I have noticed many people asking about how to start a website, what is involved and how to avoid pitfalls. Here are just a few top pointers:


1. Find a web designer you can trust. Most people run to the "create your own site" places to save money. In the end, you just realize that there are programming things you have no control over and your site does not look professional. Make sure your designer asks to be paid per project, not hourly. How long it takes him/her to write a chunk of code shouldn't be reflected in the cost to you. Ask your designer if he/she uses a template. Good designers will work "from scratch" and use php. You can request to have your site designed from a template, which often cuts the price of the design in half because the designer has half as much work to do off a template.


2. Do your research. You want cheap web hosting, but not something so cheap that you will never get customer service or end up with your server down. Beware: Some of the big-name hosting companies are much like the K-marts of web hosting. You won't get help when you need it and you might find your server down and your website down.

3. Expect to pay for quality. In the making of your site and the purchasing of your hosting options, you have to expect to pay for it. Your website may cost between $200-600 to have a web designer make it for you. Your hosting will cost around $20/month and your domain name about $8/year for a dot com name. If you are selling online, you need a cart system ($40/m) and an SSL certificate ($30/year). However, considering how much you spend for internet hook up and your cell phone bill, this is not very expensive. You have to look at it in a long term perspective. People are shopping online more and more. They are looking for your business online. If you have a presentable, well functioning site, these start up costs are totally worth it.

4. In web hosting, quantity is a lie. Most web hosting companies tell you they will give you 50,000GB of bandwidth and 500GB of Disk Space/month for a $30 web hosting package. This is a lie. If you ever used that much gigs in a month, they will kick you off. They are simply trying to dazzle you with large numbers because they know the average person isn't going to use that much anyway. Most small companies are lucky to even use 5GB of bandwidth per month and 1GB of disk space/month. Don't pay for what you are not using (or even getting in this case). Find a company that is upfront with you about prices and product.


5. Use people! People love to see people on a website. It makes a customer feel like they can associate with the site because there is a face there. Psychology i guess. Have your web designer use people on your site. It helps, believe me.

Good luck!

I agree with the point on hosting options. Too many times I have worked with hosting companies for clients that were affordable, yet unreliable as far as service. Twice in the past 2 weeks actually I ran into two different problems with two different hosting companies. Neither of them were knowledgeable enough to help me, which resulted in me doing research myself and having to fix both issues on my own. So, ask around to others you know who have websites and see who they use and if they're satisfied with the service they are getting :-) It might save you some headache later!

I would expect to pay quite a bit more for web design services. You can find someone to create a website for $200-$600, but if you want to make a lasting investment, and a high quality website, you'll need a higher quality web designer. I personally would expect to pay at least $1000 for a simple website, and higher with more complexity. With web designers you truly do get what you pay for.