Preface

You're probably reading this either because you have a small business, a hobby, a cause you care about deeply, a special interest, or a charitable organization that you want the whole world to know about. And what better way to publicize it than by building a website for it?

But let's face it: building and maintaining a good website is expensive. Professional web designers cost you a fortune. So, what's the way out?

One option is to build a website yourself. To build a website, you must know HTML—the language of web pages. And mind you, that's just the beginning. If you want a slick, modern website, you'll need at least a passing acquaintance with CSS, JavaScript, XML, SQL, and other such technologies.

Can you learn these technologies? Sure, you can. Visit your local Barnes and Noble, and you'll find several shelves filled with books that teach these technologies to everyone imaginable—novices, professionals, experts, smart people, geeks, nerds, dummies, idiots, teenagers, women, seniors, busy people, lazy people, you name it. You have an option of learning these technologies within time frames ranging from a mere five minutes to as long as a month. Once you select your gender, age, IQ, and the time that you want to spend on your endeavour, you can find the exact book for your requirements.

However, the question is: Do you really want to immerse yourself in these technologies? If you'd rather concentrate on doing more of whatever it is that you do for a living, than keeping abreast of differences in document object models of Firefox and Internet Explorer (whatever that means), this book is for you. It shows you how to build your own website without learning HTML or any other technology with those three and four-letter acronyms.

If you're wondering how you'd build a website without HTML, relax. This book is not about witchcraft. Your website will, of course, be built with HTML. But you won't be the one writing the HTML. Office Live Small Business will do it for you.