This is something I always think about. My site is currently with Office Live and to tell you the truth, I hate it. I`m on a practically zero budget, but I know the importance of having a solid web presence. I run a networking group and I tell my members this all the time. But I don`t have any web designers falling at my feet to do my site for free. I`m considering bartering with someone.

I don`t want a Typepad (or similar) site, because I don`t want anything remotely blog-esque. I swear I have a design eye, even though I don`t design anything - this is why I`m unhappy with my site. A friend offered to do it for me, but it`s feeling bloggy. So, what`s the person like me with practically no budget supposed to do?


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One Organized Life
Simple. Balanced. Organized.
www.OneOrganizedLife.com

If you are on a zero budget, you are in a bad place.  There are some free themes for Wordpress that aren`t so blogeque.  The only reason why I am telling you this is because you`re on a zero budget.  Check out this page: http://www.wpthemesfree.com/index.php?property=3%20columns&a mp;a mp;page=3

If you have any questions, don`t hesitate to ask.

Best of Luck!


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Arsenal Marketing
WEB 2.0 Internet Marketing for Business
http://www.arsenalmarketing.com
Joe@arsenalmarketing.com

Reach a larger audience!
Start blogging today!
Using WEB 2.0 strategies & techniques!

I second, third, fourth, etc. the motion: go with Wordpress. Forget thinking of it as "blog" software; think of it as content managment system software.

There is an option to set a static page as the first (index) page of the site. Start with a simple, free template then let it evolve.

As others have said, there are many plugins available for SEO, for ecommerce, for AdSense, etc.

Self hosting (your own server or host company - I use Dreamhost) has more flexibiltiy and features than wordpress.com hosting. I Think you can migrate from one to the other though.

Keep it simple and get used to managing a website first. Then elaborate.


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Todd O`Neill
Doing Media
http://www.doingmedia.net
San Antonio, TX

I agree with todd.  I would go with Hostgator.  You pay 9.95 and get unlimited domain names and databases and more than enough bandwidth.

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

Arsenal Marketing
WEB 2.0 Internet Marketing for Business
http://www.arsenalmarketing.com
Joe@arsenalmarketing.com

Reach a larger audience!
Start blogging today!
Using WEB 2.0 strategies & techniques!

At the risk of confusing this issue even further, I`d like to suggest
MerchantCircle as a potential
starting place for small businesses that need just a basic web presence.

MerchantCircle is a directory like the Yellow Pages, except its a directory
on steroids and with internet superpowers. The free listing gets you a
web page with your biz profile, a photo gallery/slideshow, video
capabilities, a Google Map showing your place of business, the ability to
send email newsletters to up to 50 people, a blog, customer reviews,
printable coupons, a comments roll like some blogs have, networking
capabilities similar to LinkedIn, some simple template and color options,
and probably some other stuff I`m forgetting.

You don`t have to use all this stuff, but it`s there if you want it. And
that`s the free listing -- the paid accounts have even more stuff.

What`s nice about MerchantCircle is that your listing can act as a
standalone website until you have the money/time/etc to get one done
right. And because its a directory listing, it doesn`t look like a cheap
hacked-together afterthought... it just looks like a directory listing.

No, I don`t work for this company -- I just think it`s a really brilliant
entrepreneurial idea. I wish I`d thought of it!

Best of luck to you,
-Paula

If you want to stay on Mac, I highly recommend RapidWeaver - it fairly
inexpensive and has all the built-in support for expanding your website`s
capabilities as you grow.    www.realmacsoftware.com

Best Regards,

Bill

Hi Nikole, why not use wordpress.com -- they basically host it for you and
you can use your own domain for only $15/year. I am just curious as to your
reasoning; maybe I am missing something.

Thanks.

TRJoel - lack of features. Read this for more info.
Limited design capabilities, no plugins (just limited widgets), etc.

And ... I hack the heck out of my WP installs.
I just removed a bunch of things out of the internal workings of 2 WP installs today! It had some tags I didn`t like ... so I can do that. I can completely alter it to do whatever I want.

Hi!

I`m currently using iWeb to create my web page. It seems to be user friendly. I also purchase my domain name for $25.00 yearly with free web hosting with http://www.doteasy.com. Depending on what you want to do, tis may be what you`re looking for. I`ve had no problems.

Michael

^$0 Hosting

Simple. Reliable.
Best-Valued.

Is anyone here familiar with Site Build It? It`s not the cheapest way to go but with all of the support they say you get, it seems a good investment for someone just learning eCommerce. I`d love some feedback!

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Sandra Pearson
The Mompreneur Next Door
www.themompreneurnextdoor.com
sandra@themompreneurnextdoor.com