Now ever since I feel for the shortcomings of Blogware, I have wanted to stay far away from services that toss in a Web site manager and hosting all into one package. Giving everybody the benefit of the doubt though, Wild Apricot deserves a shot. It looks like it might be another great option out there for folks who just want a Web site going and do not want to have to worry about the back end of things.

So first things first, what is Wild Apricot? It might sound like a shampoo - but hear me out, it does have some advantages. Here is how the developers describe it.

Wild Apricot automates daily administrative routines like website management, member database, and event registrations. Your Wild Apricot account helps you to update your website, organize meetings, keep tab on registrations, and manage your membership database. You could use Wild Apricot to update your Web pages in half the time that it would normally take you to do.

Now when it comes to the price, they do have a free version - but some of the paid ones are way too expensive for my taste. $200 a month? Come on, I can go to any Web host out there and pay $5 a month, install WordPress and get up and running in no time at all. As far as price goes, it has not won me over just yet.

The features are nice, the promise is even nicer, but the price is what is the sticking point for me. If you are interested in learning more about them, I would suggest taking the product tour. If anything, it is nice to see another flavor out there for folks to pick from.

[tags]hosting, content, management, Wild Apricot, scripts, cms[/tags]