#Website builder for beginners

[dream-site-pro-review]

Dream Site Pro Review - Good or Bad?

In today’s digital age, having a strong online presence is not just an option, but a necessity. Whether you’re a small business owner, a freelancer, or an entrepreneur, your website is your digital storefront, the place where first impressions are made and lasting relationships are built. But let’s face it—building a professional, eye-catching website can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not a tech wizard. Enter Dream Site Pro, the game-changing platform designed to simplify website creation with the power of AI.

What is Dream Site Pro?

Dream Site Pro is a revolutionary AI-powered tool that allows anyone to create stunning, professional WordPress websites in just minutes. Whether you’re an experienced web designer or a complete beginner, Dream Site Pro provides the tools and templates you need to bring your vision to life without the headaches of coding or design complexities.

How Does It Work?

Dream Site Pro’s magic lies in its simplicity and AI-driven features. Here’s a step-by-step look at how it works:

1. Select a Theme: Start by choosing from over 200 beautifully designed templates, organized into more than 30 niches. Whether you’re looking to create a site for a coffee house, a travel blog, or a dental clinic, there’s a template that fits your needs.

2. Customize with Ease: With the intuitive drag-and-drop editor, you can easily tweak the layout, colors, fonts, and other design elements to match your brand. The AI tools also offer suggestions to enhance your site’s appearance and functionality, ensuring it looks professional and is user-friendly.

3. Enhance with Features: Dream Site Pro comes packed with built-in features like call-to-action management, Google Maps integration, and social media tools to boost engagement. For e-commerce needs, the seamless WooCommerce integration allows you to set up an online store effortlessly.

4. Publish and Optimize: Once you’re happy with the design, you can publish your site with a single click. Dream Site Pro handles all the technical details, ensuring your website is fast, secure, and optimized for SEO.

5. Manage and Grow: The platform includes advanced lead management and analytics tools, helping you track performance and refine your strategies. Plus, with the built-in autoresponder integration, you can automate your email marketing to nurture leads and drive conversions.

Why Choose Dream Site Pro?

AI-Powered Efficiency: Dream Site Pro leverages AI to simplify and accelerate the web design process. From automatic SEO optimization to compliance with ADA and GDPR regulations, the AI handles it all, letting you focus on what matters most—your business.

Cost-Effective Solution: Forget about expensive developers or recurring monthly fees. Dream Site Pro offers a one-time payment for lifetime access, making it a budget-friendly choice for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Versatility and Customization: With a wide range of templates and customization options, Dream Site Pro is versatile enough to cater to any industry or niche. The drag-and-drop editor and AI enhancements ensure that your site is not only unique but also highly functional.

Commercial Licensing: Looking to expand your business? Dream Site Pro comes with a commercial license, allowing you to create and sell unlimited websites to clients. It’s a fantastic opportunity for freelancers and agencies to boost their revenue.

Comprehensive Support and Training: Dream Site Pro provides extensive training resources and dedicated customer support to help you every step of the way. Whether you’re setting up your first website or managing multiple client projects, you’re never alone.

Real Success Stories

Dream Site Pro isn’t just another web design tool—it’s a catalyst for success. Take Sarah, for example, who skyrocketed her website traffic by 200% after switching to Dream Site Pro’s AI-powered designs. Or John, who saw a 300% increase in revenue within three months of using the platform. These are just a few examples of how Dream Site Pro is transforming businesses and lives.

Conclusion

In a world where digital presence is key to success, Dream Site Pro offers an unparalleled solution to web design challenges. It’s more than just a tool; it’s a partner in your entrepreneurial journey, empowering you to create stunning websites with ease and efficiency. Ready to take your online presence to the next level? Discover the power of AI with Dream Site Pro today and watch your business soar.

So why wait? Unleash your creativity and build your dream website with Dream Site Pro now. Your digital future awaits!

[meriablog]

Wordpress

[bizionictechnologies]

Boost Your #business Visibility with #seo Magic #startupbusiness

[marketingtools-blog]

The Best AI Website Builders for WordPress: Revolutionizing Web Design

As technology continues to advance, the world of web design is undergoing a major transformation. The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought about a new era of website builders that harness the power of AI to create stunning websites in a fraction of the time. In this article, we will explore the best AI website builders for WordPress, revolutionizing the way websites are designed…

[spiders-around]

YOU MUST MAKE A WEBSITE

Oh wow, look at that! YET ANOTHER post urging you to make a webbed site! What a completely new thing that people haven't made a thousand masterposts for already!!

• Making a website might look scary. It is Not.

At first, I too thought making a website was too much work. It really isn't! It turns out that all you need is

an HTML file,

a web hosting service and

w3schools tutorials,

and that's about it!

This post will point you towards these resources, and others I found useful while figuring out how to make a website.

• VERY QUICK EXPLANATIONS:

What's HTML and CSS?

HTML is the content of your webpage, the skeleton of it. What shows up in a webpage is what's written in the HTML file!

CSS is the way the HTML is styled; the colour of the background and the letters, the size of elements, the font, all that!

Do I absolutely NEED JavaScript for a website?

Not at all! You don't need to worry about learning it before getting started.

• What do I make a website for? What do I put in there?

ANYTHING AND ALMOST EVERYTHING. Here's some ideas for pages from a post of mine were I was very normal about websites:

You can make a page that's only pictures of your pets.

You can make an interactive adventure.

You can make your own academic blog full of your own essays or articles.

You can just post a ton of art or make a full music page.

You can make a blog and infodump eternally, give book reccs and reviews. You can host a thousand virtual pets and nothing else.

Upload entire books in a single html file. Make a wikipedia for your ocs. Make a fake site for a random fictional place (restaurant, hotel, whatever). You can make a thousand fanpages/shrines about your favorite media. You can upload your own webcomic and make it all like a fancy website and shit.

I could keep going but, for the sake of "brevity", I won't.

• WEBSITE EXAMPLES!

If I started listing the websites I know, this post would be bottomless. Here's only seven:

https://publictransit.neocities.org/ - A webbed site, for sure

https://ribo.zone/ - A personal site

https://leusyth.neocities.org/ - An art archive

https://solaria.neocities.org/ - Personal website with A Lot of stuff (it'll come up in a bit, because it offers web making resources)

https://hog.neocities.org/ - The Hogsite

https://thegardenofmadeline.neocities.org/ - Another personal site! It also has a web resources page and has made another masterpost like this one (but better)

https://spiders.neocities.org/ - My own website, which must be weird to see in mobile . sorry

• You've convinced me. I want a webbed site. Where do I start?

https://neocities.org/

FIRST OF ALL: Neocities. It is a free web hosting service, and it's the one I and the sites I linked use!

When I first started, my website was a black page with red letters and a drawing, and nothing else! It was like that for a month, till i started picking up on how to do things.

Here's what helped me get an idea of how to make things work:

https://sadgrl.online/learn/articles/beginners-guide-neocities

An absolute beginners guide to neocities -- while when you make an account there you get a tutorial page from the site, this one's extra support for that.

https://www.w3schools.com/

Learn HTML, CSS, JavaScript and MANY other coding things for free. All the tutorial/reference pages have live testing windows for you to mess with!! helped me a LOT while figuring this stuff out!

https://htmlcheatsheet.com/

https://htmlcheatsheet.com/css/

Cheatsheets for HTML and CSS, respectively. It includes a JavaScript one too!

https://sadgrl.online/webmastery/

Sadgrl's webmastery resources! Also includes the next resource listed here:

https://sadgrl.online/projects/layout-builder/

Sadgrl's layout builder; not a lot of customization at a first glance, but I've seen wildly different websites all using it as a base, plus it works using CSS Flexbox, so it generates a responsive layout!

(basically, a responsive layout is one that translates well in different sized screens)

https://www.tumblr.com/fysa/728086939730919424/wikitable-code?source=share

Tumblr user fysa made this layout imitating a wiki page!

https://brackets.io/

At some point, you might want to do things outside the Neocities code editor and get one outside the site. I recommend Brackets, because my old as fuck computer can run that and absolutely nothing else apparently, and it works wonderfully! Though I recommend either turning off the code autocomplete or using it after a good while of already using the Neocities code editor, so you get used to coding on your own.

http://www.unit-conversion.info/texttools/text-to-html/

Turn your text into HTML code! i use this kind of pages for my lengthy blog entries that I don't feel like formatting myself.

https://imagecompressor.com/

COMPRESS YOUR IMAGES.

The heavier an image is, the more your site weighs and the more time your page will spend loading. You don't want that, specially if your site is heavy on graphics. This might help!

https://solaria.neocities.org/guides

Some CSS, JavaScript and Accessibility guides! Worth checking out!

https://eloquentjavascript.net/

This is a free, interactive book for learning JavaScript! NOTE: It is very intuitive, but JavaScript is HARD!! I still haven't learned much of it, and my website does fine without so don't worry if you end up not doing much with it. It's still useful + the exercises are fun.

And now, accessories!

• Silly stuff for your page :]

https://gifypet.neocities.org/

Make a virtual pet, copy the code and paste it in your HTML file! You'll get a little guy in your webbed site :]

https://www.wikplayer.com/

Music player for your website!

http://www.mf2fm.com/rv/

JavaScript silly effects for your site :]

https://blinkies.neocities.org/geoblinkies

Blinkie search engine!

https://www.cbox.ws/

Add a chatbox to your site!!

https://momg.neocities.org/

Infinite gallery of gifs. i've spent hours in there looking at moving pictures and out of them all, the ONLY gif i actually ended up using on my site was a rotating tomato slice. it is still there. trapped.

https://wrender.neocities.org/tarotinstructions

A widget that gives you a random tarot card!

https://www.websudoku.com/widget.php

Sudoku widget!

That's about it for now! I don't know how to end this!!! Remember to have fun and google everything you don't know :]

[wojenka]

make your own website today!! ꒰ᐢ. .ᐢ꒱₊˚⊹

this is for all people who want to make their own website and maybe try to save the internet from dying! you will find something for yourself no matter if you can or cannot code! static website hostings: neocities - really beginner friendly github pages gitlab pages website builders (no code required): ! personally i don't recommend them! you can easily learn html and css and even javascript! this way you can make a more personalized website! bearblog- secure and fast hotglue - this one is pretty unique and charming in its own way zonelets - simple blog maker write.as wordpress webflow farmer resources: web3schools - tutorials of all kinds code academy (learn html) - free html course if you wanna know anything feel free to ask!

[wjbs-aus]

Hey you! Yes, you! Learn how to use GZDoom!

Also if you see this post, please reblog it if you think it's good, like I don't think Tumblr's algorithm (that kinda exists) will like it.

Hi, I'm Lynn "WJB" Beck, and I'm here to tell you about an exciting new old game engine that is extremely easy to use for not just making original games, but also mods and animations and stuff!

And this engine... is GZDoom.

GZDoom is an enhanced sourceport of the 1993 first-person shooter, demon-punching simulator and stress-test for pretty much any technology that contains a computer. As opposed to more low-key and/or "vanilla" sourceports like Chocolate Doom or Boom, GZDoom allows for a lot more options, including Build Engine-style voxels, several types of dynamic lighting, and even stuff that was originally exclusive to specific Doom Engine games, like Strife's light RPG mechanics, This means that it can be used to make extremely impressive "total conversion" mods, and even fully original games with entirely custom stuff!

This guide covers how to get started, and a basic overview of how certain things work (get ready to learn about lumps!).

Getting Started

Ok so before you can start Doing The Thing, you need to... install some software! Don't worry, it's only like 4 and they're fairly lightweight.

Go to this website here and download the most recent version of GZDoom. You will need this to actually run your game.

Go here and get Slade. You will need this to import custom graphics and audio, as well as to use text-lumps (which are basically necessary, even if you're making a basic custom level set, and I will explain why further down).

This ZDoom Forum topic is where you can get Ultimate Doom Builder. While there are other Doom mapping tools, UDB is what I personally use, and it's extremely beginner-friendly while also being fairly versatile. It even has a built-in script editor, so you can modify a script and then immediately jump into testing to see if what you've done has worked!

Finally, you need a copy of specifically Doom 2. You could use Doom 1, but in my opinion Doom 2 is better because it has a lot more stuff than the first game, and - let's be real - you'll probably be doing a lot of vanilla mapping to get to grips with the editor before you can start making your big ambitious game (which is what I'm doing over on my modding sideblog, check it out). I'll leave this one up to you. EDIT: I forgot that Freedoom exists. That's also good.

Mounting stuff into Ultimate Doom Builder

Next, you'll need to get UDB set up. This is fairly easy. First open UDB and, as soon as it starts up, go to the top-menu and click "Tools", then go to Game Configuration. Select "GZDoom: Doom 2 (UDMF)" and click "add resource"; using the attached file-explorer, locate the Doom 2 folder on your computer's file system and add DOOM2.WAD to the list of resources, then do the same with gzdoom.pk3 in the GZDoom folder (making sure to switch the "Add Resource" tab from "From WAD" to "From PK3". Click Ok, and you're done!

If you want to put your custom graphics into the game, you simply create a WAD file in Slade, put your graphics in (more on that later) and save it; then when creating a map in UDB, this box will appear:

If you click "Add resource" here, you can then select your custom wad and use any assets, code etc. in your map!

How Slade works

This bit is a bit more complex because it deals with multiple file formats and methods of importing stuff, but I'll start simply by explaining textures, flats, sprites and patches.

Before I do that though, I need to talk about Markers. To define images as a sprite, patch or flat, you need to put them between a pair of Markers with specific names, which you can create by clicking the "New Entry" button:

"Empty (Marker)" is selected by default, so all you need to do is name it. The naming format is [LETTER]_START to start a section and [LETTER]_END to end one; S_Start/S_End are for sprites, P_Start/P_End are for patches, and F_Start and F_End are for flats. You can, additionally, further subdivide this by making another pair of Markers inside a Start/End pair with a number after the letter, but I'm not sure if this does anything (my only experience with it is that the Doom 2 wad file does this).

Now to explain how these things actually work! First, sprites. A sprite is an image that represents an object or creature in the game, and a cool thing that GZDoom does is let you use generic PNGs instead of Doom's proprietary GFX format. Sprites use the following naming scheme: a four-letter identifier, a single character denoting what frame of the animation the image represents (the Arch-Vile, which has the most sprites out of any monster in Doom 2, has frames that go from A all the way to Z, and then [, \ and ]), and finally a number from 0-8 that indicates the angle the Thing (that's the technical term for a Doom Engine entity, by the way) is at. Using the Imp as an example:

The "0" angle just means that the sprite should look the same regardless of the player's angle; this is used for items, decorations, the death animations of all monsters (including players), and the two sprites used for Doom II's final boss.

A cool thing about sprite angles is that you can actually make a sprite work for multiple angles; by adding an extra frame-letter and angle-number after the first set, you can do things like have a monster whose left and right walking frames are the same but mirrored by formatting the sprite's name as something like NAMEA2A8 (in fact, the Imp uses this technique for all its sprites apart from its death animation).

Next up, flats! Flats are square textures that are designed to go on floors or ceilings (though you can use them anywhere, including as sky textures!) but lack the flexibility of patch-based textures. You literally just. Import your texture and put it between F_Start and F_End. That's it. That's how a flat works.

And finally, patches. Patches are complicated, but very easy to use when you know what you're doing. First, put your image between P_Start and P_End, then right click it, put your mouse over the "Graphics" dropdown, and select "Add to Patch Table". You will then be prompted to create a TEXTURES lump; click "Ok" with the default settings. This creates a Texture1 lump, and the "Patch Table" (which is just a list of patches, which I will explain soon), alongside P_Start and P_End if they aren't already present (and a dummy texture). Double-click Texture1 to open it, and then select "New Texture" (you can adjust the scale, too):

Once this is done, go to the top-right corner and click "Add patch":

By default, you only have access to any patches you have assigned, but a cool trick I use in my own mapsets whenever I want to modify an official texture is to copy its Texture1 entry from the Doom 2 WAD, then paste it into my WAD's Texture1 and rename it. This does create copies of the constituent patches in your own wad's P_Start/P_End section, but you can delete those and it will still work fine.

Both patches and Flats are limited to 8-letter names, so be warned.

The actual final thing to talk about is converting PNGs to GFX; this is a simple process, but it can cause issues with colour. Basically, Doom has a very specific palette:

While this can look pretty good, on images it wasn't designed for or that use colours it doesn't feature, it can look pretty bad. For example, if I put this random image I made through the conversion process:

Then it comes out looking like this:

All the more cyan-adjacent hues become more blue, it nuked the antialiasing, and some of the gaps in my colouring are now much more obvious (especially on the fifth character's head and legs).

My point is, only do this if you want your mod to be compatible with more vanilla sourceports, or if you want to reduce the filesize. Otherwise, you're better off just using a strict palette when making the sprites and keeping them as PNGs.

Custom palettes are possible, but like. Literally all you do is click "New Entry", select "palette", name it, click the "Import from" button (purple page with a diagonal arrow on the top-middle of the palette-view window), set the filetype on the file explorer to "PNG", and import your custom palette image (which should be square (non-square images get squished and lose some colours) and 16x16 at the smallest, though the images I normally use are 128x128 because for some reason they're scaled up by a factor of 8, even though they display the same when imported regardless of size). You can even test them out or add them to the in-built palette list, which is nice. If you want it to override the default palette when your WAD is loaded, name the lump "PLAYPAL", which is what Doom's palette is called.

Now we get to talk about text lumps! I don't have much to say. Do the "New Entry" thing, select "Text", and name the file. The ZDoom wiki - which I will be linking to at the end - has information on each type, so check those out.

Map making

This is the final main section of this, and I'll try keeping it fairly brief and simple. Doom maps use four main elements; Vertices, Lines, Sectors, and Things. A Vertex is, well a vertex; it's a point in 2D space that acts as a starting or connecting point on a Line. Lines can be either walls or walkover triggers, depending on how you use them. Sectors can be rooms or shapes on the floor, and have properties such as damaging floors, being "underwater" (the player can swim and sound is muffled), or even having different gravity. Finally, a Thing is any entity that isn't one of those, ranging from monsters to player-starts to decorations, plus some complex technical ones I can't even begin to explain.

Useful resources

I am not good with words, but these places are!

ZDoom wiki - covers both regular ZDoom and GZDoom, plus other sourceports like the multiplayer-focused Skulltag and Zandronum. It has guides about ACS and ZScript, two of GZDoom's most useful tools for scripting maps and Things, respectively, as well as the obsolete "DECORATE" language which ZScript incorporates many elements of.

Dragonfly's Doomworks - mapping tutorial resource. I use their portal tutorial a lot whenever I want to put portals in a map.

Doomwiki - good for looking up monster and weapon stats for if you're making custom Things.

[caw4brandon]

How AI Kills Creatives

Human beings love to express themselves in many unique ways. From dance, to singing, to creative writing and of course, by art. Artists wrestle everyday to stay relevant to the masses while doing their favorite hobbies to earn a living.

This however may become null and void as the art community is facing another difficult challenge that could put them into jeopardy. The answer as to what can pose a danger to our beloved creative types is the hot topic for this Wednesday's piece. Let's discuss the complex situation of AI Art.

- Being a Creative Online -

For as long as I can remember, Creative work is either something industrial for advertisements or for entertainment, like comic books or animated shows. Often times, it involves expressive and also very dead people of influence like [Van Gogh], [Picasso] and [Da Vinci]

This however changed when the world was introduced to the internet. Allowing creative work to be presented to the masses, pass the borders and beyond. A timeless time capsule of creativity that can reach places traditional methods failed to do at rapid speeds.

Places like [Artstation], [DeviantArt], [Behance] and [Pixvi] are some of the most popular websites where aspiring artists can produce and express their craft to be shared and may potentially, give them the confidence to do commissions. These sites laid out a platform that can attract beginners and professionals alike for a chance to find an audience and develop themselves. This however, doesn’t mean an easy climb.

Creators need to combat against the algorithm and the occasional critics of these respective sites to be recognized. Creators need to claw their way out of the crowds to be graced by algorithm which means, they probably need to churn out backlogs of content to be seen and favored.

- Rise of The AIs -

A few years ago, I stumbled across a program called [Artbreeder]

Its a free to use program that allows you to create close to realistic portraits or stylized artworks by using a base picture and some photo manipulation for the desired effect. 

I myself have also used Artbreeder to create a version of my character; Sadie mac Lir based on the game version of her in HPHM.

Around that time, there was also the discovery of the mix and match dress up site by the name of [Picrew] which I too have used on more than one occasion. As time went on, better and smarter programs start appearing. Thus, allowing the masses to create scuffed or impressive images of whatever they so wish. From OCs to potential future babies to fiction turned real characters. 

At frightening speeds, AI programs created by intelligent software and application builders have grown to observe and steal from artists in various parts of the world to produce excellent works of art within seconds. Thus, threatening the very livelihoods of those who produce art as a job.

Enter the most controversial AI Art program [Lensa AI by Prisma Labs] Who is accused by multiple professional artists for committing art theft. Using the styles, compositions and signatures of said artists to reproduce works under the program's watermark.

- This is Art Theft! -

First, let's make a few things clear. I am not an expert to the subject of AI Art Theft but I highly recommend reading these few posts by better experts who can explain things better than me.

You can read [Megrae's Post] and [Jonlamart's Post] to gain a better understanding of the situation. From here on out however, I will be using my own words to breakdown how this can potentially kill the Creative community at large in the long run. Including us little guys.

To loosely summarize, the application takes a massive data collection of posts created by professional artists to be learned and recreated. Infamously, the application uses works of art by the late [Kim Jung Gi US] and others without the respective artist's permission to gain traffic and profit.

The disturbing factor in question, is that the developers of Lensa AI created this application with data that is NOT CONSENTED for such use. The program blatantly steals the artistic skills and styles of the Creative, allowing instant results via prompts which puts Creatives into obscurity. And, this is just the beginning.

Heaven knows, if the big guys in this industry are not safe from this AI. The time will come, where even small time artists will suffer such a fate.

Worst still, it places the general world view that the art community is an irrelevant industry. It takes away the trouble and cost of doing commissions and requests be a lot more to the AI's favor.

Looking into it further, a video essay by [Ana Isabel] (Which I highly recommend you watch as well) showed several other AI programs that has gotten better into writing articles via processing a database of samples and a few keywords. Thus, removing the need for a creative writer. (Like I am right now) 

What we are looking at right now is, for the first time in history. We are at odds of replacing Creatives from job opportunities. With these programs available, the phrase "Any Tom, Dick and Harry can do it" has gotten too close for comfort.

- Arguments Against AI Art -

Of course, the application can't work without us Creatives feeding the program samples and data. In some way, it still requires some form of human creativity to feed it data and develop and it also requires a little bit of luck to trigger the right prompt.

As stated in Ana Isabel’s video, some artists welcome the AI as an additional tool to help lay some groundwork for the artist to improve and build upon. Which creates a new label; [CyberArtist] or Cyborg Artist. 

Their argument is that the AI can be a helpful tool to conceptualize ideas as a first draft in productions or help with small time gigs such as promotional art or E-flyers. These Cyborg Artists also pointed out that AI Art will set a unique benchmark for what “good art” actually is, focusing more on the concept/ prompt than the process of creation.

Tempting as it may to say the world cares more about the idea than the craft. This is still detrimental to small timers or freelancers who want to pursue art as a profession with their own new ideas. It can discourage new and rising artists from chasing their ventures as they will be aware of the competition upon them.  

The comment; “it won't happen because, MY art is not that great" is not the point. If I were to guess. The AI will absorb any artwork that emits a large following and activity as food for the AI to feed and replicate which might even include doodles if left unchecked.

Although, not all hope is lost. As with these new improvements arise new problems. For that, new laws and new policies are being made to combat this troubling issue. Though not effective, it does raise the awareness. What is very important is that the general public must be made aware of such an issue. The world still looks down on Creatives, and sees their work as still "just a hobby" which is why this awareness needs to be raised and why we need to prove we are better.

On a hopeful note, AI is but an imitation of what is considered as great art but the one thing it can't ever do is produce Personal Art. It can't emote the hard hours spent, the process of improvement, the personalized charm, and the very heart that the artist cares about the audience.

That is something the AI CAN’T ever do. Its easy to feel fear knowing that the days as a Creative is numbered now that everyone can have access to such a program and to some, it may even be disheartening. But be aware that the True Value of an artist is the heart they have to share their craft. To show the imperfections and to do so anyway because they believe it inspires people. That is perhaps, what AI Art can’t ever kill.

To give because they enjoy the fun of it.

Thanks for reading

- Caw4B -

[theneighborhoodwatch]

Hi! Gonna start off and say that I love the work you're doing with the Welcome Home neocities website! It's perfectly stylized for the project/puppet show and I can see the work you're putting into it.

I'd love to learn how to make my own neocities website (for fun? For a personal project??), so I was wondering if you could provide some tips and/or pointers for a first-timer.

Thank you!

HAHA well first of all i'm flattered that someone would think i'm skilled enough to be giving pointers in the first place. i still consider myself a novice when it comes to web design (for example, if you're wondering why every page on welcome to welcome home has its own CSS, it's because CSS is Way harder for me to wrap my head around than HTML) so i can't give any Super advanced tips, but i can at least write about what's helped me so far:

GUIDES. neocities has its own tutorial and list of HTML/CSS resources, but user-made guides are your best friend when it comes to figuring out where to go from there. a.n. lucas and pauli kohberger both have really good guides for beginners, but for the more advanced stuff, i found myself referencing the resources on solaria's webspace and sadgrl.online the most. w3schools is also very helpful when it comes to answering more specific questions like "how do i use two different fonts on the same page?" (and probably more.) if all else fails, then usually just googling "how to (x) in HTML" or "how to (x) in CSS" will yield at least one useful result. for making your website more accessible, there's the accessible net directory and this masterpost by foxpunk on tumblr.

it sounds obvious, but it helps to have a solid idea of what kind of site you want to build before you actually dive in, and then snoop around on neocities to get an idea of how other users approach the same topic. for example, i got the idea to start a welcome home wiki on neocities after being reminded of the 8:11 wiki on the same site, and then i spent a couple days just looking up stuff like "wiki" or "fansite" on neocities and then clicking on any page that caught my attention to study it.

layouts! there's no shame in using a premade one, and you can even learn more about HTML/CSS in real time just by messing around with the base code before implementing any intentional changes. sadgrl.online's layout builder is a VERY popular choice, since you can already do a lot with the basic options it offers and it's easy to further customize once you have it set up on your page; it's what i used to make welcome to welcome home. sadgrl.online's webmaster links also feature a bunch of other options under the "layouts" tag, and if none of those work for you, then you can even find something just by looking up template/templates/layout/layouts/HTML/CSS on neocities itself.

side note: if you're reading this and you want to make a wiki then you can also use this wikitable code. it came out after i had already established the Look of welcome to welcome home, so i probably won't implement it any time soon, but i TOTALLY WOULD HAVE if it was around when i first set the site up.

you can scale images up or down using percentage, with 100% being the image's default size. i don't know how helpful or acceptable that is, but i use it a lot.

don't feel pressured to get everything done at once, even if you expect people to be visiting your site frequently. usually if you just slap on an "under construction" gif or even just write "hey this site is still under construction" then people will understand. i don't think i've ever seen anyone get super huffy about slow updates on neocities, anyway.

EDIT: OH. GRAPHICS. i mention all of these on welcome to welcome home's front page but i Also wanted to note them here: betty's graphics and websets by lynn both have HUGE collections of background tiles and other graphics that work especially well if you're going for that old web charm. i also like to use this mirror of patterncooler for backgrounds bc of the customization options. you can also make your own background tile and then use a seamless tile maker like this if all else fails.

EDIT 2: ALSO. obviously. do not be like me and use discord or any other chat client as a filehost, no matter how promising it looks, because one day you WILL get a very nasty surprise when the request signature on those urls expire and the images are no longer accessible on other sites. there are a myriad of other filehosts out there, but personally i recommend file garden (and also donating to file garden if you can, even if only for a couple months. i know i said that just yesterday, but if it gets more folks to subscribe then i'm gonna keep saying it.)

[naoiikumo]

Project to create a game together to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Len’en!!!

※This article uses machine translation. It may contain mistranslations.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Len'en! To commemorate this anniversary, let's create a game to celebrate together with everyone who loves Len'en Let's make a game to celebrate together with everyone who loves Len'en.

○Game Contents ・Anyone can play this looking for mistakes game. ・The game will be published on 「ふりーむ」 (but it may also be published on BOOTH or 「夢現」). ・There is a short story mode. ・The production software is Tyrano Builder.

○Recruitment details ■looking for mistakes Illustration ・Mistakes are limited to 3~5 　Mistakes of a few pixels are not allowed. ・Size is 620×780 (If you want to use gore or horror expressions, please contact us!) ・Please refrain from depicting anything that would reveal the gender (breasts, etc.). ・Illustrations using image-generating AI for backgrounds or characters, or illustrations drawn by others are not acceptable. 　(AI may not be accepted by some websites.) ・Multiple characters and multiple pictures are OK! ・Monochrome is OK! ・The Daijin version of the Len'en cannot be published this time. ・Remakes of past works are allowed! 　It is not acceptable to submit past work in its entirety!

■BGM ・No loops or with loops are acceptable! 　(Please let us know if looping is allowed or not when you submit your work.) ・Please use OGG or m4a format. 　(MP3 is also acceptable, but we will have to convert it to OGG since it may not sound when played in a browser.) ・We do not accept BGM arrangements created by others! ・Multiple songs are OK! ・The length of the song is up to you. (Over 30 minutes is not acceptable due to capacity issues.) ・The Daijin version of the Len'en cannot be published this time. ・Remakes of past works are allowed! 　It is not acceptable to submit past work in its entirety!

You can participate only in illustrations or only in BGM! (Of course, you can participate in both!) It doesn't matter how long or when you got into Len'en. Even if you are a beginner, no problem! The purpose of this event is to celebrate the 10th anniversary together with everyone.

○How to participate in the project ・Please send a DM to NaoiIkumo's account on Tumbler or Twitter (currently X), informing him of your participation in the project, and submit your illustration or background music. ・Please use Google Drive for submission.

○What we would like you to write when submitting ・Your name ・Please write your production comments on the submission and your thoughts on Len'en. (Of course, comments that are offensive to individuals or groups are not acceptable!)

・If you provide background music, please include the name of the background music and the name of the original music!

○Application period From September 1 to October 31 Submissions after October 31 will not be accepted.

○Other Notes ・In case of illness of the organizer, the open date may be postponed.Please understand this in advance. ・If there are any problems with the submitted materials, we may withdraw the publication. ・Please inform us of your withdrawal by October 31 as well as the application period above. ・The order of publication and credit will be in the order of submission. ・If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to ask us on Twitter or in the comments of this article.

postscript(2023．09.02) Q.do you accept traditionally drawn art?

A. I don't know what exactly you mean by "traditionally drawn art" but as long as there are no expressions that make fun of groups, individuals, or cultures, it is OK!

If you have any questions, use the message and question functions to ask!

[meriablog]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2itssa-QLc

Elementor How To Create A Website New 2024 - YouTube

Elementor How To Create A Website New 2024 - YouTube

Elementor How To Create A Website New 2024 - YouTube

Elementor How To Create A Website New 2024 - YouTube

Elementor How To Create A Website New 2024 - YouTube

[dizajn]

Squarespace Review: Is It Good for SEO?

Squarespace is a fantastic website builder for those who value ease of use and stunning visuals. It's incredibly user-friendly, so even if you're a complete beginner, you can easily create a professional-looking website without needing to know any code.

One of the things that makes Squarespace stand out is its collection of beautiful, modern templates. These templates are fully customizable, allowing you to give your website a unique touch. Plus, Squarespace takes care of everything you need to get your website up and running, from hosting and domain registration to providing marketing tools – all in one place.

And don't worry about your website looking good on different devices! Squarespace templates are designed to automatically adjust to any screen size, ensuring a seamless experience for your visitors.

When it comes to SEO, Squarespace has you covered with built-in features like automatic sitemaps, SSL certificates, and mobile optimization. These features help search engines easily find and understand your website, which can boost your ranking in search results. You can also easily customize your page titles and descriptions to further improve your SEO.

However, while Squarespace offers a solid foundation for SEO, it might not be as comprehensive as some other platforms. If you have very specific or advanced SEO needs, you might want to explore other options.

Overall, Squarespace is a great choice for those who prioritize a user-friendly experience and visually appealing design, with the added bonus of built-in SEO features to help you get started.

[dawnfelagund]

Do you have any advice for someone wanting to create a small archive like you did with the Silmarillion Writers' Guild? I think there's a good chance that the way AI is in the news right now leads to more energy being directed towards smaller community-specific archives and I'd love to know more about how you came to start the SWG. (I'm the fans4writers person who misrepresented your post—a correction has been added!)

Thank you for the correction and also (most importantly!) for your work in solidarity with the WGA writers and keeping this issue at the forefront of fandom consciousness!

This is an amazing question, and I am trying not to be too giddy in answering it! :D

I’d say first and foremost is to think about what you have in mind. A single-author archive, for example, is going to involve different considerations than an archive for a small community or a group of friends/collaborators, and both of those will have different considerations than an archive that is more open to the public. My experience, over the years, is that the more potential users you have, the more careful you have to be in all of your decisions. If you pick an annoying platform for a single-author archive, the only person you annoy is you. If you made the same choice for a larger project, you might find yourself losing creators and visitors due to inconvenience. (I say this as I am redoing my annoying single-author archive/website to be less annoying! :D)

(It sounds like you want something for a small community, so this is more just a general fyi for others who might be thinking through the same process.)

Right now, unfortunately, there are not a lot of great options for creating archives that function well as archives, and that’s a discussion to have with your community. Can you make a Dreamwidth community or a Wordpress blog work, even if it lacks a lot of the bells and whistles we have come to associate with fanworks archives? The answer could well be yes! I’m a Tolkien fandom historian, and early-mid 2000s Tolkien fanfic archives were often subsidiaries of the community itself: a more permanent place to ... well, archive ... the works the community was making. The real action was happening in the community itself, whether that was an email list or a forum or something else entirely, so no one really needed a sophisticated archive. When I look back at these early archives, I am sometimes blown away at how simple they were compared to what we have come to expect of an “archive,” again largely because the dominance of AO3 has led people to see it as “default” rather than “one possible option.”

If simple is an option, then there are tons of free and not-free options for blogs and websites. Wordpress, of course, is an obvious choice. Dreamwidth and BobaBoard are options that specifically market as fandom-friendly. Neocities is a reboot of Geocities and just one of many free site builders. In short, for a simple archive/site, there are lots of options.

Now if you want an archive with more sophisticated features, then the answer is less satisfying because this area of fandom has atrophied in the shadow of AO3.

The AO3 code itself is open-source, which means it can be used to build sites that behave exactly like AO3. However, I’ve never used it but have heard that it is not a beginner-level project to do this.

Back in the mid- to late 2000s, eFiction was the go-to for building archives. Open-source software specific for fanfiction archives, it could be installed on a web server and configured and up and running in less than an hour. It is still around. I do not recommend using it as it is now and mention it only because it does have a new developer at the helm who has been (unsuccessfully) trying to fundraise to not only update the codebase but also, ideally, roll out the option of hosted eFiction sites: where you would not have to purchase web hosting but could build an eFiction archive on the eFiction servers, similar to hosted Wordpress sites. Given the interest in small archives and the recently successful fundraising campaign for the Fujoshi Guide to Web Development, I hope to reach out to Tyler (the new eFiction developer) sometime this week to see if he might be open to more strenuously fundraising to at least get an updated codebase available to use. So I’m hoping eFiction becomes viable again in the future.

The Silmarillion Writers’ Guild currently uses Drupal, an open-source content management system similar to Wordpress, but it has been a journey to get there.

You asked specifically about how I came to start the SWG, so I’ll digress a bit on that there, which will bring me back around to Drupal. :D The SWG started in 2005 as a community on Yahoo! Groups and LiveJournal. I was 23 years old and knew nothing about websites. I have a vivid (and mildly embarrassing!) memory of setting up the SWG on LJ and emailing my sister to ask her how to “make italics in HTML,” since LJ didn’t have a reliable rich-text editor at the time and I guess I needed to ... make italics?

The SWG was intended to be a writers’ workshop for Silmarillion-based fanfiction, but I said the word “archive” in my very first post to the group, and people loved the idea, and that was where our efforts ended up going, so I spent the next two years learning what I needed to know to build and run a website. The SWG archive opened in 2007. It was a hand-coded website with an eFiction archive as part of it. This served us very well for many years, until we started noticing that the eFiction part of the site was returning errors every time our webhost upgraded our PHP. eFiction, by this point, hadn’t been updated in several years, and web standards were outstripping the codebase. My comod Russandol knows enough PHP that she could patch up the eFiction code to fix the errors we were seeing, but we knew it was a matter of time before that was no longer a viable option. In August 2019, after a particularly painful update that threw all kinds of errors into the site, we began investigating other archive software options.

We eventually settled on Drupal, and I began to the whole learning process again and built a few test archives. A year later, Russa and I began rebuilding the site in Drupal. We beta’ed the site, migrated the data, and opened the rebuilt site in April 2021.

I love Drupal. I love working with it, and when my job as a teacher is on my last nerve, I fantasize about becoming a Drupal developer. It is very powerful and can do amazing things. I really think you can build almost anything in it. However, with that being said, it is also a huge pain in the ass, and the more complicated the site, the more of a pain it becomes, and like many open-source projects, while there is a support community behind it, documentation is not always the best, nor geared at beginners. I don’t say this to dissuade you or anyone else from choosing Drupal. I would not un-choose it. But I do think it’s important to go into that choice with eyes open to the advantages and disadvantages it has to offer.

For anyone who is interested in building an archive in Drupal, one of my projects this summer break is to produce a tutorial series for building a start-to-finish Drupal-based fanworks archive. The tutorial series is completely outlined; I just need to record it. I will of course announce it here; it will be posted on my website (dawnfelagund.com, currently under construction) and the SWG once it is ready.

Of course, any other content management system could, in theory, be leveraged to build an archive. In my perfect world, eFiction would come back and someone would figure out how to use Wordpress to make archives. (Russa and I tried recently, but neither of us know Wordpress well enough to get the right combination of plugins.) An SWG member (whom I will not name so as to not create any pressure on her to follow through!) who knows Wordpress really well did float the idea of playing around in it to solve this problem.

So ... that’s a lot of “watch this space” for more sophisticated archive options. And this is not where I want us, as Fandom, to be. I remain hopeful, however, that there does seem to be interest in small archives at last and several projects that could turn into something viable.

[managedserversus]

Best Website Hosting and Management Service Providers

When it comes to establishing an online presence, having a reliable website hosting and management service provider is crucial. Whether you are a small business owner, a blogger, or an aspiring entrepreneur, choosing the right hosting provider can greatly impact the success of your website. In this article, we will explore some of the best website hosting and management service providers available today.

1. Bluehost

Bluehost is a popular hosting provider known for its reliability and excellent customer support. They offer a wide range of hosting plans to suit various needs, including shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting. Bluehost also provides a user-friendly interface and a one-click WordPress installation, making it a great choice for beginners. With their 99.9% uptime guarantee, your website will be up and running smoothly.

2. SiteGround

SiteGround is another top-notch hosting provider known for its exceptional performance and advanced security features. They offer a range of hosting options, including shared hosting, cloud hosting, and dedicated servers. SiteGround also provides free daily backups, a free SSL certificate, and a content delivery network (CDN) to ensure fast loading times for your website. Their knowledgeable support team is available 24/7 to assist you with any issues.

3. HostGator

HostGator is a well-established hosting provider that offers affordable plans without compromising on quality. They provide shared hosting, cloud hosting, and dedicated hosting options to cater to different website needs. HostGator offers a user-friendly control panel and a one-click WordPress installation. They also have a 45-day money-back guarantee, allowing you to try their services risk-free.

4. DreamHost

DreamHost is a reliable hosting provider known for its commitment to privacy and security. They offer shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting plans. DreamHost provides a powerful website builder and a one-click installer for popular applications like WordPress. They also have an impressive 100% uptime guarantee and offer unlimited bandwidth, making them an excellent choice for growing websites.

5. A2 Hosting

A2 Hosting is a high-performance hosting provider that focuses on speed and optimization. They offer shared hosting, VPS hosting, and dedicated hosting plans. A2 Hosting uses SSD storage and a turbo server option to deliver fast loading times for your website. They also provide a free SSL certificate and a 24/7 Guru Crew support team to assist you with any technical issues.

Choosing the best website hosting and management service provider for your needs can be a daunting task. However, considering factors such as reliability, performance, customer support, and security can help you make an informed decision. The providers mentioned in this article are among the best in the industry and offer a range of plans to accommodate different website requirements. Evaluate your needs and compare the features and pricing of these providers to find the one that suits you best. With the right hosting provider, you can ensure that your website is secure, fast, and always accessible to your visitors.

Source

[kevinaff105]

Which Page Builder Plugin is the Best: Elementor, Beaver Builder, or Divi?

Are you ready to build a stunning website but feeling overwhelmed by the choices of page builder plugins? You're not alone! Let's dive into the world of WordPress page builders and uncover which one might be your perfect match.

The Big Three: Elementor, Beaver Builder, and Divi

Before we start our showdown, let's meet our contenders:

Elementor: The new kid on the block that's taken the WordPress world by storm.

Beaver Builder: A reliable veteran known for its stability and ease of use.

Divi: The Swiss Army knife of page builders, packed with features and design options.

Battle of the Builders: Pros and Cons

Let's break down the strengths and weaknesses of each:

Elementor

Pros:

Intuitive drag-and-drop interface

Huge library of templates and widgets

Active community and frequent updates

Cons:

Can slow down your site if overused

Premium version required for advanced features

Beaver Builder

Pros:

Clean, bloat-free code

Excellent for team collaborations

Consistent updates and stability

Cons:

Fewer fancy effects compared to competitors

Slightly higher learning curve for beginners

Divi

Pros:

All-in-one theme and builder solution

Vast array of design options

Lifetime pricing option available

Cons:

Can be overwhelming for newcomers

Potential lock-in to the Divi ecosystem

Introducing Element Pack: The Dark Horse

While the big three dominate discussions, let's not overlook a rising star - Element Pack by BdThemes. This Elementor addon brings some unique advantages to the table:

Performance-Focused: Optimized code that doesn't bog down your site

Versatile Widgets: Adds functionality without the need for multiple plugins

Regular Updates: Constantly evolving with new features and improvements

Compared to standalone builders, Element Pack enhances Elementor's capabilities without the learning curve of a completely new system. It's like supercharging your car instead of buying a new one!

How to Choose the Right Page Builder for Your Project

Selecting the perfect page builder isn't one-size-fits-all. Here's how to make the right choice:

Assess Your Skill Level: Beginners might prefer Elementor or Divi's user-friendly interfaces.

Consider Your Budget: Beaver Builder and Element Pack offer great value for professionals.

Evaluate Your Needs: Complex designs? Divi or Elementor with Element Pack might be your best bet.

Think Long-term: Consider the ecosystem and potential for growth.

Test Drive: Most offer free versions or trials. Give them a spin!

Remember, the best page builder is the one that helps you create beautiful, functional websites efficiently. Whether you choose the versatility of Elementor, the stability of Beaver Builder, the all-in-one approach of Divi, or decide to supercharge your experience with Element Pack, you're on your way to website building success!

Ready to start creating? Explore these options, and don't forget to check out Element Pack for that extra boost of functionality and performance!