How to create a professional website with minimal costs
Article by Donald Lim
If you are thinking of creating your own web site but donot have the budget to do so, let me show you how to create yourown web site with the cheapest ways available without breakingyour bank account!
To create a web site requires 3 components as follows:
1. domain name registration (this is the web site address thatwe use to locate a web site e.g. http://www.microsoft.com)
2. web design for the site
3. web hosting for the web site design
(although there are other ways to shorten this process, I willnot be covering here because the main purpose of this article isto help you create a web site with the lowest cost possible)
Domain Name Registration
Register your domain with http://www.hostway.com or http://www.godaddy.com forunder USD per year. Sometimes you can get a domain cheaperwhenever there is a promotion.
Hostway.com offers one of the cheapest domain name registrationservices available online globally.
Alternatively, you can register your own domain name withwww.godaddy.com, the number 1 domain registrar in the world.
It is very simple to register a domain. Just go towww.hostway.com or http://www.godaddy.com and search for the domainthat you want to see if it is available.
If the domain name is not taken up, simply follow the on-screeninstructions to buy the domain for yourself. You will need yourdebit or credit card to buy the domain.
For alternative payment modes, please check with the respectivedomain name registrar.
Web Design for the Site
Now, it is time to create your web site design. Do not beintimidated by the thought of it because creating a web site isas easy as using Microsoft Word. The web design softwarenowadays offer you WYSISYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get) modeof design. The most popular web authoring software will beMicrosoft Frontpage and Macromedia Dreamweaver but they willcost you a big hole in your pocket to purchase them.
Fortunately, there are many FREE web design software availableon the market now which are totally free to download and use foryour web site. Some recommendations are http://www.nvu.com andhttp://www.evrsoft.com. Go ahead and download them, play aroundwith them, and choose the one you prefer.
If you want to learn more about HTML, go to http://www.w3schools.comfor tons of online tutorials but it is not mandatory to do so now before youcan start to design your web site.
Or if you prefer, you can engage a professional web designer dothe web site design for you.
Web Hosting for the Site
After your domain name has been successfully registered and yourweb site design completed, you will need a web hosting plan toupload your web site design onto a web server so that people canlocate your web site when they typed your domain name into abrowser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox etc. There are tonsof web hosting providers on the Internet if you do a searchonline.
We do not recommend free web hosting services available onlinebecause they will create lots of trouble for you as you go alongmarketing your Internet business or web site. Also, it will lookunprofessional for your web site with those sponsored ads allover your own web sites.
If cost is a major cost to you, you can try out this cheap web hosting (USD.00 per month) company http://www.3ix.org/sys/aff.php?aff=1768
Alternatively, if you are looking for value-for-money hosting,then please visit http://www.bluehost.com/track/donaldlim/goart
Common requests when creating a web site:If you need free and quality graphics/images for useon your web site, go to http://www.sxc.hu
To shorten the development process, I highly recommend you to go tohttp://www.dynamicdrive.com where you can find and download for free scriptsthat you can use on your web site!
Last but not least, if you need to accept online credit card payments butyou do not have the budget to get a merchant account, you can tryhttp://www.paypal.com, an online payment gateway trusted by morethan 100 millions worldwide.
Please take the time to check out the above resources if you are serious aboutInternet Marketing or starting a new Internet business. The resources above haveeasily save you a few hundred dollars for your startup costs for your new web site.
About the Author
Donald Lim is the technical writer for Nu Edge Technologies, a Singapore-based IT and Internet services company. He is also the founder of Nu Edge Technologies. More information about the company can be found at http://www.nuedgetech.com
He is also an Internet Marketer & Coach. You can subscribe to his time and money savings tips at http://www.internetidiot.com