Vistaprint's "free" website?? or what do you do recommend?

[SaNoorah]

Hi Ladies, Has anyone used Vistaprint's "free" (for 1 month, after that is $4.99 per month) website??? Thoughts? Positive? Negative? Help Please. I need to get this up and running, 1 for BD, 1 for PT/Fitness.

[mekyria]

I haven't used it, but I have looked into similar services. In short: what they offer is very limited: only five pages I think. They have a couple of tempaltes that is also very limited. You can easily do this yourself with a free tool to create a basic website. Hosting cost me 20 USD a year, so that would save you 40 dollars a year and give you more control over your website.

In short: if you don't care about having a unique looking website, don't need more than five pages, it's an okay option to start with. but I would also advice to look into other similar services because you might be better off with less limitations. For example, you could start a (free!) blog on wordpress and configur it into a static website, or build it yourself with a free tool.

[SaNoorah]

hmm, ok. Yeah, this is just to start, see where it goes. I dont' have one, been thinking about one for a while now, I dont mind doing it myself and dont want to pay an arm and a leg (I need those to dance ..l;,) I dont think I need many pages, just starting out. I need nice display yet simple, to the point, here's the info, some pics, maybe a video.

Here's the info link http://www.vistaprint.com/websites.a...18&dng=1175389

click the pricing tab

Starter - $4.99 per month (limited, 3 pages, no youtube, music player, doc uploads)
Standard - $9.99 (5 pages, everything but a paypal pay option)
Professional - $19.97, (unlimited pages, standard plus paypal)

[mekyria]

I started out using a similar package deal by Geocities in 2001, but found that as I needed more then the basics, I upgraded to the more expensive package without questioning because I had gotten used to the webpage editor they used. The editor that was very limited and sucked big time, as I already knew at the time.

I stuck with the increasingly more expensive package (up to 12,95 per month) for over six years. Only to find out that transfering the website to another host and using my own editor would save me over 100 USD a year. If you have serious plans for your websites, don't go for the easy way. A little effort now will save a lot of effort (Moving my site was not easy due to the editor) and money.

Chances are that Vistaprint uses the same method: first month is for free, but if you need your website available 24/7 it turns out you need the 19,95 USD a month. I suggest taking a look at what you see is what you get- editors (WYSIWYG). there are a couple listed on this page. They are easy to use and will allow you much more freedom in your website. For example, embedding a youtube video is fairly easy (Copy+paste code!).

[AmiraStar]

I use wix for mine and I couldn't be happier. Really easy to make and update and looks fabulous. Free Website With Free Flash Website Builder at Wix.com and I paid upfront for the year so it only cost like $11 a month plus I got a free domain name.
If you want to check it out you can its AmiraStar bellydance

[Lauren_]

For about the same price (without the free first month) you could have an account with Bizland.

I've used them for my webhost for over 10 years. They have templates to get your site up and running, tools to submit you to search engines, a free web store (one page and a few items, enough to list a few used costumes for sale) and loads of flexibility. I highly recommend them, customer service is outstanding!

Small Business Web Hosting and eCommerce Solutions by BizLand

[kenneth3]

A great place that I use is WebStarts, check the title for link. They have great hosting service and they are really easy to use, everything is drag & drop just drag it where you want it, thats it. Anyway they're hosting starts at $3.94/month I recommend you give it a try. You can also sign up for they're free account to see if you like it.

[zorba]

For about half the price at $35/year, you can get a basic webhosting and domain name registration from hostcolor:

Web Hosting, VPS Hosting, Dedicated Servers - Host Color

I've been using them for many years now...