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Web-site designing made easy

By CRAIG CROSSMAN
Knight Ridder Newspapers

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A Web site in many ways rolls all these basic methods of communication into one window of access for your potential customers.

SpinSite good for novice

Once you've made the decision to create a Web site, how does one go about doing it? While there are a number of applications out there you can buy that will let you create a Web site without having to know HTML programming, I'd like to tell you about an alternative.

Ironically enough, the product that helps you develop a Web site is in itself a Web site. SpinSite (www.spinsite.com) is a service you access using an ordinary Web browser. After logging on to your account's development page, you begin to create and design each Web page, deciding where to place graphics and text.

The company calls SpinSite a "Web page designer" and not a series of Web-site templates. The system lets you choose from a large selection of themes to get you on the way. But you can modify, add and delete just about anything you want.

You can virtually paint the screen as you add columns, rows, text, images and links. Threaded newsgroups and special Web pages such as an FAQ (frequently asked questions) page and discussion forum page are a few clicks away from creation. Many other important elements can be added, such as requiring users to log in before being able to post a public message.

And as time passes and you become more proficient, SpinSite even allows you to go under the hood so that you can tweak and enhance your Web site using HTML. Because you don't need any development software, you can change or edit your Web site from any computer with Internet access and a browser.

A more recent SpinSite feature is the ability to create an online store with inventory management that is integrated with PayPal's shopping cart. Currently, SpinSite does not offer a facility to accept credit cards.

Three months start at $49

After you create your Web site, SpinSite offers two performance packages. The Express package includes three months of hosting your Web site, an Instant Setup that lets you go online in a few minutes, two e-mail accounts, 25 megabytes of document and image storage space and five Web pages for $49. The Platinum package ups the storage to 50 megabytes, five e-mail accounts and 50 Web site pages and adds several other features for $99. Check the Web site for more details.

I'm not saying that SpinSite is right for everyone. But it does offer another way to create and maintain a Web site. Having a server-based setup like the one offered by SpinSite offers a number of advantages over the more traditional methods of Web site creation and collaboration.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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