Hi Steve
I hesitate to make a contribution as a total novice when it comes to website design. I spent too much time trying freebies, and then trying the ‘special offers’ of free design from several hosting sites. I was trying to put together a site with sixteen pages containing a lot of text and photographs - I should explain I have just published my first eBook, and wanted a website to help the book.
Everywhere I tried offered too little in terms of what I wanted - too few pages, very basic fonts, limited templates, and nowhere could I find the levels of flexibility I needed to make my material work. Except of course by paying a high price, way above the basic charges advertised which tempted me into those sites!
I then stumbled on Adobe Muse, which was, at the time in a free beta mode.
I can only quote from their sales pitch: Adobe® Muse™ lets designers create websites without writing code. Planning, designing, and publishing original HTML pages is as easy as creating layouts for print. With master pages, access to over 400 web fonts served by Adobe Typekit®, built-in tools for interactivity, and a choice of publishing hosts, you can produce distinctive, professional websites that meet the latest web standards.
In the past I have used Pagemaker, and now regularly use Photoshop Elements, and so had some familiarity with Adobe layouts. I started using Muse, back in February, and when it came to the end of the free period I had no hesitation in accepting a twelve month payment period at €17.20 a month. This has enabled me to put together a website without any previous experience, and to incorporate everything I wanted.
My €17.20 a month gives me one free site hosted with Adobe Business Catalyst, and I have just uploaded my site, am testing it, and about to go fully live. The back up support and tutorials are great, and as the ‘community’ is growing, there is a forum of knowledge and experiences, which gets bigger every day.
I have no hesitation in recommending Adobe Muse.
Roger Boaden