Finding An Affordable Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting Service

Finding An Affordable Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting Service
by ConnectSaveDomains.com



With the internet expanding exponentially on a daily basis, it seems that almost everyone is finding their own place on the web. Many businesses and individuals,for that matter, are adding to the ever growing internet by developing and publishing their own web sites.

There are two things that are necessary when publishing a web site... a domain name and web hosting. Domain names are like a phone number that dial up your site for viewing and most commonly end in .com, .net, .biz, .info and so on. Web hosting creates the actual space your web site will occupy on the worldwide web.

There are many companies that provide the services of domain name registration and of web host. The fees that are charged by these companies for domain name registration and web hosting also vary greatly. The key is to get the most value for the least amount of money. At ConnectSaveDomains.com, they can provide both domain name registration and web site hosting at amazingly affordable rates.

At ConnectSaveDomains.com, you can purchase a .com domain name for as low as $6.95. In addition, there are free bonuses with each domain name registration. Additionally, if you purchase a non-domain service, then your domain name registration is just $1.99!

Web hosting starts at just $3.99 per month for the Economy Package. The Economy Package will serve most people's needs as it includes 5 GB (5,000 MB) of space, 250 GB (250,000 MB) of bandwith (transfer), 500 email accounts, 10 MySQL databases, 99.9% uptime guarantee, 24/7 support and much more. Of course, if you are thinking of hosting more than one web site, you may want to consider the Deluxe or Premium Packages which give you more web hosting space and transfer as well as allowing you to host more than one web site and domain name on the same account. The rates for both those packages are still far below the average pricing found elsewhere.

In addition to domain name registration and web hosting at ConnectSaveDomains.com, they also offer a wide variety of services such as a web site builder, email accounts, domain name transfer, ssl certificates, shopping carts, a merchant account so you can accept credit cards, web site promotion and search engine submission, as well as many other products and services.

Check out the savings for yourself. If you like them, tell your friends too.

Cheap Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting Services



About the Author

Cheap Domain Name Registration and Web Hosting

Buying and Selling Domain Names

Buying and Selling Domain Names
by OnlineWebMarket

"Domain names are only registered for a limited amount of time, usually between 1-10 years. After this period all rights associated to the domain name expire and the user is forced to renew again.
Many people buy and sell domain names a few hours a week as a means of income. There are two main reasons someone would be willing to buy a domain name, the first being that they let their own domain name expire and are trying to buy it back. They likely have spent years building up traffic and don't want to lose it.
Another likely reason someone may pay a lot of money for a domain name is because they are in the same industry as the one that has let the name expire. This will pay you to secure the existing custom of a rival company.
You can find many sources for expired domain name information including research tools that sometimes require a small fee. If you want to invest money in buying and selling domain names limit your number of purchases to ones you know are a hit. When looking at expired domain names makes sure traffic in the last month is at least 1500. Make sure you are investing your money into something that is going to show you profit.
Obviously if you are lucky enough to run into a site that has tens of thousands in traffic numbers get it as fast as you can. You will be sure to know that if the previous owners are trying to get their hands on it, someone else is!
Some of the profits seen in this business of buying and selling domain names there have been some serious winners in the past, making as much as $250,000 on a single domain name."
About the Author
Written by OnlineWebMarket. Get more information on Domain Name Appraisals and more Domain Name Trading info.

Which Domain Name Do I Choose?

Which Domain Name Do I Choose?
by Colin Hartness

What is the best domain name to choose?
This is good question. Let's say I am starting a new business venture. I have decided on my company name and it is registered with the relevant authorities.
My company is called Joe's Trading Ltd and I sell cheap widgets. I now need to get my domain name. So what do I choose?
Firstly let's start with the name itself.
My company is called Joe's Trading Ltd so I guess I should register 'joestradingltd.com' or 'joestrading.com' or 'joestrading.co.uk', right?
Well no, not really...
When I register a domain name I need to consider a few important factors.
Firstly, what is the purpose of the domain? Is it's purpose corporate branding or is it to drive traffic to my website?
Well if my company is 'IMB' or 'MacDonalds', then I guess that branding is all important but 'Joes Trading Ltd' wants to sell blue widgets online and lots of them. My main priority is to generate website traffic and the more the better.
I am selling widgets. This is my target market and my unique selling position is that they are cheap.
So what has this got to do with my domain name?
Everything!
The domain name is a major factor when it comes to ranking on search engines. And search engines provide 90% of web site traffic.
In recent studies, it has been discovered that the domain name itself is a ranking factor and counts for 30% of the total factors that the search deems important when it ranks websites in its index.
Really, it is THAT important!
So what makes a higher ranking domain name?
Well, firstly short is best. The shorter the domain the higher the ranking.
Secondly, the domain must include the keyword for which you wish to rank high.
In this case Joes Trading Ltd sells Widgets so the domain should contain widgets. The widgets are cheap so the domain could be 'cheapwidgets.com'. This domain is going get higher ranking in the search engines for the search term 'widgets or 'cheap widgets' than 'joestrading.com' could ever hope to achieve
Higher ranking means more traffic which in turn means more sales & profits.
So when it comes to purchasing your domain make search engine ranking your number one priority.
About the Author
Colin Hartness is the Sales Manager for Cheap Domain Names UK, a company specializing in low cost domain registration and hosting services with cutting edge onlne website building software. For more details visit http://www.cheapdomainnames.uk.com

Domain Name Forwarding and Search Engines

Domain Name Forwarding and Search Engines
You own a single site, but several domains - perhaps you wanted to make sure that even if your customers misspelled your domain name they'd get to your site, or perhaps you'd like to have a specific domain name direct to a page deep within your site - whatever the case, there are some important considerations surrounding multiple domain names routing to a single site and search engine submission.
Search engines like Google and Yahoo won't always wait around for you to submit a site - Googlebot and Yahoo Slurp (which you may recognize from your server logs if your site has been up for a few weeks) are constantly running across new domain names to index. It's a good thing - unless your domain names are being forwarded incorrectly.
What constitutes and incorrect forward?
Many major domain name registrars offer a "Domain Name Forwarding" feature which, while it may be the easiest way to forward your domain, can cause some real problems when search engine spiders like Googlebot or Yahoo Slurp visit your site.
Here's what happens:
The search engine spider pulls your domain name (usually from http://www.whois.sc/ )
The spider visits your website, using the domain name forwarded through your domain registrar
Your domain registrar is using a Temporary Redirect (most likely because it's assumed that you'll point the domain name to a new hosting account sooner or later), frames, or other incorrect forwarding method
The spider indexes your site
But what went wrong? Your domain name registrar did its job, and sent the spider to your actual site when it visited the domain name you registered. The spider did its job and read the content of the page or pages it found, and then incorporated them into the search engine index. Everything's copacetic, right?
When the search engine spider read the page, it associated it with your alternate domain name, the one that was supposed to be forwarding to your primary domain name. This means that the search engine has effectively tracked down what it will quickly identify as duplicate content - and, after years of dealing with sites trying to sell Viagra on the sly by duplicating their content across hundreds of pages, today's search engines will respond to duplicate content with a drop in your ranking.
Given enough time, you may find your site has been banned from the search engine index.
What's the solution?
Your domain names need to be routed from the domain name registrar to a hosting account - from the hosting account (and this varies - consult your technical support provider for the account) you'll need to set a Permanent Redirect to your main site.
A Permanent Redirect is logged as a code '301' (thence, it is often referred to as a '301 Permanent Redirect') - if you have multiple domain names which you wish to direct to a single site, it may be especially useful for you to consider a website hosting account which offers multiple add-on domains and subdomains to accommodate all the domain names you'll need to forward.
Dan LeFree is a Web Design and Development Consultant specializing in database applications for e-Commerce storefronts, custom realtor websites, and other small business tools.

Domain Name Goldmines: Expired Traffic Investing In The 21st Century

Domain Name Goldmines: Expired Traffic Investing In The 21st Century
I get pretty frustrated when thinking back to the days of seven-figure domain name sales. However, I was only a little kid, but still, I spent hours on the computer playing Descent II with my friends. Oh yes, those hours could have been spent convincing my parents to help me buy domain names like cd.com, tv.com, local.com, interact.net, isp.net, and other incredibly valuable domains. Sadly, other people got to them first, making millions very fast.
Some who fail say that the time to make money in domains is over. They are wrong indeed, as the wealthy domain investors are still buying those domains that will have permanent type-in traffic. Traffic equates to so much easy money that these people don't even develop websites to maximize sales potential. The key concept is to buy the names with traffic, and redirect them to a Pay-Per-Click system that will display PPC ads and pay the owner a percentage of advertising earnings from visitor clicks.
I've picked up a few decent type-in traffic domains such as ecommerc.com, but I simply don't have the money to invest in the names the big dogs are buying. If you have some extra money, I suggest that instead of risking it in something like gambling or trading on the foreign exchange, you should study up on domain speculation, and get started.
You'll probably have to spend thousands of dollars on a wise domain investment, but the return on investment will last a lifetime; or else you can sell it in a couple years for a great profit!
Ian Mason, owner of OPAffiliates.com, your source for Online Pharmacy Affiliate News and revenue generation techniques.
Ian studies health, weight loss, exercise, and several martial arts; maintaining several websites in an effort to help provide up-to-date and helpful information for other who share his interests in health of body and mind.
Contact Ian Mason by e-mail at ian@shoppe.md.

Warning: Your Domain Name Could Infringe On Trademark Rights!

Warning: Your Domain Name Could Infringe On Trademark Rights!
If you have or are about to purchase a domain name, YOU could be in trouble and you don't even know it yet...
See, what the domain sellers won't tell you is that the domain name you are purchasing or have purchased can possibly infringe on trademark rights and you can lose that domain name or even worse.
Trademark and servicemark laws apply not only off-line but on-line as well and they even apply to domain names.
Now, a trademark generally applies to goods where as a servicemark applies to services. For the purpose of this article I will refer to trademarks as the same rules apply.
A trademark can be a word, name, symbol, or device and it is used to distinguish and indentify the goods and services from one person or company from that of another.
The purpose of a trademark is to prevent confusion in the eyes of the consumer relating to particular goods and services. Basically, they are in place to prevent unfair competition.
So with that said, just because you purchased a particular domain name it does not necessarily mean you have exclusive rights to it.
If there is a trademark in your domain name, the mark owner has a legal right to send you a "cease and desist" letter and possibly take that domain name away from you.
If you don't believe a word I've said so far then I offer myself as proof because it happened to me. I recently lost one of my domain names under this exact same circumstance.
For legal reasons I can't tell you the domain name as I agreed to make no further references to it, but there were two words in my domain name that were associated with a trademark.
Now, I wasn't aware of this when I purchased the domain name. And I definitely wasn't aware of trademark laws.
Don't be ignorant on the subject like I was. You can avoid any potential problems by educating yourself and thereby preventing the samething from happening to you.
Don't make the same mistake that I did!
Do your research before you buy a domain name and make sure there is NO trademark associated with that name.
There are trademark search engines where you can type in a word or a phrase and it will tell you if it is a trademark.
You can visit the United States Patent And Trademark Office (USPTO) website to do a trademark search:
http://www.uspto.gov/
Now, in my case I chose not to fight the trademark dispute and gave up my domain name voluntarily. I felt it just wasn't worth the time, money and headaches to launch a fight over this.
If this should ever happen to you, you do have rights and there are proper channels to go through to settle the dispute. Contact a lawyer who specializes in this field.
And don't even think for one minute that this sort of thing can't happen to you. Trust me. If you have a trademark in your domain name it is only a matter of time before you get that letter in the mail like I did.
There are numerous cases all over the internet concerning disputes over trademark and domain names.
Don't you be one of them...
If you would like more information on the subject of trademarks and domain names then I highly recommend you visit this website:
http://www.chillingeffects.org/domain
This article and any links associated with it are for informational purposes only and not intended as legal advice. As always, speak to an attorney who specializes in this field in the event of a dispute.
Al Martinovic is the publisher of the Millenium Marketers Newsletter where you will find powerful concepts, killer strategies, useful tips and no bull business advice: http://www.milleniummarketers.com

Domain Name Registration and Privacy

Domain Name Registration and Privacy
The internet is a wonderful thing, except for a few small details. When you register your first domain name, you get your introduction to one of them. There's a lot of information they want. Your name, your email address, your physical address, your phone number. For each of 4 separate categories, and the Registrant, Admin and Technical categories are publicly available (for almost all TLDs - Top Level Domains, with the possible exception of .ws - Western Samoa).
Email addresses, which must be valid, phone numbers and physical addresses which also must be valid. I personally think it's both absurd and dangerous to make this information so easily available. Once again the right to privacy of law-abiding individuals is being abridged supposedly to help catch lawbreakers. Since this information would be provided under a court order, making it publicly available just invites abuse.
Spammers, scammers, stalkers and the idle whacko can easily get this information. And it's a nice start on identity theft, too. However, for most people, the most likely result is an increase in the amount of spam you get. But, much worse can and has happened.
So what solutions are there? Basically there two ways to protect your privacy if you are a private individual without access to a legal entity such as a company to own the domain name (note that if it is a company, you must provide accurate information. This only moves the problem to a slightly less personal level).
First you could lie. No, that's not one of the ways. Unwise and illegal too, and you are a law-abiding type, right? So, first, a proxy registration is one alternative.
Essentially you make a binding legal agreement with a company which will register the domain name as if they owned it and then provide their own information to meet the requirements. For each domain, they will set-up a special email which they will monitor and forward to you, usually after spam filtering, if you want them to.
They, of course, retain your data and will also monitor physical mail. You will be notified of first class mail which appears to or could be legal documents or if registered or couriered mail arrives. They will, for a fee, ship such to you, if you agree and pay. Generally such items would be sent by courier. Phone callers will be directed to use the email or physical address shown in the WhoIs record
Of course, under subpoena or other specified conditions they will provide your details. You will have full rights as owner - as long as you behave and don't violate the agreement.
The other alternative, usually called "private registration", is a little different. Here your name would still appear as registrant. You would provide the names of the admin and technical contacts. But the address, email and phone number would be provided and monitored by the organization handling the private registration in essentially the same manner as a proxy registration. Thus with this alternative you remain in full legal control of your domain name since it is registered in your name rather than the name of a proxy.
On the face of it this second alternative sounds better, but your name is hanging out there on view and you may have valid reasons for not wanting that (perhaps the company you work for takes a dim view of moonlighting, or you have had a stalking problem or are doing something perfectly legitimate but don't want your name linked to it).In that case, a proxy registration is the only real alternative.
In case you're thinking you can hide out and do whatever sort of bad stuff behind a proxy or private registration, don't even dream about it. These outfits take it very personally if you misbehave and the legal agreements spell it out.
If you decide to pursue a proxy or private registration, make very sure that you are working with a legitimate company with a track record. A domain name can be a very valuable possession. Both your registrar and, if it's a separate organization, the entity that does the proxy or private registration must be quality, legitimate outfits. Registrars offering extremely low prices which are way out of line with the going rates - unless it's a special - just might be after your credit card and identity. Also, this time, actually read the agreement and TOS so you do know what you're doing and what could happen under what circumstances.
Wondering why I'm writing about this? Well, it's because I'm getting more and more spam and I started doing some research on possible solutions. And I figured, I wan't the only one looking to do something about the problem. And then, I discovered that some registrars will provide free proxy or private registration with your domain name purchase. So think about it and do some checking before you buy a domain name. Your privacy is a precious possession.
Copyright 2005 Richard Keir
Richard teaches, trains and consults, on and off-line. And he writes a lot. Visit http://www.AboutWebHosting.info for articles, information, resources and links related to web hosting and domain registration and http://www.Building-eCommerce-Websites for more on eCommerce in particular.

Get Your Own Domain Name Or Die Online

Get Your Own Domain Name Or Die Online
Would you buy from someone with an "@yahoo.com" e-mail address? I wouldn't. And the clients I've had the most trouble with use yahoo addresses or other free addresses. I understand that you don't want your regular e-mail address in ads that your run on free ad sites to prevent spam, but lets use some common sense here.
If you don't buy anything from yahoo's off line why would you buy from a yahoo online? If you're serious about your business you have to show it in your actions. The first action to take is to buy your own domain name and use it for all of your e-mails.
Lets say there's a Bob Jones who starts up an online company. Will you be quicker to buy from him and trust him if his e-mail address is "bob@starpower.com" or if you read an ad from "bobjones711@yahoo.com?" He's the same guy, but which address makes you trust him more and believe he's a legitimate business?
Even if you're not ready to put up a site (which you should be if you're marketing online), at least create a professional presentation with your e-mails. They're your main form of communication online and it's the main brand people see when you communicate. Everytime you send an e-mail you're advertising. Do you realize this? You'll never make decent money online if your e-mail address ends with "@aol.com."
When you come up with a great name for your site or business get a ".com", not a ".net" or ".info" or ".tv" or ".someotherwordpeopledontthinkoffirst." If you can't get a ".com" for your name, then come up with another name.
Since my main site is www.NetMarketingMastery.com and that's a bit long to type out, I also use www.nmmastery.com for people to get to the same site and use sopan@nmmastery.com for my e-mail address.
There are 877 and 888 numbers that do the same thing as 800 numbers, but what do you think of first?
Have ever you ever heard anyone talk about 888 numbers? How many times? Okay, now how many times have you heard people talk about 800 numbers? 888 and 877 numbers are known as the step brothers and sisters of 800 numbers.
Similarly, when you want to send a package overnight what company do you think of first? Probably Federal Express because they were the first company to do overnight shipping. You can use UPS or Airborne Express or some of the other smaller companies, but FedEx is the company that gets the most business because they're thought of first. You need to have a ".com" domain because that's where visitors will go first no matter how many new domain endings are created years and years from now.
If you have ".net" domain name then you'll be setting yourself up to lose visitors to whoever has the ".com" domain for your name. Outside of earthlink.net how many ".nets" come to your mind right now? On the other hand, how many ".coms" can you think of?
When you hear about a cool company and want to see if they have a website do you try their name with a ".com" or with a ".net" or ".info" or ".tv" 0r ".anythingelsebesidesa.com?" I'll bet money that you try the ".com" first everytime and you always will because it's always going to be your first choice.
So if you haven't already, go buy a domain for your birth name and get crackin' on coming up with a great name for your business and go buy a domain for that name before it's taken. Honestly, we're talking about a $15 a year investment. If you're not willing to invest $15 into your business then you don't have a business. If you want to be taken seriously you have to have your own domain name or you will die online trying to make money. Period, end of story.
About The Author
Sopan Greene, M.A. is a marketing & life coach & editor of the Net Profits newsletter. Grab Your 2 FREE eBooks & a FREE report: "Million Dollar Emails" "How To Start Your Own Traffic Virus" & "The 13 Deadly Internet Marketing Mistakes Almost Every Business Is Making..." mail to: webmaster87-5956@autocontactor.com
http://www.NetMarketingMastery.com

5 Tips For the Perfect Domain Name

5 Tips For the Perfect Domain Name
What is a domain name? A domain name is the location of your website on the Internet. Your domain name will be what you become known by online so it's important to get it right.
Each website on the Internet is labeled with something called an IP address which is the actual address of the website online. A typical IP address looks like this: 159.134.27.64. Remembering a string of numbers like that is difficult so a domain name translates all those numbers into something like amazon.com. This is far easier to remember.
#1 Dot what?
Each domain has what's called an extension. The most well known of these extensions is .com. This, however, is not the only type of domain extension available. There is also:
.net
If you can't find your preferred .com domain name you could always choose the same domain with a .net extension. It might not have the same ring as a .com but is still as just useful as a .com.
.org
These domain extensions were orginally designed for educational and more formal websites. Anybody can register a .org however so you have more options for domain selection.
.info
A more recent introduction to the domain name game are .info domains. Many of the valuable .info domains were bought up overnight but there's still a huge range of good .info domains available. With a little creativity you could really make a .info work for you e.g. www.moviereview.info.
Bear in mind that most web surfers tend to remember .com more easily than anything else.
#2 Branding vs Business Name
There is an age old debate on the whether or not you should establish a brand name online or use a domain that more actually reflects your real business. Let's look at Amazon as an example. Amazon sells books online. Most people setting up a business would have chosen say www.booksonline.com instead of amazon.com Amazon has since established itself as a brand name of global recognition - proving the value of building a brand name.
You'll need to choose between the two. Brand name or your own business name. Consider how your domain sounds, how it might look on a business card and how well it relates to your business.
There's no one right answer to this question. You need to choose what makes most sense for you, your website and your business in general.
#3 Hyphenated or not
This is another area of debate. Should your domain be one single word or should the words be separated by hyphens? There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. Single word domain names can be easier to explain, use on header paper and lend themselves to brand names very well.
Single word domains are in very, very short supply.
Hyphenated domains names can be slighltly more difficult to explain, may not look as well on headed paper and possibly harder to establish as a brand name. There's no shortage of multiple word domains.
The single biggest advantage a hyphenated domain has is that search engines can "read" the domain more easily. For example in a domain like foreignholidaysonline.com the search engine can only read the first word "foreign" and that's it. It can't tell anything else about the website domain name.
If you hyphenated that to foreign-holidays-online.com the search engine can read "foreign", "holidays" and "online" as separate words and therefore knows that this website is about foreign holidays.
A well chosen hyphenated domain name can be just as effective as a single word domain name.
#4 Your Domain Registrar
These are the people you pay to register the domain for you. There are dozens if not hundreds of these companies out there so which one do you choose? This takes some research but things worth checking are:
Do you retain sole ownership of the domain or do the registrar keep some level of control over it?
Search Google for any horror stories relating to the registrar
Does the registrar allow you to transfer the domain to another registrar?
Is there an online control panel for domain administration?
How easy is it to change the domain Name Servers?
Shop around for domain registrars. What you really want to find is a previously satisfied customer to ask questions before you buy.
#5 Cheap Domain Names
You can save a lot of money on the domain names you purchase. A typical .com domain costs about $15 to register from most registrars. However you can get the same domain for as little as $7.95 from other, very reliable, companies.
Oddly enough some of the cheaper domain registrars are more reliable, have fewer horror stories and offer equally good customer service as their more expensive competitors.
Are there any disadvantages in using a discount domain registrar? Will it affect your website in any way? The answer to both is a definite No.
This article was provided courtesy of Domain Tutor where you'll find tons of information on how to register a domain name

Domain Squatting Explained

Domain Squatting Explained
The one thing that annoys me most about the topic of domain names is when trying to find a domain name for a new site only to find most of the names I come up with are already taken. Even more annoying is that these names are not being used for a site that relates to the domain name.
Domain squatting or cyber squatting is the term used for someone who registers a domain with no intention of using it, that would otherwise be used for a site relating to the domain name.
Let me give you an example, recently I came up with an idea for a site and there was a couple of domains that were ideal, keyword1keyword2.com and the plural version, so I checked to see if they were available. I found that both the names I thought would be perfect were taken. Both domain names were directed to a generic search page whose sole purpose is to make money off of direct type ins.
Now I haven't given the names as I don't want to give away my idea and I don't want to give the sites any free advertising. This is not a one off incidence but something that happens quite often, especially with domain names with good or popular keywords. This activity is not illegal unless you use a trademark name, but it is against the ethics of what the internet is about.
There is a difference between domain squatting and domain parking and that difference is intent. If you register the domain with the intent of using it in the future for a purpose relating to the domain name then you have just parked the domain. If you register a domain with the sole intention of making money from reselling it or getting revenue from people typing in the domain name then that is domain squatting.
As I have explained it is not illegal it is just unethical, it is a free market economy and people are motivated by profit. I do not agree with domain squatting as it forces webmasters like myself to use domain names that are far from perfect, take this site on domain names, this name was far from my first choice. It also misleads internet users as the expect a site to be related to the keywords in the domain name making the internet less user friendly.
Find out more about domain names and get some advice before registering your next domain.

Is Your Domain Name On Someones Wanted List?

Is Your Domain Name On Someones Wanted List?
A good domain name is, and will always be, essential for any online business. If you ask me, the internet is still only just evolving from infancy. It's a long way to maturity.
Still the world has come a long way since Ken Olson, president & founder of Digital Equipment Corp. etched his name in history, when he proclaimed less than 30 years ago, "There's no reason why anyone would want a computer in their home."
How technology has changed our lives within a span of a single generation. Sooner rather than later, more and more businesses will want to go online and cater to a global market instead of being content with the local neighborhood. And one of the first steps after deciding what business you want to do, is getting a good domain name for your business.
A domain name can make or break an online venture. A domain name is a company's identity online. It is your brand, your personality, your trademark. So, choosing the right domain isn't easy.
BuyDomains.com argues that: "Today .COM and .NET names have established recognition and can identify your company on the Internet forever. For this reason, they have considerable resale value and serve as excellent investments.
Over time, most, if not all companies will conduct a considerable portion of their business over the Internet. A domain name that is easy for your customers and prospective customers to remember is the key factor in generating new business and conducting business on the Internet.
Having relevant "keywords" to support your domain name is also an important consideration and will enable customers to find your online business effortlessly through Web based search engines.
Another excellent marketing tactic you should consider is to have multiple URL addresses (including your domain name) point to the very same Web site. This is very simple .....This will allow you to keep your legacy domain name, while multiple new e-business names conduct commerce and are listed in the search engines, significantly increasing your Web site's overall traffic."
A web site is a worldwide advertisement that runs 24/7. For the price of one print ad, or one-tenth of a 30 second commercial, you can have a solid web site designed and running every single minute of every single day. Show a company how a few thousand dollars invested in a domain name & a web site now can translate into 100 years of sales and effective promotion, and they will all be scrambling to get in line.
Most companies, even small ones, will tell you that having a web site is no longer an option. It offers the business owners the opportunity of having potential customers view their products or services day or night, without needing to an outlay of huge sums of money.
But then, many small and medium sized businesses that are already online have poor or difficult sounding domain names. Names that they would readily change in an instant if they had the right domain name. So there will always be people and companies who will be looking at the domain resale market for a better name for their business. This is key.
When Anysoft, a Massachusetts company, acquired any.com for $30,000, their vice-president, Emily Shain, said it was worth the money because the domain name was such a vital marketing tool that would help customers find them easily.
If you are at the right place at the right time with the right name, you could find yourself pocketing some nice cash.
Even governments are getting in on the act. The New Zealand government shelled out NZ$ 1 million for newzealand.com. As a result, there was understandable criticism in the NZ parliament over the purchase as being a waste of tax payers money.
What was the government's response? Mark Burton, the NZ Tourism Minister had this to say, "There is no question that this domain will provide an invaluable portal for... commercial entry into New Zealand for those interested in tourism, commerce, and industry.
The South African Government offered US$10 million for southafrica.com. It has also been reported that korea.com was sold for US$5 million to True Net, Korea's largest Internet service provider."
Author, Tariq Ghafoor writes, "I feel that there's still reason for optimism in the domain aftermarket but in order to profit there's a crucial need to alter one's perception and strategy just like our brethren have been forced to do in other web-based businesses."
It's true. The heady days of the domain gold rush has seen its final sunset. We are seeing shifting trends in the arena. To cope with the changes, a domain speculator needs to see himself as a domain entrepreneur and begin to organize his domain names and increase their value and prepare them for prospective buyers.
Edwin John is an author and webdeveloperHe is the author of "How I Sell My Domain Names"http://www.OpenForSale.com
Find out if your domain name is wanted:http://www.DNames.org

Good Domain Names Make Your Dreams Memorable

Good Domain Names Make Your Dreams Memorable
"What was the name of that website? It was good. It has something to do with..."
Is your web site like many others?
Domain names always on the tip of a visitor's tongue, but not quite memorable enough?
Your choice of domain name needs to be easy to remember, as well as focused enough that your visitor will know right away what your site is about.
A Few Rules
Some rules do apply when deciding on a domain name:
Domain names must be at least two characters long but no more than 63 characters, not counting the TLD.
You can use any combination of letters, numbers, or hyphens, but you can't use a hyphen as the first or last character.
Domain names are not case-sensitive, so my-home-based-business-advisor.com is the same as My-Home-Based-Business-Advisor.com.
Choosing A Domain Name
Choosing good domain names is almost as important as choosing your actual business (see our Startup Ideas page).
There are many different schools of thought when it comes to picking good domain names.
Some say to choose a short, concise name.
Some like numbers in the name, some don't.
Hyphens and underscores -- as opposed to words all running together -- are another debated topic. It's mostly a matter of easier reading for your human visitors. Which do you find easier to read?
myhomebasedbusinessadvisor
my_home_based_business_advisor
my-home-based-business-advisor
Generally, the hyphens between words make domain names easier to read for most people.
While search engines don't rank domain names, a keyword-rich name will let your visitors know what your web site is about before they get there. This makes them more comfortable because they know what they're getting in advance.
Also, when you get other sites to link to yours, that link is usually based on your domain name. This means that your main keyphrase (which you used as your domain name) will be the actual anchor text and search engines do give additional ranking for that.
Domain names play a major role in making your dream memorable to the world.
Take the time to do it right and your dream of a home-based business will be seen all over the world!
For a more detailed explanation of domain names and domain registration, and more great advice for your home-based business, please visit My Home-Based Business Advisor.
Terry NichollsMy Home-Based Business Advisormy-home-based-business-advisor.com
Copyright ฉ by Terry Nicholls. All Rights Reserved.
Terry Nicholls writes from his own experience as someone who wanted to start his own home-based business. Now that he has, visit My Home-Based Business Advisor - Helping YOUR Home Business Start and Succeed for free help for YOUR home business, including ideas, startup, and expansion advice.

How to Register an Expiring Domain

How to Register an Expiring Domain
Understanding the process and options involved with registering an expiring domain can be a confusing task. How, Where, When?
This article will explain the basic steps to researching an expiring domain name, and the many different options (or should I say necessary steps to insure success).
The normal domain expiration process for .com .net(domain deletion cycle):
Phase 1. Active Domain
A domain is registered for a time period of 1-10 years. During this time the domain owner has unrestricted use of the domain.
Phase 2. On-Hold
At the end of this time period, the registrant is required to pay a renewal fee to the registrar to continue to use the domain. If the domain is renewed go back to phase 1, if not the domain is placed in an onhold (on-hold) status for 1-45 days (each registrar has determines how long this period lasts). During this time, the registrant (owner of the domain) can still pay the renewal fee and continue to use his/her domain name. During this onhold period the domain resolves to the registrars website or does not resolve at all.
Phase 3. Redemption
After the 1-45 day onhold period, the domain then enters redemption status (RGP - Redemption grace period), which lasts for 30 days. During this time the registrant of the domain name has the option to pay a redemption penalty fee (redemption fees generally cost between $100-200 depending on the registrar) and renew the domain. If the domain owner renews the domain go back to phase 1. During this redemption period the domain resolves to the registrars website or does not resolve at all.
Phase 4. Pending Delete
After the domain completes the 30 day redemption period without being renewed, it then enters a 5 day pending delete period. During this the time the registrant no longer has the ability to renew the domain name. The domain will be released to the general public and be available for registration on the sixth day at 2pm eastern.
(This drop process does not hold true for exclusive backorders)
Domains are an ever changing industry. Over the last 2 years, many things have changed including many variations of the domain deletion process. The above mentioned process is the norm, but every day more and more registrars are starting to have exclusive drops.
An example of an exclusive drop: A domain is registered with Network Solutions. The registrant fails to renew the domain within 60 days of the expiration date. The domain is then auctioned off at snapnames.com (a domain auction site).
Each registrar has their own time frame for exclusive drops. Current registrars that are participating in exclusive drops are: network solutions, godaddy, wild west domains, blue razor, bulk register, dotster, and enom. Domains registered at network solutions or bulk register must be backordered at snapnames. Domains registered at godaddy, wild west domains, or blue razor must be backordered at godaddy or a wild west reseller such as domainut.com. Domains registered at dotster must be backordered at namewinner Domains registered at enom must be backordered at club drop (if at least on backorder is placed at the above services the domain will stay with the original registrar, if no backorder is placed, the domain will follow the normal drop process) A backorder is the process of signing up at a drop catching service and making a request to be the next owner of a domain. The prices at each drop catch service vary. Pool.com - Backorders start at $60. Pool uses a pay for performance business model. If pool does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain and pool catches it, you are awarded the domain for $60. If the expired domain was backordered by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. People that backordered the domain prior to Pool catching it are only allowed to bid in the auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. SnapNames.com - Backorders start at $60. Snapnames uses a pay for performance business model. If Snapnames does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain and snapnames catches it, you are awarded the domain for $60. If the expired domain was backordered by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. People that backordered the domain prior to snapnames catching it are only allowed to bid in the auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. Enom Club Drop - Backorder start price is optional$10 or $30. Enom uses a pay for performance business model. If enom does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain for $10 the domain then goes to public auction, but if you backordered it for $30 or more and enom catches it, you are awarded the domain. If the expired domain was backordered for $30 or more by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. Namewinner.com - Backorders start at $30. Namewinner uses a pay for performance business model. If namewinner does not catch the domain when it expires then you are not charged. If you are the only person that backordered a domain and namewinner catches it, you are awarded the domain for $30. If the expired domain was backordered by more than one person, the domain is then up for private auction. People that backordered the domain prior to namewinner catching it are only allowed to bid in the auction. The auction lasts for 3 days. Godaddy.com or any Wild West Domains Reseller - $18.95 first come first served (only one person can place a backorder on any one expiring domain, if or when the domain expires and godaddy catches it, the backorder holder is awarded the domain.) It is always best to fully research an expiring domain name. There is no sure fire way of knowing if a domain will receive traffic, or how much a domain is worth. But by checking to see how many sites link to a domain (linkpop), how many people searched for the domain in the previous month (overture with extension), how many people searched for the terms that make up the domain in the previous month (overture without the extension), what the google pr is (google page rank), and what the domain was use for in the past (wayback archive), you can get a rough idea of how much traffic you should expect.
Once you have completely researched a domain, you should then decide if the domain is worth backordering at pool or snapname for $60, at enom or namewinner for $30, at godaddy or a wild west reseller for $18.95, or enom for $10. Remember to cover all your bases if an expiring domain is worth at least $60 to you, then backorder at all of the above services. If it is only worth $30, then backorder at any service that is $30 or cheaper (but remember someone else may backorder it at the $60 service, and then you have no chance at getting the expired domain, if you don't have a backorder placed at that service.)
For more tutorials and information by Sidney Parfait, owner of the best domain resources on the web (StartName.com ParkingIncome.com and DropWatch.com)

What You Need to Know About Choosing A Domain Name

What You Need to Know About Choosing A Domain Name
Aside from the nuts and bolts of where to register your domain name and purchasing a good economical hosting service, there are a few things to know about buying a good domain name, that only experience can teach. Here are a few tips to get you started on the right foot:
1. Buy only ".com" and don't trouble yourself with the others. Although the domain name players have gone to some trouble to publicize and market to us about the availability of other extensions such as .org, .net, .us and others...there is still no real reason to buy anything but ".com."
If you currently have a domain name that is not a ".com," I strongly suggest you obtain it. Or, if that's not possible, consider finding a new domain name.
The rationale is simple: if the point of having a website is to get people to visit it, the best rule of thumb is to make it easy to remember. If your customers have to think in order to get to your website, and maybe even have to type in a wrong domain first before they finally reach you...you want to change that so they don't.
2. Buy your own personal name. What better way to make it easy for your customers to find you? As you become better known online, and as you build your customer database, it will become increasingly important for your customers to be able to find you based on your personal name.
Buying your personal name allows you to build credibility for your brand identity and makes it easy to "Google" you. Ever tried typing in just your first and last names at Google? Try it and see what happens. If you aren't showing up in the results, you will want to work on this. And buying your own personal name as a domain name is a simple and very effective way to get going.
3. Buy the most common spelling mistakes for your domain. Even if you follow the advice in (2) above, it may be inevitable that some of your visitors will misspell your domain. It's human error.
So although these may not be obvious to you at first, it's worthwhile putting your antennae up in order to figure it out. The first hint? If you misspell your own domain name, chances are others will. Be sure to grab the most common ones.
Example: www.Google.com, www.Gogle.com and www.Gooogle.com all go to the same page. Why? Google "gets" that lots of people type in too few or too many "Os" and has set it up so everyone gets to the right place.
4. Double check your domain names for odd or unintentional meanings. This one is a bit mixed, because if your domain name turns out to be something quite funny, it might be just that much more memorable and bring you free traffic. But you may not want to be remembered in that way, and the traffic that results could be a detriment to you. (The wrong target market just clogs up your system, uses bandwidth, and creates customer service inquiries you don't want.)
So do a double check to see if your domain says something you didn't expect.
What do I mean?
www.newsextracts.com is actually a clipping service, but could be interpreted to be something rather more racy.
www.whorepresents.com is actually a site where you can find a given actor's agent or manager, but can be interpreted to be something else.
Last but not least, as with everything online, ebusiness owners have the luxury of easily and quickly asking our customers most anything, including "What do you think is the best domain name for this project?"
So when in doubt, ask your customers what they think. Give them a choice of a few domains you've narrowed it down to, and offer a prize of some sort to encourage participation. It works, and you'll end up avoiding potholes along the way.
Andrea J. Lee coaches entrepreneurs and online business owners. As Thomas J.Leonard's General Manager, she helped build and manage the largest network and trainer of personal and business coaches in the world. Now the CEO of Andrea J. Lee Group of Companies, she writes, speaks and consults on Marketing, Internet and Business systems. For more helpful tips, visit www.39lessons.com

Which Domain Name Do I Choose?

Which Domain Name Do I Choose?
by Colin Hartness


What is the best domain name to choose?
This is good question. Let's say I am starting a new business venture. I have decided on my company name and it is registered with the relevant authorities.
My company is called Joe's Trading Ltd and I sell cheap widgets. I now need to get my domain name. So what do I choose?
Firstly let's start with the name itself.
My company is called Joe's Trading Ltd so I guess I should register 'joestradingltd.com' or 'joestrading.com' or 'joestrading.co.uk', right?
Well no, not really...
When I register a domain name I need to consider a few important factors.
Firstly, what is the purpose of the domain? Is it's purpose corporate branding or is it to drive traffic to my website?
Well if my company is 'IMB' or 'MacDonalds', then I guess that branding is all important but 'Joes Trading Ltd' wants to sell blue widgets online and lots of them. My main priority is to generate website traffic and the more the better.
I am selling widgets. This is my target market and my unique selling position is that they are cheap.
So what has this got to do with my domain name?
Everything!
The domain name is a major factor when it comes to ranking on search engines. And search engines provide 90% of web site traffic.
In recent studies, it has been discovered that the domain name itself is a ranking factor and counts for 30% of the total factors that the search deems important when it ranks websites in its index.
Really, it is THAT important!
So what makes a higher ranking domain name?
Well, firstly short is best. The shorter the domain the higher the ranking.
Secondly, the domain must include the keyword for which you wish to rank high.
In this case Joes Trading Ltd sells Widgets so the domain should contain widgets. The widgets are cheap so the domain could be 'cheapwidgets.com'. This domain is going get higher ranking in the search engines for the search term 'widgets or 'cheap widgets' than 'joestrading.com' could ever hope to achieve
Higher ranking means more traffic which in turn means more sales & profits.
So when it comes to purchasing your domain make search engine ranking your number one priority.
About the Author
Colin Hartness is the Sales Manager for Cheap Domain Names UK, a company specializing in low cost domain registration and hosting services with cutting edge onlne website building software. For more details visit http://www.cheapdomainnames.uk.com

Build Your Own Web Page For Free

Build Your Own Web Page For Free
by Victoria


Would you like to build your own web page for free? Are you trying to attract new customers or drive more visitors to your product or service? Are you techno-phobic or tangled in a web of computer confusion? Do you already have a web page needing an update, but don't want to waste more time/money on it?
If you're ready to build your own web page for free here are a few of the things you'll need to look at.
Assessing and developing an internet strategy for marketing your product or service. Whether to build your own web page for free, or hire the right person to do it. Secrets to developing an effective web page, including tricks the pros use. How to list with search engines and what it takes to get first page placement visibility. Setting up low-cost effective domain names and web hosting.
While making up your mind on whether or not to build your own web page for free some things you might want to consider. First is how good does your site need to work? If you are trying to market to professionals then a cheap and easy page that you just throw together for free will not do.
On the other hand if you are building a web page that will be for you and your family's entertainment then you should be able to build your own web page for free. There are many ways to go about building you own web page. Some involve purchasing high dollar others using the build your own web page for free software that is provided by your ISP.
If you're looking to build your own web page for free and yet build it fast and easy, and still be able to customize it and make it professional looking without learning HTML code, then you may want to look at one of the step by step web page building software packages available.
These programs rage in price from free to a few hundred dollars, typically the more expensive the more bells and whistles, but don't go out and buy the most expensive one you find. More often than not the high dollar programs will have features you will probably never use. On the other had you can get a step by step program that will help you build your own web page for free, all you have to after that is pick a domain name and hosting service to host you're web page.
If you are interested, there are his hands on web programming class provides a thorough introduction to implementing a full-featured Web site on the Internet or corporate Intranet, including implementation of dynamic content using JavaScript and related tools. Starting with thorough coverage of HTML, these courses progress to the implementation of dynamic client-side content using JavaScript.
About the Author
Victoria Hargis has been a web developer for over 10 years. Take all the fear out of Building web page with a revolutionary new Web Site Design Product. Follow the step by step point and click web site design system to build a web site in less than 2 hours. Go to http://www.jjcmarketing.com/ and take all the fear and most of the work out of building your web site.

Comparing Domain To Sub-Domain Names

Comparing Domain To Sub-Domain Names
by Dee Owens


A domain name is your website address, whether it is or these are all the names of there websites, and the web address as well. A domain name can be a very simple thing to decide on or extremely complex. Another thing to consider is the Web Host. You will find there are a vast amount of Domain name providers with varying price ranges and options. Before you decide on which one to buy, you may want to consider what they offer. Some offer unlimited traffic, and space, while others offer limited space but free advertising with the Search Engines, Google, AOL, and Yahoo.
They may also offer web page building tools, such as free banners, photos, and counters, depending on how advanced you need your web page to be will help decide which provider to go with. Almost all offer email accounts ranging from one to five or even fifty, depending on the package you choose.
I also mentioned Sub-Domain, which happens to be my personal favorite. I found that I did not need unlimited band with, or storage space. I also use my own images so I did not need that benefit. My website has also popped up on the Search Engines mentioned before, and the templates provided gave me exactly what i was looking for. I did have to get an external email account and though i would like to add more traffic to my site and choose my own advertising the sub-domain i have does not cost me anything per month.
There are many sub-domain name providers out there. Each offering a different look and style to their pages, and a few do charge, but not all. I found looking for sub-domain providers even more difficult than looking for Domain Host. Many offer a good service at a great deal, and quite a few offer free incentives there are a lot i just would not recommend. One thing i would recommend looking for when choosing a sub-domain is that they offer a way to upgrade Domain Name. Basically, you can drop the providers name and use just your own.
Whether you decide on a Sub-Domain or Domain Name, I would recommend making a checklist seeing how many tools you will need for your web page, such as a shopping cart, counter, photo album, or even a way for visitors to leave you as message. All of these things can be very useful to your website, and you need to see what provider offers each tool you need at a price you can afford.
About the Author
Dee Owens writes articles for articles 3000. A free ezine articles site.

Put your spare domain names to work for you using affiliate programs

Put your spare domain names to work for you using affiliate programs.
by Ben Cortese


Every website owner/operator is familiar with affiliate programs, we all belong to one or more, or have at one time, and display banners and buttons on our websites offering anything from a credit card to viagra, Which is completely fine for attracting perspective buyers to products that your affiliate sponsors offer. There's no crime in earning a little revenue to support your website and your hard work designing, developing and supporting it.
But if you're like me at all, you have a few domain names sitting around doing nothing too. It occurred to me that having the domain names listed for sale has generated little or no revenue, but every year I renew them because I think that they are good domain names and have marketing potential if put into the right hands.
So I decided to do a little research and find out what affiliate programs were out there that offered more than buttons and banners, and I found that there are a number of affiliate companies that offer RSS feeds and Data Feeds and even some offer complete "Turn-key" websites already built for you, download an asp or php version of the Turn-Key site to put on your own server and you're good to go. Point your domain name to it, and you're offering a service or product that people have a use for, just go about your normal marketing practices for the site(s).
So I looked at what domain names I owned and wasn't using, thought about what types of affiliate programs they would lend themselves to, which in my case was easy, and I did some research. I had 3 domain names reserved and no websites for them, SongOasis.com, Gear-Junkie.net and ArtistMatch.com. They were at one time active websites but hadn't been in service for quite some time, so considering they were domains pertaining mostly to music or media, I started my search there. I discovered that there were more than a few music based affiliate programs available which required an investment in time doing a little digging through.
I narrowed my search to those affiliate programs offering "Data Feeds". These are feeds that come in the form of XML or RSS feeds, as well as Text or CSV files that the affiliate would make available to you to download and use how you see fit, with some restrictions of course. Researching those affiliate programs I found that these feeds would provide all of the information, or at least much of it to the same extent as the affiliate website themselves. Which to me meant that I could build a dynamic website offering some great things in a way the I controlled without having to maintain an inventory or process payments or handle returns and deal with any billing issues should they arrise.
So... I decided for my Gear-Junkie.net domain to go with musical instrument sales through Zzounds.com, and offer over 4000 musical instruments online. Being a musician myself, this sounded appealing to me. For SongOasis.com I went with a great program from Rhapsody which offers real time feeds in xml format so my site is updated everyday with the latest artist and music releases everyday with no additional work on my part after building the site. And Finally for ArtistMatch.com I went with an affiliate program by CDUniverse.com. This program provided Data Feeds for over 40,000 items where you can shop online for music CDs, movies and games.
I've also cross referenced each of the sites with my own banners promoting the other sites from within my sites so that visibility to all of the affiliate programs is blended throughout the 3 websites which is helpful in generating sales if not traffic. So if you are sitting on a few domain names and would like to put them to work for you, try researching some of the affiliate programs out there that offer these type of data feeds and see if you can use them to your advantage as well.
Thanks for reading, and happy (and hopefully profitable) coding.
About the Author
Ben Cortese is a developer and business analyst for the financial industry and enjoys developing personal websites.
Copyright 2007. Article can be reprinted as long as author credits are given and content remains unchanged and intact.

Build Your Own Website - Ten Reasons To Build Your Own Website

Build Your Own Website - Ten Reasons To Build Your Own Website
by Mark Farrar


Building or creating your own website gives you a professional edge. By building or creating a website you have designed you are immediately placing yourself ahead of the crowd. It's not that difficult to build your own website and the following 10 reasons will convince you that designing a website that suits you and your market may lead to increased profits!
1. You can build an internet presence through a domain name of your choice. By having your own website with your own domain name, you can start to build your own "brand" that will eventually become recognised as yours and yours alone. This will make you stand out from the crowd of people all promoting the same products through replicated affiliate websites.
2. Building your own website with your own domain name looks more professional than many affiliate sites. Many affiliate websites that you can promote may not look that great (e.g. they may have too much information, not enough information, the graphics may be "tacky"). If you build your own website to promote a product, you can make it look exactly as you want, and this can include targeting it at a specific niche or customer segment.
3. Once you have your own domain name, you can then have a more professional looking email address. Most Internet users will have either an email address with their ISP (e.g. markfarrar@aol.com) or a Hotmail or Yahoo email address, but these don't look very professional if you're trying to run a business. Doesn't something like Info@WealthyTeddy.co.uk look better? Domain names cost very little these days - less than $3 for a .com name from iPower (although there are plenty of other good-value domain registrars). Isn't your business worth $9 a year?
4. It is a good way of disguising affiliate links and therefore preventing people from stealing your commissions. Many affiliate website links look untidy or are too long, and, worst of all, they look like affiliate links. Some people have a strange aversion to buying something through an affiliate - maybe they think it will cost them more, or maybe they just don't like the idea of somebody earning commission off their purchase. Worse still, people can easily change the affiliate URL and add their own affiliate id, resulting in you losing commissions. A better approach is to build a page on your own website that redirects to the affiliate program behind the scenes (e.g. www.WealthyTeddy.co.uk/recommends/30maws), as this hides the affiliate link completely.
5. You can promote more than one product or service at the same time. Although some experts suggest that you should promote only one product per page, this is not always practical. If you have your own website, you can list related products on one page, even if they're from different companies. Again, this comes down to providing what your customers will be looking for.
6. You get to control cross-sell and up-sell opportunities. Depending on what you sell and how, you can offer an "upsell" opportunity as part of the sales process. This may be a special offer, for example, that the customer only sees once, and this creates a sense of urgency that is a proven and powerful incentive to buy.
7. You can build a contact list of your own - all the experts will tell you that "the money's in the list". If you capture people's contact details (first name and email address are the absolute minimum), you can then send other offers to your mailing list whenever you want.
8. It's not as difficult as people might think. There is a certain mystique to building websites, but it's actually incredibly easy to build a website (you only have to see how many millions of websites are published these days!), and very easy to build a good-looking website. You can use specialist website-building software, but all you really need is the Notepad program that comes with Windows and a good website or book to learn from.
9. It needn't be expensive. Most of the software you need you either already have or it can be obtained free, if necessary, so the only expense will be a domain name (less than $3 from iPower, although there are plenty of other good-value domain registrars) - you can even find free website hosting if you do a bit of research (but watch out for adverts - you don't want other people's ads cluttering up your website when you have no control over which ads will be displayed), although there are plenty of cheap hosting deals available now (e.g. StartLogic's prices start at just $4.95 per month).
10. It's fun! There's something very satisfying about seeing your own creation come to life and knowing that your website is available to several million potential customers the moment you publish it on the Internet.
About the Author
Mark Farrar has been building websites since 1997, both for personal and business use, and is the co-founder and webmaster of www.WealthyTeddy.co.uk amongst many others. More technology-related articles can be found at www.Technology4u.info.