Newbie Questions on Websites

Hi Everyone,
So Im looking to take my facepainting into the actual business world now..But Ive had a hard time deciding what program to use to create my website. I have briefly tried weebly and wix, but no templates there really caought my eye. I then called a few web designers advertised on Craiglist here locally in So. California where I reside, and they quoted me around $500 to $700 for a basic 4 page website. Is that really the going rate on getting a website created? If so, what programs should I use to try to create one myself.....

Thanks

I'm using KompoZer right now... it's kind of like using a word processor. It won't give you super duper web 2.0 type stuff, but it works for me. http://kompozer.net/ ... then I upload it to my webs.com account. Webs has some nice templates if you haven't looked at them... I just can't stand templates in general.

Perry Noia wrote:I'm using KompoZer right now... it's kind of like using a word processor. It won't give you super duper web 2.0 type stuff, but it works for me. http://kompozer.net/ ... then I upload it to my webs.com account. Webs has some nice templates if you haven't looked at them... I just can't stand templates in general.

Thanks... I will check it out tonight

I'll second that one, I've used Kompozer for a while and I love it.

If you have a Mac, it should come with a really easy program called iWeb. It doesn't give you tons of choices, but it's free, it's already on the Macs and it's easy to use.

yeah but you can only host stuff from iweb on their special server thingy and they all look VERY template

My designer only charges $150

I use typepad.com for my websites, but that's because I was a blogger before I needed a website and once you've learned one system it's easier to stick with it. I pay monthly but can have as many sites/blogs as I want & I just register domain names to point to any new sites I create. It works for me, but I did take a look at weebly after it was recommended in another thread & I'm thinking about that for another little venture because it easily integrates with paypal for sales.

Plain Jayne wrote:Hi Everyone,
and they quoted me around $500 to $700 for a basic 4 page website. Is that really the going rate on getting a website created?

The short answer is: YES, absolutely. Graphic designers shouldn't charge less per hour than we do, and starting is easily $50/hr, just like a face painter. To pay anything less is insulting to graphic designers, just like when scoff at someone charging $25 an hour. The exception would be barter, a good friend, etc, but that always comes with it's cons as well.

The longer answer is that there are several easily customizable websites available and it looks like you've explored the best out there already. The nice thing about Wix and others is that they are VERY malleable templates. However, you're bumping up against a common dilemma, you can have the website of your dreams for several hundred dollars or your can exercise your own creativity with the templates on a site. Professional looking sites aren't cheap. Cheap sites look cheap.