A D V E R T I S E M E N T
If you want to have a space in the internet but you don't know how or where to start, then this post is for you. There are many ways to start your own website and I understand that it is overwhelming at the start. Now let's make it very simple. I am confident that you will learn how to run a website after you finish reading this post. So let's start.

Web host and domain

There are only two things you need in order to run a website: a host and a domain. A host is a computer where you save all your images, files, folders, and web pages. The host must be always ON so that it can serve request/s at any time of the day and night. The host computer is called server. Domain is the web address of your site, anybody can open your website by writing its domain at the browser's address bar. Example of a domain is rtfverterra.com, when you type rtfverterra.com at the address bar, the browser will land at the front page of this blog.

Finding your web host

The first thing to do in running a website is to find a web host. There are two types of web host: free and paid. You can select any of the two, both can serve web pages to your readers. Note however that in web hosting, you will get what you paid for, if you go with free web hosting, you will get a service that is equivalent to free and if you go with paid web hosting you will get far better than the free hosting can offer.

Getting your domain

Domain name can also be free or paid, but it is not wise to start with free domain. Going with paid domain is highly recommended. Domain is your brand and it is not wise to entrust your brand into free services. Some services offer a free web address in the form of a subdomain. A subdomain is a web address that looks like your_name.website_name.com. One example is blogspot.com, it offers free subdomain in the form your_name.blogspot.com. Subdomain however will only work in the web host's server and cannot be used to another web server.

Where to get a free web host and a free domain

Important: Go only with free web host if you can afford to lose all your work for most free web hosts are fly by night. Some are legitimate but take note that even the big Yahoo! was not able to sustain the Geocities because of the nature of free web hosting. Free web hosting however is a good place for the beginners and for testing your codes.

I was using Bravenet when I first entered into website development. I still have two websites running until now: MathematASIAN and GERTCTacloban. You can order your free hosting at Bravenet here. I was also using Yahoo! Geocities but unfortunately Geocities is now close. I will not recommend free web hosting that I did not use but if you want more information, you can find it here.

Free domain name is very rare, you can get it mostly if you buy a long term hosting service. But there is one company I know that allow you to register a free domain. Visit http://www.co.cc/ and find your luck in finding a new domain with an extension of .co.cc.

Where to get a paid web host and a paid domain

I like HostGator for their webhosting services and GoDaddy for domain name registration. At HostGator, you will avail unlimited disk space and bandwidth, and you will be using the latest cPanel for administration of your website. I've been with HostGator for many years now. For domain name registration, GoDaddy is my choice, the administration panel is so easy and can administer multiple domains at once. I registered to GoDaddy several domains and I've been with them for many years.

You may read this post: Step-by-Step Guide on How to Start Your Own Website