Steep Learning Curves?

[purple]

Having never run a website from the backside before completely I was wondering if there is a steep learning curve or will I be fiddling with the control panel for months before really knowing whats where? Are some easier than others or are they all somewhat foreign looking at the beginning?

 

[ldcdc]

For my mom it would be a huge learning curve. For some of my friends, not so much. It mostly depends on how computer literate a person is IMO.

Chances are you won't be needing 80% of the features of a control panel, and most of the ones you need you'll only use a couple of times a year.

 

[brianf]

It depends on what you'll be using for your site. I plan to use Drupal, for example, it can be installed in a half-dozen mouse button clicks. From there it's just a matter of learning what menu functions affect specific portions of the content. On the other hand, if you plan to build your site using 1st Page or something similar, then it's just a a matter of uploading the files.

Either way, in the beginning, you'll probably only use the email menu to create addresses and the file manager.

Like Idcdc stated, "it depends on how computer literate a person".

 

[chatterbox]

I found it quite steep

I thought I was pretty computer literate when I put up my first site, but using other people's sites is a far cry from running your own. I made lots of mistakes but there are some great forums out there to ask questions (like this one) and remember, just about everything is fixable. The biggest thing is to back up everything before trying something new. That way you can easily go back if needed.

 

[Lesli]

It all depends on what tools you're using on the site, and what hosting control panel you're using to administer the hosting account.

You've gotten some good advice so far: always make backups, always test an installation before putting it live, and always upgrade in small steps so that you can backtrack if necessary.

Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, so it's not easy to say "This app is easy to use" or "That app is hard to use". Just remember: ask questions when you need help. We're all newbies at *something*, every single day. (And at the rate software manufacturers play musical interfaces, quite often we're old pros one month and frustrated newbies the next...on the same app. [I really dislike manufacturers who do that constantly...])

 

[AbbieRose]

For me it was always easy to start working with a new control panel set up, but them my degree was in programming. So as stated this becomes very much a subjective thing.

My advice would be to use Google. Find an online tutorial discussing the software that you are trying to learn to use and read through it. Ask questions of forums like this, and search to see if someone else has already deal with the issue that you are struggling with.

Chances are someone has already asked your question or struggled to find whatever it is that you are struggling with, so you should be able to find answers easy enough. Google is your friend!

 

[Ash B]

brianf pretty much summed it up. It depends on how complex your site is, if it just a few pages you will hardly need to us the control panel at all. The more features you add to the site, the more you will need to learn the control panel.