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02/12/10, 09:54 PM
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Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Central MT
Posts: 346
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Easy(ish) farm website ideas?
Hi all. I was wondering....I know many of you have websites, blogs, etc for your small farms & homesteads. I was curious what your pros/cons might be for those. I would really love to get some sort of simple site up for my own little market garden/chicken operation, but I wonder what the best solution might be. Blog? Basic website? Something that combines the two? Can you recommend (or steer me away from) any particular online resources that would help accomplish this goal?
Thanks!!
Erin
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02/13/10, 08:00 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: SW Michigan
Posts: 16,408
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I currently have a blog- I don't post often though. This summer my DSIL is going to build me a website to use so I can sell by sheep from it. Hopefully, it will grow into something more than that. I would love to post gardening techniques, etc. I don't have answers for you- but I will be watching for everyone else's advice!!
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02/13/10, 08:12 AM
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Central WI
Posts: 5,399
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Easiest....just a page listing what you have and how to get a hold of you.
http://script-host.com/self/buyitnow.html
as just a quickie...
A lot of free web space providers include some sort of site building and even blog tools for your website. Take some time, learn how to use them. Look at your site in several different browsers to see that they look good. I use Opera, Firefox, and MSIE.
If you use pics from a digital camera make sure you downsize them for fast loading. Not everybody runs high speed internet. Ease of surfing............
__________________
Deja Moo; The feeling I've heard this bull before.
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02/13/10, 09:55 AM
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Montana
Posts: 1,495
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Hi,
Starting a blog with Google, Wordpress, ... is very easy and free.
You can have it up and running in an hour.
You might just try that and see how you like it.
If you decide you want to expand into a full website, you can move the blog material over to it without a lot of work.
I'd avoid the "free" website hosting places that put their adds on your page.
Gary
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02/13/10, 10:21 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 324
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I used freewebs.com for our web site. Feel free to check it out (I think others here have used it as well). The adds don't bother me near as much as paying for a site.
Any money spent on other things is less for the farm.LOL
Hank
http://www.doublemfarmandchuckwagon.webs.com
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02/13/10, 10:35 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Finally!! TN
Posts: 2,233
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I use GoDaddy for hosting, like $50/yr with the domain name
bought a website building program for like $40 http://ewisoft.com/ and thats it. I used to use the free ones but the ads were annoying and not as profesional. Also they always change things around, The builders they use and what not(pain rebuilding)Also they will delete it if you don't login after a while. GoDaddy works for me, but does cost.
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02/13/10, 01:03 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: BC, Canada
Posts: 1,076
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We use blogger for our homesteading blog....you can actually do quite a bit with it. And, as another person mentioned above, if you end up wanting your own website, you can move things over....
Good luck!
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02/13/10, 01:43 PM
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Voice of Reason
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 33,705
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Quote:
Originally Posted by emulkahi1
Hi all. I was wondering....I know many of you have websites, blogs, etc for your small farms & homesteads. I was curious what your pros/cons might be for those. I would really love to get some sort of simple site up for my own little market garden/chicken operation, but I wonder what the best solution might be. Blog? Basic website? Something that combines the two? Can you recommend (or steer me away from) any particular online resources that would help accomplish this goal?
Thanks!!
Erin
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The best solution for you depends on what you're trying to accomplish. If you're trying to sell something or just trying to let people know a little about your farm, then a web site would probably work best. If you want to advocate something where you have a lot to say and will add to it regularly, then a blog would probably work best. If you are trying to develop a community of people with similar interests, then a forum would probably work best.
If you decide on a web site, which sounds like it will best fit your needs, I suggest that you start with a template. A template is a web site that's already created for you, and was created with easy modification in mind. There is free software available that will help you customize a template for your needs. If you decide to go that route then ask and we can make some suggestions for free software applications for you.
As an example of applying a template, I developed a website for a western folk singer a few years back. I was looking for a western theme, but I wanted it to be dignified (not a Hee Haw kind of thing). I started with this template.
http://www.countrymanordesigns.com/lonesomecowboy.htm
It was pretty well put together from a technical standpoint, and only cost $2.95. (Note that many templates are free. Just Google for free templates and you'll find lots).
http://www.countrymanordesigns.com/w...templates1.htm
Then I customized the template for the singer's needs.
http://desertbreezenv.com/
It was quick and simple for me to setup, and he loves it.
******
PS -- Your question will find its way to a lot more technical contributors of you post it in the computer forum.
Last edited by Nevada; 02/13/10 at 01:46 PM.
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02/13/10, 09:32 PM
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Crossville, TN
Posts: 438
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I have a Mac and use iWeb to do the website for my farm. I bought the domain name from godaddy.com and I have found the iWeb program to be very easy to use.
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02/14/10, 12:44 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: South Central Alaska
Posts: 721
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I REALLY like Weebly.com
It is free, but provides a super easy and affordable domain purchase option.
It has a ton of templates that are really easy to customize, and makes it a breeze to set up a shop, have a photo gallery, or add a blog.
I can't say enough about this service. Showed it to a friend of mine who just finished up a degree in graphic and web design and she said "What did I go to school for?!"
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02/14/10, 12:54 AM
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Willamette Valley, Oregon
Posts: 5,492
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I second the WEEBLY recommendation!
I bought my domain name through GoDaddy and I use Weebly.com for hosting. Weebly is drag and drop easy, with lots of template styles to choose from! There are NO ads on Weebly either - just a little almost invisible blurb at the bottom that says that the site is hosted by Weebly. And you don't have to own a domain name (but its only $10 a year at GoDaddy) in order to have a site with Weebly.
You can blog on it, set up hidden pages, add video, sell products via PayPal or Google Checkout....
__________________
Wags Ranch Nigerians
"The Constitution says to promote the general welfare, not to provide welfare!" ~ Lt. Col Allen West
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02/14/10, 12:33 PM
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Uber Tuber
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Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Southern Taxifornia
Posts: 6,287
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I use www.homestead.com. They have beautiful templates. I had tried some of the free websites but my limited skills didn't allow me to create a beautiful website. With our site through Homestead.com, we have a beautiful website that is easy for me to update. I also get free tech support. The site is $8.00 per month, but brings us business. I bought my domain name.
Our website. www.stetsoncreekranch.com
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I yam what I yam and that's all what I yam.
Popeye
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02/14/10, 03:53 PM
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Voice of Reason
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Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 33,705
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Common Tator
The site is $8.00 per month
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$8/month for basic hosting? Ouch!
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02/14/10, 04:00 PM
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Moderator
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Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Mountains of Vermont, Zone 3
Posts: 8,878
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You don't need to have anything fancy. A single page may be enough. Figure out what it is that you really want to say. What information do you need to have. Name, address, phone, email, what you offer, why you are special. There are plenty of templates and HTML is very easy to use if you want to dig deeper.
A blog is a easy way to do this and is really just a variation on a web site. For blogging http://WordPress.com and http://Blogger.com are both excellent choices. For more advanced use I would suggest http://WordPress.org - the advanced user's version.
Shopping carts, paypal and all that fancy stuff are a bit of overkill for most small farms, especially when you're just getting started with it.
Keep it simple.
Cheers,
-Walter
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/csa
__________________
SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids
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02/15/10, 07:01 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 1,706
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this may be all you need at least to start off
its free
http://www.localharvest.org/
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02/15/10, 08:59 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 33
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I recommend blogger.com, then point your custom domain at it (so people will visit myfarmsite.com instead of myfarmsite.blogspot.com). All it will cost you is $9/year for the domain, and it will be super easy to update and add pictures, plus it will be optimized for search engines.
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