Over the years, I've created a lot of event Web sites and, no, this is not my forte. Yes, it would be better to have professional Web designers do this. When there is enough money to hire a professional, then I do, but what about when we are on a shoe string budget?
That's what hosting company templates and sitebuilder software are for. When it comes to stretching tiny Web design dollars, these are lifesavers.
As you might guess, there is a wide range of quality when it comes to these things. So here is what I look for when I'm evaluating a new sitebuilder:
1. Peruse the site templates offered by the company. Across the industry, these are getting better, but there are still real disparities in quality. Set aside 20 minutes to an hour to skim the album of templates for a company you are considering. You want to see at least a few that seem really exciting and professional; there are still plenty of templates out there that look do-it-yourself shortcuts, and simply won't satisfy anyone with a discerning eye for Web design (which seems to be just about everyone these days).
2. If there is a free demo of the software, give it a spin. If not, this should be a red flag and it would probably be better to look at other options. During the demo (which might be free for as long as 30 days) you should look for two things. One, ease of use. For my part, I have basically no technical skills, so I need something that the average cat could use. The second thing is the widest range possible of editing power -- too many sitebuilders have huge sections of their templates that can not be manipulated. In most cases, the templates weren't that great to begin with, so this is particularly disappointing.
So far, the hosting company with the best sitebuilder I have used is Homestead.com. It has many, many cool templates and offers incredible versatility in design. For my money, it vastly outpaces Yahoo!, GoDaddy, Hostpapa, Hostmonster, and any of the other services with which I have spent time and money.
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