Getting a domain name:
There is a yearly fee to maintain ownership of your domain name.

VeriSign may be the most well known registrar out there and they
give good service with many add on's. At the time of this writing they
charge $35 to register a domain name for one year; $25 (each) if you register for 3 years and further discounts for additional years.

But there are many other registrars that charge a lot less and still
give good service. Just look to see that they are ICANN accredited, offer good customer service and that their registration/renewal process is user friendly. I have been doing business with 000domains.com for quite a while now and maintain several domain names with them. It only costs $13.50 per year and their service has been excellent.

Some Web Hosting companies offer Domain Name Registration in with their package so you may want to wait and see before you register the name. Just be sure that if they register it for you that you are listed as the administrator and owner!

Most of the common .com names have been taken so the one you want may not be available. Try an alternate spelling, abbreviation or one of the other domain extensions. See my explanation of a few extensions at the right side of this page.

THE BEST HOSTING FOR YOUR WEBSITE: Of course hosting fees vary and there are some "big bucks" companies that charge as much as $25 (or more) a month. But most of the time there is no need to pay that much. Almost everyone can have a great site for $6 to $10 a month. It is important that you research companies before you sign up for their services. You want a reputable hosting company that has good "up" time and does not overload their servers causing your site to be slow. But muct dissatisfaction comes from customer service. They should respond to any inquiries within a reasonable amount of time and show a willingness to help you.

I have used Host Assured for every site I have made. They offer a good all-around package. At times I have been tempted to change hosts or try a different one when building a new site for someone, but then would decide to stick with what I knew was a good thing! Then I would hear of some very dissatisfied customers of the very host I had been considering!

Host Assured has always responded to my needs within hours and dealt with me on a personal basis. One time even spending a lot of time helping me figure out a puzzling problem that really didn't even pertain to them. Most other hosts would have just said "Sorry, the problem isn't on our end!"

I have been using Host Assured since 2002! and have no complaints! In my opinion they are the BEST WEB HOSTING company! The base package which costs $7.50 per month if you pay it all at once ($90 per year) or $7.95 per month if you pay it quarterly ($23.85).

~ Use WYSIWIG Editor and do it yourself
~ Learn HTML and do it yourself (time consuming!)
~ Use a template basic layout and add your own text.
~ Pay a design service to create and set it up for you.

If you want to get your site up right away, then the "do it yourself" method is not for you (unless you already know HTML and graphics design). There are many templates available on the net for relatively low cost. I have seen nice, professional looking designs for around $15. The page design and code is already done for you and you can just insert your text and graphics. Templates are sold over and over again, thus the lower cost. This also means there will be other sites using the same design, but they can be made to look quite different with graphics and creative text. Some template providers will let you personalize the design and some will not. Most require their design logo and link to be left at the bottom of the page.

Then you will have to know how to upload your pages to your site. Some web hosts provide easy instructions for those who don't know how.

Hiring a Web Designer – Of course, the easiest way to get a web site is to pay
for the service! And again, the charges can vary a LOT!
   First get an idea what you will need:
    ~ How many pages (in general).
    ~ Will you be selling a product or service online?
    ~ Will you need frequent updates?

You will find many professional companies on the net and even some in your own community. There are also many "self-taught" and "do it on the side" designers out there. This doesn't mean they can not give you good service. Take some time to research. Ask others who they used; If you come across a web site with a design and look that you really like, email their webmaster and inquire. Visit designer's web sites and look at their portfolios. Click through to the sites they have created and brows through several of the pages. Does the site have a professional look, is the navigation easy to use, do the pages load quickly, is the information presented in a easy to understand method?

Some designers offer the option of using a template (their own creation or a purchased one) and customize it extensively for your site. Or they will offer a complete original design specifically created for your site and naturally you will pay more for it.

I have seen fees from $25 and up to customize templates and any where from $75 per page to $500+ for a complete custom design.