On the subject of software

Hi Lisa

Here is the web address of a site where you can build a web site yourself http://www.bravenet.com

The site has everything you need to create a basic site (which is free, more complex sites are charged). There is a wizard which guides you through steps and tech support is fast, helpful and also free.

Even I could do it; http://www.petiteperson.bravehost.com

Good luck. Lisa

That may seem an odd question, but I think it is one that is often overlooked these days. It is assumed you have to have one. The first question to ask here is "who is going to look at it?". Are you wanting to bring customers in via a website (is it an advert) or is it to support existing customers? This all depends on your type of business, and some businesses will have a customer base that is unlikely to even consider contacting them via email or looking for a website - although this is likely becoming less common now I do think the question is a good starting point to focus your ideas with.

In my line of work I expect a website to be available, but then I'm in IT! All I really demand of most of these is a few details about what the business does and contact details. Things that drive me up the wall are fancy websites designed by graphic designers that go all look over content - I want to get to the info quickly, so if i don't have Java, Flash or whatever plugin installed on my machine I still want access. This comment echos the one from pdc - be careful as web designers are ten a penny, but good ones are not. It is very difficult to design a good website (it is not simply knocking something up in Dreamweaver and testing it in Internet Explorer - far worse are those companies that show you examples of their work that are simply put together from a Frontpage template).

One thing I would say is that if you do go for a website do it properly. By that I mean get a domain name - this makes your company look better and gives you a more professional looking email address than a Hotmail or ISP based one. It isn't that expensive or difficult - with a bit of research and the correct advise that is. I'll just note again that I work in IT, so this may seem obvious to me! I'm also experienced in web design (although primarily corporate intranets) and considering adding it to my portfolio of service offerings - which I can say without fear of comments about advertising because there are no contact details :-)

...pending...

Hi Lisa,
We tried to run our own site, and although buying the space and domain only cost around