Funny Things Happen on the Way to Web Sites
 

I've discovered that I enjoy web design. It seems simply an extention of my love of drawing, painting, and photo art.

Long ago in a land far away I created my first web site using Lycos. It was free. It had ads and banners. I needed an ad-free site. The control freak in me couldn't tolerate flashing advertisements. Not to mention, they don't exactly look professional.

I soon experimented with various other free servers, and found their service to be unreliable. In the meantime I signed up with Freehost (ding Ding DING!). Big mistake. I registered a domain name with them. They later sent me no notice/invoice for my domain fee. My page expired, dissappeared, and they sold my domain name to another domain speculator: Cheaphostonline which I think evolved into Enom (ding Ding DING!).

They extorted monthly fees from many, holding domain names hostage. Soon, Cheaphost was no more. My domain name was again in limbo. I finally found yet a third domain registrar. Note: domain registrars and website servers can be, and often are, separate entities. Note also: perhaps consumers should beware entities that scream 'Free!' or 'Cheap!'

A friend later recommended Dreamhost as a server. I highly recommend them, their service and free goodies are excellent. They have a good selection of plans, and their prices are reasonable: in my opinion worth it if a person wants a professional-looking web site.

As an entrepreneur friend reminded me: a web site is not the be-all, end-all. It can simply be a commercial for whatever your product happens to be. My product is writing, and I find that the internet can be an invaluable tool in showcasing and promoting it - though I now strive for more hard print publications vs web publishing.

Back to the fun part: web design! Playing with format, content, color, and pattern.

Get a web site today. Or be truly radical . . . and don't.