I want a website, what do I do next?

By Sandra Miller-Long, the WebGoddess

There are several main steps in getting your own website -- buying the domain name, getting your site hosted and then having it designed.

Usually, buying the domain name you want is the first important step. If you want an international domain (eg, .com) they currently cost between $15 and $35 a year; you can get one yourself from hundreds of places on the net now so there's no need for your ISP or Web Designer to be involved. For a nominal fee, your web designer can arrange to obtain a domain name for you.

If you are planning to register your own domain name, it is very important thing to make certain there no added costs for anything but the domain registration.  It is particularly important not to pay extra for things you probably don’t need such as: “parking”, “forwarding” or “DNS transfer”.  Usually what you want (and all you’ll need) is the domain name. Period. Your web designer might have different arrangements – be sure to check him or her first.

 Once you have a domain name, you'll want web space to house it in. That’s called “hosting.” If you use an ISP for your Internet and email access, you may already have some web space assigned for your use. For a small business site, 5 or 10 megs should be sufficient. 

If you don't already have space provided by your ISP, or if they're going to charge you an unreasonable amount to provide space, you can consider using a hosting service. As with most things, personal recommendation combined with shopping around online is a good idea although it can get somewhat confusing to the novice.

A good designer will usually have a couple of hosting companies with various price ranges and services available. The average website (25 to 50 megs of space) without a backend database or e-commerce, should run no more than $10 a month in hosting fees. The need for a database site (depending on size) could easily cost $200 a month or more.  For "hobby" sites, there are free hosting services available that are paid for by ads.

As with the domain name, a good designer should be able to arrange for hosting for you. There is usually a small setup fee for this service.

Once you know what the site will be called, you can start having the site built. A website designer will usually charge you an hourly rate to build the site. The total cost will depend both on the complexity of the site itself, and how organized you are. The clearer you are about what you want, the faster the designer will be able to make something you're happy with.

While the site is under construction, the designer will usually put it into his or her own temporary web space. This means that you will be able to see it as it progresses and give feedback to the designer. At this first-draft stage you will usually be required to pay for work-to-date.

Once you have given feedback to the designer, and they've made any changes necessary and the site is ready for the public, the web space needs to be finalized. The domain name is then assigned to the space, the site is uploaded and it's ready for business.

After the site is "launched", it will need to be updated on a regular basis. The designer can do this, or they can hand over responsibility for the site to someone else. If you're computer-savvy, and your updates are not extensive, you might even be able to do some of the site maintenance yourself.

You can see a range of Website styles at my old site www.wunderwebs.com/webydew/ while my new site (based on my cartoon character “The WebGoddess”) is in progress. My cost for an average small-business website, with domain name and hosting fees (for one year) included, runs from $350 to $2200 (Flash based)

Email me on WebGoddess@wunderWebs.com to discuss your own personal website requirements.