A lot of people would like to have their own web site, but don’t really know what they need. Alot of companies take advantage of what others may not know. So I wanted to give you a brief over view of 3 things you need to have your own website.

# 1. Domain Name

A domain name is the web address to where your website will be found. Example: www.yournamehere.com

".com" is the most popular. Then most common addresses after that are ".net" and ".org".

Domains can be purchased as low as low as $9.99 per year.

I get my domain names from GoDaddy.com. They only charge $9.99, but if you look online for Go Daddy promo code (fatwallet.com), you can get a domain for $6.95 per year.

Also if you decide to use Go Daddy, check out my post: Myspace Producers!!! Step Your Domain Game Up!!! to view a video tutorial on how to redirect your domain address.

# 2. Host

Now that you have a domain name, you need a host. A host is where your site files will be stored online on servers that are available 24 hours a day.

Many host are the same. But what you should pay attention too is storage space, bandwidth, features that allow you to auto-install free software such WordPress (Used for Blogs), photo galleries and more. Also make sure they offer a Money Back Guarantee in case you don’t like the services they provide.

I currently use Host Gator. They offer a plan for $4.95 a month ? and a plan for $7.95 a month ?. I picked the plan for $7.95 so I can host more then one domain name. Plus they offer this free software called Fantastico that allow you to set up WordPress, phpBB2 forums, OS Commerce store front, Coppermine Photo Gallery, and more.

But here are some other possible hosts:
iPower Web – I’ve used them before, but had problems with their servers moving slow at times. As a side note; their customer service was helpful.
Bluehost – They provide you with a free domain name. Starting at $6.95 per month.
Go Daddy – They have plans that start at $4.29

# 3. Your Website

Your website is making yourself or business available to the world, 24 hours a day. If you don’t have a online presence, you have no idea what opportunities you could be missing out on.

Where do you start?

If you don’t have time to learn how to design and build a site from scratch, you can always use a template. Online you can find tons of free and paid for templates.

Free Templates:

• Templateworld.com
• Freecsstemplates.org
• Ramblingsoul.com/
• Free-css-templates.com
• Free-css.com
• Freecsstemplates.com

Paid Templates:

• Templatemonster.com - One of  my favorite template sites. Tons of categories available.
• Hypertemplates.com

Even if you get one of these templates, you will still need to have some knowledge of web design. My best advice for setting up your own personal site is to set up a WordPress blog. WordPress is a free content management system that allows you to easily edit you site. HipHopMakers.com is run off WordPress.

Plus WordPress has a huge community of users that create free WordPress themes, plugins, which are all great FREE software.

Check out some of the free WordPress themes:

• Freewpthemes.net
• Fresheezy.com
• Bloggingthemes.com
• Osskins.com
• Wpthemesfree.com
• Themelab.com

Conclusion

To get an entire, functioning site up, it will take some work. You can always hire someone to do the work, which can get pricey, or you can take advantage of some of the free resources out there, and slowly learn how to do everything yourself. I recommend learning. It allows you to be more independent so that you can edit the site as often as you need, avoiding additional costs.

In the beginning, the best way for your site to be its best is to research your competitors and learn what they are doing right, and even more important, what they are doing wrong. The more research you do the better it can help you build the perfect site that fulfills your needs.

My next tutorial will be How to Set Up a WordPess Blog in 5 Minutes ( w/ Host Gator), and how to change your theme, and create your first post.

In the meantime, I recommend you look into getting a domain name/host, and start promoting your content online…

I would like your feed-back on what are you looking for in a site. Your answers will have the possibility of being included into a video tutorial right here on HipHopMakers!

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