Creating an online platform

Image from The Haze (2020)

I was asked recently how a client could create a website. The question made me think, because really the first question is: "what do we need?"

To try and work out the answer to the first question, we need to ask "what do we want to do with it?". This leads to a larger question "what do we want to achieve?"

Answering these questions in the following order should help us decide exactly what it is that we want to do:

1. What do we want to achieve from the platform?
2. What do we want to do with it, and how?
3. So what is it that we actually need?

We need to consider what platforms might be useful. We may not need a website at all. We may need a blog. There are a few 'best' lists here:

• Top 10 websites (here)
• Top 5 websites (here)
• Top 5 blogs (here)

I created my own website using a Blogger Blog base. What I did was to take this course on Udemy, by Andrew Pyle, and to convert my existing blog into a website. I did this because I already had a static website and a blogger blog and wanted to create a website with a blog in it... so it was an easy transition. For the course, you have to (a) already own your own domain name (eg., www.samyoung.co.nz), and (b) have an internet provider who can provide and transfer your domain information at the outset. From there it works perfectly: and this has met my needs, simple as they are, for seven years.

To create a blogger blog, Google has great advice here.

Otherwise we may need a Facebook page. Or a twitter account. Or an Instagram account. We may not need our own site at all.


Sam

References:

• Google Support (2020). Blogger help: Create a blog. Retrieved from https://support.google.com/blogger/answer/1623800?hl=en
• Pyle, A. (2020). Web Development For Beginners: Get A Website Live in Hours. Retrieved from https://www.udemy.com/course/howtocreatewebsitesusingblogger/learn/lecture/147740?start=0#overview
• thebest10websitebuilders.com (2020). Best Website Builders 2020. Retrieved from https://www.thebest10websitebuilders.com/charts/2/best-website-builders?utm_campaign=ma_thebest10_en_thebest10websitebuilders.com_en-1_b-p^62998971828&experiment_id=1363406155^1t1^265330855643^%2Bsite%20%2Bblog^b&gclid=Cj0KCQiA7aPyBRChARIsAJfWCgL7jg9dCs14m2KIPTteRCR2gBu8PIMJBR_nue5Spa0CJz3WbBwlDl0aAlZcEALw_wcB
• The Haze (2020). Web Service Short Image. Retrieved from https://thehaze.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/web-service-short.jpg
• top5-websitebuilders.com (2020). Recommended Website Builders 2020. Retrieved from https://top5-websitebuilders.com/best-website-builders-au/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA7aPyBRChARIsAJfWCgJL2OfBo8IAjC_-_s6rVdL7w2xV7V1_wNxSMzPS8a78akaK6i_qZQUaAgxYEALw_wcB
• WordPress Beginner (2020). How to Choose the Best Blogging Platform in 2020 (Compared). Retrieved from https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-choose-the-best-blogging-platform/