Website feedback

[Voice Angel]

Hi there,
I'd deeply appreciate some advice on website design. I currently use Wix as I love having a drag and drop function. But it's rather limited and I understand that Wix then "owns" my content, etc. It also has long load times.
I did try WP before moving to Wix and thought I was going to drive myself bonkers trying to figure it out.
I'm willing to give WP another try though.
Ideally I'm looking to do the following:

• Have different kinds of email signup funnels so that I can separate my various offerings by niche or content (Wix only has one per site)
• Add as many websites as I like without paying extra for each (as with Wix)
• I’d like to offer paid and free courses on my site (Learndash maybe? Or should I just post the free ones on Udemy?)
• Offer instant paid or free downloads (free is easy on Wix but paid is a pain to set up)
• Drag and drop feature or something easy enough to learn
• Own my site content
• Have a forum if I want one
• Easy to add functions without adding tons of extra costs

I went with Wix as it seemed that I could just have an all-in-one but it turns out to be a bit limiting in practice.

It seems that WP can likely do all of this and I’ve heard Divi is a preferred choice.
Would love any recommendations that I don’t have to pay a ton for (Kajabi seems a bit high $ to start but maybe it’s worth it?)

Thanks!

 

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[ApparentHorizon]

I'm partial to Elementor for quick designs without needing much technical knowledge.

Check out Member Press, which you can pair with Learn Dash.

 

[Voice Angel]

Interesting. Thanks @ApparentHorizon. I heard about Elementor too and I'll check it out!

Is Member Press one of Elementor's themes?
Or a completely different program?

 

[ApparentHorizon]

Interesting. Thanks @ApparentHorizon. I heard about Elementor too and I'll check it out!

Is Member Press one of Elementor's themes?
Or a completely different program?

Member Press is a separate plugin giving users "social profiles." The forum addon to Member Press will get you where you need.

For the theme, go with Hello Elementor or Storefront if you're planning on using WooCommerce.

Look up the wordpress plugin directory for info.

 

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[Nick M.]

Couple things:

Firstly, with WordPress, anything you want is possible. Odds are, unless you're doing something highly niche technologically, someone's made a plugin. Elementor is a great visual builder as @ApparentHorizon pointed out (I'd not recommend Divi, though you'll probably see ads everywhere for it). Much of what you're looking for may require paid plugins, so keep that in mind.

With multiple sites, it's completely possible with WordPress. You'd just create multiple sites on the same host. Keep in mind that this will slow down each site, and if you're on most shared hosts (also known as the cheap hosts), that may not be a good idea.

Secondly, I ran across another site, Thinkific, the other day. It sounds very similar to what you're looking for out of the box. I don't have any experience with it and can't really comment as it if it works as well as advertised, but I'd recommend at least looking at it.

Thirdly, unless you want to build a stock website, almost anything is better than Wix. I wouldn't fret too much about it. Pick something and go for it, especially if you still need to validate the idea.

 

[Voice Angel]

Thanks very much @ApparentHorizon and @Nick M.

 

[datagod]

As someone said, your best bet is 100% Wordpress with Elementor drag and drop builder.

But regarding membership site there are many things to consider, if you want to have membership access you could go with : Teachable, Kartra, Thinkific (my favourite is 3rd)

 

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[Voice Angel]

As someone said, your best bet is 100% Wordpress with Elementor drag and drop builder.

But regarding membership site there are many things to consider, if you want to have membership access you could go with : Teachable, Kartra, Thinkific (my favourite is 3rd)

Hey thanks!

From what I understand, I need to get WP and hosting together.
For this I need to go to Hostgator or similar, right?

Sorry everyone - I know that my questions are so very basic !!

 

[Nick M.]

Hey thanks!

From what I understand, I need to get WP and hosting together.
For this I need to go to Hostgator or similar, right?

Sorry everyone - I know that my questions are so very basic !!

In short, if you've decided to do WordPress, here's what you need to do:

1. Find a host for WordPress (I recommend SiteGround, see below)
2. The host will install WordPress for you (it's free)
3. Figure out the exact functions your site will need
4. Find the plugins/themes you will need
5. If you want a drag-and-drop editor, make sure your theme is Elementor compatible.

Here are the best hosting services according to many forum members:

SIDE HUSTLE - WEB DESIGN - Attention website owners!Here is why you should never use Bluehost and Hostgator (and 78 other web hosting services) for hosting your website!

Because they are owned by EIG. You see, when it comes to hosting a website, there are two fundamental rules you need to know: Rule #1: Don't use any hosting service owned by EIG, Rule #2: Never forget rule #1. EIG is a shady company that cares only about your money, not you. But, since they...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Couple pieces of terminology that I think will help out.

WordPress

WordPress is an open source software to create websites. On it's own, it mainly works best with blogs. You can change the design of the site with themes, and the functionality with plugins. Because over 1/3 of the internet runs on WordPress (the software), there are themes and plugins for almost everything you need. That's why I and several others here have recommended looking into WordPress.

WordPress is free, and you can download it from WordPress.org (you won't need to, though).

Hosting

Just because you have the software doesn't mean you have a website. You still need a server to serve your website. That's where hosting comes into play. When you buy hosting, you're buying a computer to run the software for you. Hostgater is one host you can use. I prefer SiteGround. Many hosts like Hostgater are extremely cheap, but the quality is comparable to the price—low. In my experience, Siteground gets you the best value for the price.

Most hosts won't require much if any technical knowledge to setup and use WordPress. Most even install WordPress for you.

Themes

Themes are styles for your WordPress site. There are free themes, and there are paid themes. Not all themes work for all uses.

Many hosts will upsell you with "premium themes." You don't need those (usually). WordPress has many free themes.

Plugins

Plugins are add-ons you can use to change the functionality of your site. Again, there are many free plugins, and many paid plugins.

Plugins include Storefront, Woocommerce, Member Press, etc.

Page Builders

When people are saying to use Elementor, they are telling you to use the plugin. Elementor is not a theme, and it's not a website software. It's a plugin for WordPress. There's a free version and paid version. Elementor lets you customize themes much easier, in a drag-and-drop fashion. Not all themes work with Elementor, so do some research.

 

[SEBASTlAN]

Hey thanks!

From what I understand, I need to get WP and hosting together.
For this I need to go to Hostgator or similar, right?

Sorry everyone - I know that my questions are so very basic !!

Hostgator is a low quality host without much support.

I'd go for a managed WordPress host like WPX, 10Web or Kinsta

 

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[SCCLLC]

Hey thanks!

From what I understand, I need to get WP and hosting together.
For this I need to go to Hostgator or similar, right?

Sorry everyone - I know that my questions are so very basic !!

Ever since Hostgator and Bluehost were acquired from EIG company these Hosts went to sh1t STAY AWAY! Terrible service.
Siteground is a very good choice for hosting a WP site.
I use and would highly recommend the WP Theme: Newspaper by tagDiv

 

[Voice Angel]

Ever since Hostgator and Bluehost were acquired from EIG company these Hosts went to sh1t STAY AWAY! Terrible service.
Siteground is a very good choice for hosting a WP site.
I use and would highly recommend the WP Theme: Newspaper by tagDiv

Thanks I'll check it out

 

[Voice Angel]

Hostgator is a low quality host without much support.

I'd go for a managed WordPress host like WPX, 10Web or Kinsta

Thanks! I did try Hostgator back before Wix and it was the worst.

 

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[Voice Angel]

In short, if you've decided to do WordPress, here's what you need to do:

1. Find a host for WordPress (I recommend SiteGround, see below)
2. The host will install WordPress for you (it's free)
3. Figure out the exact functions your site will need
4. Find the plugins/themes you will need
5. If you want a drag-and-drop editor, make sure your theme is Elementor compatible.

Here are the best hosting services according to many forum members:

SIDE HUSTLE - WEB DESIGN - Attention website owners!Here is why you should never use Bluehost and Hostgator (and 78 other web hosting services) for hosting your website!

Because they are owned by EIG. You see, when it comes to hosting a website, there are two fundamental rules you need to know: Rule #1: Don't use any hosting service owned by EIG, Rule #2: Never forget rule #1. EIG is a shady company that cares only about your money, not you. But, since they...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

Couple pieces of terminology that I think will help out.

WordPress

WordPress is an open source software to create websites. On it's own, it mainly works best with blogs. You can change the design of the site with themes, and the functionality with plugins. Because over 1/3 of the internet runs on WordPress (the software), there are themes and plugins for almost everything you need. That's why I and several others here have recommended looking into WordPress.

WordPress is free, and you can download it from WordPress.org (you won't need to, though).

Hosting

Just because you have the software doesn't mean you have a website. You still need a server to serve your website. That's where hosting comes into play. When you buy hosting, you're buying a computer to run the software for you. Hostgater is one host you can use. I prefer SiteGround. Many hosts like Hostgater are extremely cheap, but the quality is comparable to the price—low. In my experience, Siteground gets you the best value for the price.

Most hosts won't require much if any technical knowledge to setup and use WordPress. Most even install WordPress for you.

Themes

Themes are styles for your WordPress site. There are free themes, and there are paid themes. Not all themes work for all uses.

Many hosts will upsell you with "premium themes." You don't need those (usually). WordPress has many free themes.

Plugins

Plugins are add-ons you can use to change the functionality of your site. Again, there are many free plugins, and many paid plugins.

Plugins include Storefront, Woocommerce, Member Press, etc.

Page Builders

When people are saying to use Elementor, they are telling you to use the plugin. Elementor is not a theme, and it's not a website software. It's a plugin for WordPress. There's a free version and paid version. Elementor lets you customize themes much easier, in a drag-and-drop fashion. Not all themes work with Elementor, so do some research.

WOW thank you SO much!!!

 

[GoodluckChuck]

After building websites, building funnels, advertising, and doing all sorts of other online marketing things for a few years I can safely say that it all takes effort and time to learn.

If your attitude is taking the easy way out so you can avoid taking the time to learn a platform, you're going to struggle.

Everything takes time and even Elementor requires a steep learning curve if you want to stray outside of templates. People think it's easier because you don't have to code, but you still have to click through multiple menus to do anything and often times you still need some code! Sometimes I think coding is easier... It's certainly faster a lot of times.

I recommend settling in for the long haul and taking the time to figure things out right. You'll do well to pick some tools and stick with them. They all do the same stuff just in different ways.

I use Elementor with GeneratePress theme. Activecampaign for email marketing. Gravity forms plugin for forms. WpRocket for speed and SEOpress for SEO. There's also Cartflows plugin if you want to make your WordPress site into a Clickfunnels.

Good luck!

 

[dawp]

Here is my recipe for nice, clean, $0 website (except hosting) :
wordpress + elementor (free) + astra theme (free) + astras tarter sites (free)

 

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[datagod]

Hey thanks!

From what I understand, I need to get WP and hosting together.
For this I need to go to Hostgator or similar, right?

Sorry everyone - I know that my questions are so very basic !!

A little late reply as someone said Siteground, I do higly recommend it too. (plus they've got amazing support).

 

[Voice Angel]

If your attitude is taking the easy way out so you can avoid taking the time to learn a platform, you're going to struggle.

Good luck!

Thank you SO much for this!
I'm not afraid of hard work - and believe me, nothing I've done is easy or overnight.

My novel launching in the spring took me 20 years to write. I spend at least 5-10 hours a week working on my website. And when I'm not with my family, most of my time is spent working on my business.

I thought using Wix would make things slightly easier so I could spend more time on the business but that's not really what happened!

@GoodluckChuck and @datagod I'm going to look into your recommendations - thanks again!