Wahoo! My first post. Lisa, i love your sites! Thanks for helping so many people!

Question: What do you all think of APLUS.net?? To be honest I was literally minutes away from buying thier package for my first website, when I stumbled across Lisa's promo's of sitebuildit. Sitebuildit seems very interesting, but I'm inclined to believe I can probably do just as well on my own with a ton of education for a fraction of the cost? (maybe not...pleae advise)! I'm very technical, so getting around in that respect shouldn't be a prob. Nevertheless, before I stray too far from the topic:
APLUS.net's sample website was a fun kind of draw. They have a few dozen simple and catchy flash intros that caught my attention. Is this easily replicated? Or is this worth the expense that they're charging to just have them do it for me?

I did a search on the forums for aplus.net and all that it turned up was one semi-random comment "stay away from aplus.net". Unfortunately, no reason was given beyond that. Thoughts?????
thanks in advance.

Hi maximus721,

First of all you can lookup almost any web host and there's going to be someone unhappy with it. So I'm not surprised to see what you found about APlus. If you searched hard enough you'd probably find similar rants about SBI!. I've never heard of this company (APlus) but after a brief look it looks like a standard web hosting company with reasonably priced plans. I've never used them so I can't speak on their services.

As far as SBI! and learning on your own, you absolutely can and many people do. But some people learn better by having a guide and that's what SBI! is. It makes sure you don't get sidetracked with the design and flashy intros and teaches you the importance of finding the right niche. If you think about it, making money online is more than just design. It's about planning and ultimately you are launching a business whether you call it that or not.

Yes, SBI! is a lot of reading. So don't buy it if you plan on rushing through the guide. Trust me. I already had design experience when I first bought it in 2003 so I did skip over a lot of things with my first SBI! site and of course it failed. The next time I took my time and actually followed the guide as if I were a complete newbie and I think it made a difference... especially in the brainstorming phase.

So the bottom line is, can you learn what SBI! teaches you on your own? Of course you could but at the same time, something has to be said for the fact so many of their customers wind up near the top of Alexa http://results.sitesell.com I don't think many other hosts can say this.

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Thanks so much for the prompt reply. What you've said makes very good sense! As a gadget-man I am SO easily distracted by flashy intros and other electronic carrots dangling out there, and I'll be the first to admit it. That being said, somewhere deep down inside, (I think Jiminy Cricket would call it a conscience), I know better than to invest money in the "flashiest intro to a no content site" the world has ever seen!

I'll continue to fight the impulse until I'm properly grounded and prepared.

One more thing, I do have an idea for what could possibly be the "next big thing" in websites that I'd like to run by you, (considering your wealth of knowledge and experience). Is there a way I can do that semi-discretely? (Providing it really IS the potential mega blockbuster idea of the decade, I dont really think it'd be wise to post it openly)!
In any case, thanks again for your help!

You're not alone. So many people get caught up and forget that it's not all about the animations and "coolness" factor. The site has to be useful and provide a specific benefit to a target audience or you run the risk of just being another "cool" site sitting in cyberspace.

You can run your idea by me here http://www.2createawebsite.com/other/contact.php Please understand I get tons of emails so I may not be as prompt to reply as I am here, which is why I encourage the use of this forum as much as possible.

__________________
Create a Website | My Blog | Subscribe via RSS | What's RSS?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Recent Blog Posts...

AdSense - Are You Earning Your Max?
Blog Rush - The Good & Bad
AdBrite - A Good AdSense Alternative?

Thanks again for the quick response, (just one of the many perks of being a full time webmaster, I'm sure)!

I've sent the details as requested. Once again your sites are awesome and very much inspiring! Thank you for taking the time to assist all of us aspiring web-heads. AS I work towards becoming a "master babbler" myself I will surely commit to following your example.
Best!