Setting up a website for free - please help!

quietfool

Hi all,

Hope I'm listing this in the right place - I want to set up a website for my partner's fledgling illustration business so we can sell prints, cards, originals etc, and have had a good browse on the subject but am coming up against heaps of jargon and loads of services, some that charge and some for free. I have been told you can set up a decent website for free, but being new to the website creation idea I don't really know what I'm looking for! Can anyone offer any tips or suggest good providers to use?
Thanks muchly,

quietfoool
xx

Red_Rose_Exile

I will probably get slated by a number of people, but do I care? No!

I am actually going to recommend a Microsoft service, the Microsoft Office Live service

It's simple to use and great value if you choose the free version, getting a free domain thrown in and another thing that you can be sure off is that it isn't going to disappear next week

lozzer

Hi,
Many hosting providers provide very cheap hosting with the facility to build a website.
These are certainly cheap and might be a good way to start.
As I am a web designer it might not surprise you that IMO you could get a very good site for not much more than cheap if you engage a professional.
Best way is try to find someone you know, or a local small business who has a site. Ask them who did it and were they pleased.
If you want a shopping cart then some web hosting accounts come with these ready to install.
There is a learning curve but long term it is worth it.
HTH