Website Design

I like godaddy.com, but there are others out there that may be cheaper. They are helpful and have a template to help you set up a site.

If you do a Google search for "web designers near san antonio, tx" you will find several local designers. Put together a list of your requirements (including budget) and interview them, then choose the designer you are most comfortable with.

I have used WIX its free, and if you want your site published without their logo I think its $14.95 a month

I did mine for free with blogger. Yes, you can use a blog as a website and it will look just like a website. I paid for the custom domain name separately ($10) and built it myself. This way I can make changes without having to use a webmaster. 

 

you can also use wordpress. Riviera Bakehouse uses wordpress for theirs. 

 

http://www.thewhimsicalbakehouse.com/

 

i think this is absolutely the best way to go. 

I have a blog and a website. The blog was free (blogspot) and then I wanted to stop saying "blogspot.com" so I got a .com :) I use godaddy and I've also really liked them. If I ever have any trouble, I call them and they're always friendly and fix my issues immediately. I don't remember how much I paid because I have a 5 year contract but I remember being surprised it wasn't as expensive as I thought (haha, I know that's not helpful). I also love their templates but what's great is that you edit or change most everything in the template to customize it to your style. 

 

Good luck!

A free or cheap web site can work as an interim solution if you are low on cash, but remember you generally get what you pay for, whether you are buying cake or web design services.

i love it. i don't think it looks cheap, at all, and it's completely user-friendly, comes with business features, domain-referenced email address and analyticals. since i built it i've noticed a lot of other sites are built the same way. 

I use squarespace. Very clean & professional design. No tacky templates or crazy colors. You might think its too sterile though...depends on your taste, I guess.

I also used WIX for my website, and it looks like a million bucks!  Perhaps in the past the free website builders looked like crap, but that is not the case these days. The only thing I paid for was the upgrade to remove the ads and use my own domain.  There is no way I would pay someone $2000+ to design a website, when the templates are right there for me, all I had to put in was the time to make it look great.  WIX also makes it easy to add new pictures (you don't have to pay the web developer to do it!) and add new info, like if you are closed for a certain time.

For a static business web site you shouldn't have to pay more than a few hundred dollars for a pretty good quality custom-built site (no templates) with SEO.

More importantly, a good web designer will know how to maximize the usability of your web site based on the needs of your target market. Losing a single sale due to usability problems with a one-size-fits-all template-driven free site can negate your entire cost savings.

If you will be taking orders from your site you may want to invest the money and get a website designer. I agree with jason_kraft on that. But if your website will be primarily to show your cakes so people have an idea of what you can do and you will not be taking online orders then go for something else like a blog or godaddy. Just make sure that your photos are nice and really show your work well.