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There is so much excellent pre-written, open source code for creating a diverse set of web sites. Leverage WordPress, Joomla, DotNetNuke or Orchard, and WebMatrix to handle the task of downloading, installing and configuring the apps for you. Or you can write the code yourself using a range of built-in templates that help get you started.
| WordPress |
An open source Content Management System (CMS), often used as a blog publishing application, powered by PHP and SQL Server and MySQL. It has many features including a plug-in architecture and a template system. Used by over 13% of the 1,000,000 biggest websites, WordPress is the most popular CMS in use today. As of August 2010, version 3.0 had been downloaded over 12.5 million times. |
| Joomla! |
A free and open source content management system (CMS) for publishing content on the World Wide Web and intranets. It comprises a model-view-controller (MVC) Web application framework that can also be used independently. Joomla is written in PHP, uses object-oriented programming (OOP) techniques and software design patterns, stores data in a SQL Server/MySQL database, and includes features such as page caching, RSS feeds, printable versions of pages, news flashes, blogs, polls, search, and support for language internationalization. |
| DotNetNuke |
An open source platform for building web sites based on Microsoft .NET technology. It is written in VB.NET and distributed under both a Community Edition BSD-style license and a commercial proprietary license. DotNetNuke's content management system is extensible and customizable through the use of skins, modules, data providers, language packs and templates. |
| Orchard |
A free, open source, community-focused project aimed at delivering applications and reusable components on the ASP.NET platform. It will create shared components for building ASP.NET applications and extensions, and specific applications that leverage these components to meet the needs of end-users, scripters, and developers. Additionally, we seek to create partnerships with existing application authors to help them achieve their goals. |
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Whatever you choose, WebMatrix provides everything your web site needs to run including the web server, database, and framework. |
As you can see, I’ve got the recommended settings for IIS already. So I just proceed to the next step: 
There is no reason you cannot afford your own web site. As you install you’ll see links that offer very economical way of hosting your content. $2.75 / month is affordable and is one of example of great hosting options. 
The Web Gallery has many great starting points. 
