Build Your Website in a Weekend

While it seems that everyone and his dog (or cat) has a website, there a plenty of people out there that never got around to creating one, even though they could profit from it. Many people feel that they are not technically gifted enough, and that building a website would cost too much time or money.

The following, therefore, is not for the seasoned web designer, but for all those artists, crafters, freelancers and small business owners who want a website, but have all thoses excuses why they have not managed to get one yet.

What if you could set up your own website in one weekend, without having to engage in any HTML programming? Here is how:

1. Get a host. Your website has to be hosted somewhere. The options are free website communities (such as http://www.tripod.lycos.com/ or http://geocities.yahoo.com/), your own ISP (internet service provider), which might offer you a personal website, or a paid host (of which there many, you can find a list of popular hosts at http://www.websitehostdirectory.com/). I would stay away from the free offers, as these include ads and do not provide you with a professional image (though both Tripod and Geocities also offer paid ad-free options, sometimes with your own domain name) (1 hour)

2.Get a domain name. This is optional, but having a URL such as www.zebrabreeder.com (which was still available as I wrote this article:-) is more memorable than www.geocities.com/zebrabreeder. The other advantage is that you can take your domain name with you, if you ever switch ISPs. Just be warned that many of the