Have you decided to dive into what is known as the world-wide-web?.

There are a few things that are important and should be considered before taking the first step.

You need to have a quality presence that is reliable and always available.

You want your site to be visible and available 24 hours a day so it potentially can be seen by millions of people all around the world.

To fulfil this dream, first you have to setup your website.

Getting started is a relatively simple process, in this short article we will deal with the basics.

Selecting and Registering a Domain name:

It is useful if the domain name you select matches the name of your business, service or product, if you go to http://www.nameboy.com you can use an online tool that will give you endless ideas for suitable domain names and confirm availability as well.

Domain name registration can be done through many reputable companies for costs as low as $8.95 per annum.

So whom do you choose? That is entirely up to you.

A search of the Internet will reveal many more registrars, just ensure that they are reputable and responsible before making your final choice.

Personally I use http://www.godaddy.com, I have multiple names registered with them and have been provided with very good support.

Selecting a Web Host:

Finding a reputable host is more important than a Domain name registrar.

Sometimes, a host will provide the domain name for you as part of their deal if you signup exclusively with them.

This means that you have to use their services and hosting for a period of time.

Items to consider when seeking out a Hosting package are:

Disk Capacity - (Disk Space) usually in MBs, How much?

Bandwidth - Amount of content that flows to the user from the server (Try to find unlimited).

E-mail Accounts - How many e-mail accounts you can have at any one time.

Support - Is there help available 24 hours a day should your site go down?

FTP Access - You need unlimited FTP access to allow changes to be made to your site at any time.

CGI & PHP Support - Most packages provide this now as standard but you should still confirm it.

Web hosting can cost as little as $2.95 per month, in selected the package you have to decide what functionality your web site will need.

If you are still confused, you may want to seek out some advice, post a request on one of the many marketing forums, or perhaps do a search on the Internet for reviews on the company you are considering.

Planning & Building your Website:

Time for another choice, Build the website yourself or employ a Web Designer?

First what do you want your website to consist of?

Grab a pen and paper and draft each out your requirements.

- How many web pages do I need?
- About Us
- Testimonials
- Products & Services
- Affiliates
- Links
- FAQ
- Contact Us
- Order page

- How many pictures or images need to be on the web page?

- Do I want flash on my website?

- Do I need a shopping cart on my website?

A good idea is to take a look at your competition or other sites you like to assist you in planning your layout.

If you feel up to the task, you can choose to use WYSIWYG (What you see is what you Get) software package, it is just like working with a normal word document, basically all of the HTML is created for you behind the scenes with the click of a mouse.

Alternatively you can learn HTML quickly, an Internet search will provide you with many quality free tutorials.

Books on the topic are freely available or go to the library and get the knowledge for free.

If however you feel that this is a little more than you want to do I suggest you may want to consider employing a Web designer.

Ensure you gain a written quote from your selected designer before starting on your project.

So they have a clear picture of what you want, give them a list of requirements to work to and several reference websites to reinforce your guidelines.

The more information you provide, the more likely your site will look as you intended and the costs will be contained as additional changes will become unnecessary.

This is the basics, enough to get you started with your First Website, more specific elements of the process will be covered in future articles.

Author - Kevin Robb

Kevin Robb - Editor of the “eBF-News” A Free Private Members Newsletter that reveals 25 years of Online and Offline marketing experience. If you are results driven and have a passion to succeed on the Internet then the eBF-News will assist in your development.