The majority of site built now still use good old HTML. HTML is the coding language the browsers read to display the site. Ultimately the program is not as important as the code.

For someone who does not want to learn code, using a 3rd party is great idea. I would recommend using some one who is good with Dreamweaver and Contribute. The Dreamweaver & Contribute combo, in my experience has worked out really well. I have designed and built out the site for customers, and teach them to use Contribute to update their site. Usually works out really well.

Note their are other programs that have the same type of functionality, but Dreamweaver is the industry standard for HTML work and there are more people using this combination. Larger updates will be easier to have someone come in and understand.

KarateKid,

Before you decide on which type of site to create i.e. self admin through CMS or static HTML pages which can be edited through dreamweaver, you need to decide if the site will be regularly edited, will the number of pages be increased regularly etc.

If you need only 5 page site which will not be edited regularly and regularly no new pages will be added then I would advice you to go with the regular HTML site without the CMS as it is not worth the cost and it is better to edit the site with dreamweaver. As a small company you should weigh the cost of site+dreamwever software + your time to learn software. You don't want to spend a lot of money for the functionailities which are not necessary.

You can get a site for 5 pages with unique design and flash banner for $1200 to $1500 and it may include your logo design too.

We have mutiple sites where few are plain HTML and other is dynamic datbase driven site.

Thanks,
Bob

A 5 pages websites $1200 - $1500? Wow it seems very expensive, you can buy a template to start for less than $100, if you've got Dreamweaver you can edit, change and delete as much as you want.

The cost will depend upon complexity. I can't tell you how much I would charge to build your site, however, I will tell you that I've never made more than $700 for building a site before. Of course, my designs are simple. I just want to give my clients a web presence quickly and on a new business budget. You can see my designs by visiting my website.

You can always buy a template on line and then edit yourself.

Always insist on pure html (Dreamweaver). There are free html editors available such as Coffeecup that you can use to do the edits. Microsoft programs add a lot of extras that may get scrambled when editing in an html editor.

 

Regards,
Kelly

Hello KK. If all you want is a presence, then go with the inexpensive host providers who give you the tools to create it. Sounds like all you need is a homepage to tell people what you do. A contact page to tell people how to get a hold of you and perhaps some services or products pages listing the products and services you offer.

Once you get up and running, then you can see what it does for you. The traffic it generates if any and what people do when they are there.

Almost all businesses start out with one of the residents creating their first site. Its when you start to realize just how much your site means to your business that you begin to understand the differences in costs with having a professional come in and creating a new face to the world. As you've seen here already, costs vary greatly. And much of that has to do with the size of their organization, their level of experience, how much they can offer you and how much you're willing to put into it. Site design can be as little as throwing together a logo, dropping it on a page and calling it done, to full useability testing and search engine optimization. Doesn't sound like you're there yet, but preparing some of that SEO stuff up front will help you in the long run. If you can't be found, your site is worthless.

Designers vary in what they can offer. Its up to you to decide how far you want to go and to make sure the person you hire to do your site can provide it for you. Obviously your site will need to be created in a form that will allow you to handle updates internally. And pure HTML is the way to go there. You can even edit with notepad. Of course, it is also true, that one mistake can bring things to a halt and without you knowing what you did, will result in more costs as you bring in a hired gun. CMS is great, for the larger sites and companies. Not for 5 pages. IMO. The Contribute solution is really good for people like you. Who don't know much about coding and only want to be able to handle updates. Someone who uses Dreamweaver to create the site can easily set it up so a Contribute user can make edits to copy. Simple.

Hope I've helped some and not just added to the confusion. Good luck.

I am into the same business of developing and designing the website. I can make a customized website for you just let me know your budget how much you can afford and the maintanance cost would 20% of the cost incurred in making the website for a year. The delivery time would be Maximum of 15days on delivering the total inputs from you about the contents you need to put on the website. you can email on iiws.org@gmail.com

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Good luck!