Darkie

Joomla & Wordpress are cool, but... Open Source may eventually appear not as cheap as it seems. With an e-commerce project I would rather go for a commercial CMS that would be based on reliable servers with decent tech support and security. You know, one should be ready to invest before getting revenues.

I use the reseller program provided by sOptions.

Self-promotion...

Flash is good-looking, but if you want Google to rank your site higher, do not overuse it.

Anyway, online website builders are thriving and there are dozens of them on the web, because the majority of ppl still prefer (or can afford) to pay less.

Why go far? Resizing and changing resolution can be done in Paint, which is a standart MS Windows accessory.

Yes, it's going to be a serious website - complex and active. It will be both advertising my business and allowing visitors to buy products and services online. I would like to create a professional article database, constantly updated, maybe a forum. The only problem I am facing right now is the lack of funds for hiring a professional website developer and designer. I will probably be able to pay for their services over time, but not up front. Sitting and learning everything by myself is not an option either, because I want to deal with my business and not acquire a totally new profession. That is why I am seriously regarding an option of choosing a website builder. I have browsed through some of them and find them quite user friendly. There are quite impressive active sites among their customers... I only have to find out whether they provide necessary technical support and learn their possibilities in a more profound manner, so that my plans will eventually be realizable. One more question. I've been told websites completely Flash-based, though good-looking, are pretty weak in terms of SEO. Is it so?

Hello. I am planning to build a serious website. The only problem is I think I lack necessary experience for accomplishing that successfully. I would like to hear from more experienced people what is the most effective and productive way of developing a website? So far, I've been thinking of online website builders, of which there are hundreds... A nice option, easy to handle, but... Besides, I could try and build everything from scratch with a little help from my friends ))) Good for self-education and experience, but actually very time-consuming... Or hire a professional. Quick, easy, but expensive, isn't it? I would be very grateful to hear what you think. It'll be very helpful and will probably push me to some decision.