Starting a Website?

Domain & Hosting

Many people have written to me wondering how they can physically get their new website on the World Wide Web. It's a lot easier than you may think. Basically, you'll need two things - a domain name and hosting.

A domain name is just that - a name that identifies your website (like sweetdesigns.us). At GoDaddy, you can purchase a domain for $9.99 or less per year! Sweet Designs uses GoDaddy, and I highly recommend them.



Hosting is the actual publishing of all your website pages onto the web, as well as images, videos, etc. Although I personally suggest buying hosting (with packages starting at less than $5.00 a month), some may wish to begin with free hosting. Freewebs.com is a common choice. The downside to free hosting sites is that you'll most likely have advertisements on the top of your website. With paid hosting, you gain greater control. You get databases, subdomains, increased server space (allowing you to post more stuff), and increased bandwidth (allowing you to accommodate more visitors). Exactly what you get depends on which package you purchase. GoDaddy is a good choice if you're looking for paid hosting.

Making Money

Unless you're starting an ecommerce site to sell products or services, another way to make money online is through advertisements. All of the following ad companies have a variety of ad sizes and types, including video ads.

Adbrite - Very easy to set up.
Google Adsense - Ads are targeted to the keywords displayed on your website.
ValueClick Media - Very professional & excellent for websites that get at least 3,000 impressions per month.