Lycos non-launches Webon site building service
No press release, no fanfare, not even a PowerPoint for the asking: Lycos has just launched Webon, a free site-building service that's solid, simple, and very usable.
Not that anyone is asking for a site builder these days. There are blogging platforms, social site builders, and social networks. Who actually builds a straight-up Web site anymore?
Webon builds straightforward sites, like this one for a vacation rental.
But if you do want to build just a site, try this service. There are basic templates for building photo sites, travelogues, wedding sites, or even just blogs (although: why?). Or you can start from scratch. In each template there is a decent collection of site themes.
Editing Webon sites is very easy: You just click on the boilerplate text and start typing. You can also insert a few different widgets, add new pages, navigation elements, and or your own HTML code. The editing functions are very smooth. Even uploading images is a snap, thanks to desktop uploaders for Vista, iPhoto, and Picasa.
All free Webon sites live at sitename.webonsites.com. If you want to use a custom domain, $8.95 a month will get it for you, as well as more storage space for photos.
Future capabilities may include video hosting and support for multiple authors, as well as more social features (OpenSocial widget support, I'd wager).
Webon feels like a solid, Web 2.0 implementation of a Web 1.0 idea. But if all you need is a simple site without about all those bubbly new concepts clouding your experience, you could do a lot worse.
Also new: Lycos Cinema.
Online site editors don't get much simpler.
Rafe Needleman writes about start-ups, new technologies, and Web 2.0 products, as editor of CNET's Webware. E-mail Rafe. 
