What do you need to do when starting your own website? How much does it cost? These are the first questions my clients often ask when we get started on a new web design project. Getting started on a new website is exciting and it’s pretty easy. It takes only two steps, anywhere from $20 to $100, a bit of planning, and you’ll be on your way. Here is what you’ll need to get started with building a website.

 

1. Get a domain name (from $10 to $20 per year)

The first thing you need to do to start a website is buy a domain name. This is the “whoever.com”, “whatever.net”, “youknowwhatimean.org” type name that people will use to find your website. Normally you won’t have to mess with your domain very much after you set it up with your website. It’s kind of a “set it and forget it” deal with domain name registrars. There are a number of different domain registrars through which you can buy your domain name. I recommend Namecheap.com, Hover.com, Gandi.com, or Dreamhost.com.

 

2. Get web hosting (from $5 to $50 per month)

The next thing you will need to do is purchase a hosting service for your website. Unlike your domain registrar, you will be working with your web hosting service quite a bit. This makes choosing a web hosting service an important decision. Which web host is the best is a hotly debated topic and I recommend you do your own Googling about it. My personal favorite is JustHost.com, I have several clients with websites hosted there and I haven’t had any major problems in years.

 

3. Plan your website ($priceless)

This is the most often overlooked aspect of designing a website. It’s very to easy to pulled into the various aspects of web design and to just jump right in and get started tweaking things. Without a clear road map for what your site’s main goals are, how you expect people to use your site, and how it will be laid out, you will end up spinning your wheels wasting days and hours figuring it out on the fly. No one likes to go back and do a bunch of work over again, so do yourself a favor and plan your website first!

 

That’s Pretty Much It!

It doesn’t really take much to get a website started. A couple of steps and a little planning and you’re on your way. Of course the next step (building your website) is where things a little tougher, but that’s a whole other story. I hope this has been helpful to you in getting your website up and running. If you have any questions about setting up your own website, feel free to contact me or let me know in the comments.