One way to do that and still keep the simplicity of Google Pages is to use a service like Moonfruit. Like Google Pages, Moonfruit — and there are plenty of other companies now offering similar services — provides templates and an editor that lets you move elements around on the page, write text and upload images, all without ever seeing a line of code — except for the AdSense code which you can also handle through the site itself.
You’ll have to figure out a design, something that might take a little effort but it’s good, creative fun, and you can do it for free as well, provided you’re willing to go in and make a change every few months. Moonfruit deletes free sites that it thinks aren’t being used.
If you’re willing to pay as little as $4.49 a month though, you can also buy a domain name (again, you can do that without even leaving Moonfruit, if you want) and pay Moonfruit for the hosting.
You’ll have your own site, with your own domain, with AdSense and even Google Analytics, without seeing a line of code or going anywhere near an ftp account.
One disadvantage with Moonfruit and its competitors though is that the reason you don’t have to see any code is that it’s built with Flash. You’re working with a graphic interface rather than the website itself.
That matters for two reasons: search engines can’t read Flash sites; and Apple devices such as iPhones and iPads can’t display them.
Moonfruit gets around those problems by translating everything you put on the site into an HTML version. That keeps the search engine robots happy but the translation isn’t great so the small number of people who reach the site with an Apple gadget are going to see something pretty unattractive.
But that’s not the biggest problem. If you’re looking to set up a simple business-oriented website, perhaps to sell services or pitch products, then a template service like Moonfruit’s will be fine. But if you’re looking to earn from advertising in general and from AdSense in particular, you need your visitors to keep returning so that they can continue clicking the ads. That means presenting dynamic content, articles that are updated and refreshed regularly. You’ll find that easier with a blog.
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