If you’re thinking about starting a website and have little knowledge of web design then you might consider exploring some open source software/scripts that are available for FREE!
My first choice would be Wordpress. It’s the most widely used blog platform and is very easy to use. Most shared hosts even offer free installation in their control panels. Usually installation is point and click if your host does offer Wordpress. But even if your host does not, all you need to do is download the zip at Wordpress.org file follow the directions in the readme file. The only tricky party for a newbie is setting up the mysql database. I suggest emailing your hosts support team to set up a database for you. I recently set up a site for a client using Wordpress to power the site, the Stone Horse Inn. There are some great free plugins as well, like image galleries and thousands of free templates.
I am in the process of toying with Joomla. If your looking for a robust content management system and your low on funds then Joomla is theway to go. The learning curve is steeper than Wordpress. Installation is as simple but once you login to the admin area you have many more options. Joomla has a number of plugins and some free templates are available. On the right side of this page are some decent Joomla related links.
Good luck with your next web project!
