| Just starting out, you can start with a simple | | | | if you prepay for a year or more, you will be given a |
| informational site, which is all most need initially, and | | | | discount. I recommend this because once you get a |
| build up to a fuller site (e-commerce and/or | | | | site, it is highly unlikely that you will ever discontinue |
| interactive) when you can afford it. | | | | it, unless you change careers altogether. |
| Your goal should be to get an online presence. | | | | About Free Web Hosting Companies |
| Remember, most surfers are looking for information. | | | | I do not advise the use of free web hosting |
| Dancing cartoons, streaming video and other | | | | companies. This is your professional online presence |
| interactive features are, in the great majority of | | | | and you get what you pay for. More often than not, |
| cases, unnecessary. | | | | free host companies have limitations such as space, |
| Naming Your Site: Selecting and Registering a Domain | | | | email specifications, domain name use, et cetera, that |
| Name | | | | won't allow you to operate as a professional site. |
| The first step in getting a web site is to select and | | | | How Much Should You Pay A Content Developer |
| register your domain name. Even if you can't afford a | | | | This depends so heavily on the type of content your |
| web site right now, it is a good idea to register your | | | | site requires that it's almost impossible to answer. |
| name. This can be done for under $10.00 a year (eg, | | | | Freelance writer and editor rates range from a low |
| namecheap.com). | | | | of $25 an hour up to $250 an hour, or more. Most |
| Choosing a Web Designer / Web Design Company | | | | are in the $50 to $100 per hour range. Shop around. |
| Choosing a web designer will depend greatly onthe | | | | As an editorial professional, I'm assuming that you will |
| type of site you are having built. Prices are all over | | | | provide your own content. However if you have |
| the place. Many designers/firms have a dollar | | | | neither the time, desire, or skill, you will definitely |
| minimum that you must spend in order to work with | | | | want to spend the money for a professional. |
| them. | | | | Finally Tally |
| Ball park figure: If you are having a simple | | | | If you choose to go with a web designer and are |
| informational site built, I suggest spending no more | | | | simply having a 2-3 page informational site built, pay |
| than $500. Learn how to update it yourself to save | | | | no more than $500. This is assuming that you write |
| ongoing maintenance charges. | | | | your own content and do not have custom work |
| An even cheaper option is to do it yourself. There is | | | | done, such as logo/graphic design. |
| plenty of easy-to-learn software (eg, FrontPage) that | | | | Cheapest Option: Do it yourself. A template site, or |
| make it easy to build a site. Also, many companies | | | | buying a software (eg, FrontPage) and doing it |
| (Yahoo, Microsoft BCentral, AOL, etc.) have | | | | yourself, with hosting fees should top out at about |
| templates that make it simple to drag and drop text | | | | $300/year. |
| and create a site. Rates begin at around $19.95 | | | | The beauty of buying software and doing it yourself |
| month. | | | | is that after you purchase the software, you only |
| Web Hosting Costs | | | | have to incur the hosting and domain name fees on a |
| Fees range from free to hundreds of dollars per | | | | yearly basis. These can be under $50/year - making |
| month. As a guideline, the average cost for hosting a | | | | your site really economical as time passes. |
| personal web site is $10-$25/month. Business sites | | | | See you online! |
| with higher traffic are in the $45-$75/month range. | | | | Parts of this article were excerpted from How to |
| There are excellent deals to be found on web | | | | Get Your Small Biz on the Web Quickly & |
| hosting (eg, peoplehost.com), so shop around. Usually, | | | | Affordably, available for immediate download. |