When I built my first website a long time ago I had no option but to hand code it. Things have moved on since then but I still recommend that you get a nodding acquaintance with HTML; you won’t regret it.
Despite what people tell you building a website need not be expensive; the basic needs for building a website are:
1) a computer; it doesn’t need to be very powerful.
2) a hosting company.
3) software to build a website.
4) a means of uploading your website to your hosting company.
The cost of building a website depends on what you need a website to do for you. If you’re building a family site, a hobby site, a club site or something similar then costs today can be close to zero; items 2, 3 and 4 can be got for free.
On the other hand if you are advertising a business or indeed running an online business then you will probably want a paid hosting company and your own software so that you can keep the whole operation in-house.
A family, club or hobby site
there are a number of companies on the Internet today that provide free hosting and free software to enable you to build an excellent website. I know several people who have built very creditable websites in this way and are very pleased with the results.
If you want to pursue this line I would suggest that you do a search for “free hosting” or “free websites”. These websites are free to join but be sure what you’re being offered; they may put advertising on your site for example. Another solution is WordPress. This WordPress site is on my own hosting company but WordPress also offers free hosting but with some loss of freedom. Another possibility is Google’s Blogger.
A commercial website.
although a commercial website could be built on a free hosting company it is not a good option because no matter how good the company you must lose some control. Also potential customers may be put off. There are also methods of making websites that may not be available on a free site. Personally I like to build my websites on my own hard drive and then upload them. This gives me greater control because if I wanted to change my hosting company there is no problem. My material is there to hand on my own hard drive.
I shall be continuing these topics in future posts