I am having issues getting my business website created. I do not have skills in this area. A friend of mine insists that I can just do my own, using template software that my hosting company will provide. It is my understanding that that stopped working well in about 1998. Gotta say that I am leaning towards trying it (can't get access, of course, to try it out until I sign up with a hosting company). Used to be there were dozens of random site builders available free all over the place. That does not appear to be the case anymore?
So, I worked my way through the pricy companies ($3000 for a single page, with no special features or functions at all), the random guys in Mumbai claiming to be local, the guys who can't spell and couldn't spot a visually appealing webpage if it bit them in the eyeballs, and I found a guy who is actually local, who is not obscenely expensive, and whose work looks ok. Just ok, not fabulous, but ok.
He has been insistent that he does "his" hosting with 1&1 hosting. Apparently, they suck. I am not interesting in hosting my site with a company like that. I would prefer to use Liquidweb, which seems considerably less sucky, is local, and just has a less fly-by-night feel overall. Why the heck does everyone I talk to about this project tell me what company they use for hosting? Seems to me if I pay someone several hundred bucks to build a site for me, I should get to state where it will be hosted.
Are my expectations unrealistic here? I'm ready to tell the guy that I host with Liquidweb or the deal is off, but if I'm not going to find someone at all who is willing to host where I want to host, then I need to have a backup plan before I kill the current deal.
So, please tell me about this business. What am I doing wrong, how much should I be spending on this project (five or so pages, contact forms, etc.)? And finally, anyone have anyone to recommend? I am really not happy with anyone I've found.
