This free guide will help you set up a website and get your website listed in search engines.

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Different paths to setting up a website

• You can set up your own website using one of several good services designed for the non-technical do-it-yourself website builder, for example, www.GoDaddy.com or Homestead, from the makers of Quickbooks. These site building companies provide ready-made templates with professional looking designs, some targeted to specific businesses. You can customize the template with their easy-to-use tools, adding your own company name and logo and your own text. If you can use MS Word, you can use one of these tools.
• You can build a website with a site building tool offered by your web hosting company. For example, Green Geeks is a regular hosting company — with the added attraction of being "energy neutral" — that throws in a site building tool with your hosting fee. You will get less handholding with a company like this, but they're usually cheaper.
• You can download or buy a web creation tool and use a regular hosting company. For example, RapidWeaver Hosting specializes in hosting websites created with Rapidweaver for Apple users. For PC users, you can download free web design software from Coffee Cup here
• You can hire someone.

Read about companies that specialize in do-it-yourself website builders >
Read about do-it-yourself website building choices for setting up a website >.
Read about the step-by-step process for setting up a website >.
View a listing of web developers, organized geographically >

In all three of those cases, you'll have to prepare the content of your website: what pictures or logos you want to use and what you want to say. You'll also need to learn the basics of getting your website recognized in the major search engines, such as Google.

Read about how to market your website here.

More tutorials | A listing of web hosts | A Listing of directories to list your site in | A listing of web developers

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Resources to help you set up a website

Do It Yourself Web Companies

GoDaddy.com has a wide variety of hosting plans, including online stores. Excellent phone support.

WIX offers really attractive templates and an easy-to-use site builder for FREE. If you want your own domain name (eg www.mysite.com), you pay about $60 a year.

Green Geeks Green, wind powered hosting. Free site builder. 24/7 support.

1&1 MyWebsite from 1&1 offers a 30 day free trial of their easy-to-build website package.

New Yahoo! Web Hosting Pricing

Yola offers a free website, with a charge of about $60 a year if you want your own domain name

FREE Domain with Web Hosting Purchase Web Hosting as low as $11.95 a month
. Lots of phone support and a powerful site building tool.

Homestead, now owned by Intuit, publisher of Quicken, is one of the oldest do-it-yourself website companies. They offer a free trial. Starter sign-up page

Online stores (eCommerce)

Yahoo! Merchant Solutions - 25% off the first 12 months! Use coupon code BULLETTOPC25

BigCommerce offers a website, shopping cart, SEO, design, hosting and more. They have a nice, intuitive interface and tons of help. 15 day free trial, doesn't require a credit card.

Yola Online Store starts at just $10 a month. They also have an intuitive interface.

1&1 starts at only $9.95 a month for a shop with fifty products and a drag and drop interface.

Ready-bullt pages

Here's a list of some resources

Marketing

Free tools for checking whether your site is "search engine friendly"

Skaffe one of the more visible directories to list your website in.Here's a list of web directories.