Review: Mr Site Takeaway Website utility software

There used to be a time when people who wanted their own websites would have had to pay a qualified web designer several hundred pounds to set one up.

Quite apart from the whole website creation aspect, the sheer technical and administrative elements of buying a domain, signing up for a host and uploading content have traditionally been way outside the comfort zone of the average home computer user.

Mr Site’s Takeaway Website changes all that. It is, quite literally, a website in a box. At first glance it looks as if the box in question might contain some complicated software for putting together a website on your PC.

In fact, the only disc you’ll find inside is a digital version of the Takeaway Website instruction manual. A printed manual is included as well, but the most important bit is the activation scratch-card.

All you need to do is log on to the Mr Site website, type in the activation code on your card and you’re ready to start using the product’s all-online tools to put together your online presence.

With Mr Site you can choose your own domain name, either using one you have already purchased or by using the initial wizard to select a new one. Also provided is a year’s worth of hosting for your site and 150Mb of web space, as well as built-in email services with protection from viruses and spam.

For £35, the package is excellent value, although you’ll need to bear in mind that there will be monthly charges of £2.49 per month after your first 12 months with the service.

The Website Builder side of things is very easy to use, and everything is presented in plain, jargon-free language. The designs themselves can be a bit simplistic, however, and the range of templates is somewhat limited. That said, if you ever decide you need something a bit more sophisticated, then Mr Site does offer the facility to create content offline and upload it via FTP.

If you just want to get a simple blog, photo gallery or online store off the ground, though, Mr Site is just the ticket.

Also consider
Serif Webplus 10 web editing package
A solid webpage design tool with a strong publishing background

Webeasy 6 Professional
An easy-to-use web editor for a wide range of websites

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