HTML
The first thing I recommend to anyone who is getting into IM is that they learn HTML. HTML is how your web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, etc.) knows what to show you when you visit a site. If you’re going to be creating your own websites, you HAVE to know HTML. If you’re going to outsource your web design (discussed later) you will still want to know basic HTML so you can look over the outsourced work before paying for it.
If you’re interested in learning HTML, I very highly recommend W3Schools. They have a tutorial, examples, quizzes, everything you’ll need – all for free.
Domain Name
As I mentioned before, this is your Internet address. You can get a domain name at any domain registrar, but you’ll want to shop around for them, because each registrar offers different packages. My favorite registrar is GoDaddy.com, but there are other big name registrars like Yahoo! Small Business.
Hosting Account
There are thousands of hosting providers online, and the number grows each day. They vary in price and service, and it’s tough to know which one to use unless someone gives you a recommendation. Well, to save you the time and effort of having to look for a recommendation, I’ll give you one: Host4Profit (H4P) has one of the best programs that I’ve ever seen.
Their service and support is fast and good, and they also have a referral program, where once you are a customer, you can refer others to become customers to them for commissions of $10/month! H4P also does domain registration, so this can save you tons of time.
Honestly, I have yet to find another hosting company that offers the same service and support, let alone pays you such a large monthly commission for referrals. With their program, you can basically get free hosting for your websites by referring others to them. In fact, some of their customers receive checks for thousands of dollars each month because of this program!
When you have your website, domain name, and hosting account, it’s time to put them all together. If you go with H4P, and buy your domain name through them, they will take care of the hosting and domain name for you. All you’ll have to do is upload your files to the hosting account. If you don’t go with H4P, you’ll have to contact your hosting provider to find out how you can go about pointing your domain name to your account.
FTP
You can upload files to your hosting account through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Rather than take up 20 pages explaining FTP and what it is/does here, here’s a link to a site that explains it very well in a matter of a page, and also includes links to a few FTP programs:
http://www.wowbrand.com/articles/whatisftp.htm
You can also go to Tucows.com to find freeware and shareware FTP programs, simply type “FTP” into the search box and you’ll find tons of them. Tucows is actually very good for finding quite a bit of freeware and shareware programs. Freeware means that you can use the full version as long as you want for free, and shareware means you either get a limited-functionality or time-limited version, and then must purchase a license to enable the full version.
Site Build It!
Site Build It! provides all of the above things in one package. They allow you to easily create a website, host it, and quickly generate pages that sell. In fact, they offer ways to take care of pretty much everything I’m going to discuss in this book, which makes them a great value for new IMers.
Because I’ll never promote a service that I haven’t used without letting you know, I have to tell you that I haven’t personally used SBI yet. But I have received rave reviews from trusted friends, and the testimonials on their web site speak for themselves. These, bundled together with what I’ve read about them in the past and the fact that they have been around for years (and they have a toll free number where you can call and talk with a customer service rep), make me believe that it’s a great service. So research it yourself, and if it’s for you, go for it!
