6 ms·

I'd say your best bet is to check out some of the high quality themes at http://themeforest.net http://themeforest.net -- if you don't want to deal with html /

I'd say your best bet is to check out some of the high quality themes at http://themeforest.net http://themeforest.net -- if you don't want to deal with html / css the wordpress themes are really easy to setup and look amazing.

neltnerb 12y ago
Thanks so much for the advice! My primary concern with Wordpress is that it has been around long enough that it could actually be harder to set up because of out of date tutorials, and that I've been told it's got a lot of security issues. I also have a vague horrible memory of trying to install it in 2006 or 2007 and it being a disaster to customize... but I don't want to hold that against it in 2014. On the other hand, I've been told that because it's a blogging platform (is it really?) it's easier to update content through the web interface, and that makes it get higher rankings on Google (for now). I don't know enough to evaluate any of these claims or worries; do you think that they're still true? I certainly absolutely positively have no problem paying for a high quality theme, I'm much more worried about creating a mess on my server that will take dozens of hours of attention to clean up.
- mashmac2 12y ago
  These days, Wordpress is quite secure for most uses - especially a simple corporate site. Here's how I'd go about it- 1. Buy theme from themeforest or similar. 2. Buy a shared hosting account from webfaction or similar (less than $10/month) 3. Use their one-click Wordpress installer to install Wordpress 4. Install theme in Wordpress install. This keeps it off your server in case of issue, doesn't really cost much at all, and offers some great hosting support if you run into issues (http://docs.webfaction.com/software/wordpress/index.html http://docs.webfaction.com/software/wordpress/index.html) that's current.
  - raverbashing 12y ago
    Exactly this Don't sweat it. And webfaction (or other shared host) allows you to run something else if you need it, like a simple PHP (or something else) app
- nairteashop 12y ago
  Wordpress is actually not that hard to setup these days, but maybe a better approach is to start with hosted WP (e.g. wpengine) just to get the site up and running asap, and then later transition out into your own WP install when you have the time/resources. There are a ton of websites built on WP (https://wordpress.org/showcase/ https://wordpress.org/showcase/), so it's not just a blogging-only platform. For what you're trying to do, I'd definitely bet on a hosted CMS + a nice theme. You'll get a pretty website that's easy to manage, and it will cost very little in terms of time and money.
- ishener 12y ago
  If you are worried about installing, why not use https://wordpress.com/ https://wordpress.com/? Hell, even techcrunch are using it!
ishener 12y ago
+1 for wordpress & themeforest. This really is the high-way to get a good-looking site with a simple CMS. No designer or programmer needed.

neltnerb 12y ago

Thanks so much for the advice! My primary concern with Wordpress is that it has been around long enough that it could actually be harder to set up because of out of date tutorials, and that I've been told it's got a lot of security issues. I also have a vague horrible memory of trying to install it in 2006 or 2007 and it being a disaster to customize... but I don't want to hold that against it in 2014. On the other hand, I've been told that because it's a blogging platform (is it really?) it's easier to update content through the web interface, and that makes it get higher rankings on Google (for now). I don't know enough to evaluate any of these claims or worries; do you think that they're still true? I certainly absolutely positively have no problem paying for a high quality theme, I'm much more worried about creating a mess on my server that will take dozens of hours of attention to clean up.

mashmac2 12y ago
These days, Wordpress is quite secure for most uses - especially a simple corporate site. Here's how I'd go about it- 1. Buy theme from themeforest or similar. 2. Buy a shared hosting account from webfaction or similar (less than $10/month) 3. Use their one-click Wordpress installer to install Wordpress 4. Install theme in Wordpress install. This keeps it off your server in case of issue, doesn't really cost much at all, and offers some great hosting support if you run into issues (http://docs.webfaction.com/software/wordpress/index.html http://docs.webfaction.com/software/wordpress/index.html) that's current.
- raverbashing 12y ago
  Exactly this Don't sweat it. And webfaction (or other shared host) allows you to run something else if you need it, like a simple PHP (or something else) app
nairteashop 12y ago
Wordpress is actually not that hard to setup these days, but maybe a better approach is to start with hosted WP (e.g. wpengine) just to get the site up and running asap, and then later transition out into your own WP install when you have the time/resources. There are a ton of websites built on WP (https://wordpress.org/showcase/ https://wordpress.org/showcase/), so it's not just a blogging-only platform. For what you're trying to do, I'd definitely bet on a hosted CMS + a nice theme. You'll get a pretty website that's easy to manage, and it will cost very little in terms of time and money.
ishener 12y ago
If you are worried about installing, why not use https://wordpress.com/ https://wordpress.com/? Hell, even techcrunch are using it!

ishener 12y ago

+1 for wordpress & themeforest. This really is the high-way to get a good-looking site with a simple CMS. No designer or programmer needed.