What technologies for creating a website?

[Conshine]

I need to create a website for my small business.

What technologies should I use for the website?
I want to have it fairly modern looking.

Does that mean I should do it in HTML5?
I heard that not all browsers support this.

Should I just go with HTML with Front Page (some experience of this)

It will be a fairly uncomplicated website, a few pages of images, text and links.
One page however will have a form for people to submit some information, a bit like name, address, a few tick boxes etc and a Submit button.

I also want to go on a training course before I do this, so would be good to know what the advantages of the various technlogies are, so I can choose the right course.

 

[FeuFollet]

FrontPage is dead as a dodo: stay away from it.

Given your requirements, I suggest you give this a go:
http://www.lifeyo.com/ --> pretty website
or http://www.webnode.com/
or http://www.wordpress.com/ --> lots of plugins

Unless your business is about developing websites, i don't think you should be spending any amount of time learning about html.

I am a trainer btw and I run FrontPage, WebExpression, Social Media etc courses.

 

[Conshine]

Is FrontPage the way to go then do you think? I have that available to me.

 

[PaddyBloggit]

I wouldn't use FrontPage. I'm a WordPress man myself.

As d2x2 says ... 'tis dead.

 

[ontour]

Frontpage is a discontinued technology so probably not a tool to invest your time in learning. There ar providers such as WIX that allow you to create and host websites with very limited technical skills, the main distadvantage being that you are locked into that provider. Wordpress is a very popular tool for creating sites that is widely supported with lots of online help, tutorials and templates.

If you are genuinely interested in learning web development skills and have the time to invest in this then it can be very useful and enjoyable. If your goal is to get a website created for your business as efficiently as possible then there is no doubt that you would be better off getting someone else to do it and focusing your time on your business.

It is important to be clear as to the benefit you want from the site, if you want people to be able to find your business on the net then search engine optimization (SEO) skills are important to make your site as useful to your business as possible.

There are a couple of forums on entrepreneurship and web development on boards.ie that answer hundreds of questions about creating a web site.

 

[Complainer]

The technology is a minor issue. Content is king. It's all about the content.

Pick any free host, like Wordpress, and get some content up and running asap. Once you have something up there and you can see how it works, you'll have a much better idea of what you really want.

 

[FeuFollet]

BTW I am a Wordpress.com man myself too, but the alternatives may be even easier for you to set up and create a good looking site.