4 ms·

I think it's absurd that there still is no turnkey, dead-simple way for people to get their own domain name and setup a simple blog or website. I mean, dead sim

I think it's absurd that there still is no turnkey, dead-simple way for people to get their own domain name and setup a simple blog or website. I mean, dead simple, as in equally as simple as signing up for Twitter, Facebook, or Medium. The power lies in owning your own domain name and all the Google rank juju that goes with it.

delinka 13y ago
I think much of J. Random Public that fancies themselves The Next Great Artist/Writer/Creator also want it to be so turnkey and dead simple that they also include "free" in that equation. To make "free" sustainable and offer writers the chance to make money on their creations, I can only come up with the one solution: allow the site to make money however it can (using writers' content) and then divvy up the authors' cut based on popularity/views. This has many pitfalls, not the least of which is that authors will claim they're being fleeced (much like recording artists complain about record companies.) Regardless, a blanket copyright assignment without compensation is unconscionable. I really hope those writers expecting to be professionals know to read the terms where they submit content.
homosaur 13y ago
Squarespace comes close, you basically have to pick a theme and start typing, but it also doesn't offer a free version. I think no one is in this space because there's no legitimate way to make it happen profitably that users or readers will accept. A domain name is not free so that's already a non-starter for many. If Facebook or Twitter cost $10 a year, they might have 2% of their current user base.
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pbhjpbhj 13y ago
Most domain sales companies I've seen, probably all actually, have a "sitebuilder" that allows you to add a website and hosting to your domain purchased through their service (eg 123-reg). You go to the website, type in the domain name you want, go through the checkout and add the sitebuilder options and there you are 5 minutes later writing your own website on your own domain (but hosted on their server). Total cost is about £80 pa. Similarly going the other direction from website/webpage creator, usually using a freemium model, you can purchase a domain as you create your site (eg Wix). Similar pricing to the domain registrar route.

delinka 13y ago

I think much of J. Random Public that fancies themselves The Next Great Artist/Writer/Creator also want it to be so turnkey and dead simple that they also include "free" in that equation. To make "free" sustainable and offer writers the chance to make money on their creations, I can only come up with the one solution: allow the site to make money however it can (using writers' content) and then divvy up the authors' cut based on popularity/views. This has many pitfalls, not the least of which is that authors will claim they're being fleeced (much like recording artists complain about record companies.) Regardless, a blanket copyright assignment without compensation is unconscionable. I really hope those writers expecting to be professionals know to read the terms where they submit content.

homosaur 13y ago

Squarespace comes close, you basically have to pick a theme and start typing, but it also doesn't offer a free version. I think no one is in this space because there's no legitimate way to make it happen profitably that users or readers will accept. A domain name is not free so that's already a non-starter for many. If Facebook or Twitter cost $10 a year, they might have 2% of their current user base.

deleted 13y ago
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pbhjpbhj 13y ago

Most domain sales companies I've seen, probably all actually, have a "sitebuilder" that allows you to add a website and hosting to your domain purchased through their service (eg 123-reg). You go to the website, type in the domain name you want, go through the checkout and add the sitebuilder options and there you are 5 minutes later writing your own website on your own domain (but hosted on their server). Total cost is about £80 pa. Similarly going the other direction from website/webpage creator, usually using a freemium model, you can purchase a domain as you create your site (eg Wix). Similar pricing to the domain registrar route.