For the creation of multi-page, graphics-intensive websites, iWeb is an obvious choice for most beginners. But not all Web projects need an entire site to back them. As intuitive as iWeb is, using it still requires learning yet another desktop application. And although Apple has worked out most of the kinks in MobileMe, iWeb's preferred hosting service, we understand if you're shy about getting started with it.

Enter our favorite Web-based publishing services. These eight options offer both greater simplicity for posting single pages or files and more powerful features for data collection and collaborating. The only technical knowledge required is the ability to fill out Web forms and copy and paste URLs. And best of all, most of these services are free (at least in part).

1. BackPack

BackPack is our preferred utility knife in the world of online publishing. Each page accepts a huge range of content (photos and files, lists and paragraphs) and offers a full range of access controls (private, shared with collaborators, or public). Our favorite features include the ability to email text and photo updates to your pages from your iPhone or other mobile device and the ability to subscribe to all changes made to a page via RSS. (The latter is particularly useful on shared pages.)

But BackPack's killer feature is its combined ability to serve as a personal or group knowledge base, with the option of making any page public. The free version limits you to two users and five pages; a paid plan raises those limits and adds storage space for file uploads, among other extras. Our sole criticism: We wish some of the plans were a little less expensive.

2. Google Sites

Google Sites offers the closest comparison to the range of features offered by iWeb; the service aims to provide users with everything they need for full-powered websites. Pages are created, edited, and designed through the Web browser, with 100MB of free storage for file uploads. The default designs aren't as attractive or as varied as those in iWeb, but they are clean and navigable.

One of the service's most useful features is its integration with other Google services: Inserting documents created in Google Docs or videos posted to YouTube, for example, is a two- or three-click process. For wiki-style collaboration, you can invite other users to add and edit pages and files.

3. Google Docs

Google Docs is best known as the online equivalent to Microsoft's Office Suite, but its usefulness goes far beyond simple text documents and spreadsheets. Users can easily can share documents and publish them online. For publishing single documents, the free service is hard to beat.

Our favorite power tip: plug your spreadsheet into a web form to quickly collect information from visitors. To get started, log in to your Google Docs account, and click New > Form. Add a title and description for the form, and choose a title and field type for the first question. You can choose between text fields, paragraph fields, multiple choice items, and drop-down menus. File uploads are noticeably absent, but there are more than enough options to conduct a robust survey.

The next time you need your friends to RSVP for a party, send them a link to a Web form in Google Docs.

4. PBWiki

Thanks to Wikipedia, most Web users are familiar with how useful wikis can be. PBWiki offers a more user friendly (and access-controlled) option for individuals and organizations to create their own knowledge repositories. Editing pages is done through a standard WYSIWYG editor (which is much less intimidating than the bracket-heavy wiki code used at Wikipedia.) Access can be limited to authorized users or opened to the public, making it appropriate for school and business use. Accounts with 10MB of storage and unlimited users are free for personal and educational use.

5. Wufoo

If the online forms in Google Docs don't have enough muscle for you, try one of the paid plans at Wufoo. This online form generator includes every conceivable type of form field, from text fields to multiple-choice check boxes--as well as file uploads. You design forms by dragging-and-dropping the desired fields from the list. (Bonus: Common text fields like first and last name, and email address are predefined.)

Paid plans differ in the amount of storage space and the number of responses accepted each month. Back when we were walking uphill to school both ways, Web forms had to be hand coded, so we're slightly bitter that Wufoo has made it so much easier now. Damn kids!

6. Tumblr

iWeb's blogging capability suffers from several drawbacks, not the least of which is its dependence on a single computer. A Tumblr weblog, on the other hand, can be updated from any computer with an Internet connection and a Web browser. Other advantages include single-button republishing of Web content from quotes to photos, seamless integration with Vimeo (see below), and the creation of multi-author blogs.

There are those who would argue that Tumblr produces "tumblelogs" rather than weblogs, but it's not an argument that interests us. The fact is, Tumblr offers the most powerful and painless publishing of any hosted blogging service, and one of the best user experiences of any Web application we've tried. Period.

7. Flickr

We like iWeb's photo galleries, as well as those you can publish from iPhoto to MobileMe, but photographs are best enjoyed when shared, and photo-sharing is where Flickr excels. Flickr contains one of the largest communities anywhere on the Web, and that community is subdivided into groups for every conceivable photographic genre and interest. Photos can be added through a Web browser or emailed to your account from your Mac or mobile device, and access restricted to your friends and family. Free accounts are limited to 100 megabytes of uploads per month.

Oh, and if you think everyone's already heard of Flickr, go talk to anyone who lives in Arkansas. You'd be surprised.

8. Vimeo

We're late to the Vimeo party, but the site's combination of focused community and quality content has quickly made it our favorite site for posting video. Vimeo distinguishes itself from YouTube by enforcing a few simple restrictions on what can be uploaded--most notably, that any upload must be the original creation of the uploader. That requirement gives Vimeo's content and community a completely different feel than YouTube, where problems with copyright infringement are infamous and ongoing. And unlike iWeb, Vimeo converts all uploaded video to Flash format before posting. As much as we love QuickTime, the default format for most Mac-made video, Flash support is much more common among Windows PCs. And we're told that Windows is the leading operating system--at least for now.