I have decided to build a web site for my small business, and have decided to do it myself (want the control, don't want to pay for something I can do myself, etc.)

Anyway, I am quite computer/Internet savvy, but don't know how to build a site, so I have decided to go the route of using a web-based site builder application. As anyone who has seen sites built with these web-based programs, it is difficult to produce a quality, professional site...but that's the way I want to proceed, and I am determined to find a quality program!

To that end...does anyone have any experience (preferably positive) with any of these types of programs? What are your thoughts on them (not the crappy ones - the good ones!)? Any other direction would be most appreciated.

Thanks.

Hi clstanton. Welcome to the forum! :standingw

Thanks for the welcome - it's good to be here!

web-based site builder application

Could you post a couple of URLs as examples of these programs? I'm not sure if you are talking about a content management system or something else.

Hello CLStanton,
Welcome to the forum,
I have looked at a number of these programs and was not to impressed with the selection of templates available.I did find a good selection with:
http://databuilders.net

What I did like about this package was the option to up load your own templates in whole,I hope to purchase a couple of plans there while their $50.00 special is on.Jason was very helpful and I look forward to doing more business with him.
Worth a look if this is the type of thing you are referring to.
Tanna

Hi clstanton
You can build a website with notepad..

Having a quality application does not actually do you any good if you don't have the visual development skills to go along with it.

You didn't mention if your looking for an e-commerce site or straight info web site. This makes a big difference to which direction you need/want to go.

I would suggest you spend some time looking at the major template houses that produce them by the dozen. Most cheap hosting shops use those templates unless you pay a fair amount for a custom design.

Typically you should mockup the design in a graphic program using an 800*600 canvas and then cut it up and either use CSS or html tables to control the layout.

Again.. unless the site is heavily dynamic, coding is the easy part.. the graphic design is the hard part.

If I had to choose an application I would use Dreamweaver MX however I also make heavy use of UltraEdit which is like a souped up notepad to code xml, php, sql, javascript etc and is relatively cheap. The downside to Ultraedit is that you actually need to know the codes you want to use etc..

As for hosting, you get what you pay for. Be wary of resellers on other peoples servers as they do not control the server(s). They are in effect an affiliate and are subject to the whims of the server owner. They typically have no say or control over applications loaded on the server, setup on the server etc etc etc. They have no control on the load of server or how many websites are shoe horned in. Bandwidth throttling is a reality as well as server speed in these situations. It is not uncommon for these kinds of hosts to try and load 500+ sites on one box. Obviously they need to do this since they are selling space at 2$.

Let me know if I can help in anyway. I don't always visit the forum as much as I should so feel free to email or private msg me.

clstanton,

I, like you, have been searching for a web based web builder that will accomodate an internet retail store.

From my own research, I have found FinestShops.com (http://www.finestshops.com) to have as many "accessories" PLUS support that anyone could ask. I've corresponded with their support and they have responded quickly and answered my questions . They will also "customize" a template if you do not like the templates they offer (which are many).

They will host and have merchant account gateways for your shopping cart, all the site pages are HTML "static" to be search engine friendly - as opposed to some web builders w/shopping carts that are "dynamic" which cause problems getting found on search engines... anyway...the features offered atFinestShops.com (http://www.finestshops.com) are quite impressive and I would check them out if this is what you looking for.

There is always Yahoo's Merchant web builder product, but you have to pay them a % of each sale... which I'm personally opposed to.

I have not pulled the trigger yet on my second site using FinestShops because of life getting in my way right now... but when I do, I will most likely go with them.

Good luck and Best wishes!
Valerie

I give you credit for wanting to build your own website but you confuse me with your statements. You first state that you want to have the control, and don't want to pay for something you can do yourself, etc. Then you say you don't know how to build a site. :confused:

If you don't know how to build a site and you don't want to pay someone to do it for you, you are basically in a bind. The web based sites you are referring to will not give you all the freedom I think you are looking for when choosing to want to do it yourself. An effective business website is not a ego trip of the business owner. It is a tool for the visitor to interact with your business. It should motivate the visitor to take the actions you are seeking from them and make them want to "do it now". Anything less than that is not productive and is wasting your time and effort to put together.

Beyond the HTML, it takes talent, learned skills and a lot of hard work to be able to create a successful business website. Good luck with your search. Keep us posted! :thumbsup:

I'll throw this out there...you mention that you want a "web-based" solution.

Why is that? Any reason that you are opposed to using a regular software package? One of the previous posters suggested Dreamweaver MX, which is a pretty powerful tool that can be used in a WYSIWIG fashion, and of course there's always (gulp!) FrontPage. The thing to realize with these programs is that both can create some strange code that can produce some problems. If you don't know how to code HTML, you can run into some trouble because if you happen to get some funky code out of FrontPage, Dreamweaver or any other WYSIWIG editor, you won't know how to go in and find the problem.

Personally, I use HomeSite. I hand-code my sites, but take advantage of many of the shortcuts that HomeSite has to offer. I'd really encourage you toward trying to learn at least the basics of HTML and CSS so that even if you use a WYSIWIG product, you can still do some trouble shooting on your own.

Welcome to the forum, it is also my first post btw

You have received very good recommendations. I recommend to stick with WYSIWYG desktop applications than web based ones. If you are interested in a professional looking website, you might want to check out websites that sell templates of premade design. Google for such websites because there are many.

My number one recommendation would to be learn about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) BEFORE you start working on your website because SEO is essential to a successful website and it takes a lot of effort to redesign a website for SEO. This might sound funny, but I loved a book I got from the library called: Search Engine Optimization For Dummies. Even though I was familiar with 99% of the information in the book before I read it, I was still pleasantly surprised that such material is available to the masses and not just to a select few web professionals.

Welcome Alex! :standingw

Hi Alex,

Have you built your website yet? I'm brand new to these forums, so I just saw your post. lol :)

Teresa