While going through Yahoo Answers the other day I came across a question about the cost of starting and running a website. I then thought this could be a helpful information for many people who need or want their own online webpage.
Here are the basic costs :
1. Website building: if you can’t make your own website you’ll have to pay someone to do it. It can cost from $100 to $1,000. I strongly suggest that you build your own website, as there are many free website templates and HTML editors available online. Just do a Google search on it. Once you have built your webpage go to IM or Webmasters forums and ask people to review it and give you suggestions to improve it or correct eventual errors or mistakes. Here’s where you can find a good HTML editor: http://www.nvu.com
2. Domain registration: you will find different domain registration prices but I strongly suggest that you register your domain with namecheap.( http://namecheap.com) For $9.29 you’ll have a “.com” domain with privacy protection. And if you search for coupons on Google you eventually can get an additional discount. If you’re looking to spend even less money, you may register a “.info” domain with godaddy ( http://godaddy.com ) for just 99 cents. This promotional price doesn’t keep going on all the time, but the normal price for a “.info” domain at godaddy is $2.99, still a bargain.
3. Webhosting: here again there are all kind of prices. If you can afford to pay, I suggest you to use hostgator. Very important: if you decide to go for paid webhosting do not signup for the yearly payment plans, always use a monthly payment plan. In case you aren’t happy you can cancel your subscription at any time and move to another company.
Free webhosting with many extras and no advertising is available at 000webhosting. I’ve been using it for some of my websites and I’m very happy with the service.
4. Autoresponder: sooner or later you will need an auto responder. The most popular autoresponder services are Aweber and Getresponse and cost around $20 per month, paid by Credit Card. If you want a cheaper option I suggest Norabots. It costs $9.95, for unlimited campaigns and subscribers, and can be paid with Paypal. There are also several free autoresponder services you can use but they will add their own advertising to your messages. One of the best free services is freeautobot. ( http://freeautobot.com )
As you can see from the above, lack of money can’t be used as an excuse for not having your own website. Even on a tight budget, you’ll certainly can afford to spend 99 cents to have your own domain and let the world know of your presence online.
