Hello everyone,

I am trying to start a website and am kind of new to it. Does anyone have any suggestions as to who is a cost effective and easy to use website provider?

Thanks!

Hey rayjag,

There are a few different elements to keep in mind.

You need web hosting, which hosts your website files and makes them accessible via the internet. Depending on your needs and the traffic you receive, this can range from a few bucks a month up to infinity. Most likely starting at $10 or less a month should suffice.

Assuming this is a website you care about and plan to invest it, having a domain name (for example, karateforums.com, yourname.com, etc.) is a good idea. It's a little like having your own postal address, versus getting your mail delivered at someone else's house. If you have yourname.somethingelse.com, the owner of somethingelse.com controls that name and you don't.

And then you have your website files. Are you planning to pay a designer or developer? Or do you have a friend that was going to help you out? Or were you hoping to do it yourself by reading some guides and installing a publishing platform like WordPress? Or perhaps, if it's basic enough, through some sort of web based website generator or creator? There are different services out there that will allow you to do that, but they can be limiting.

I hope that this helps. Once I know some more, I'll be glad to offer some more thoughts.

Thanks,

Patrick

I am planning on getting something that has 4-5 pages, a shopping cart and able to take payments. I will have a friend assist with some and I am planning on reading up on website design. I do not want it to be too crazy though. I am hoping for some point and click. I already have a domain name to use.

Thanks!

Hey rayjag,

My pleasure. Cool. I don't really have much experience in that area as I'd generally use some sort of software or platform to run the site as that tends to work best. It may be worthwhile to save some money and pay a skilled designer to put together something for you based on WordPress. You can get a really nice website developed by a one-man shop or a small firm for a couple of thousand of dollars, I've found. And it tends to be worth it.

I'll continue to think about this and if I find any WYSIWYG editors you could use or turn key solutions, etc.

Best of luck.

Thanks,

Patrick