[stu]

I was thinking about starting my own website but I have absolutely no idea how to get started.

I'm sure some of you guys/gals would be able to give me some advice on price, servers etc.

Would be very much appreciated.

Stu.

[cube]

How much do you know?

You need to know this:

Basics
HTML
CSS

Nice to know but not absolutely required
Java Script

If you want to go deep and add a database then
PHP
SQL - the most common database for webmasters is mysql b/c it's free

As strange as this may sound the most common software I use for making a website is a simple text editor like Microsoft's notepad.

here's a good place to start:
http://www.w3.org/2002/03/tutorials

If you do buy a book DO NOT buy a book about HTML. The subject is simple enough to learn by internet tutorials.

[cube]

As for servers well you certainly don't need a whole server (dedicated sevrer) to yourself unless you need
80 GB hard drive
and
1000GB of bandwidth.
Unless you're running a porno website you don't need that much.

Basic webhosting that costs $10 - $15 would be sufficient to start out.

Unfortunately most of what I know about price/options is dedicated sevrer plans and not basic webhosting. *wink*

here's a good place to get info

http://webhostingtalk.com/

[k_semler]

I reccomend FreeWebs. It is completly ad free, and you only have to say "Provided by FreeWebs" on the site home page with the script that they provide you. You get 40MB of space, and 500 MB of bandwith per month. I highly reccomend this site. It is a very good provider, I used it when I was running an abandonware site. (Hmm, I wonder if it is even up anymore? I havent updated it in over a year and a half.) http://www.freewebs.com

[MattSavinar]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('k_semler', 'I') reccomend FreeWebs. It is completly ad free, and you only have to say "Provided by FreeWebs" on the site home page with the script that they provide you. You get 40MB of space, and 500 MB of bandwith per month. I highly reccomend this site. It is a very good provider, I used it when I was running an abandonware site. (Hmm, I wonder if it is even up anymore? I havent updated it in over a year and a half.) http://www.freewebs.com

[BAM]

Hi there,

An easy option for a beginner website designer is to use a WYSIWYG software package.

There are many programmes out there - including a lot of duds, but for a great starting programme I can really recommend the freeware programme WebDwarf.

It allows you to create simple web pages using basic clicking and dragging techniques. You don't need to know any programming languages and it even has built in templates to begin from. Once you become comfortable with the programme and want to develop further, you can buy the "next stage" package called Site Spinner.

Webdwarf can be found at the following site:

http://www.virtualmechanics.com/products/dwarf/

[Aaron]

http://wds.peakoil.com

[stu]

Thanks guys. Some interesting options.

What about registering my URL? Does that come with the server or does it have to be done separately? I'm guessing it's not cheap.

Stu.

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('stu', 'T')hanks guys. Some interesting options.

What about registering my URL? Does that come with the server or does it have to be done separately? I'm guessing it's not cheap.

Stu.

[cube]

You do not have to registar your domain name with your webhosting company. However some will give you a little discount if you sign up for one of their hosting plans. I use godaddy.com as my registar. Yeah the name sounds weird but they're cheap.

If your domain registar company is different then your webhosting company then you'll need to "transfer your domain". This can be done for free. Just contact your webhosting company and they will give you the proper instructions.

here's a flash tutorial of making DNS chnages

http://www.versaweb.net/support/tutorials/