Simple Website Building

Free and Inexpensive Simple Website Building Tools

If you just need a simple website, and aren't yet sure if you want to get into serious web design, you probably don't want to spend a lot of money. There are several options available that can help you get a website up and running quickly and easily.

If you're just starting, you may want to try one of the free or low-cost hosting options available. While you may have to put up with a few pop-up ads or other limited features, this can be a quick and easy way to get into simple website building. It may lead to purchasing software with more features, but this is a great place to start. Many of these hosts feature built-in website building tools. Here are a few to look at:

• Geocities – This free hosting server has been around for quite a while and is now owned by Yahoo!. You'll receive 15 GB of free space, which is plenty for most basic websites. If you begin to add in more images or other bandwidth heavy items, you may need to upgrade or move to your own server. The best feature at Geocities is their very simple to use Page Builder software. Get your website up easily, even if you have zero experience in web design.

• Downtown Host – If you are looking for an excellent web host with more features and the ability for your site to grow as your web building skills grow, you will want to take a look at Downtown Host. Their RVSiteBuilder comes on every control panel and takes you through step-by-step to create a customized website. With this software, you have more control over the look of your site as well as being able to upload your own logo. The builder comes with hundreds of pre-made templates as well. Hosting starts at just $4.95 a month for 5 GB.

• Google Page Creator – Very simple to use Page Builder through Google. The best feature is that the software saves your changes as you type them. If you forget to hit save, you won't lose all your hard work.

What You'll Need to Build a Website

If you would prefer to build a simple website on your own server, you'll need a couple of things:

• Register a domain name at a domain registrar such as GoDaddy.com. Once you arrive at Go Daddy, the first step will be to search for the name of your choice. If the first name is not available, GoDaddy will suggest similar and related website names that are available. The cost to register your site is around $10.00 per year. You will also be offered the option of hosting the site through GoDaddy, but there are thousands of choices in web hosting companies.

• Web hosting will be a necessity. Your choices are one of the free hosts mentioned above, and some will allow you to use your own domain name, if you upgrade to one of their paid plans, or a web hosting company such as Downtown Host. An average cost for monthly website hosting is around $10 to $20 a month for a single website. Always check reviews of web hosts, as not all are dependable.

• An HTML editor is going to be necessary, unless you want to spend a lot of time learning coding and website language. If your goal is to just get the website up, then you'll want to use a program to make this task easier.

HTML Editors

There are several wonderful editors on the market. You can spend a lot of money and go with a more advanced software such as DreamWeaver or you can download a free HTML editor online, or use a built in editor, such as the RVSiteBuilder. Here are a few of the more popular editors:

• iBuilt
• EZGenerator
• Microsoft Word (Build a simple page and save as HTML)
• Dreamweaver
• Coffee Cup
• Alley Code

It's very likely that after you've designed a site or two, you'll quickly become addicted to this creative endeavor.