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This
week Debra writes:
Hello,
I'd like to have my own website, but don't want to pay a fortune.
Can you recommend some hosting sites that are quality, reasonably
priced, and allow you to add/edit freely?
Thanks!
Debra
H i
Debra,
As I see it, you have a couple of choices. There are many web hosts
who will give you complete control but that might be a little more
freedom than you are looking for. These hosts provide space on their
servers and not much more. You will probably need a program like
Microsoft FrontPage to help you create and maintain your site (unless
you want to learn the ins and outs of HTML and web administration.
Doable but probably not what you're after).
My web host, Cedant.com, is pretty much like that. I upload my files,
they provide server space, that's it. They used to have an HTML editor
at their site but I don't think they do anymore. I use MSFrontPage to
make creating and administering my site easier. This service only costs
$7.95 a month.
I started off with my first website at a free web host: geocities,
which became Yahoo. There are loads of places like this. They offer you
a relatively small amount of webspace for free and usually include page
editing software that is easy to use. Angelfire, and homestead are two
other free services that spring to mind. Usually with a free service you
cannot choose your own domain (for example, my site is now at
www.julieduffy.com
but it used to be at www.geocities.com/jwordsmith
- a little less easy for people to remember. In addition free services
usually subject your viewers to pop-up ads, which can spoil the look of
a site.
When you say "add/edit freely" I should point out that most
web hosts put a transfer limit on your site each month. The more
information you upload (or users download) the more it will cost you.
Having said that I get several hundred hits each day and have yet to
exceed the transfer rate on my ultra-cheapo basic-program hosting fees
(my web company must hate people like me!), so I don't think it's
something you have to worry too much about yet.
What will you be using the site for? Is it important that is has a
professional veneer? If so, steer clear of the free sites, get yourself
a domain name and an HTML editing program and learn a little about
website administration (not too much is necessary). If it is simply a
first site, somewhere to 'play' online, post some writing, get a feel
for the web, by all means use one of the free sites, learn all you can
and have fun. You'll probably outgrow them in time - as you want to do
more flashy stuff and introduce more functions to your site - but it's a
cheap way to learn.
When it comes time to upgrade to paying service, you can research
current service providers ratings at a consumer opinion site like
epinions.com. That's where I found out about Cedant.com. (I get nothing
for mentioning them!).
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Julie
***
I’d love to hear
your comments on this article: was it helpful? Have a question about getting started with
self-publishing? Is there anything I missed that you would
like to know about? Send your comments to
.
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