Hello to you all!

[Skybax]

Hello,

I'm new here on the forum, but I have followed Lisa's website from time to time. I thought it was time to register at the forum and get some help on my website skills. I'm kinda strange in the way that I like to do things in the difficult way. I have made a website from scratch, but to be honest I think it's ugly. Never used wordpress, but I have used drupal, looks nice, but the downside is you do everything from the interface and don't actually know how to do it from scratch. Maybe anyone can tell me what they prefer?
For example I just learned how to create a poll in php. But in drupal and I guess in wordpress too, you can make this in 1,2,3...

Greetings,
Skybax

[TechieGuy]

Welcome to the forums!

I create sites similar to what you described. I like to start some from scratch, although I am a coder and not a designer, so mine aren't exactly eye-catching.

Wordpress uses PHP as well, and you can always develop the code outside Wordpress, and then copy it to the designer interface to save it to Wordpress.

I developed my blog's template in a text editor, and then copied the code into the Wordpress editor.

[mchallen]

Greeting Skybax - and welcome aboard!

My website building experience has come on 'a need to know' basis. Being an outsourced marketing guy, I saw how my clients were not getting the functionality their business needed from the web company's they hired. After working as an interface between my client and the webmaster, I learned how to work different programs like GoLive, FrontPage, and Dreamweaver.

Never having acquired any coding skills, I began finding the right template for the task as clients needed a new, or their first website. This worked fine for a while. As more clients wanted more ROI from their sites I moved into WordPress. But still there were design limitations which I personally didn't like, but WP was hitting the target for ROI potential.

My next stop is to blend WP and it's SEO/CMS (plugins) features with my relative proficiencies in Photoshop. That means doing an entire homepage & subpage design in Photoshop - then 'skin' it - meaning have a code person apply Wordpress code to the designs, then I can take over managing the content via the Wordpress dashboard and ftp when necessary.

Finding the perfect blend of design/functionality/ROI (return on investment) is the Holy Grail for many of us.

What I 'prefer' I don't think I've found yet.

So if you find it frustrating at times - you're in good company.

I look forward to hearing where your quest brings you. There's a lot of smart folks here, so if you don't find what you want in the forum - ask away.

mchallen

[lisa]

Hi skybax,

The only way to learn is to just do it, and I admire you for taking the time to learn to do your site yourself... even if you aren't happy with the current results. It's an ongoing learning process. It took me 8 designs to get 2 Create a Website to look how I wanted it. Anyway, you'll get the help you need here. Welcome and thanks for joining!

[William Wilson]

Hi and welcome...I too applaud you for joining our forums...I like your spunk in designing your own site, no matter how the first one or more attempts turned out...That takes a lot of drive and motivation...I believe all of that effort will turn out to be a great reward to you...Bravo!...I wish you all the best...Enjoy your stay with us and share and enjoy...William Wilson

[jazzguy]

Hey Skybax and welcome. I too started designing my own sites..but way back in the day. I've never tried Drupal but I love Wordpress and still do most of my sites in HTML/CSS...I like the control of doing things manually. Take care and all the best.