Hi all,
I'm looking for recommendations of site-building tools. My organization serves nonprofits and I often get asked what tools they could use to make a simple 'about us' website of their own pretty simply. This by definition implies free/cheap hosted services that require little code, preferably no code. I'm guessing some of you have reccomendations you also make when approached by clients with too-small budgets.
There's a lot of noise out there if you search for these tools, but who has time to wade through them all? Advice would be appreciated, especially when some blogging platforms have been workable choices for simple NP sites. I know of the following tools that one or another person has recommended and I was wondering if any of you could make further suggestions or if you had any thoughts on these:
- Drupal Gardens -Hosted Drupal, the apt first choice for our community. Open source and can be downloaded and hosted/changed elsewhere, so allows for plenty of future growth. Not the simplest option option, but possibly the most powerful? Almost certainly the one that allows for the most growth, but possibly an irrelevant point given the simplicity of the need. Also, not the easiest to use.
- Wordpress - One of the most popular, and open source and can be downloaded and hosted/changed elsewhere, so allows for future growth, but limited because it's a blog CMS.
- Weebly - Super easy, but not sure it's good for much more than simple sites.
- Wix - Super easy, but not sure it's good for much more than simple sites.
- Web - Yet another simple site builder
- Google's Blogger - not open and maybe too bloggy.
- Google's Sites - not open, but seems workable.
Thoughts? Recommendations? Any other apps out there that create open solutions that can be downloaded and moved?
Thanks for your time.
Sala kahle,
Grant
Comments
Pagodabox has a good/bad
Pagodabox has a good/bad version of this... You can install a site with a click, but if you want to change the files (like do updates, etc) you have to know how to use git.
Also I maintain this: https://pagodabox.com/cafe/paul-m/drupal-quickstart
Google sites or Drupal Gardens?
Drupal Gardens has a free version, if you want to steer the stakeholders toward a Drupal-based solution.
https://www.drupalgardens.com/pricing
Otherwise, although I've never tried Google Sites, from what I've heard it might be a good fit for this use case.
http://www.google.com/sites/help/intl/en/overview.html
edit: After posting the above, I saw that you had already included a list of options after the teaser break, and both of the above were on your list. I don't have direct experience with either, so can't recommend one way or the other. Sorry. :(
A summary of some of my findings
Based on feedback I received elsewhere, there are a number of good options for self-help tools. First, from my original list I'd now remove Google's Blogger (too bloggy with too little control) and Google's Sites (no longer maintained) form the list. There are also some doubts about Wix, for Flash reasons.
This would leave the following:
Easy tools for simple and/or short-term sites that non-techies can use and maintain.
Easy-but-not-as-easy tools for sites that may get upgraded later that more determined non-techies can use and maintain.
Some other interesting options of note that non-techies can use and maintain.
Sala kahle,
Grant