Website: absolute beginner

[winkywinkola]

I need a very simple - but elegant! - website for my small business venture.

I haven't a clue how to set one up or the costs that might be involved.

Can anyone give me some pointers please?

I was in the same boat as you, I didn't know anything about web design but I read that Wordpress was good when you didn't have experience in creating websites. It does take some time to get right but the results I've got from mine I am very happy with. It is also nice that I can alter things on the site easily because I understand it.

Although initially for blogs, with Wordpress you can make it look very much like a website with a bit of effort. In terms of the cost you would need to buy a domain name as well as web hosting. You can sometimes get free domain names with hosting which may be good if you are looking to save money. My domain cost £10-20 and hosting can start from £4-5 a month but it depends what features you are looking for. In creating a website myself I've learnt quite a few new skills and can update information without worrying as I know the basics.

Good luck with creating your site.

I'd start by considering your budget. If you want to do it on a shoestring, you can, but if you have money to spend, you might consider a professional service.

Then think about what you want to include in your site. Make a rough plan on paper. Do you want a one page, business card site, 2-3 pages, or more? Do you have any logos or branding to include?

The plan is very important, however you build your site.

If you want to start on a shoestring, I'd think about using free or low cost services such as www.moonfruit.com, www.webs.com or www.wordpress.com.

I hope that helps a bit to start with.

Wow. Thank you so much for your advice. Much appreciated

If you might not be buying your own domain straight away, I would suggest going with Wordpress from the get-go, as it looks more professional. It's also very versatile and you can grow with it. There are lots of themes you can use to make it look just the way you want it to, and there is no reason to ever "upgrade" from it really - Wordpress is amazing.

I have a fairly simple, clean website from Weebly. It suits what I need perfectly. I have my own domain, and decided to upgrade from the free to the paid package (approx $80 I think for the year) and it's well worth it.

In my opinion Wordpress can be a little complex for a complete beginner. There are a few things you will need to change in HTML/CSS to make wordpress look beautiful. Its also originally designed as a blogging platform and would be excellent for a blog beginner but not a static website.

There are other low cost, effective and quick website builders mentioned like moonfruit, yola, wix that are fairly simple.Of all these my own recommendation will be wix ( Moreso you can give it a try by starting with their own hosted domains,which you can later transfer to your own domain name).

Else if its all rather daunting you can post a job with a budget and find a freelance on sites such as peopleperhour. They are also more likely to do a quicker, more professional job than the diy option. Moreso you will more likely reserve your energy for other important small business activities such as marketing, research etc.

If you can afford it, it's best to outsource things that are outside your ability/skillset.

wordpress etc are great for free, but I think it's tricky to use. you could get someone to show you the ropes?

A decent website with basic functionality, you could get for around 500 or under.

if you need fancy things, such as database driven site etc that's more.

I'm happy to recommend someone (no link, except that I'm using him) if you pm me.

oh, I just saw that there is over a months gap between the last reply and my answer, sorry