Getting Site Started.

directional.

[chief90]

Hello,

I am a graphic designer who has the ability to design a web page, unfortunatly i have very little expierence with getting it started.
I am currently in the process of starting my own small business and was wondering about a few things.

1. Where should i go to get the domain?
2. Once i have the domain where do i want to go to get set up on a server?
3. Where is the best place to get access to shopping cart software?

In other words haha what do i need to do to get my website up and running, considering the fact i have the ability to design the site?

Thank You for your time.

Chief90.

[stapel]

1) I think any big-name registrar should be fine.

Just don't get a "free name with hosting" sort of deal, because this almost always means that the hoster actually owns the domain name. If you later have trouble with the host and move to new hosting, you may discover that you will have to start over again with a new domain name, because you can't afford to buy the name you'd established, or because the old host simply refuses to release "your" domain to you.

I use GoDaddy as my registrar, and have experienced no problems with them.

2) What company you use, and even what sort of account you set up, will vary with your expected usage, your needs, your skills, your support structure, and the expected traffic and growth.

There is no one answer to this question. More information would be necessary in order to even begin to make suggestions. For a start, are you familiar with the differences between "shared" hosting, VPSs, and dedicated servers?

3) You might want to ask this question on WebMasterWorld's "Ecommerce [webmasterworld.com]" forum -- after first studying that forum's library and other resources, of course.

I have no experience using a shopping cart, so I can make no particular recommendation, but going with an established "big" name seems usually a safe bet.

Eliz.

[rocknbil]

Welcome aboard chief90, there's much more to building a web site than just design. "Design" addresses presentation. There's still a bit to learn in terms of document structure, accessibility, cross browser compatibility, and much more that applies to how well your site will be indexed and it's success. A lot of it can be found right here. Dig around these forums long enough and it will start to rub off.

W3C Schools is a good start [w3schools.com]

1. Where should i go to get the domain?

Can't mention names here per the TOS, but shop around and try to avoid "resellers" if you can figure them out. Once you secure a domain, make sure you keep a record and don't forget the access to the domain manager at the registrar. This is the number one pain I have with customers, they will register a domain, then a year later change their email address and forget how to access the domain.

2. Once i have the domain where do i want to go to get set up on a server?

This is called hosting. Depends on your demands, but the basic rule still applies, you get what you pay for. If you plan to move into ecommerce, make sure your hosting plan can expand with your growth or already fits your needs.

3. Where is the best place to get access to shopping cart software?

Search around here by going to Google and entering:
"shopping cart" site:webmasterworld

It's discussed pretty frequently in the Ecommerce forum.

[piatkow]

Assuming that you are only looking for custom in your own country its probably better to look for local service providers. Apart from anything else they will be working the same office hours as you if you need support.