• Prices start at only $50.

• A clean, readable website to promote your business online.

• For those who want the ability to make easy updates, readable code includes markings to show you where to enter text and grapics. Template-style coding makes it easy to create new pages based on old pages.

• Includes some graphics editing. Client provides graphic source materials unless we've arranged otherwise.

• I can provide help with finding and securing a domain. (I do not sell or otherwise make any profits from domains).

• I can assist with setting up FTP in most cases. FTP is the most common way of transferring files from your computer to your website's server.

I'm Greg Varhaug, and if you're reading this you've probably seen my videos on Youtube. I'm a full-time musician and music instructor in Houston, Texas. I also teach locally at ABC School Of Music.

I have operated an online business continually since 2000. I have done virtually all of my own work on my websites, and I've set up sites for a number of people over the years.

I'm a beliver in small business, and I enjoy assisting small business owners like me. Recent developments on the net have positively impacted small business owners. Free online classified sites have, somewhat unfortunately, decimated revenues from classified ads in newspaper. Ad revenues are speeding toward the web, but are being spent inefficiently by many advertising businesses.

Access to potential customers has been democratized to a great extent by Youtube, Myspace and Google to name just a few. (Each of the previously listed names is copyrighted and trademarked.) Paypal has become the leader in online payment processing. And the internet itself is so far free. In short, the small business owner has unprecedented tools at his/her disposal.

A professional looking website is an expected minimum for anyone doing business today. You're expected to have a business card, a phone number, an email and a website.

In the old days, people used the net to locate people and businesses far away from them. The net has evolved to the point that people use the net to locate people and businesses near them.

Many small businesses are using social networking sites to make new contacts. Even If your current plans don't include social networking, with a professional looking website you are poisitioned to move quickly on social networking promotions should you choose to do them.

My economy websites are based on simple, but flexible templates. There are many ways to incorporate graphics. I will want to review your graphic and text content before I agree to build your site. I can help you locate or produce graphics if you want.

The net has matured to the point that for most businesses, elaborate graphics and animations have gone out of fashion in favor of a logical and readable layout on screen. Look at the layouts of some of the most popular sites like Youtube or Wordpress. Most of their layouts use two or three columns.

The early fascination with eye-catching graphics and animations on the web has given way to basic considerations of readability. Readability is not a matter of opinion, it's science that's pretty well understood.

I recommend sparing use of graphics, and no animations unless you are involved in media, music, art, gaming, or some other area dealing with pop culture.

Another exception is for people selling merchandise, especially art and clothing. Here you want to strike a balance between the graphics and the information you're trying to convey. In any case, the graphics have to work toward the goal of getting your message across. In all cases, avoid letting the graphics distract from your message to your customer.

In my HoustonGuitar site, I've used a simple technique for using graphics to lend a continuity to the layout.

I use a large image, reduced in size, as the basis of the top logo. Then create visual breaks in content using precisely-sized details from that and other related images.

This simple technique can bring together elements with no real logical connection to one another as in my case, a guitar-lesson site that also offers website, audio/visual, and technical writing services. This is great for small business people like me, who wear a lot of different hats.

My sites are designed for do-it-your-selfers. The code is very clean, and hidden comments help you identify where to place or edit text. You may not know that webcode can be edited with a simple word processor. A good practice is to edit your code on a word processor, do a spell-check, then copy and paste your updates in to the webpage code. Revising your onw pages can be a good introduction to basic HTML - something I encourage people not to be afraid of.

It's also easy to incorporate video in to your site, which is good even if you have no current plans to include video.

Your first step in producing a website is to find other websites that you like, whether they're related to your field or not. Your next step is to get all of your proposed text into a word processing document. Finally, find a few good graphics that you can use without violating any copyrights. If you have a digital cam, you can probably produce your own. I will handle editing the images.

Then, on a piece of paper, draw the way you want it to look. Keep in mind that your handwriting is probably much bigger than text that will appear on the screen. Maybe divide your drawing into boxes (all pages are divided into boxes) and draw each box on separate pieces of paper. This may help you to visualize the layout of your site.

My rates for producing websites depends on the size and complexity of the site you want to produce. I'm not in a position to take create complicated or elaborate sites. Keeping things simple is good for you. It helps to keep the price low. And it allows your readers to receive your message quickly and easily.

If you're interested in one of my Economy Websites, please email me by using the 'Contact' link at the top right of this page. And please be sure to include your email address, or I have no way to contact you.