since web design is the most complex type of media design i do hopefully this short explination will clear up some questions you may have about what it takes to design a web site

so you want a website? there are 4 basic steps in obtaining a space on the net:

• design a site
• buy a domain name 'yoursite.com' (.com, .net, .org, etc)
• buy space on the internet to host the files
• updating your site

the design part of a website varies in cost depending on how much information it has and how flashy you want your site to be. as well, the host (space on the internet) is the same way, if you need alot of space with alot of tools from a host then it varies in price as well. steps 2 and 3 aren't always necessary, but very nice to have. www.yourbusiness.com sounds alot better than www.a_site.com/~users/yourbusiness. purchasing a domain name not only gives people an easy to remember name but looks much more professional. a few places where you can check out your options are godaddy.com, doteasy.com, tinyhosts.com. each site has different plans to fit different needs. those are only a few of the very many hosts. to search and see if a domain name is available you can go to register.com and simply type your desired name to see if it is available to purchase. please note, do alot of investigating before buying a name and host or you just might end up paying for alot more than you needed.

purchasing a name isn't for everyone and there are many alternatives. there are various sites that will host your site for free but often that comes with a compromise such as less space, an unconventinal name like i stated, and also many times your site will have pop-ups and advertising banners. i'm sure we've all seen those. the best option i've seen is if you have internet through a cable company they usually give you free space automatically and a relatively easy name to remember. for example comcast does this and your name would be home.comcast.net/~your_site which isn't too bad at all.

i provide only step 1 in my prices. i will be glad however to gather information and help you choose what options are best for you for steps 2-4. these steps in no way concern me, nor do i profit from them. i will simply do this as a service to you.