We've all seen it: The homemade small business site that looks like it came out of a Cracker Jack box. The cutting-edge site that won't load six months later — and rots in cyberspace. The bizarre design choices made by expensive Web gurus that fail to convey a proper image.

Even for the technically adept, hosting your own Web site is a big step. But it can make a difference when communicating with potential clients. Here's how to get a professional, cheap, easy-to-operate Web site up and running in a couple of hours:

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Lock away your name now

Even if you don't have a site ready to go, better to pay the fee and nail down any dot-com name you really want. You can pay down your unique name, like chocolatesbyannie.com, for years for less than $100.

I recommend: Check for names of approved registration companies at InterNIC, the international body that oversees the Internet's rules and regulations.

Do not pay if all you want is to hang your shingle in cyberspace

Web hosting services charge zero for sites with few visitors that do not serve video or do e-commerce. If what you want is a simple, clean marketing message, and only that, don't pay a cent for your site.

I recommend: One easy-to-use Web hosting service with a generous no-charge level is DotEasy. Most Internet service providers, like EarthLink and AOL, still offer a "free" Web site as part of your monthly Internet service.

What? Wait! I can't pay nothing!

There are some good reasons to pay a little bit for hosting. If you suspect you will have lots of visitors, say you run an online shopping site or real estate site, then the little extras like database publishing and being able to upload your site directly from design software is a help.

I recommend: Homestead, FatCow, Hostway, and Web.com all offer hosting for less than $10 a month, although DotEasy has paid plans as well.

Sell through the Web? Set up a store instead.

If you business is primarily retail, there's no reason to reinvent the wheel. Get space on an e-commerce host with templates built-in and avoid building a site altogether.

I recommend: Yahoo! has this knocked, and eBay obviously has a thing or two to offer, namely millions of buyers.

Decide how much time you want to spend – if any – doing Web design

Most hosting services offer pretty good point-and-click Web-based authoring as part of the come-on to get your business. If you need more control, consider software options or farming it out to a designer.

I recommend: Adobe Dreamweaver and Microsoft FrontPage are the current standard in software packages for full-on professional sites. Caution: You will need to learn or hire Web help to use these often-complex programs, and time to do design work.

Get on the cutting edge of communication

Ordinary Web sites are quickly losing ground to social sites and blogs. You can harness their power for your small business. If you are a consultant and have a bit new to say each day (and the discipline!) a blog – a kind of Web diary – is a fine choice. If you want to bring your customers or vendors closer, you can get a simple social site going in about a minute.

I recommend: Blogger and Typepad are the leading blog sites. Both are easy to learn and cheap or free. Collectivex offers a social site set-up in just a few minutes.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Web sites require attention. Do not get into this unless it's very important to your business and you can devote regular time to it.
• •  When considering design, scan the Web for businesses similar to your own, then steal what you think works. A good designer will be able to quickly replicate nearly any trick you see online.
• •  Keep it very simple: Why is Google successful? eBay? In part because their sites are not heavy, cluttered or hard to read for the user. Sweet relief!
• •  Know when to get out. If your site deteriorates over time and you just can't muster the interest in turning things around, take it out back and shoot it. Your brand is more important than some cheesy, outdated Web design.