Website Creation

What website host should I go with? What website editor/composer should I use? To blog or not to blog? Content Management Systems? I am by no means an internet website pro. Their are lots of really good guys out there for that stuff and I'm not one of them but I have often wondered about these same questions.

What website host should I go with?
I would say that any host that a friend would recommend. Every web site host I go to talks about how good they are. I have had good experiences with Ipowerweb and 1&1 and Earthlink. That's all that I can speak for since they are the only ones I have every used. So just pick one and move on.

What website editor/composer should I use?
This one is even harder. Hard core webgeeks go with pure text editors. I say that's about as dumb as cooking hotdogs on the stovetop with tapwater. Use a microwave and a paper towel. If you have a tool available that will work and is low cost or recommended by a friend who is willing to pitch in and help you then by all means go with whatever is easiest/cheapest. When was the last time you looked at the source code for a website and said to yourself damn that guy must have used Frontpage! To blog or not to blog?
You're reading a blog, I'm writing a blog so of course I'm going to say blog first for practice, and second for ease of use and cost (easy, and free!). If the blog doesn't meet your needs a year down the road then move to paid blog services for more options or go all out and host a paid site. Content Management Systems?
I used a content management system with PHP and I loved it. The site was www.propellerhead.org but it's no longer in operation. I didn't have enough readers/hits/desire to keep it going and everyone just kept asking me how to spell propeller so the domain was appropriate and cool but to hard to spell "I'd rather have caller IQ than caller ID".
I'm posting this on behalf of a conversation I had with a buddy of mine whose brother forked over 200 bones on a copy of frontpage at retail price. Ouch!!!.

So I'd thought I'd post this to kind help him out on the decision tree of what to do.

Hope you found this helpful. More to come I have over 800 MB's of text file walkthroughs to post so If I can squeeze in the time there will more to come later.


Yet Another nugget of knowledge posted by Jeff