How to do a website?

[another view]

First off, I wasn't sure if this was more of a "Viewfinder" or "Help" topic, but here goes. I want to start my own website. At the moment, I'm working on a logo and business cards, so I want to list the website address. All I'm really looking for now is to register the domain name, and have a "Coming Soon" sort of page, maybe with an image and an e-mail link, etc. I want to use my own name as the website address as opposed to a Tripod page or an on-line gallery on another website.

Down the road, I hope to have several gallery pages, a bio - typical stuff. Maybe even on-line proofs with password protection, but that's a ways down the road. I guess I want to keep the options open for now. I'd also like to have one e-mail address (maybe not right away) using the domain name - I think it looks more professional than a "@yahoo.com" type address. How do I get started, any rough ideas on cost?

[Sebastian]

There are two thing you need to pay for, server space and the domain name.

Other than that, all you need is notepad and some basic HTML knowledge. THere are several web page authoring packages out there that do a decent job at streamlining the workflow to help you get stuff done faster, but that might not be necessary in your situation.

www.surpasshosting.com for cheap hosting
www.register.com for the domain name

Make sure we talk about this when we get together, I do a lot of web stuff for my day job as well as doing it on the side for myself and others.

[Asylum Steve]

There are two thing you need to pay for, server space and the domain name.

For once, Seb knows what he's talking about...

Those are not the companies I use for my domains and hosts, but they're good choices.

You shouldn't wait to register your domain name, even if it's unlikely anyone else would want it. You never know. At one or two years for $15, you can't go wrong. And if you find what you think is a better deal later, you can transfer it and it's not a great deal of money to swallow.

Once you have your domain name, you can "park" it until you're ready to have it point to real site. Register companies will usually give you a default page for the URL with either a "coming soon" or "under construction" message.

If you want a custom page announcing your actual web site, you'll probably have to find a host first, then upload a temp home page for your account.

I would take some time to research web hosts. See what is the most you can get for your money as far as storage and transfer, but be sure the company is reliable. Most companies will let you upgrade space and services without too much trouble, so you may want to start small until you have a better idea what your needs are...

[mtbbrian]

This is very much the place for this discussion. I was in your positon a year ago.

If you already have an ISP, try this, it is what I do.

Create your site and upload it to whatever space you have through your ISP.
Then you can have that URL forwarded to whatever domain name you choose.
There are lots of places that will do it. But I use www.godaddy.com
It costs $9 a year to forward it. That way I can tell people my website is mtbbrian.com, instead of http://home.mindspring com/..................................
Even though it technically is that.
You can also for 99 cents a year, get five email address forwarded to your yahoo adress, so you could have webmaster, your name, etc @ yourdomain.com.

Just some budget minded suggestions that I have found through here and my own research.
Good luck! Can't wait to see your site!
Keep us posted!
Steve and Seb are very good resources for this. I have emailed a lot with the of two them.
This goes back to the days before Seb sold out and went Canon...
Brian

[Peter_AUS]

For web domain name registration, you can checkout http://www.godaddy.com as well, I have found them very reliable, very well priced and different amounts of years available for registration from 1 to 10 years at a time.

Web hosting is a minefield when it comes to picking what might be the right one for you. There are so many it isn't funny but there are sites that do their best to help you with some of the bad ones as well.

This site helped me when I was having trouble with a webhosting company to find a better one. The fourms I found very interesting helpful and informative.

http://www.yourhostsucks.com

As for designing your site, as Seb has said all you need is Notpad, and an understanding of HTML to get up and going. Other programs that are available are Dreamweaver, Frontpage, Word can do Webpages, NoteTab Pro (from fookes.com), GoLive from Adobe, HTMLPro from Visicom Media a Canadian company, and there are many many more, just depends on your finances.

I personally use Dreamweaver, have a few of the others as well, but find Dreamwaver suits me.

For website hosting, I use http://www.totalchoicehosting.com since the debarcle with featureprice.com which I would heavily advise people to stear clear of. Totalchoicehosting has an older owner, who is often online giving help and advice to people. Up time has been very very good, and their prices are competative with a few others. They have various plans and good forums as well.

Edit here:

I am starting to rethink totalchoicehosting.com as a web host service, after some issues this month they haven't been too helpful about. Service is a big thing to me and I rate people on the service they give to me when I have problems. Will keep updated about this. Also their plans are starting to slip when compared to others that I have seen recently.

Finnish edit here:

Hope that helps. I have heard a rumour that PJ is thinking of starting a website forum within these forums for the purposes of questions and answers. Hopefully that will be up here soon.

[another view]

Lots of great info here, thanks everyone. I just registered my domain name with Surpass Hosting - their hosting packages look pretty good although I haven't decided on a host yet. I'll have to check out the website Peter recommended - must be along the lines of www.paypalsucks.com ...

Anyway, a forum for this topic would be handy I think. I'm kind of middle-of-the-road when it comes to computer knowledge, so I need a little help in making sure I'm going the right direction now and then! And for the price, it's great advertising for a photographer. Surpass has a basic package which should fit my needs for now - at least until I get more familiar with it for about $48/year - less than you'd spend on a box of postcards (without the postage!). Anyway, the main concern of the moment is taken care of!

[magoo]

I use 1and1 to host mine. The tech support is pretty helpful to get the site up. the have a built in website creator to get the website up and built but it's crappy. You can disable it and use something like dreamweaver and update directly to the server. I don't remember the price I paid but I get quite a bit if bandwidth and 3 domain names included with my package at 1and1.com I use the buisness package. Also if anyone wants to have a link to their buisness site in the chicago land area or something for free let me know. I'm starting a Free community website for the chicagoland area. You can reach me @ webmaster@chitownlocalbands.com also the other link is Chitownonline.com it goes to the same place.

[Michael Fanelli]

FWIW, I have been using www.dezines.com as an ISP since 1999. My site has very fast response and I have never had a problem. My website has never gone down (knock on wood). You can choose to be hosted on Sun Unix servers or Windows servers.

[iKwak]

If this is your first time working on a site, I recommend creating a geocities domain and webhost, as it is free. You can then practice on the webspace that they provide for free.

The free 10mb space/bandwidth is quite enough for you. Once you get the hang of HTML and what not, go purchase a domain.