How To Get A Sharp Looking Instant Website For Your Business

Today, more and more business is being done on the Net, and to stay successful, you've got to keep up with the trend. The days of having a nice little shop and a listing in the yellow pages are over. These days, having a professional web site is essential to staying competitive. Now don't panic, for many businesses, you don't need a big- production web site. You may only want a small stop on the Net where customers and prospects can find your basics: your list of services and products, your rates, and your contact/order info. Quite often, less is more in this market. You may be thinking, "But I don't know the first thing about setting up a web site! This is going to cost me a million dollars!" Don't worry, you don't need big savings or Internet savvy to set up a web site. There are several companies out there that will do it for you for free! One of the easiest online web site builder's is AOL Hometown's 1-2-3 Publish at: http://hometown.aol.com/hmtwn123/index.htm. You don't even have to be an AOL subscriber to use it. Just choose the type of page you want to build, then type or paste your info into the templates and you're done. This service uses all the latest template design technology, and the resulting sites look quite professional. If you want to go even more high-tech, check into Netscape's SiteCentral at: http://www.netscape.com/sitecentral/index.html In addition to the basics, this service offers headlines which are automatically updated throughout the day, and a bar chart you can customize to report your sales information. Other fine instant site building programs can be found at NBCi.com (slick looking), tripod.com (they've been perfecting this for years), and homestead.com (the first of the template site programs). All are free. O.K., so now that you have your site, you're feeling confidant, and you want to spice it up a bit with a new logo or some flashy headings. Once again, you can pay a designer hundreds or get what you want FREE from several excellent sites. The leader in the do-it-yourself graphics field is http://zy.com Zyris offers a basic graphics collection for only $8 a month (most people only need a month's service). You can design logos, buttons and banners online without any web designing knowledge at all, and you can upgrade to their more extensive collection if you need. Spin Frenzy is another great site which allows you to instantly design some very stylish graphics free. http://graphics.spinfrenzy.com/html/index.html A simple page can really be dressed up with just a logo and maybe a slogan line. You can dress your page up even more by putting a string of buttons down the side of your page. Once you're familiar with the programs, you'll be surprised at how many successful sites you'll see which were built with these free services. For really sophisticated graphics, go one step better with super easy and low-cost graphic design programs. Xara.com has a small program that creates outstanding headings and logos. NetStudio.com has an easy-to-use program that puts out impressive graphics and is priced at under $100. You will be smart to get your DNS information from your host in advance and include it with your online registration application. Stop letting the Internet intimidate you. Anyone can have a sharp, professional web site if they just know who to go to. Take advantage of these simple and free (or at least super cheap) web design services and watch your sales skyrocket.