Building a website is not as easy as it seems and a lot of parameters need to be taken into account before embarking on the journey. A lot of tools however, are available to the interested parties and they are a mix between the free and the expensive kind.

It is always pre-assumed that website design and building are technically complicated issues and one needs to learn lot of jargon and cryptic scripting languages like HTML, XHTML, CSS, PHP, AJAX, RoR and what not.

I was of the same opinion and was highly discouraged by the so called facts when I was hell bent on starting a web based business. Of course, most web based businesses do need a website and a good one at that. In fact, I also knew that since all traditional businesses were also going online one after another, the competition would be much greater than in the traditional business.

Since then, I have researched a lot of software that guaranteed no technical expertise to create expertise. They said it was always WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get), however, most of them failed miserably and wasted a lot of my valuable time and energy. I considered all that an investment and I was not really discouraged. I only repent the state of confusion that they got me into. Finally, I found the right solution – BlueVoda that comes with its own FTP and hosting solution.

This is an article where I would like to explain my journey to BlueVoda and it would encourage you not to make the same mistakes that I made during my painful journey that wasted time and money.

In the process, the first solution that I came across was Microsoft’s Front page. It gave a lot of promises, more than it could deliver. Of course, it did cost me a few hundred dollars and after spending two months on it, I decided that it was not for me. For starters, it is fairly easy to use but would require you to have some working knowledge of HTML and XHTML. It does not lend full support to CSS and thus can take the concept of WYSIWYG down the drain. This web editor worked offline and once you design a page and upload to your host, it will look the same until you use fairly good HTML. Set in CSS and you can find broken tables and what not…! After planning and doing what was required for 8 weeks, I was back in a whole lot of mess.

The next best thing, I thought was Adobe Dream weaver. Hats off to it, neither me nor any of my more technically qualified friends could help me use it. I poured over the manuals and could not retain any information in my head. I can certify safely that Dream weaver is one of the best options available for web editing, but to create a website without knowing technicalities on Dream weaver was a bad joke. I would like to forget it in a hurry. Although at that point of time, I could not afford their services. I had met some website designers who swore by Adobe Dream weaver and believe me it does work wonders for them. Another few hundred dollars “invested” but gone down the drain.

All is well, no bankruptcy yet, but I decided that if I try anything from now on it would be a trial pack or a free software. I did not get any value for my hard earned money spent buying Front Page and Dream Weaver. This is where I got to hear of Site Build It! Well, not much of a looker but much easier to use. The advantages of this piece of software were numerous and the idea I got, was that it was not only a website builder used to create a website, but a complete set of website tools that can help me build a profitable online business. I tried using the web editor and found it quite easy to use (anything would seem easier after Adobe Dream weaver). It also comes with a lot of options for web hosting and website marketing. Site Build It…! Also supports most SEO functions and is very good to create a website. Ah, but the irony of it is, that you still need to know a little HTML and have more than little technical knowledge as to the functionality of uploading etc.

I am not the one to delve into technical details; in fact, it took me two months to figure out how to use email on my Nokia E51. So you can understand how technically challenged I am. End of month four and I am still not getting anywhere. Back to square one, I began my search all over again and viola, I hit the jackpot. After 16 weeks and about a $1,000 down the drain, I came across BlueVoda, a comprehensive website builder with inbuilt FTP engine and hosting options.

Well, I am yet to find any downside for this piece of software and the best feature of it is that it is free and you can create as many websites as you want to. FTP is also free to use and inbuilt hosting comes at only, yes $7.95/month. Can you believe it, if you play around with it a bit, anyone with no technical knowledge can own a live website in less than an hour.

Sounds amazing and unbelievable, I am yet to find out if HTML is an abbreviation. BlueVoda is a complete website builder that works truly with WYSIWYG and has a comprehensive library of graphics, logos, headers, backgrounds and templates. Working on the drag-and-drop principle, BlueVoda is a complete solution to a highly technically ignorant online businessperson. Basically an offline editor, you can also make BlueVoda work online if need be. The advantage being offline is that you can go online to print and preview before publishing your pages on the net for the world at large to see.

BlueVoda has made my virtual business world clear and concise and rendered me stress-free at the same time saving cost and time.