Developing your Domain

If you decide to develop your domain into a website, their are lots of tools out there to make your job easier.  I’ll disscuss those in some detail here.

First, get yourself a hosting account somewhere.  Check with your domain seller first as they may offer a domain hosting option.  I use godaddy’s hosting account and haven’t had any issues.   Make sure you get a hosting plan that meets your bandwidth needs.  You don’t want to have any problems meeting any traffick issues your visitors require.   Also, you may want to make sure you understand how you are going to  upload your html files and if you are going to have any difficulties using their method.  Godaddy, for instance, offers a free ftp flash program that easy to use and works good with small files.  Not the  best option for transferring larger files. 

Once you’ve settled on a website hosting plan, figure out how you plan on building your websites.  Look into software such as Dreamweaver for building your website.  Do keep in mind though that these software titles have a learning curve and that you probably won’t be creating professional looking website right out of the box.   You can create professional looking websites, but you’ll need to learn how to use the software correctly in order to get the full benefit of these software packages.

Another option for creating a website is to get some help online.  If you have an idea of what you want, you can go to freelance.com and have someone else, usually from another country, build it for you.  This is the best option if you want the least work on your part but don’t mind paying for it.  Typically, you’ll get a turnkey operation this way but be sure you find a recommended developer.  Someone with some good feedback and history.  Ask to see sites they’ve developed to see what they are capable of and ask for some referrals. 

The option I prefer for information related sites and has yielded some excellent results is to use wordpress.   Wordpress.org is a website devoted to building better  blogs.  You can download the software free from the website and upload the software to your server.  There is a 5 minute installation instruction sheet on the website that I found very easy to follow and the results are spectacular.  Extremely professional looking websites in little time with a minimal learning curve.  You can also customize your site to your hearts content with so many options for “themes” out there.   Some themes are free but other which offer more customization and more options come at a fee.  Usually paying a little extra is worth the added functionality.