For the most part, today, virtually all small businesses should have a website (but at the very least you should have a professional email address). Whether or not the value is direct or indirect there is indeed value in just having a web presence. If you want to get one started without any upfront cost then give Microsoft Office Live Small Business a look.

With this package, you can get a web site and email hosting with, optionally, e-commerce tools free for a year. Since this is a Microsoft Office product, the interface is going to be similar to their existing Office  suite look and should be relatively simple to use. You can’t beat the price and this is certainly better than many other “free” hosting services which embed ads into your site or do not let you have your own domain name.

One tip though is you should register your domain separate from using this service. In other words, buy and own your domain (it’s only $10-$15 per year) before taking advantage of the Office Live service. This gives you the flexibility to easy change providers in the event you want move your hosting.