's a lot more help out there than there was 20 years ago.

You can find all sorts of free plug ins and themes by using Google.

 

[Tomek Obirek]

I use squarespace.com I built several sites: Building a new one at www.robotnik.com right now.
I found using Squarespace way easier than WP.

 

[mt_myke]

You should read the massive Gold thread about learning to program or not.

There's a lot to know, even for simple sites. You either have to do-it-yourself, or pay someone. Getting little things to do exactly what you want can be surprisingly thorny and difficult. If you have no way to come up with money you'll either have to DIY or focus on making more money to pay someone to do it.

It sounds like you do have time, so I would follow the suggestions here. Try out some of the webpage-builder sites, see what other solutions are available. If you have a geeky friend have them set up a WP site from-scratch for you, and show you how it works behind the scenes a bit. At some point you will have to decide how much of this you want to learn (and it will take years if you want to learn everything) and how much you want to outsource.

 

[Bossopolis]

If you do not have webdesign experience I would suggest 2 options

1) Use www.Weebly.com I have created a website over a weekend that looks real slick and I have no programming experience and its FREE (can upgrade to paid subscription if you need more advance features) Use drag & drop system, with hundreds of templates etc... They received PC MAGAZINE Editors Choice Award

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2461594,00.asp

2) For WordPress I would pay someone on www.Fiverr.com (you better check out this site if you guys
have never used it... its a CRAZY good value) I had a guy put together a simple intro using Adobe After Effects video for $10 !!!!
Saw some designers will do Wordpress website for $100 ! Have not used this designer below but check out her 100% feedback and amount
of customers... or check check out the many other Wordpress designers.

https://www.fiverr.com/alinam1/crea...rating&funnel=201501261551103448034700&pos=12

Also can get logo's done for $5, SEO optimization, video editing, you name it !!!
Good luck !

 

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[mt_myke]

2) For WordPress I would pay someone on www.Fiverr.com (you better check out this site if you guys
have never used it... its a CRAZY good value) I had a guy put together a simple intro using Adobe After Effects video for $10 !!!!
Saw some designers will do Wordpress website for $100 ! Have not used this designer below but check out her 100% feedback and amount
of customers... or check check out the many other Wordpress designers.

https://www.fiverr.com/alinam1/crea...rating&funnel=201501261551103448034700&pos=12

Also can get logo's done for $5, SEO optimization, video editing, you name it !!!
Good luck !

Fiverr is pretty awesome. You have to be careful, I had a friend making a video game who paid someone on Fiverr for sound effects...only to find out they were lifted from a commercial product, not created from scratch. Keep in mind you're only paying five bucks and some people will figure that's fair. It's great for things like logos (when you're starting out and just need anything) and drawings, as the artist will usually do a pencil sketch first so you can be pretty sure it's original material. Five bucks is a lot of money in some countries...same friend is currently in Vietnam and says six hours of him doing programming (for US and European companies) makes him as much money as a well paying job in Vietnam does in a month. Thus if you pick people from the right countries they are making great money for their situation, and you're only paying five bucks - win win.

 

[pickeringmt]

Hey man, just looking at what you want to do, I would suggest you get a membership to lynda.com
I learned almost everything I know about online business from lynda - it is a great way to get the info you need to get started in most subjects.

Also, be sure that you DO things. Don't "learn" WP before just getting a site going. I have found that the only way to learn anything in terms of online is to do it.

Also, look at codecademy for an intro to web languages. Just enough to get you started.

 

[mt_myke]

Since you asked me directly for a recommendation...

You see I have a bunch of pretty simple website ideas. One of which would be a website that displays pictures and descriptions of people's websites. An online directory basically.

So it has to get pics of the websites. How does that work? Are you manually uploading them, or will the site do it by itself if you give it the website name? Are you uploading/creating all the entries, or do people put in their own sites? How are they being charged? How much are they being charged? What are you using for payment processing? Will the charges be one-time or recurring? How often do you update the pic of the web site? What do you do if it's a content-heavy site that changes all the time?

Maybe not so simple after all...

I have no coding experience, but I hear that WordPress can be used to make most sites. But then I also hear that even though you use WordPress, I should hire a dev to build the Wordpress site for me. I simply cannot afford this.

My plan would be to learn WordPress, and create the site using pre-existing plug-ins and themes. All I want the site to basically do is show pictures of customer websites, give brief descriptions and take you to the site when the picture is clicked on. the site would require categories, and sign ups. It would also be a membership site.

To me this doesn't seem very difficult. Concerning the visual design most themes can cover that, but then again I'm not a programmer so I have no clue what this would require on the backend. My budget is honestly around $200 dollars. If I did this by myself, is it reasonable to expect to learn how to build a website within a month, and create the site in one month?

It sounds like you have no experience at all. If that's the case I'd get any kind of site up at this point, and see how it goes. There are already recommendations for site builders on there, wordpress.com does commercial wordpress hosting (there are many others as well). Look at them and pick a point to dive in. Give yourself two weeks and see how far you get. Adjust course from there. From what you've said, to me it looks like you have two main options: Learn how to do most of it yourself (this will take a lot longer than a month) or get additional money to hire people to do it.

Whether or not a website directory even makes any sense as a business is another topic but I won't get into that here.

 

[Bossopolis]

I agree with "LightHouse" you probably will have scalability challenges IF you eventually grow to a high level with many business models,
but I think the BIGGER challenges for new entrepreneurs are :

1) They are on a tight budget and may not have the financial resources to setup a high level website
2) If they over-ANALyze everything and wait until the planets line-up they will never start their business

Another option for creating an eCommerce site that is more scalable and flexible is www.shopify.com

I think its for more important to JUST START then WHEN you grow to a high level you can transition everything accordingly.
Keep it lean and keep it mean at the beginning... I have started several businesses this way and would not do it any other way.

If you try to plan for every future problem / eventuality you will be stuck in "paralysis analysis".

JUST DO IT !

Peace.

 

[Bossopolis]

He didn't say using WordPress = not a business. He said, if you can download WordPress and you're in business, then it's probably not a very good idea. Right before that he said, "The harder it is to solve whatever problem you're seeking to solve, the better the opportunity."

The problem isn't with using WordPress. The issue is figuring out how to differentiate and solve hard problems for your customer. WordPress, just like money, is a tool for achieving a goal.

The value in a product/service doesn't come from how hard it was for you to build it. It comes in the form of the problem it solves for the customer. Usually that means hard work for the entrepreneur, which is why most people won't do it, but it doesn't mean the one who is willing to try shouldn't use useful tools when they're available.

Just my two cents.

Yes, Its in the value you provide. I know some people using Wordpress and are making 6 figures... But you should be prepared to work VERY hard, not give up, create a mastermind group, learn, grow, etc...

If a tool helps you add value and helps you sell more product then use it.

Peace

 

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[LightHouse]

I should clarify, I was speaking only on hosted solutions. If wordpress serves your buisness need, then it is an excellent tool.

 

[JahvonCreamCone]

Hey fastlaners. Last night I was up all night in my bed, going crazy. I'm currently in a state of inertia.

You see I have a bunch of pretty simple website ideas. One of which would be a website that displays pictures and descriptions of people's websites. An online directory basically.

I have no coding experience, but I hear that WordPress can be used to make most sites. But then I also hear that even though you use WordPress, I should hire a dev to build the Wordpress site for me. I simply cannot afford this.

My plan would be to learn WordPress, and create the site using pre-existing plug-ins and themes. All I want the site to basically do is show pictures of customer websites, give brief descriptions and take you to the site when the picture is clicked on. the site would require categories, and sign ups. It would also be a membership site.

To me this doesn't seem very difficult. Concerning the visual design most themes can cover that, but then again I'm not a programmer so I have no clue what this would require on the backend. My budget is honestly around $200 dollars. If I did this by myself, is it reasonable to expect to learn how to build a website within a month, and create the site in one month?

 

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[JahvonCreamCone]

@JahvonCreamCone

It's very reasonable to learn how to create a WP website for simple web page ideas.
$200 is a perfect amount to jump in and get started yourself.

It will cover hosting cost (Google hosting deals, theres plenty) and a premium theme if you opt for one.

I learned a bit of CSS/HTML while creating what I wanted out of my website.
I had no prior coding experience.

Now I know what kind of website I can create and how fast I can have it up.
One month is plenty of time to learn and get going.

Learn and it'll benefit you for a long time.

Thanks man, I have a good HTML/CSS book here in my house, do you recommend I learn WordPress and HTML/CSS at the same time?

 

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