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I have been looking at website template sites to start putting together a website for when i graduate. I want something really easy to use that is clean and affordable and allows multimedia to be uploaded and showcased professionally. I'm terrible with code, especially HTML so i need it to do everything for me!

The sites i find the most aesthetically pleasing are photography portfolio templates and don't offer video / audio.

I'm aware of Wordpress but am wondering what all you guys out there are using?

Any feedback greatly appreciated.

Thanks

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  • I saw below that you don't really have time to learn to code, which I fully understand, but I'd really recommend learning at least some of the basics of CSS and HTML. It's important to understand how something that we depend heavily on actually works. I hope that doesn't sound to condescending, but it terrifies that we live in an internet-based world, and almost nobody knows how any of it actually works. If nothing else it's empowering and actually quite fun once you get into it.
    – g.a.harry
    Apr 16, 2013 at 21:03

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http://www.weebly.com/
http://imcreator.com/
http://www.wix.com/
+ Other "real" WYSIWYG editors

Wordpress is some sort of "de facto" for people who don't want to learn simple website coding, but it will be very limiting without wanting to understand the Wordpress framework, which is honestly more appealing to "serious" web developers/designers than a person who just wants a manageable website. You can't customize it properly and there's a high chance that you'll break something and won't understand why it broke or how to fix it. Unless you stick very tightly to the template and don't desire other than out-of-the-box and other trivial customizations.

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  • That was my exact thought regarding Wordpress. From what i can gather from people using it it's 'easy to use' factor is actually more of a hassle than useful. Thanks a lot.
    – Danny.Q
    Apr 3, 2013 at 16:01
  • @Danny.Q The main factor which may draw people to WP is the "high quality" themes it has that come with fancy JS animations and stuff. Whereas with other tools I've seen, you're building a much more "static" website. But the WP page comes with added complexity regarding customization and animated sites divide opinion, because they can be slow and annoying, plus they can be really hard to add/lay out your own content to. It's best to weight, what you're really trying to get out of the website and take the tool that fits your needs best without adding unnecessary complexity.
    – Internet Human
    Apr 3, 2013 at 17:16
  • Imcreator looks good. I'm going to give it a shot in the next couple of days. Thanks again.
    – Danny.Q
    Apr 3, 2013 at 18:03
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The answer really depends how long term you are thinking, how simple the site you're wanting to create is, and how often & easily you want to update it... A website is about content so its the means by which you can easily update it that matters most imho.

I started off using Dreamweaver for a few years but dislike the workflow of updating sites via such environments.... I have used Wordpress ever since, for half a dozen sites, some of which you would be hard pressed to ever know they were based on wordpress, such is the degree of easily customizing them.... The most important aspect of Wordpress is that it requires some work on your side to research to find a theme that is as customizable as you require (I haven't had any of the problems @Internet Human identifies with wordpress) From then on it is a pleasure to work with, and best of all, it is SIMPLE to update with new content - whether its a portfolio, ecommerce site, blog or whatever....

If you are considering wordpress, my advice would be don't waste time with free themes - find a premium theme that offers what you need - its not a big cost (US$25-US$50), you're supporting the developer & you have someone to get support from...

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I would also recommend Wordpress but would keep in mind the same considerations that Internet Human pointed out, ie: it will be limiting without learning the wordpress framework unless you stick tightly to the template. But the great thing about wordpress is that it's highly customizable without the need for any fancy html skills. There are a ton of free plugins and widgets that allow for easy customization without any advanced skill, although you still have the option to implement more advanced stuff if you do have the skill (or as your skills improve).

Here's my website, as an example. I used a custom theme from themeforest.net which has a ton of reasonably priced pro wordpress themes. I also used a ton of plugins: WP Twitter Timeline, WP Float (for the floating contact box), qTranslate (so I can have a french version of my site), and Easy Fancybox (so my videos can show up in a fancy lightbox)

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  • Nice one man. This is pretty much what i want to.
    – Danny.Q
    Apr 3, 2013 at 17:56
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Flavors.me and utilize your social networks within it. That's what I used to use for my portfolio before I learned how to code.

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I'd vouch for Wordpress to be honest. I've had a very good experience using it. There are plenty of Professional Themes you can get that are perfect for (video) portfolios, and these themes often have built in customisation features. You can get 'plugins' for Soundcloud and the like too.

I'd say have a browse online through Professional Wordpress Themes, and if you see one you really like, set up a Wordpress account and buy the theme. A Pro theme will cost around £30.

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I use wordpress for dallasaudiopost.com and echocollectivefx.com - I'm also in the process of putting together a third website that we'll launch sometime in the next few months.

I've found it to be a good looking, flexible and powerful framework with tons of support and users. Its generally iphone and ipad compliant, which is important. Also, wordpress has a number of plugins (like gravity forms, paypal, etc) that further expand and customize the site you're trying to put together.

You do have to be careful to choose a well-written template from a reputable designer, but if you do so you'll usually be in good shape. I've had no issues modifying the css and have had good support from my template designers on both of those sites.

If you're just putting together a site that hosts a portfolio and contact info, I don't know why you'd need anything else.

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Thanks for all the replies. Looks like the majority vote is in favour of Wordpress so i may just have to check it out properly. Thanks for all your replies, SSD is an awesome place.

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I use indexhibit but you need to pick up some CSS coding knowledge along the way. Its not so difficult, just a lot of cutting and pasting. Learning curve was steep for me but I like how I could keep things simple. Didn't quite like any of the wordpress and wix templates. Cargo Collective is another interesting website creator. At the end of the day, I personally prefer a cleaner, minimalist, less visual kind of site for my works since it's a listening experience that I'm trying to get across.

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  • cheers for the tip. I haven't got time to learn anything at the moment. Trying to finish three major projects for the end of my degree and am in the final straight. Just need to get something fresh and simple up for marking purposes that doesnt take ages to sort but can handle audio/visual portfolio work.
    – Danny.Q
    Apr 5, 2013 at 1:19
  • Dude. I've been looking for something like this for a long time. Been trying to get off the Wordpress train for a while now.
    – g.a.harry
    Apr 16, 2013 at 20:57
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I am, at present, working on my own website and THIS guy helped me a lot. He talks step-by-step about how you can make your website using WordPress. Hope that helps.

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I use and highly recommend squarespace. ( My site is jeremyb.com )

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as a web designer & musician for many years, i use wordpress, but spent a lot of time learning it and was already familiar with coding. personally i would say wordpress is the best, but you won't get the most you can out of it unless you learn coding & the framework, etc, as mentioned by others. it is possible to get quite far using a pro theme with minimal knowledge, but customization is limited (especially from a design perspective) and you will eventually get to a point where you want it to do something it doesn't out of the box.

imo, the best tool out there for non-coders / non-designers is Flavors.me. one of the problems with these types of services are that you're limited to pre-built templates & you're tied to their hosting and domain. if you want to go eventually go somewhere else, you'll lose the design, data, and domain. good in the short term, but best to learn wordpress & coding in the long term.

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