Build a Website

Once you have your domain name and web host, the next step is to actually build your website.

Website Builder Software

To build a website yourself you need some type of web building software. There are two ways you can get this software:

1. Free from your web host. Some web hosts provide a web site builder that includes free hosting and email. This is the best choice for beginners. All you need to do is click on the design you want and then add your text. It's really easy. As I mentioned earlier, I recommend the web site builders at Act Now Domains and iPowerweb. They each are easy to use, make good looking sites and best of all are really cheap.

I got a bunch of questions on the actual building process so I created a step by step build a website tutorial for people to use. Just click here for it. It makes the process really easy so it's worth getting.

If you want to sell products on your site and accept credit cards, you will need to sign up with an outside credit card processor for this. Make sure to check out my make money page for more info about the credit card processors so you don't end up buying a lot of stuff you don't need or going with a bad one.

2 From an outside vendor. There are a couple of different stand alone build a website software programs that you can buy and use to build your website yourself. I DO NOT recommend stand alone website building programs for beginners.

The pros are you aren't tied to your web host and they provide more flexibility than a web host's builder. The cons with stand alone site builders are they are really hard for most beginners to use (click here to see basic screenshots of one in action), they cost a couple of hundred dollars and most sites built by beginners with them look really bad. The most popular is Microsoft's Expressions Web which is the updated version of Front Page.

IF YOU ARE BUILDING YOUR FIRST WEBSITE, I suggest you just go with the build a website software that comes with your web hosting account. It is a LOT easier, doesn't cost very much and once you get the hang of how to build a website then you can branch out to your own software program later.