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Where to get a web site?

I regularly get requests from friends and family members who need a web site for their small business, but I never know where to point them.

They’re not particularly computer literate, but they’re smart, clued-in people. When I explained to one the idea of promoting your services through a weblog on the topic of your services, she instantly groked it, and wanted that. One of the others is a photographer, and wants an extranet, where he can upload photos with password-protection for his customers to pick the photos they want in hard copy.

So what should I tell them? Where do you go if you actually “get” the web in all the ways that we do, except the technical details? Do I sign them up fo TypePad? Get a run-of-the-mill hosting provider like Dreamhost and get them to install MovableType? That would take care of the blog part, but what about the extranet? Do any reasonably-priced options exist?

4 comments

Mark Aufflick
 

I often have exactly the same problem. Sometimes I set up an OpenACS site for them for free (if they're a good enough friend ;) with a nice looking master template with their logo etc. Then they can install packages from the repository and play with the admin. OpenAcs 5.0 seems stable enough that I don't need to fix code for them.
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Lars Pind
 

Yeah, it does seem like something's missing, right? What would it take, such a thing, to take off?
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Lars Pind
 

Guan suggests http://www.blogware.com/ I still think it's a bit too bloggy, would like something a bit more biz-like.
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Branimir Dolicki
 

Count me in! Sign me up!
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