# I am not Rich nor am I Fred...



## SolaScriptura (Jan 2, 2013)

Believe it or not I am not either of these men.

Specifically, I am both jealous and in awe of their savvy in the arena of technology. Frankly, I'm pretty lame in that area. I want a website/blog thing. My wife has made herself a website, and she offered to help me, but she has this pervasive feminine drive to make it girlie and I can't make her purge all the girlieness out of it. While I embrace her femininity and rejoice that she celebrates it on _her_ site... I don't want it on mine because, well, I'm not very girlie. So I need to do my own for myself.

So, like a good nerd, I'm looking for a very good - but very basic - book on web design. There are literally hundreds of books out there on the subject, but I'm too busy to wade through the pile... so I need a recommendation. 

This site would be a place for me to post my thoughts, post some things I've written, lesson plans for classes I teach, links to audio files (I use Amazon's web storage... very cheap and it seems to work), etc.

Oh, and I'd like to be able to do an opening "video" like Puritansmind used to do... except I want it to be like the classic James Bond intro, except it would be me walking and I'd have a .44 instead of a puny Walther PPK. (Ok, just kidding about the video.)

Any ideas for books to help me learn how to build something that doesn't look like a retard was let loose on my computer?


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## TylerRay (Jan 2, 2013)

W3schools.com will teach you all you need to know about web development and design for free.

But have you considered just doing a wordpress blog or something like that?


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## SolaScriptura (Jan 2, 2013)

TylerRay said:


> But have you considered just doing a wordpress blog or something like that?



Yes! But I can't seem to make it look good. It always looks so amateurish...


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## Semper Fidelis (Jan 2, 2013)

I'm simultaneously flattered and insulted. Flattered by the compliment but insulted by a mention of Fred in the same sentence.

Have you heard of Plato?
Aristotle?
Socrates?
Fred?

Morons.


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## Reformedfellow (Jan 2, 2013)

Why not, at least to get started, just set up a blogger account? That's what I did back in October, haven't been there since because of a work injury, so am not on the net very often (morbid curiosity continues to draw me to lurk on the PB from time to time) but in the short time I had I was able to put enough on there for you to get the gist-of-it. 
Take a look at the link on my signature. 
It's free, and extremely user friendly. I am about as savvy with a computer as far as turning it on and.. that's about it. So trust me, if I could do it so can you.


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## VictorBravo (Jan 2, 2013)

Semper Fidelis said:


> Have you heard of Plato?
> Aristotle?
> Socrates?
> Fred?
> ...



Those other guys sound vaguely familiar, but I definitely have heard "Moron." Usually following the word,"you." I recall it being some kind of Greek compliment.


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## Jerusalem Blade (Jan 2, 2013)

Ben, I have an earlier book by this author on blogging, and it has been a great help: Amazon.com: Blogging All-in-One For Dummies, by Susan Gunelius

It's pretty up-to-date being published in mid-2012. You can probably skip the "Corporate and Business" section since you already have a job! And she gives you options for choosing different blog sites, according to your preferences.

[In mentioning Rich and Fred in the same breath, I think Ben was thinking of the disparate categories, "highly-trained professional" and "self-educated techie" – of which he is neither!]


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## SolaScriptura (Jan 2, 2013)

Jerusalem Blade said:


> In mentioning Rich and Fred in the same breath, I think Ben was thinking of the disparate categories, "highly-trained professional" and "self-educated techie" – of which he is neither!



Very true! Rich was essentially the IT guy for the entire US Marine Corps... so his expertise is not unexpected. On the other hand, Fred displays a technological aptitude usually limited to the ranks of the "super cool" young pastors who sport soul-patches and fauxhawks. 

No offense was intended, Rich. 

I'm not so much looking for places on which to have my site/blog thing, I'm wanting a resource that will teach me how to make it look good.


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## fredtgreco (Jan 2, 2013)

You sayin' I can't have a soul patch or faux-hawk?


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## Reformedfellow (Jan 3, 2013)

You sayin' my blog don't look good...?


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## JohnGill (Jan 3, 2013)

SolaScriptura said:


> TylerRay said:
> 
> 
> > But have you considered just doing a wordpress blog or something like that?
> ...



1. Get a Wordpress.com account. They're free. There are free WordPress tutorials (videos & pdfs) that show you how to do this. I'll also be glad to run you through the setup. WordPress is a "Content Management System". For you, this means no programming. Even my Chief, who claims he's technologically "incompetent" can use WordPress. It's simple and easy to use for new people. Do this first. Don't read books on styling a website. Look at high quality websites in your niche and look at what they do and where their site naturally draws the eye. Then strive to replicate this. A new version of Ben Franklin's instruction on how to improve writing.

2. If you find yourself using it regularly and want to scale up, then buy a domain and possibly hosting. (Avoid GoDaddy like the black plague and Sodom & Gomorrah combined.) There are thousands of good, free WordPress themes and I can recommend some free "plugins" that will make your site look better.

In WordPress, posting something you've written is very easy. You can add "plugins" that allow you to make an email user list allowing you to send out regular emails to everyone on the list. Videos are also easy to link to the site and you can use an image slider (168ops.org | The Frozen Chosen has an image slider) to have images that when clicked goto videos.

The amateurish look is generally due to the theme chosen and the layout of the main page. If you're wanting a page setup like Reformed Forum - Reformed Theology Podcasts, Videos, Blogs and More, then you need to be prepared to pay a lot for it. I mention them, because they use WordPress to run their site. Though they use a custom theme, you can easily find a solid base theme ($45 to $99 if you go paid route) that will offer the functionality you see on there site and you can add "plugins" to get the same features they have. Layout of the site should take into account what the overall purpose of the site is. My unit's site is to have an e-Operations Building with a Recruitment side to it. So the first thing you see is the header tabs and a changing set of pictures of some of our unit members and other Air Guard pictures. This part of the front end is to attract new members. The homepage is geared towards giving an impression of our unit. (The style for the most part was determined above my level. Some of it I don't particularly care for, but part of this is due to the one's wanting the site not really sure what all it would be used for or what its main function would be. These questions were never asked and when I started asking I realized they wanted an e-Version of our Operations Building that would allow us to stay in connection with deployed guard members, drill status guard members, and allow two-way comms between shops and their scattered members. BEFORE you put up a site, ask yourself the following questions:



Why do I want it? 
Who will the main users be? 
What will its MAIN purpose be? 
How will I determine if that site is successful? 
How involved do I want users to be? 

If you can't answer them clearly, don't start your site. Once these questions were answered for our unit's site, then I could add the necessary features. The look is just window dressing. If you notice the unit's site theme, you'll see it's broken up into 3 main sections on the homepage. Images and a menu that's big and shiny and easy to read. It is for pilots after all. It seems funny, but the pilots were serious. Links, silly phrase from CSAF, and another set of images from our Guam trip not so subtly implying that if you join us you can go there too. And then the footer which is geared towards the pilots by providing things they will need along with the social network links. Since we're a flying unit, you'll notice when you click the home tab that it contains links pertinent to flying units.

The guest side will eventually, if they ever get them to me, have videos linked to the slider. The members side has information feeds from shop chiefs, chat rooms for individual shops, and other such features. The Op Boards are actually based on boards around the building with those different titles. The News section provides a one stop shop for finding current news based on subjects. We have a Calendar with Drill, Training, etc. Though currently under development it should give you ideas, even with the parts you can see, as to what you can do with a good WordPress theme and a few plugins. Eventually we'll be switching to an image slider similar to the one here: DefenceTalk | Aerospace Defense News - Forum - Military Pictures of Air Force Army Navy. Your homepage goal may be similar to the Reformed Forums' goal. Updates of new info, etc. Or it may be to have a sectional homepage which each section serving a different purpose. 

Like I said though, if you want some help setting it up and making it "less amateurish" PM me. I can recommend some good themes and based on your sites purpose a list of plugins to help you get it there.


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## SolaScriptura (Jan 3, 2013)

JohnGill said:


> SolaScriptura said:
> 
> 
> > TylerRay said:
> ...



Remind me to buy you a beer the next time I'm in Fairbanks.


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## Curt (Jan 3, 2013)

fredtgreco said:


> You sayin' I can't have a soul patch or faux-hawk?



What you need are some skinny jeans.


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## Southern Presbyterian (Jan 3, 2013)

fredtgreco said:


> You sayin' I can't have a soul patch or faux-hawk?



Actually, Brother, I've always thought of you as a Hawaiian shirt, cargo shorts, and sandals kind of guy.


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## SolaScriptura (Jan 3, 2013)

fredtgreco said:


> You sayin' I can't have a soul patch or faux-hawk?



Brother, that's all you're missing! Get a snazzy pair of glasses, grow out a soul patch and get a faux-hawk and attendance at your church is all but guaranteed to double by the end of the year!


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## greenbaggins (Jan 3, 2013)

SolaScriptura said:


> fredtgreco said:
> 
> 
> > You sayin' I can't have a soul patch or faux-hawk?
> ...



Now, that's what I call regular means of grace!


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## Semper Fidelis (Jan 3, 2013)

SolaScriptura said:


> Remind me to buy you a beer the next time I'm in Fairbanks.


I was going to initially note that getting a good design is simply a matter of picking a good theme but I opted for making a joike, which is more helpful I think.

See here:
http://www.solideogloria.com
http://www.hopeofchrist.net

If you think I designed those themes, I did not. I'm technically competent with many web technologies (by the way, mostly self-trained as I've been tooling around with web design since 1994) but I've never been very artistic. Find a Wordpress (or Blogger theme if you choose that platform) that you like and go with it.

By the way, I learned long ago that the looks of a blog or website are way overblown. Consider two of the most popular sites on the web - Google and Craigslist and you'll see that design does not equal usability or popularity. In fact, I can't tell you the number of Churches that I've seen that sacrifice web search relevance for looking cool and the "coolness" of the site is a self-licking ice cream cone. Every Church website I've ever created for a Church that I attend ends up on the first page of results for its area because I focus on content. One Church decided, after I left, to go back to "cool" and discovered quickly that nobody could find them any more on the web.


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## SolaScriptura (Jan 3, 2013)

Semper Fidelis said:


> Every Church website I've ever created for a Church that I attend ends up on the first page of results for its area because I focus on content.



So how does one do that to make it locatable on a search engine?


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## rbcbob (Jan 3, 2013)

*Inconceivable*



semper fidelis said:


> i'm simultaneously flattered and insulted. Flattered by the compliment but insulted by a mention of fred in the same sentence.
> 
> Have you heard of plato?
> Aristotle?
> ...



inconceivable!


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## JohnGill (Jan 3, 2013)

SolaScriptura said:


> Semper Fidelis said:
> 
> 
> > Every Church website I've ever created for a Church that I attend ends up on the first page of results for its area because I focus on content.
> ...



Content. Google loves fresh, relevant to your site, content. You can also use YouTube videos that are pertinent to your site.


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## Gage Browning (Jan 3, 2013)

Very nice hidden "Princess Bride" reference...


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## daniel.vos (Jan 24, 2013)

Yes, you can't show up on search engines without relevant content and links back to your site. Dave Ramsey definitely understands this, as I wrote about on my blog today: Dave Ramsey on Web Strategy | Daniel's Workshop

I would also recommend registering your site with Google Webmaster Tools to help with diagnosing search crawl problems. URL: google.com/webmasters


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## SolaScriptura (Jan 24, 2013)

Groovy.


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