Best Web Hosting Site & Website Building Software for a Newbie

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I have never done web design nor had a website, but would like to try. There are so many hosting sites, how does one choose?

A friend is paying $1/month at one dollar hosting, but there's no phone support and also it takes one to two days to get an e-mail response. I hear variable compliments & complaints about WordPress. One hosting site offers refunds, most don't.

Several "web site critique" websites seem to be paid advertisements for those websites. WebHostingHub and "Blue Host" got some compliments from friends, but no web hosting place seems to stand out. One person didn't like WordPress, but many like it. Mixed reviews on GoDaddy, but it's highly recommended for registration.

Is there a reliable hosting site, something simple to build and maintain a nice website, and be able to take that website to another hosting place if needed.

Any excellent recommendations or cautions, for a superb web hosting site or sites ?
 
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Have you looked at squarespace
 
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I've been using InMotion Hosting for a little more than a year, and I have been very happy with their pricing and reliability. In addition, their tech support is second to none, with brief (if any) waiting time to talk with knowledgable, professional, and courteous techs.

I use WordPress to create and maintain three websites. I didn't know anything about WP until I started using it, but I found it quite simple to learn. My websites are pretty simple, but I know I have a lot more capability available if I need it.

The combination of WP and InMotion Hosting has worked very well for me.
 
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SolidStateDrive,

If you are asking me about Ultimate Web Builder, here are my thoughts:

I looked at the demo page, but didn't test thoroughly test it. That said, the least expensive version, Essentials +, appears to be just that - basic functions. That may or may not be enough for your needs.

The cost of the Web Builder software seems high to me, even for the basic package.

With respect to the praise for UWB from those who sell it, I would expect that. It may be objective and reliable, or not.

I didn't see any mention of the support services offered. To me, fast, reliable support, by telephone, is an important consideration, especially for those of us who don't have a lot of experience in web hosting, design, and maintenance. When considering your options, I suggest calling the support dept. of the different providers to get an idea of their responsiveness.

I also believe it's important to ensure portability of your website. I know you mentioned this feature in your original post. If you become dissatisfied with your hosting company, or they go out of business, you'll want to be able to transfer your site to another provider instead of starting over again. A WordPress site will usually give you that flexibility.

These are the main reasons I chose InMotion Hosting after considering several other hosting providers. I am not affiliated with them in any way, but I believe they are a quality company that takes customer service seriously. They provide WordPress preinstalled for a new site, and they also offer a more proprietary website builder. I chose the WP platform for the portability feature. At the very least, I suggest you call InMotion and discuss your needs with them. I don't think they offer a demo, but they do have a 90-day money back guarantee. I also think you'll find their pricing to be very competitive.

I hope this info is helpful. If I can answer any questions, please post here or send me a pm.
 
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Thank you, again, GC. I just tried iWeb '09. Without reading anything, it took only three minutes to make one simple page. Don't know how to make a second page, nor how to link them, nor to publish them ! Think I'll use this simple one while considering the complex ones.

PROBLEM: Looked initially like the ONLY way to publish a site is through iCloud/MobileMe. I can sign onto the website fine, but when entering the same user name and password through iWeb, there is an authentication error.

Will try this: http://kb.mediatemple.net/questions/1636/How+do+I+publish+my+Apple+iWeb+site+to+my+server?#gs
 
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I'm not familiar with iWeb, but a quick look at the link you provided indicates it relies on FTP to upload your website files. That's more work than necessary, in my opinion. I also think you can get equal or better functionality at a lower price.

One final suggestion: You might want to have a look at a YouTube video that helped me a lot when I started using Wordpress, and a WordPress tutorial provided by InMotion Hosting.

Whatever host and design tools you ultimately choose, I hope you are pleased with the results. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to try to help.

Good luck!
 
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Thanks. Using iWeb it took five minutes to make a website with three pages, including youtube videos and individual audio links. I had to read nothing - - - no documentation - - except how to access the FTP settings. CNET shows that iWeb is the second most popular download (after Dreamweaver).

The web site is not very fancy, but iWeb makes it so easy and fast. Thank you, Apple.

Got the website hosted at no charge.
 
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I have been with Bluehost for a few years and it works great for me
 
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I have been with Bluehost for a few years and it works great for me


I made multiple phone calls to the hosting places which have phone support. Bluehost took over 20 minutes to answer. GoDaddy answered in under three minutes. Anyone had problems with GoDaddy?
 
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My wife and I signed up for Hostgator a few years ago and found the tech support was terrible. The front-line techs didn't even know when one of their servers was down. We spent three days trying all sorts of tricks to get our email working and finally got through to a tech rep who admitted the problem was a server error, but taking more than three days to get it back up and running is unacceptable.

We switched to MacHighway in late 2011 and have been very happy with them.
 
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My wife and I signed up for Hostgator a few years ago and found the tech support was terrible. The front-line techs didn't even know when one of their servers was down. We spent three days trying all sorts of tricks to get our email working and finally got through to a tech rep who admitted the problem was a server error, but taking more than three days to get it back up and running is unacceptable.

We switched to MacHighway in late 2011 and have been very happy with them.



Thanks. One needs to be suspicious of a a new poster and a very low post count. I've heard good things about Bluehost and Go Daddy, both with phone support.
 
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Here are a couple of suggestions.

First, for creating a Web site, especially if you are a beginner, here is a Web site creation program that is very easy to use (it's interface is very similar to a word processor), you don't have to know or be subjected to any HTML code, and best of all it's FREE!


BLUEGRIFFON (free and open-source)
BlueGriffon, The next-generation Web Editor based on the rendering engine of Firefox

Note: Under Mavericks, you might find that trying to open a file causes BlueGriffon to crash. (This may have been fixed recently and I missed it.)
Workaround: Use FINDER to open the file with the “open with” option.

BlueGriffon user manual (free)
User's Manual - BlueGriffon Add-ons

Free video tutorial series:
(The tutorial does not use the Mac version of the program, but the program should be virtually identical across platforms.)
How To Produce Your First Website With Blue Griffon (Part 1) - YouTube
How To Produce Your First Website With Blue Griffon (Part 2) - YouTube
How To Produce Your First Website With Blue Griffon (Part 3) - YouTube
How To produce Your First Website With Blue Griffon (Part 4) - YouTube
How To Produce Your First Website With Blue Griffon (Part 5) - YouTube
How To Produce Your First Website With Blue Griffon (Part 5) - YouTube
How To Produce Your First Website With Blue Griffon (Part 6) - YouTube
How To Produce Your First Website With Blue Griffon (Part 7) - YouTube
How To Produce Your First Website With Blue Griffon (Part 8) - YouTube
How To Produce Your First Website With Blue Griffon (Part 9) - YouTube
How To Produce Your First Website With Blue Griffon (Part 10) - YouTube

Add-ons (including manual and templates - commercial, but not essential)
All our add-ons - BlueGriffon Add-ons

A number of really beautiful free templates:
Freebies | n33

As for which Web host to use, you might like this Macintosh-specific host:
Mac Web Hosting, Website Builder, and Domain Registration | MacHighway

I recommend avoiding GoDaddy like the plague. They almost gave away my domain name, and they were a bear to deal with when I wanted anything. They made it almost impossible to switch away from them by throwing up so much red tape.
 
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I do have many friend who are web designers. I'll try to ask them and answer you. :)
 
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