Q: As a startup business owner with limited funds I wonder how much it would cost to have a Web site?
A: If you have very limited funds, consider doing the Web site yourself. Keep in mind that your image in cyberspace will be your prospects' first impression of you. When they look at the site, will they see that you are a serious professional? That you are careful? Creative? Think long and hard about the business image that you want to convey.
If you feel that you are ready to build a Web site yourself, decide which Web creation site you will use. A few that I can think of are SiteMason.com, FreeWebHosts.com, Microsoft's smallbusiness.officelive.com, GoDaddy.com, websitetonight.net, smallbusiness.yahoo.com, Web.com, Homestead.com and Prostores.com.
Each of the sites has a pricing list. There is one price for building the site and another for hosting the site. Each of those listed have templates that will make building the site easier for you. Write your content and paste it into the templates. See if photos are provided that you can download to the site.
Several of the Web creation sites also have 24-hour technical support. Believe me, this is very important. I call my tech support frequently and am amazed that the person at the other end of the phone understands my questions. I don't always have the technical term for what I am trying to do, but the technician can usually very patiently walk me through various steps to a solution.
If the do-it-yourself method of building a Web site seems too difficult, ask around. Talk to business associates to find out who built their sites. Call some of the career development centers at area colleges. Many college students enjoy getting this kind of experience, and they will not charge as much as an established Web designer.
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