Web Site of My Own???

[Bob Cowan]

If I wanted to build a simple .com web site of my own, how would I go about doing that? Is there a useful ".Com for Dummies" book available?

What does that cost? Roughly?

I did a simple blog site this year, but it's pretty limited.

[DARKPT]

Domain name registration is very cheap, it's the hosting that can add up depending on what you need.

What are you looking to be able to do with the site? (ie, stream audio or video, have a bunch of e-mail addresses of large attachment capacity). Facebook (and similar sites) serve a huge group of people that used to need their own domain for personal web space.

I have my own domain registered and hosted with Godaddy.com. I write one check every 3 years to maximize the price break. I have 5 e-mail addresses at my domain name available to me with 3-5MB each for e-mail attachments. I don't know how much capacity on the site I have, but its way more than I use.

Knowing what you want to do with the site will also help us steer you toward training material. Simple HTML can be done with MS-Word. Heck, I even used Notepad in college to do class assignments in HTML.

[2FAST4U]

I use Bravenet. Domain name and high bandwith cost me $107 per year. It's pretty easy.

[John / My427SC]

Requirements: Domain Name, Web Host, some sort of website software

To start out by purchasing a domain name - cost about $10 for a year.

Then there are free web server packages that will let you run a website from your home computer while your working on it and before it is "published"

UniServer
Xampp
Wamp

Joomla, for example is a free "content management system" that is open source. You download the latest version, install it in your local webserver and you have a very basic website. Other options - WordPress, etc

Here is what the basic, free, joomla site looks like:

Joomla Hosting - Launch a Joomla site in the Cloud

I think the easiest way would be to purchase a template. RocketTheme has some pretty decent ones which cost around $50. They have dozens to chose from

Joomla Templates Club

You then can edit the template - substituting your pics and text and go from there.

Now that you have a working website - you need a "host" to publish it. Some low cost hosts like BlueHost, Hostmonster, GoDaddy etc are in the $5 to $8 per month range. But since you completley OWN the website you created, you can easily move it to another host if your want.

Lots of videos and tutorial out there on the web

[Bob Cowan]

I'm involved with a few unusual projects. For example, one of them is racing the Roadster. What I'v done to the car seems to be somewhat unusual, and I'v learned a lot along the way. I get a lot of questions about that, and people want to know details.

I'm looking for an easy and concise way to pass on that information. Sort of like a collection of very specific tech articles. It seems like a dedicated .com web site with sections for each project would be a good way to do that.

Remember The Butcher? I learned a lot from him.

It may not be worth the effort. It's just an idea that's been floating around in my head for a while.

[Fezzek]

Bob, WordPress is all you need.

Free tool, $10 for domain registration, then a few dollars a month..

Blogspot might also be enough as well, and that is completely free.

Martin

Originally Posted by Bob Cowan

I'm involved with a few unusual projects. For example, one of them is racing the Roadster. What I'v done to the car seems to be somewhat unusual, and I'v learned a lot along the way. I get a lot of questions about that, and people want to know details.

I'm looking for an easy and concise way to pass on that information. Sort of like a collection of very specific tech articles. It seems like a dedicated .com web site with sections for each project would be a good way to do that.

Remember The Butcher? I learned a lot from him.

It may not be worth the effort. It's just an idea that's been floating around in my head for a while.

[niceguy]

I use wordpress also, it's easy to use and it's free. I use 1and1.com for domain names and hosting.