Website Design Tool

bozter on 16/02/2023 - 01:53

Hi all,

I'm looking a cost effective way of designing and publishing a website.
It will be nothing fancy. 2-3 pages of info, all static, plus a contact form and a calendar for people to book appointments. I would also like to add a payment processing system in the future.

I don't need to edit my pages.

And I need some images. Can I use images from creative commons if they have no copyright limitations?

I have looked at Canva, wix, WordPress etc… But most of them seem to have monthly subscription. I have a very limited budget. Do I really need a monthly subscription?

I know id have to pay to buy a domain name and pay for hosting. Other than that, is there anything else I need to pay for on a monthly basis?

Many thanks.

Computing

Comments

  • Benoffie on 16/02/2023 - 02:04

    For anything to be able to take an app like Acuity on your site, itll need to have that functionality enabled. Unlikely t get that at basic level.

    You should be able to get good webhosting and domain for around $130ish a year.

  • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 16/02/2023 - 08:19

    Wordpress.

    It doesn't have a monthly subscription if you pay for hosting through a 3rd party with cpanel etc.

  • StorminNorman on 16/02/2023 - 08:41

    we host a couple of information sites using Wordpress which have non critical uptime with these cheap guys: https://www.dewlance.com/web-hosting

  • Sweet3st on 16/02/2023 - 09:55

    I'm looking for same but with ecommerce. Looks like Shopify is best option, but baulking at cost :(

  • kiwiyonip on 16/02/2023 - 10:02
    -1

    I can make it for you for free on my spare time, might take a year though, as I'm busy, but my name should be displayed in all pages, lol.

  • Obble on 16/02/2023 - 10:15
    +6

    WordPress is a pretty popular option, and as mentioned here they don't have a recurring cost. You can simply download & install on a web host (even locally, technically). Some interfaces have an installer for this also - But not too tricky to install manually, lots of instructions online.

    Pretty easy to learn for beginners too, and you can get free pre-built themes and easily modify, or even a builder such as 'Divi' or 'Elementor' - These have free options which are generally suitable.

    Contact form & calendar are slightly more difficult, but there's plugins in WordPress which can do this for you - Same for booking systems, the booking systems do generally cost money though (Some a 1 time lifetime fee, others monthly).

    To answer the other points. Wix I believe does have a free option with limitation, and then a paid plan - It could work, but then you can't go down the WordPress pathway (or other free CMS). Canva also has a free plan which we use sometimes, and is fine - The pro just has more features which may not be required.

    Finally for e-commerce/payments. Shopify is seen as the top option, especially for larger stores. This can be quite expensive though, and also handles the entire site (So anything on your WordPress site would be replaced, unless you split it between main site & e-commerce). However, if selling products you can use WooCommerce, a plugin built for WordPress. For taking payments via your booking system, some of those booking systems mentioned include payment processing via Stripe/PayPal.

    WooCommerce is free, just pay the transaction fees from Stripe/PayPal/Etc. Booking systems vary.

    Your ongoing costs should only be the Domain name ($10-$20+ yearly depending on the provider and TLD) plus Hosting (Generally $50-$100+ per year, depending on provider). For a small website, don't pay for an SSL certificate - should be included free these days. Happy to help with other questions if you have them :)

    • [Deactivated] on 16/02/2023 - 10:30
      +4

      @Obble
      You really know your stuff! 👍

    • bowlsup on 16/02/2023 - 13:49

      Does obble have payment processing available via Stripe/PayPal? (for those not in the know, obble.com.au provides hosting services)

      • Obble on 16/02/2023 - 18:53

        Do you mean does our actual site use these? Yes - both.

        There's ways to integrate Stripe & PayPal into a website, without a CMS (WordPress, or WooCommerce plus Shopify just have easy ways to do it).

        You'd probably have to use the PayPal / Stripe API and mess around with it to take payments. But I'm not sure how you'd go setting up Instant Payment Notifications, for example when a payment is made, then a booking is instantly created.

        You could certainly do it, but there's thousands of CMS's out there that cut out all that work.

        For example, we use WHMCS which just links a PayPal API key and a Stripe API key and you're good to go (Plus the front-end design).

        May have missed the question though

  • bozter on 16/02/2023 - 21:41

    Thank you all for the responses.
    For the appointment booking option, would it be possible to integrate something like google calendar?
    Essentially what I want to achieve is for potential customers to book appointments from the time slots I have made available on the website.

    I will be collecting payment for the appointments customers may book. Not intending to sell any goods.

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