Whether you are doing online marketing or offline marketing (or a combination of both), a web site is crucial in this day and age. There are many ways to get a web site and the costs range from free to tens of thousands of dollars. Experienced marketers will most likely already have a web building formula that works for them, so this page will be geared mostly towards new marketers.
You need three things to have your own website: a domain name, a host, and a web site.
The domain name is the URL. It is what people type into their web browser to get to your site. The domain name for the website you are on right now is EdAkehurst.com. Domain names usually run 10-12 dollars a year. I use PowerPipe.com for mine. You can choose any company you want to, but I would advise against GoDaddy. I do not want to take space on this page explaining why I do not recommend GoDaddy, but if you are interested in those reasons, feel free to end me an email via the Contact Ed Akehurst page.
A host is a company that owns a server, which is a physical piece of computer hardware. The website that you design (or have designed for you) will be hosted on that server. When people visit your site they are actually accessing that server and viewing your site from there. There are many companies that offer hosting services. A good host should run anywhere from 5 - 15 dollars a month, depending on the size of your site and the features that are offered. I use HostGator for my sites, and you may see their services by clicking the banner above.
Web design is the look and feel of the site. You need an editor to create a site. Some companies offer free editing, perhaps the host you choose will have a built in editor (HostGator does, but I do not use it). Below I will add a few options for web site design with short descriptions. Check back in a few days to view the list.
Sandvox - this is what I use. It is for Macs only. I love it. If you are on a Mac, it is what you want to be using. Nothing more to say - creme de la creme and a breeze to learn.
XSitePro - this is PC only (unless you are on aMac with emulation software that uses .NET framework. This software is easy to use and is designed specifically with internet marketers in mind. It is what I used before I gave up on PCs and switched to Mac. Very complete -very thorough, easy learning curve.
Dreamweaver - this is an adobe product. It is expensive, but complete. I do not recommend this for people just starting out, but if you have some design experience, it is a great program and you can build just about anything with it.