Purchasing your domain name is the first step in creating your web site. After you buy that virtual property, you will need a host! Hosting companies provide a wonderful service. Few webmasters have the means, or the desire, to have their own servers at home. Servers function much like “mega” browsers. They are online all the time and store the web page files that visitors will access.

A nice analogy for this process involves real estate. Your domain name is your virtual land. This will be where your house, or web site, is constructed. When you own your acreage, you still aren’t through. You also need a home for your belongings. Online, you need a home for your web page files and graphics. A hosting company’s server provides this home.

Few general webmasters want to contend with home servers. They are fussy, complicated, and if there’s ever a crash, every file you have on that server goes with it.  Purchasing services is like leasing, but there are added benefits for webmasters.

Maintaining your web site through a reputable, professional hosting company offers you security. They are professionals and are trained to keep those servers running at all times. If your site is hacked, they will take care of it, because it means all their clients’ sites are in jeopardy. If there is a technical problem they will repair it. Most hosting companies also offer free technical support and accessories to “decorate” your virtual home with.

The better hosting companies will offer numerous options and will charge reasonable prices for their service. These companies will allow you to be as technical as you want, or as simple as you like.

When you have your domain and your hosting company selected, you will upload your files from your computer to the server. This is most often done through a process called FTP (file-transfer-protocol). Your hosting company will likely offer this service for you to upload files. If you prefer to work from your computer, there are many software programs that accomplish the same thing. Two popular FTP programs for the home computer are also free. They are Filezilla and CoffeeCup Free FTP.

The process is quick and easy for even the most non-technical webmaster. The internet is full of resources and information to help you on your way to domain administration.

Your domain name will have a direct influence on how you approach the rest of your business. The best names are simple and descriptive, but aren’t too long or short. Your name should reflect the purpose of your web site.

Descriptive names tend to offer more success because the traffic can see where they are going. If they see: “booksandmore.com” they know they will be visiting a site that sells both books and other materials or services.

It is not recommended to use acronyms as they are simply too confusing today. Staying with the example used above, the acronym for the book web site would be “bam.com.” This could be seen by visitors as “Brenda’s American Memoribilia,” “Baby and More,” or even, “Bistros and Markets.”

There is no “right” or “wrong” domain name and that can confuse potential webmasters. There’s no proven formula for choosing a name. Some webmasters go by results from any of the keyword analyzers online to find the best terms for their business. Some ask friends and families or go through business associates and see what they recommend.

When you look for a domain name, you can choose from a variety of extensions. The most common, as well as what they stand for, are highlighted here:

* .com – Commercial
* .org – Organization
* .biz – Business
* .net – Network
* .info- Information
* .edu- Education**
* .gov- Government**

**These extensions can only be used by established and accredited educational facilities or government branches. They are not available for general use.
The most common extension is “.com.” This is one you should try to purchase if it is available. Most people know the “.com” extension just from television commercials, even if they’ve never surfed the web.

The pressure do build the perfect domain can overwhelm you if you let it. Just remember to do the best you can. If you become convinced that the domain name is a big mistake on your part, you aren’t stuck with it. With the majority of domain names selling for around ten bucks a year, it’s easy to just move onto another, and let the first expire.

If you find you have a domain that you don’t want to waste money on, be cautious! Be certain to verify your site hasn’t been moved to an automated payment system. Many questionable registrar companies have surprised webmasters by slipping those annual domain charges onto their credit card. At this point, they will offer a refund, but you will likely do all the leg work of going between the registrar and your credit card company or bank. That’s a lot of hassle for ten or fifteen dollars.

Your domain name will tell the public a great deal about your company. If at all possible, always buy your domain name before even starting on the actual web site construction. This will make your job far easier.

When you have chosen your domain name, you can register at register your domain at www.idomainsmadesimple.com.

There will be several options available when you design your web site. There is an option of creating a personal information site, but few webmasters will be going this route. A personal information site involves little more than content for your interests. It may be a hobbyist site or to promote your work in an art field.

The majority of webmasters will be seeking a greater purpose for their site. Primarily, a business that can grow and actually generate revenue. Some webmasters want profits immediately when the site opens while others may focus their efforts on more long-term rewards. Will you be featuring a product? Is your product suited more towards general web traffic or other webmasters?

Before you can open your virtual doors to visitors, you need to pinpoint exactly what type of business you will operate. What will be the main function? The two most common web sites available are support sites or business generating web sites.

Support sites serve a necessary purpose for webmasters. They take care of your loose ends by way of organization, public relations, and technical support. Support sites usually offer their assistance for daily tasks to help your business run efficiently.

The opposite end of the spectrum will bring you to business generating web sites. They function much like referrers, sending traffic, and customers, your way through online marketing. They may utilize banner ads, text ads, or methods of exchange. Business generating sites are often used in conjunction with a heavy online marketing campaign.

Your marketing efforts will largely depend on the site you choose to create. Any business generating web site will require good, solid marketing strategies. You will need to have as many visitors as possible for your site to function adequately.

Support sites, on the other hand, need to be functional. It is imperative that they work as well as possible. Many webmasters operating support sites will often pay more attention to site maintenance and general improvement than marketing.

Your site choice will determine what direction you take. When you begin planning you should always allow for marketing and development costs. Early planning will keep the business running smoothly and greatly lessen the chaos of starting a business.

Building your web site is easier than ever today. The number of resources for webmasters multiplies faster than any other information online. Can you do it, too? Of course you can. Building your web site is as simple as updating a blog entry. All you need to do is to perform some research and gather some equipment.

Before you do anything technical, you should have the aesthetic qualities narrowed down. What design do you want? The easiest way to avoid feeling overwhelmed is to simply surf the web. What sites do you frequent the most? How are they designed? Which layouts do you enjoy the most?

Take three sheets of paper and narrow your favorite sites down to three. Use one web site for each piece of paper. What appeals to you? Do you like their colors? The spacing? Is the layout simplistic or ornate? Do even the bullets have customized graphics? Or do you like the professionalism of the design? Is it a no-nonsense layout that places all emphasis on the content? What are the qualities you don’t like or don’t want?

When you have the three web sites analyzed and considered, you can start to plan your own. What background colors work the best? You will be using your own discretion for this step. What is most readable? Do you prefer serif (i.e. Times New Roman, Georgia) or sans serif (i.e. Verdana, Arial) text? What colors do you like?

The colors should match, but should also provide a smooth visual experience for your visitor. Anyone who has been online for a few years will remember the once common presence of intensely bright colors for backgrounds. There was also the use of a single image repeated a thousand times throughout a single web page. What we learned from experience is that these designs were migraines waiting to happen.

When you have decided on your color scheme and the designs you prefer, you must next watch the video on wire framing. A wire frame is a general sample copy of your web site. It is a visual reference that will help you see your web site as it will appear upon completion.

Once these tasks are complete, you can begin your project in Dreamweaver.