Author Topic: Which platform to use for my website/blog?  (Read 1260 times)

Linea_Norway

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Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« on: April 24, 2021, 04:32:02 AM »
Hi.

Asking here, as this site sits on a lot of knowledge.

I am planning to make a website or blog. It will be about home made dried food that you can bring along on a trip, add boiling water, stir, wait and eat. My goal is to share how you can do this, as an alternative for more expensive commercial dry food. I would like to get a site that will be well-arranged, so that people can easily look up a recipe or read about how to treat an ingredient. I am not planning to become commercial or sell anything. But maybe an affiliate link or two to the drying machine or so, could be added in the future.

Originally I was thinking about creating a blog and publishing a new entry every week or so. But I think it should have an organized website as a basis. DH says that making a facebook site could more easily generate traffic. Facebook is compitable with blogging new entries. But I have never seen a well-organized facebook page where you can easily lookup stuff afterwards, other then scrolling through the whole page.

So far, I have tried creating a website on Simplesite.com. But I find the free version quite limiting in formatting options. Of course, you don't get that much for free. Before investing in a paid version, I would like some feedback on whether this is the best option.

So my question is, what kind of platform do you recommend? Website or blog? Facebook or elsewhere? Simplesite or an alternative?

ender

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2021, 07:20:58 AM »
medium is pretty decent

Rdy2Fire

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2021, 07:33:29 AM »
I used Bluehost and Wordpress both the hosting and platform are pretty easy to use with lots of plug-ins

https://www.bluehost.com/?utm_source=%28direct%29&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=affiliate-link_escapinglife3hrs_notype


RWD

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2021, 10:53:55 AM »
I used Bluehost
You should avoid EIG-owned products at all costs.

@Daley talked about this a couple months ago in this post.

I personally use GeekStorage but there are plenty of good options that are not EIG-owned. For the blog itself I'd personally lean towards Serendipity (S9Y) but WordPress should be fine as well.

Linea_Norway

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2021, 06:47:05 AM »
I read a webpage that compated Medium amd Wordpress. Medium is best for writing stuff and for getting published, but not so great for getting a good overview other than chronological.
Wordpress is slightly less user friendly, but you have way more flexibility for making the webpage. More features.
So wordpress would be the best option of those two. I read that the free version of Wordpress doesn't offer so many features and I am not yet willing to pay a monthly fee for a website.
Therefore I stay with Simple site for the moment. It also doesn't have a great number of features, but it will do for now. I might investigate wordpress later.

norajean

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2021, 07:07:25 AM »
How about just starting a series of 5-10 minute YouTube videos with plenty of keywords for searching? You could even add subtitles in English,for example.

Rdy2Fire

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2021, 09:43:32 AM »
I used Bluehost
You should avoid EIG-owned products at all costs.

@Daley talked about this a couple months ago in this post.

I personally use GeekStorage but there are plenty of good options that are not EIG-owned. For the blog itself I'd personally lean towards Serendipity (S9Y) but WordPress should be fine as well.

I read the link, never had an issue/problem in years of using Bluehost but guess everyone has different experiences and if or I should say when my next year payment is due, if I still haven't had any issues I can look to port it elsewhere.

Back to platform yes Wordpress has a lot of flexibility, i don't find it to be less user friendly but I could just be used to it now.

bacchi

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #7 on: April 25, 2021, 05:03:46 PM »
I am planning to make a website or blog. It will be about home made dried food that you can bring along on a trip, add boiling water, stir, wait and eat. My goal is to share how you can do this, as an alternative for more expensive commercial dry food.

I'd read this. Finding a decent variety of backpacking meals that don't cost a fortune, and are easy to clean up, is hard.

We've bought some reusable silicone pouches to experiment with.

Daley

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #8 on: April 25, 2021, 05:36:24 PM »
Wordpress is slightly less user friendly, but you have way more flexibility for making the webpage. More features.
So wordpress would be the best option of those two. I read that the free version of Wordpress doesn't offer so many features and I am not yet willing to pay a monthly fee for a website.
Therefore I stay with Simple site for the moment. It also doesn't have a great number of features, but it will do for now. I might investigate wordpress later.

I have something just as simple as Wordpress for you but without the security issues of PHP/SQL that's really cheap to host, potentially even free, without the downsides of what you're looking to use, like potentially having your content trapped with a proprietary host.

Publii static site generator paired with GitLab, or Netlify, or Digital Ocean, or Starburst, or Nearly Free Speech. You can even integrate in Google Custom Search.

If you're wanting a full LAMP host with cPanel for doing somethng like a full Wordpress install, HawkHost is still good... but maintaining and keeping secure a PHP/SQL server based CMS can be a chore for the non-technical these days, even with tools like cPanel and Softaculous. Not impossible, just something else to have to chase after and constantly babysit.

The hardest part would probably be setting up the DNS for a custom domain if you wanted it, not that it's that difficult if you take your time and read the documentation, plus, there's plenty of guides out there for doing just that for static sites hosted with most of those providers.

Full Disclosure: There are zero referral links in my post, and I have no affiliate agreements with any of these providers. I also haven't tried using Starburst Hosting yet, so I don't know how good or bad they really are.



[posts referral link]
I read the link, never had an issue/problem in years of using Bluehost but guess everyone has different experiences and if or I should say when my next year payment is due, if I still haven't had any issues I can look to port it elsewhere.

Amazing how it's always the people who get paid $65 a referral who never have any problems with Bluehost, a provider who's cheapest plan only costs $71.40/year.

I wonder why that is. Hmmm.

And before you get all defensive and think I'm calling you a liar... there's always a second or third possibility. Perhaps Bluehost also knows which accounts to keep greased just enough to keep the shills shilling, or maybe you don't actually know what a good performing host should look and feel like. Better to assume ignorance than malice, after all.

But think about it... what kind of service should one expect from a host who's only willing to spend $6.40/year on a full shared server LAMP/cPanel account for a referee would look like... especially when Bluehost wants upwards of $9/month for that same service without discount?
« Last Edit: April 25, 2021, 05:53:37 PM by Daley »

Smokystache

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #9 on: April 26, 2021, 08:15:31 AM »
I know that serious website folks will always mention WordPress, but it really isn't quite as easy for someone who has never used that platform. I consider myself fairly computer & web -literate. I was able to get a site up and going, but all the plug-ins and extras really took a lot of time and eventually I screwed something up and locked myself out of it.

I've switched over to SquareSpace. They don't have any free plans any more, but about every 2 months they will have a sale. Got my domain and hosting and a nice design that is easy to manage. I can now create a one page website in about 30 minutes with pictures, videos, etc. I'm sure I could find a way to pay less, but I don't think it would be much -- and the big thing I gain is that I rarely think about my website mechanics/functionality. So I gain a huge amount of time and remove a great deal of stress.

For people who want to tinker with SEO and a huge range of plugins, I'm sure WP is the way to go. If your goal is to simply put your stuff out there for the world to see (and possibly buy), then SS has plenty of functionality and is waaaay simpler.

RWD

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #10 on: April 26, 2021, 08:42:46 AM »
I know that serious website folks will always mention WordPress, but it really isn't quite as easy for someone who has never used that platform.
I've always seen WordPress as something that serious website developers snub. But then I've built all my websites from scratch so my perspective is definitely from the other extreme end.

Jenny Wren

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #11 on: April 26, 2021, 09:45:50 AM »
I used bluehost+wordpress for years. After a series of issues with downtime, lost files after updates (yes, I backed up), and constantly having to tweak the backend when plugins and similar quit working, I switch to Squarespace. It cost more, but as someone mentioned there are always deals. It's easy to use and update because it is much more intuitive than wordpress. It's also easier for me as I plan to add a storefront to the site this year, and merchant capabilities are already integrated and well fleshed out.

Daley

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #12 on: April 26, 2021, 09:46:22 AM »
I know that serious website folks will always mention WordPress, but it really isn't quite as easy for someone who has never used that platform.
I've always seen WordPress as something that serious website developers snub. But then I've built all my websites from scratch so my perspective is definitely from the other extreme end.

Ditto. WordPress is perfectly cromulent, but it's not exactly considered a high-end, server based CMS by "serious website folks." It's mostly recommended because it's pretty dirt simple all things considered for as flexible a platform as it is, and the fact that there's no vendor lock-in, what with WordPress's databases being easily migrated and imported into other platforms, which does help for folks who might need or want to move to another CMS or host.

This said, most of the WordPress hate and frustration frequently comes from poorly managed hosts, not necessarily the platform itself.

Which brings us to SquareSpace, @Smokystache. It may be really simple for non-technical people to use, but the vendor lock-in is real. If you ever outgrow SquareSpace either through technical needs, experience, or feature set, unless you had the foresight to be technically minded enough out of the gate to plan for the problem by composing everything you post in Markdown and saving local copies? You really can't easily leave. And if you're technically skilled enough to be composing everything in Markdown already, you might as well just use 11ty, Hugo, Jekyll, or Pelican to begin with.
« Last Edit: April 26, 2021, 09:49:02 AM by Daley »

Rdy2Fire

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #13 on: April 26, 2021, 06:00:31 PM »
Wordpress is slightly less user friendly, but you have way more flexibility for making the webpage. More features.
So wordpress would be the best option of those two. I read that the free version of Wordpress doesn't offer so many features and I am not yet willing to pay a monthly fee for a website.
Therefore I stay with Simple site for the moment. It also doesn't have a great number of features, but it will do for now. I might investigate wordpress later.

I have something just as simple as Wordpress for you but without the security issues of PHP/SQL that's really cheap to host, potentially even free, without the downsides of what you're looking to use, like potentially having your content trapped with a proprietary host.

Publii static site generator paired with GitLab, or Netlify, or Digital Ocean, or Starburst, or Nearly Free Speech. You can even integrate in Google Custom Search.

If you're wanting a full LAMP host with cPanel for doing somethng like a full Wordpress install, HawkHost is still good... but maintaining and keeping secure a PHP/SQL server based CMS can be a chore for the non-technical these days, even with tools like cPanel and Softaculous. Not impossible, just something else to have to chase after and constantly babysit.

The hardest part would probably be setting up the DNS for a custom domain if you wanted it, not that it's that difficult if you take your time and read the documentation, plus, there's plenty of guides out there for doing just that for static sites hosted with most of those providers.

Full Disclosure: There are zero referral links in my post, and I have no affiliate agreements with any of these providers. I also haven't tried using Starburst Hosting yet, so I don't know how good or bad they really are.



[posts referral link]
I read the link, never had an issue/problem in years of using Bluehost but guess everyone has different experiences and if or I should say when my next year payment is due, if I still haven't had any issues I can look to port it elsewhere.

Amazing how it's always the people who get paid $65 a referral who never have any problems with Bluehost, a provider who's cheapest plan only costs $71.40/year.

I wonder why that is. Hmmm.

And before you get all defensive and think I'm calling you a liar... there's always a second or third possibility. Perhaps Bluehost also knows which accounts to keep greased just enough to keep the shills shilling, or maybe you don't actually know what a good performing host should look and feel like. Better to assume ignorance than malice, after all.

But think about it... what kind of service should one expect from a host who's only willing to spend $6.40/year on a full shared server LAMP/cPanel account for a referee would look like... especially when Bluehost wants upwards of $9/month for that same service without discount?

Well full disclosure, I've never received a referral and didn't even realize the link was a referral I just happen to get an email the same day and used the link in it, didn't even realize it. And before you call me a liar, I don't really care if you believe it or not I just know the site works for me and I guess maybe to your point was a nice, cheap start

rosarugosa

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #14 on: April 27, 2021, 05:09:54 AM »
Just jumping in to say that a lot of FB group pages and company pages that I follow do have a search function that works quite well. I don't see that functionality on personal pages.

StashingAway

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #15 on: April 27, 2021, 05:37:57 AM »
I know that serious website folks will always mention WordPress, but it really isn't quite as easy for someone who has never used that platform. I consider myself fairly computer & web -literate. I was able to get a site up and going, but all the plug-ins and extras really took a lot of time and eventually I screwed something up and locked myself out of it.

+1

Wordpress makes up like 40% of the websites on the entire internet for a reason; it works. Use Wordpress, buy a "theme" that is updated regularly by a well known theme provider and don't install plugins. Plugins and un-supported themes are where people get into trouble.
« Last Edit: April 27, 2021, 05:40:31 AM by StashingAway »

Rdy2Fire

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #16 on: April 27, 2021, 06:32:40 AM »
I know that serious website folks will always mention WordPress, but it really isn't quite as easy for someone who has never used that platform. I consider myself fairly computer & web -literate. I was able to get a site up and going, but all the plug-ins and extras really took a lot of time and eventually I screwed something up and locked myself out of it.

+1

Wordpress makes up like 40% of the websites on the entire internet for a reason; it works. Use Wordpress, buy a "theme" that is updated regularly by a well known theme provider and don't install plugins. Plugins and un-supported themes are where people get into trouble.

Yes this was my only point really, regardless of who hosts it, I find it to be pretty easy but you do have to pay attention to those plug-in updates etc if you decide to install them because even if you use the auto updates they sometimes screw things up

StashingAway

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #17 on: April 27, 2021, 11:25:14 AM »
I know that serious website folks will always mention WordPress, but it really isn't quite as easy for someone who has never used that platform. I consider myself fairly computer & web -literate. I was able to get a site up and going, but all the plug-ins and extras really took a lot of time and eventually I screwed something up and locked myself out of it.

+1

Wordpress makes up like 40% of the websites on the entire internet for a reason; it works. Use Wordpress, buy a "theme" that is updated regularly by a well known theme provider and don't install plugins. Plugins and un-supported themes are where people get into trouble.

Yes this was my only point really, regardless of who hosts it, I find it to be pretty easy but you do have to pay attention to those plug-in updates etc if you decide to install them because even if you use the auto updates they sometimes screw things up

Most people will need plugins of some kind, but they should also be from well reviewed/vetted services. Wordpress works for casual bloggers as well as huge organizations.

shelivesthedream

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Re: Which platform to use for my website/blog?
« Reply #18 on: May 14, 2021, 04:29:59 AM »
I have found free WordPress sites to work well for me for a number of different uses over the years. I'm not sure where my tech level is - a patchy profile, I think! Very capable of following tutorials and clicking around, but some areas feel no-go for me.

However, my husband had to take over a Wordpress site for work and found the interface enragingly complicated because "new post" and "change layout of my entire site" were equally accessible in the menu options.