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JoelMarcey

posts: 55

Sep 14, 2007 11:24 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Hello,

I know Office Live Basics would be good for a starter website where all
you want is a presence with no e-commerce capabilities needed, etc. I
mean for something that basic, it is hard to beat free.

However, what if the tools you are going to be using for your business are
all Mac-based? Office Live doesn`t work on the Mac. So the options are (1)
Have two computers, one Windows one for web site administration and
one Mac OS X one for actually doing the stuff that makes you money (2)
Find a similar service like Office Live that you can administer from the
Mac.

So, does anyone know what the competitors are to Office Live are that can
be used on a Mac? Is it Google Apps For Domains? Let`s say the primary
criteria is free -- because I know I can go to a number of pay-for-hosting
places.

Thanks.

P.S. Do you know, since it is free, if Office Live Basics is supported by ads
on your buisiness web page? -- that would sure be a turn off

tikki50

posts: 93

Sep 14, 2007 11:46 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

Points: 0 Vote

have looked at godaddy.com they have a great service. The only thing I hate is all the sign up crap in the forms.

nhgnikole

posts: 2660

Sep 14, 2007 11:48 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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IMO free is not worth it when you can get full-featured for $5 a month.

What are you specifically looking to do? Just a site? E-Commerce? Blogging? How technically capable are you?

I`m a Mac owner too btw.

JoelMarcey

posts: 55

Sep 14, 2007 11:55 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Hi Nikole,

I consider myself very technically capable, a software engineer by trade. I am
more asking this for someone else. She only needs a site to showcase what
she can offer, at least at first.

john146

posts: 19

Sep 14, 2007 11:58 AM ET Quote Report Abuse

Points: 0 Vote

If you need to use Windows, and you have an Intel Mac, you don`t need a
separate computer. You can use Bootcamp or one of the other
virtualization
products out there to run Windows on one of your Macs.

Might find Google Page Creator interesting. You have to have a gmail
account to use it.

Update: I have to agree with nhgnikole that free is not worth it. We
went looking for free or low cost. We didn`t want to use templates, as my
wife has the design eye, but not the technical skills. I can write code, but
we didn`t want to have to spend all my time with web code, as I`m trying
to write Mac apps (and contract/consult). She used Nvu for a while. But it
doesn`t have templates and seems to have issues.

-------------------------

--
John Ahrens, President
John Ahrens, LLC

nevadascul

posts: 651

Sep 14, 2007 6:17 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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I looked at going with Office Live free addition. I even started the registration process. I went all the way through to the last page where they asked for your credit card information. I contacted Microsoft and asked why they needed credit card information for a free service. I was told that Microsoft intents to start charging for the free service once they get enough people signed up. Anybody that doesn’t want to pay for the free service will have to take there website elsewhere.

I canceled my registration and went with Yahoo Small Business. It’s not the best site, but it has a lot of good features for beginners. It also allows you to expand by adding other features as your business and web presence grows, including SEO features. I pay around $12.00 per month plus a yearly domain name fee. Yahoo also works with Mac or Windows and has free software to do a basic web site.

-------------------------

The older we get, the more excuses we make for not chasing after our dreams. But truth is, goals are attainable at any age.

nhgnikole

posts: 2660

Sep 14, 2007 7:18 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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TRJoel, have her try this.

Webline

posts: 687

Sep 14, 2007 7:42 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

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Keep in mind that many of the "site builder" programs are unique to where they are hosted, meaning that if you change hosts you can`t simply transfer your files because they won`t work anywhere else. Also, they are notorious for bloated code that is not search engine friendly.

-------------------------

M Hall
Website Critique Community
International Society of Curmudgeons

JoelMarcey

posts: 55

Sep 14, 2007 8:48 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

Points: 0 Vote

Good replies, all.

Nikole, does Typepad allow you to upload video to your site? She wants to have one small video (2 minutes) that just showcases what she is trying to provide. People can either view the video on the site or download it for their viewing pleasure.

nhgnikole

posts: 2660

Sep 14, 2007 10:00 PM ET Quote Report Abuse

Points: 0 Vote

I would just use YouTube to host the video and then use the embed code.

YouTube`s video delivery is always going to save bandwidth and server space.

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