Quote from PoundTheRock:
Any recommendations of a solid Web business hosting / site design company would be welcome. We are looking for a top-notch design firm. Thank you.
Hello PoundTheRock:
I do simple professional business card websites for lawyers all the time. I charge them around five hundred dollars for the entire process. Send me a Private Message if your interested.
For a more indepth website like content management system, I would recommend you check out elance.com. You will probably end up spending around 5k for a credible source initially, but it is worth it. Technology changes every day and you need a credible source to make the necessary changes continuously. Anything less, would be bad business and increase your liability of client information being hacked.
The beauty of simple business card websites is less hassle for continuous updates other then company information.
For hosting, dreamhost.com is very good and serverbeach.com for dedicated hosting (your own server for large traffic).
Do not use flash, avoid ajax, keep it simple to make sure it is compatible across all major browsers, and if your a product oriented company like selling trading software, don't enlist advertising on your website for another company, you are trying to sell your product, not theirs, lol.
For newsletter or email services, I recommend intellicontact.com or constantcontact.com.
You might also consider a blog, typepad.com and wordpress.com seem to be favorites.
If you have any specific questions, please feel free to send me a private message. Take care.