Finding a Home for Stream717.com for Easy Web Site Design and Blogging
- Rob
- Sep 2, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 23, 2024
Finding the Right Service for Web Site Design and Blogs
The realm of the Internet can be a complex and confusing place sometimes, and it can also make someone feel stupid when you have a biased opinion that if this person could do it, then it has to be easy. That was my thought when trying to set up a blogging site that could have hyperlinks for affiliate programs such as Amazon... but I soon learned that was not the case at all. This is a high-level overview of my experience of trying to find a decent hosting provider and content management system for my site stream717.com.
I am reasonably tech-savvy and thought finding a Web Site Design service for Blogs to create a home for Stream717.com would be easy. I had fundamental requirements, post blogs and create hyper links to partner programs like the Amazon affiliate program... For a blog that could let me add hyperlinks, I could use the Amazon, and media embedding from social platforms such as YouTube and TikTok.
NOT!
I went through multiple different providers and services; here is the quick list. I will provide a more detailed overview of my experience for each one and go into more detailed reviews in a future blog post.
GoDaddy
I had already had domains with GoDaddy in the last from ideas that are now sitting in the closet with my electric guitar and karate uniform gathering dust, so I decided not to wander off and start somewhere else new.
GoDaddy has excellent prices, but their interface is very clunky and changes depending on which service or account feature you're on. I sometimes felt like I was working with Windows 98 using a modern browser. It would switch from new to old a lot of the time.
Using the KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid) method, I attempted to use their site creator. It was so basic and had an inferior UX design that I could not easily create a hyperlink blog. I decided to move on and try a different service.
They have great prices and a MUCH better interface, but their website builder was not the greatest and had limitations. So, I decided that there was no choice but to move into the hosting platform world and use WordPress... That experience is another blog on its own.
Once I taught myself the ropes of WordPress, I bought the hosting service from Domain.com and started creating my first site. The short story is that out-of-the-box WordPress is very frustrating and not as easy as I was told it would be. In the end, Domain.com did not work that well because of server resource limitations. After speaking to their support, I was told to go to Hostsinger.com.
Hostinger.com is a good service, with reasonable pricing and user interface. If you are looking for a WordPress hosting provider, they are an excellent choice, but I am not a WordPress expert, and even with paid templates, the site was too complex and challenging for me to maintain without a more significant time commitment.
I wanted to try Wix, and I did 2-3 times while on this journey of finding a good service that will enable me to host blogs and later expand the site as the business grows, but Wix did not have the features I needed 12 months ago. I randomly decided to try it again (My main man, Keanu Reeves, says it is good, so I did not want to give up).
This time, when I went to Wix.com, it had many new features, and I had a lot more control. It was that sweet spot of easy and techie that I needed. 10000x better than WordPress, and I could get up and running quickly and easily.
The price... was up there, but it is worth it with the amount of time you save dealing with WordPress buggy interface and templates.
Final Thoughts
Time is money; if you are starting out, you need to determine what level of time investment you want to put into your site and learn the tools it will take for the site to look decent. I highly recommend Wix.com based on my experience and skip over WordPress unless you have the time and passion to invest in learning WordPress.
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