[Tripp]

Originally Posted by CigarNut

godaddy is about the cheapest reliable registrar.

The cost varies depending upon the top-level domain (.com, .net, etc.) that you use; I think it is $7-$15 -- just for the domain registration.

Next you need a hosting service -- some business to host your domain (web site and pages and email). This can cost anywhere from $5-$10 per month depending upon your site. Usually you can get a break in price if you pay for a year at a time. Just to give you an idea, I am paying about $8/month for www.shilalasbeads.com.


When considering a hosting service you want to look at

• cost
• reliability (do they backup the site, will they restore it if a problem occurs)
• support (when I have problems can I contact them by phone, email, etc.)
• hosting services -- what kinds of web pages do I need and will they support those (for example, I use "ASP" pages on my site -- that is a scripting technology from Microsoft that allows the pages to be operate somewhat intelligently, so I need a hosting service that supports ASP)
• What kind of database support do they have (you may not need one now, but you may want one later to manage your products, features, costs, and inventory)
• Multiple domain support (you may want more than one domain pointing to the same site -- I have 14 names for my web site that all point to the same location.)

Some hosting services (including godaddy) have applets to help you build a basic site without requiring any skill at develping web pages.

Once you get this going then you need to configure the site for all your email addresses and create and upload your web pages.

I work for a pretty popular host, and