Posted by ben on March 04, 2000 at 01:12:02:
Bob, there are a few simple steps to begin with. First, you have to find a “hoster”… somebody to host your site. There are millions of web hosting companies, I can help you find one if you like. That will usually cost about $15 - $29 per month, depending on how much traffic you get and how many megabytes of space you buy. There will usually be a one-time setup fee of about $19 - $49, and you will be asked to pay for the first three months up front.
Before you put your site up, you need to get and register a Domain name. This will cost $70.00 for the first two years, $35 per year after that.
Now you have a Domain name and have found a company to host your site. So you Build your site. You can hire a web designer to do this, they will charge you anywhere from $800 - $1500 … or you can have a template designer build one for about $300 (will not look as original, will not be unique but WILL look pretty good) … or you can build your own. There are some great software packages out there for very resonable price - MS Front Page 2000 for example is excellent and will let you make a page just as if you were using a Word Processor (about $150). I use Net Objects Fusion which cost more but is VERY good. You can even make a basic page with Netscape, which you probably already have and can get for free - or with MS Front Page express, also free.
CHEAP ALTERNATIVES - you can make a web site without the Domain name by using one of the many Free site hosters such as Yahoo/Geocities, Tripod, Fortune City, etc. But the web site won’t have your name, your company name of ANY unique name. That would save you the $70 fee for Domain name and the setup fee & hosting fees. I love these services for personal pages but hate them for business - because they force your visitors to put up with floating java applets & advertising and because they give your business the appearance of being cheap or not completely legitimate; but you can’t beat the price.
If you are really interested, I would be happy to email you the resources, about 20 different free hosters, links to some shareware & freeware for building a site and other helpful tips. If you decide to set up a proper business site with your own domain name, I’ll be happy to help you register with Internic and introduce you to somebody who will host your site for $6.95 per month - they will give you FIVE EMAIL addresses to use for your business, 30 megabytes of disc space, and over 2000 megabytes per month of transfer hits.
Please email me with questions and I will help you. Good Luck!