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One of your first steps is figuring out what type of online business site you want. Well you will need to figure that one out for yourself. But I will ask, what are your talents? Hobbies/interests? If you can drill down into something very specific, you will be a lot better off! Niche markets are a huge business on the internet. So if you own a rare automobile, play a rare instrument, live in a community that doesn't have internet representation, well you get the idea, right? Find yourself a niche market and I think you will find that it will be more successful than your run-of-the-mill, dime-a-dozen sites any day!
A domain name is next. Pick something that is very meaningful to the content of your site. Make sure you pick a few and check to see if it is available. One word of caution, if you check to see if your domain is available, you may need to snag it right away. There are individuals, and companies, out there that like to crawl through the most recent domain searches and snag names that good folks like you are just checking the availability of. Write down a few possibilities and then do your search only when you are prepared to register. Also make sure you register a dot com whenever possible. Other domains are nice but dot com is the ultimate. Trust me on that one.
When you're ready to register, check out the latest pricing at Ipowerweb. I registered through them as well and I was able to get several domain names at $2.95 per year each! That is the lowest price I've seen on the web to date. Also keep in mind that most hosting companies will usually give you a free domain with a hosting plan. See the table below for more information on some great hosting companies and plans.
Once you've selected a domain name, the next step you should take, and one of the most crucial, is selecting a web host. What is a web host? Basically you are visiting my page right now, and every other page on the internet that you visit, via the services provided by a web host. Now some large corporations, like Google, Yahoo, etc. may host their own sites. But trust me, it's expensive to do that and maintain absolute reliability. You could host your own site using your home cable modem connection, but what happens if your site goes down and you lose money? Wouldn't it be better to rely on someone else's equipment, with their built-in disaster recovery? I can tell you right now that the answer to that is a resounding yes! If you get to the point where you are making a great living on the web, then you need a reliable hosting service.
But don't worry too much about cost. As of late, web hosting has become surprisingly affordable. And even a simple website with decent traffic can pretty much pay for itself in Google ads alone if done correctly. For these reasons, and others, I have asked a good friend of mine to provide you fellow, and future, Beach Bums to use so that you can find yourselves an affordable but reliable web host provider.
And just so you know. My friend is a network engineer with over 10 years in the IT field. He has built a global computer network of 30+ sites on 3 continents, so he knows what he's talking about. Any other engineers out there should know that he is a CCNA, CCNP and CISSP whatever that is. He asked me to tell you that, if you care. Just know that he knows what he's doing so you can trust his advice. He even located a FREE hosting site that gives you just enough to get you started without an investment. What more could you ask for?
These are his top 5 picks for web hosts:
Sign up today and get started on your new career!
A domain name is next. Pick something that is very meaningful to the content of your site. Make sure you pick a few and check to see if it is available. One word of caution, if you check to see if your domain is available, you may need to snag it right away. There are individuals, and companies, out there that like to crawl through the most recent domain searches and snag names that good folks like you are just checking the availability of. Write down a few possibilities and then do your search only when you are prepared to register. Also make sure you register a dot com whenever possible. Other domains are nice but dot com is the ultimate. Trust me on that one.
When you're ready to register, check out the latest pricing at Ipowerweb. I registered through them as well and I was able to get several domain names at $2.95 per year each! That is the lowest price I've seen on the web to date. Also keep in mind that most hosting companies will usually give you a free domain with a hosting plan. See the table below for more information on some great hosting companies and plans.
Once you've selected a domain name, the next step you should take, and one of the most crucial, is selecting a web host. What is a web host? Basically you are visiting my page right now, and every other page on the internet that you visit, via the services provided by a web host. Now some large corporations, like Google, Yahoo, etc. may host their own sites. But trust me, it's expensive to do that and maintain absolute reliability. You could host your own site using your home cable modem connection, but what happens if your site goes down and you lose money? Wouldn't it be better to rely on someone else's equipment, with their built-in disaster recovery? I can tell you right now that the answer to that is a resounding yes! If you get to the point where you are making a great living on the web, then you need a reliable hosting service.
But don't worry too much about cost. As of late, web hosting has become surprisingly affordable. And even a simple website with decent traffic can pretty much pay for itself in Google ads alone if done correctly. For these reasons, and others, I have asked a good friend of mine to provide you fellow, and future, Beach Bums to use so that you can find yourselves an affordable but reliable web host provider.
And just so you know. My friend is a network engineer with over 10 years in the IT field. He has built a global computer network of 30+ sites on 3 continents, so he knows what he's talking about. Any other engineers out there should know that he is a CCNA, CCNP and CISSP whatever that is. He asked me to tell you that, if you care. Just know that he knows what he's doing so you can trust his advice. He even located a FREE hosting site that gives you just enough to get you started without an investment. What more could you ask for?
These are his top 5 picks for web hosts:
Sign up today and get started on your new career!
|
Company
|
Price
Monthly |
Storage
(GB) |
Transfer
(GB) |
Pop
|
Notes
|
|
|
$6.95
|
300
|
3000
|
2500
|
Unlimited Domains on 1 account. Extremely reliable.
|
|
|
$5.95
|
300
|
3000
|
Unlimited
|
Sign up includes a free domain. Best deal going!
|
|
|
$7.95
|
300
|
3000
|
2500
|
99.9% Uptime Guarantee
Best customer service. |
|
|
$8.25
|
30
|
600
|
Unlimited
|
Free Hosting available with ad support. Also reliable and affordable paid hosting plans.
|
|
$6.95
|
50
|
200
|
20
|
Reliable but basic account
is very limited. |
Note: Above prices are based on 1 year basic plans.
Pricing and availability subject to change.
Mr Beach Bum advises that you do your research and pick the best plan for your needs and budget. For example, you may want to consider a provider that offers you the ability to run a forum or blog, both of which can be very important to the success of your site. You may also need support for Frontpage, php scripts, cgi, etc.
Most providers offer a money back guarantee so don't hesitate to use it if you pick the wrong one!
Now get to work!
Next step? Building your web page.
Click here to continue to the next resource page.
Pricing and availability subject to change.
Mr Beach Bum advises that you do your research and pick the best plan for your needs and budget. For example, you may want to consider a provider that offers you the ability to run a forum or blog, both of which can be very important to the success of your site. You may also need support for Frontpage, php scripts, cgi, etc.
Most providers offer a money back guarantee so don't hesitate to use it if you pick the wrong one!
Now get to work!
Next step? Building your web page.
Click here to continue to the next resource page.
Beach Bum Guide #1
Getting Started & Selecting a Web Host
Getting Started & Selecting a Web Host
