For someone that is not a computer guru, or even that familiar with computers, it can be quite intimidating to start a websitefrom scratch. There are a handful of questions you probably have going through your head right now, and I will attempt to tackle as many questions that will help answer the question “How To Start A Website“, in this blog post. However, if you are interested in how to start a blog I suggest you read my post geared on starting a blog 
Domain Names
The first thing you will need is a domain name. This is the www. extension of your website. For instance, http://www.the-best-web-hosting-service.com is the domain of this website. It can be very difficult finding a good domain that isn’t already taken, and you will more than likely need to go for a .com domain name. This is just one step for starting a websitethough. (see what not to do when picking a domain name)
Also, just because you buy a domain at GoDaddy doesn’t mean you have to host your domain there. You can switch your DNS to any server you want to use. In fact, I wouldn’t use GoDaddy for web hosting; just for domains. I do buy my domains from GoDaddy, but host with Hostgator; all you have to do is switch your DNS (or cut and paste your name servers in the control panel). Please see switching your DNS from GoDaddy to Hostgator.
Software: For Your Website
In order to create a website you are going to need a program to design your website, however they are quite expensive, nearly $400 for Dreamweaver and $200 for Microsolf’s version of Dreamweaver, which is called Expression. Of course these will take some training, because these programs are not for the novice user. However, there are many hosting services such as, BlueHost, GreenGeeks, and Hostgator, which all offer sitebuilders to help you in case you are not a web developer.
I am a web developer and unless you have deep pockets you are probably not going to want to pay several thousands of dollars for a site design, plus maintenance. In fact, you can start a website for much cheaper than that! Typically novice webmasters will install WordPress on their site and install various plugins and widgets to help customize their page the way they want it. To do this you need to use Fantasitico to install WordPress.
Testing Your Website
Believe it or not starting a website requires a lot of testing. This is a commonly overlooked factor that people fail to do until their users start contacting them because of accessibility issues. In order to have a successful website you need to make sure that people can use your site easily. This is the main ingredient that allows your site to be a successful one (along with excellent content).
You need to make sure your site looks alright in all the major browsers; Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Chrome, and Opera. Additionally, I like to be a control freak and see what my site looks like in almost every browser possible at http:///www.browsershots.org. When you create a website you don’t want it to look broken on different browsers.
Along with that I always try to make sure my sites are W3C compliant (not just for seo reasons) but to make sure their are no bugs on my website. It is a good habit to get into. Along with that I always check my site for malware with this sitehttp://www.unmaskparasites.com (from time to time). Furthermore, I recently wrote a post on finding 404 errors and broken links, along with using an .htaccess file to make sure my301 redirects are setup properly.
Website Cost
Another thing people commonly want to know is how much is it going to cost to start a website? This is kind of an intricate question to answer, because it depends on your purpose of the website. When you start a website you need to ask yourself is it for my business, personal site, eCommerce site, blog, ect. It can be very cheap if you don’t need to purchase any software or sitebuilders and only have to pay for a yearly domain, and web hosting (either per year or monthly). If you are interested in a cheap yearly fee; I would highly recommend you read my Fatcow Review. Also, if you would like to save $30 a year and get a free domain please check out this GreenGeeks review. Also, personally, I use InMotionhosting for this website because they offer a ton of different plans, and I simply love them!
Web Hosting: For Your Website
So now that you are all excited on starting a website you need to pick a place to host it with. Without web hosting your site would not be functional. Web hosting is the server that pay for which all your files are going to live on. However, there are hundreds if not thousands ofhosting companies out there so it can be impossible to determine, which one is right for you, unless you have a little assistance.
Another question when starting a website that people commonly have is what is the best web hosting service? Well, again this is a question that has more than one answer. For instance, the best hosting could be different for a blog vs someone that is starting an eCommerce business. You can expect to pay anywhere from $2-$400 a month for web hosting. I actually have a list on this site which shows, what I feel are the best hosting services to meet your needs. Currently, have these categories:
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