Im sure you will now all be pleased to see this post. We will be discussing how to go about preparing a website today and the first place to start is with what you need and the best places to get this. Im sure that some of you here already know this information but for those that do not, this is important information.

By now you should have gathered your aims for your website, your basic layout and structure and the tools required to start work. However, there is one more step before you can start to implement! Alot of the time, beginners miss this step as they do not understand its importance which can set you back from the very beginning. There are only two requirements for setting up a website and these are

• Domains
• Web Hosting.

Domains:

For those who do not know, a domain name is the text that will appear in your websites url. For example if you chose your name as cutekittens with the .com domain then your website's url would appear as www.cutekittens.com.
There is alot of conversation about which domain is the best for which website. For beginners your best bet is to simply stay with the most popular and common being .com and .co.uk.
The most important aspect to note about choosing a domain name is the name itself. If your aim is to make money then you will have to pay even more attention to this detail. For beginners who wish to go into Internet Marketing, more on these detailed domain names will come later. For those who are simply wishing to create there first website, you should choose a name which relates exactly to what your website will offer. For example if your website will be on board games, you may wish to register your domain name as popularboardgames.com or boardgamesreview.com.

In order to register a domain name you have to go to a registrar. There are many on the internet, but i highly recommend NameCheap

Web Hosting:

In order for your domain name i.e. cutekittens.com to show any content you will require a web host. A web host is simply a company that hosts your files online so that your url can be directed to it and displayed. Depending on what type of website you wish to run, will depend on what type of web hosting package you require. For simple web pages you will not need any specific requirements and so any web host will do. You can use free web hosts to start out but be aware that advertisements may be shown throughout your website if you choose this option. I would recommend experimenting on your own computer before you wish to publish a website. Once you are happy with your results, you can acquire a web host and upload your files to the host via your ftp client you chose earlier.

Experimenting locally:

For simple webpages you can view these on your own computer simply by opening a web browser. Open your web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Mozilla firefox), Go to File > Open file. Browse to your .html page and accept. It will display your webpage just as it would if it was hosted online.