Domain registration and web hosting

The first step is to get a domain at a domain registrar. You can register your domain from hundreds of different sites. The cheapest one I've found is NameSilo for $8.99 and that includes whois privacy.

If you don't have an idea for a domain name, here are some tools to help you find one.

• Lean Domain Search - Quickly searches for variations on a term, all dot coms.
• Randomainer - Generates random domain ideas based on a word or characters that you enter.
• Domize - Instant results as you type.

Lots of domains have been taken, but if you're imaginative, there are still many more available for you to use. Also note that your domain doesn't have to describe what you do. If it does, that can actually limit you. If Amazon was called something like books.com, then they would have had a hard time becoming what they are today. Often the best domain is the one that has no immediate association with a product, like Google and Yahoo. That way you're free to create a brand for the site without tying yourself down to any one area.

Once you have selected a domain, you need to find a place to host your site. There are literally thousands of web hosting services. A few with good reputations include:

• A Small Orange
• InMotion Hosting

Once you have hosting, you can use a free FTP client like FileZilla to upload your HTML pages to the server.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

Updated Oct 25, 2016