Thread: Have an idea, but how do I implement?

Hey Elliot,

As far as your structure, yes you could accomplish this quite easily. Most hosts allow unlimited sub domains so setting this up wouldn't be hard. As far as searching, you could use Google Custom Search and tell it what domains to search so that would accomplish that part very easily. You would just paste the code Google provides on your pages and it will search the content you want.

A lot of members here use and recommend Hostgator and BlueHost and they do allow multiple domains but in your case you'd only need one. In your example, autos.com is the main domain and ford.autos.com would be a subdomain. So only one domain is required in your example.

As far as building your site, you could use WordPress to accomplish this layout or perhaps even consider Joomla if you need something more advanced functionally. Nevertheless all of this could be accomplished with the right plugins, layout, etc.

Now I don't know about the flipping part. I would imagine that would be Flash or some kind of javascript required to accomplish that feature and that's where the costs could add up if you outsourced it. Be careful with too much animation and scripting, however because it could hinder the search engines from spidering and reading your site.

Lisa:

Thanks for getting back. So now I am attempting to reply. When you mentioned Google Custom Search, is that regarding each sub-domain aggregating per Ford or Chevy or what ever or is that regarding the box where someone who doesn't find something they like can place a word in a box... such as Mustang or Explorer?
Sorry, but that confused me a bit. Is there and or what is the difference between an aggregator site and a box which someone can place a word in..."Mustang...Explorer"... which aggregates just for the specific type of vehicle?

I think I now have confused myself. And did you have any thoughts on polling?

Thanks again.

Elliot

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the newspaper animation. It won't add much value to your site, and like Lisa said, it may cause problems for search engines, especially if you're using AJAX or Flash. Remember, content is king, not fancy effects.

For polls, you can use WordPress plugins. They are free add-ons that come with the script (if you decide to use WordPress). The great thing about WordPress, for almost any task/feature you need, just search for a plugin and no doubt there's already one that has been created. So you install the plugin and boom, there's your new feature.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure I understand what you're trying to do with search. Google Custom Search is just a simple search box that you see at the top right corner of this site that will search any domain or sub domain that you want and it produces the results on another page.

Lisa can you e-mail me again? I tried to e-mail you back about what was deleted but it said your in-box was full? I also don't know how to private message you here on the forums...

Originally Posted by lisa

For polls, you can use WordPress plugins. They are free add-ons that come with the script (if you decide to use WordPress). The great thing about WordPress, for almost any task/feature you need, just search for a plugin and no doubt there's already one that has been created. So you install the plugin and boom, there's your new feature.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure I understand what you're trying to do with search. Google Custom Search is just a simple search box that you see at the top right corner of this site that will search any domain or sub domain that you want and it produces the results on another page.

Originally Posted by JATomlinson

Lisa can you e-mail me again? I tried to e-mail you back about what was deleted but it said your in-box was full? I also don't know how to private message you here on the forums...

That's odd. My inbox is not full and I'm getting emails from others. I'll try again.

Originally Posted by lisa

That's odd. My inbox is not full and I'm getting emails from others. I'll try again.

I tried again and got the mailer daemon failure notice again. Didnt deliver.jpg

I wanted to ask Lisa, is your blog.2createawebsite.com subdomain forwarding to 2createawebsite.com/blog/index ??

I know subdomains can be set up to forward to any directory and I'm just curious about your site architecture

Originally Posted by Darren

I wanted to ask Lisa, is your blog.2createawebsite.com subdomain forwarding to 2createawebsite.com/blog/index ??

I know subdomains can be set up to forward to any directory and I'm just curious about your site architecture

No You can check this by simply viewing her website. WordPress is installed on a subdomain blog.website.com

Originally Posted by Elliot

First, being brand new on the site, I attempted to post this, but then it said I was not logged in... so if for what ever reason this shows up twice, I am sorry about that.

Here we go. I have an idea for a website and would like some advice on getting started. Here is an example: Let's say I wanted to create an aggregation site regarding (example only) automobiles. Could I get a domain name... let's say and again this is only an example name... autos.com? Then could I get subdomains, let's say... and again only examples..... Fords.autos.com.... Chevys.autos.com....GMCS.autos.com... etc? Now let's say someone went to Fords.autos.com but didn't see the information they wanted. Let's say they wanted to see something about Ford Mustangs or Ford Explorers. Could I put a box on the subdomain website that the user could place the word Mustangs or Explorers in, and it would search all the sites that I had linked too or was getting information from and it would pull articles on Mustangs or Explorers? Does that make sense?

Next, I would like to make the pages flip and appear like a newspaper. I would also like to put some sort of polling feature on the site. Example: on the Ford site, which Ford is your personal favorite: Mustang, Explorer, Taurus, or what ever I put down. I would like the poll to show how many people took it and what the results were.

I would also like to place a couple ads on each page, suggestions?

Lastly, I noticed different hosting companies have different features... how many domains one can have, emails, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions or has had good luck with a certain host? And, likely most importantly, can this be done on a budget? What would something like this cost to build?

Thanks for any suggestions. I hope this isn't to much, but it is something I would like to attempt, there is just so much information out there on the wet that for a newbie, it seems overwhelming.

Again Thanks!

Sub domains can absolutely have their own search boxes just for the search of that particular sub domain. Google custom search would be ideal to use and you can tell it what domains or sub domains to return results from.

How would the pages flip? Can you give an example of specifically what you want to achieve? Would the person click an arrow at the bottom of the page? Would the click an arrow that's off to the left or right (like in a kindle). Is their another website that does this? This could be done but it's a very strange request.

Polls are super easy. Do a search for "website polls" etc. If you're using WordPress there are tons of plug-ins that make this feature a reality.

Can this be done on a budget? SURE! But you're probably going to have to give up that idea of "fliping" as visitors explore your website. Websites cost around $500-1,000 to have someone build and design a website for you.

First, being brand new on the site, I attempted to post this, but then it said I was not logged in... so if for what ever reason this shows up twice, I am sorry about that.

It happens when you're new ;-). Just check off the Remember Me tick box when you log in and it won't happen again.

Here we go. I have an idea for a website and would like some advice on getting started. Here is an example: Let's say I wanted to create an aggregation site regarding (example only) automobiles. Could I get a domain name... let's say and again this is only an example name... autos.com?

You can get whatever domains are presently available. Domain names based on single and most double words are sold out! Use Domainsbot.com to find out what is available fast.

Then could I get subdomains, let's say... and again only examples..... Fords.autos.com.... Chevys.autos.com....GMCS.autos.com... etc?

You can make sub domains through the control panel of your hosting company. I know you're giving an example but may I caution you against using any brandnames in your domain name.Use http://www.copyright.gov for confirming whether a name has a copyright or not.

Now let's say someone went to Fords.autos.com but didn't see the information they wanted. Let's say they wanted to see something about Ford Mustangs or Ford Explorers. Could I put a box on the subdomain website that the user could place the word Mustangs or Explorers in, and it would search all the sites that I had linked too or was getting information from and it would pull articles on Mustangs or Explorers? Does that make sense?

Yes makes sense, you're already ahead of the game :-). You need to use a search box on your site - use these keywords - "how to make a search box to search your site" and look through the search results in Google.

Next, I would like to make the pages flip and appear like a newspaper. I would also like to put some sort of polling feature on the site. Example: on the Ford site, which Ford is your personal favorite: Mustang, Explorer, Taurus, or what ever I put down. I would like the poll to show how many people took it and what the results were.

Don't know about flipping webpages. If you're building a WordPress site which is the easiest and best, you can use this WordPress plugin - http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-polls

I would also like to place a couple ads on each page, suggestions?

Again, Wordpress comes to the rescue! You will find sidebar widgets in most Wordpress themes into which you can insert your ad code. You'll find plenty of banner creators online - just do a search for it.

Lastly, I noticed different hosting companies have different features... how many domains one can have, emails, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions or has had good luck with a certain host? And, likely most importantly, can this be done on a budget? What would something like this cost to build?

Hostgator is the best. People also use Bluehost, Fatcow and many others. Whichever hosting company you decide on, look for deals online. I've never paid published tariff for almost all products that I have bought online - thanks to coupons! All hosting companies have 2-3 different plans including one for a single domain and one for unlimited domains. Take the unlimited domains package.

Thanks for any suggestions. I hope this isn't to much, but it is something I would like to attempt, there is just so much information out there on the wet that for a newbie, it seems overwhelming.

It happened to me when I was a newbie many years ago. That is why I make it a point to help newbies. Websitebabble is especially newbie friendly and the Admin of this forum, Lisa Irby has an entire YouTube channel devoted to newbie related topics(http://www.youtube.com/user/lisa3876 - even "oldbies" can get quite a few tips from them :-)). Also her site How to Create a Website - Free & Easy Tutorial for Beginners is the top site for building websites with tens of thousands of people visiting it and learning how to build a website. Highly recommended that you take a look too!

Originally Posted by DavidIsMyName

No You can check this by simply viewing her website. WordPress is installed on a subdomain blog.website.com

This is what I want to do. I need to set up a record within my domain's zone file and point to a separate server, which is where I will have a second WordPress database.

Thanks, everyone this has been very helpful and it appears I would be able to do as I envision. If I may, I have another question(s) and this likely could be posted in a different location, but since this is still the idea area.

Back to my original idea. Again, only an example name, but my original domain... let's say autos.com with sub domains.... Chevys.autos.com.... Fords.autos.com... etc. Now let's say that I have email addresses to a Chevy auto club or a Ford auto club. The emails are not proprietary, and there is nothing said about sending them a link or something. Here is my question? How can I send each email address something so they will open it and it doesn't look like just another piece of junk email or spam? Something that looks unique? Perhaps better put this way. If I have 100 (example) email addresses that I know would be interested in Chevys what would be the best methods to get those folks to view Chevys.autos.com?

A question was asked about page flipping and from the responses it doesn't seem like a good idea anymore; however, what was asked was how would I want it to work? My hopes were to make a newsletter or newspaper form site where one could press, say the bottom corner of each page when done viewing and it would turn, either forward or backward, rather than just scroll down. I know there is flip software on the web. I have seen it, just wondering if it were something that would be beneficial to a site?

O.k... one more. Do you all typically copyright your sites, so that if it is successful it would be harder for someone to copy?

Again, everyone thanks for the help, it is coming in very handy.

Ok.... yet one more. How do I go about getting pictures for the site. I have checked and there are a lot of free picture sites out there, but most of the pictures are very generic. What if I saw online a picture from the Las Vegas Auto Show or something like that, something new relevent etc? I have done a bit of reading and have read that many pictures are copywritten (is that the correct word?) and that there are certain publishing companies that will even sue so their pictures will not be used. Any thoughts? Thanks again.