Recently, I had the opportunity to talk with an independent contractor that was here and they had mentioned how they don’t have much for a web site. They have a basic page with info and were paying someone $350 a year for it. Then in an effort to save money they learned how to do it themselves through GoDaddy.
There are those what may have frequently updated websites that aren’t blogs, shops that need inventory adjusted changed and listings updated and yes that’s going to cost you more than just a “basic” site. However, for the average person to be able to throw some basic contact information up on the web and maybe a few pages should not cost nearly $1 a day!
There are several domain registers and often they will offer some sort of “free” or “included” web design platform. When you’re someone that will only need one domain this can be very handy and work very well!
Here are some tips to follow or if you’d rather you can reach out directly to me if you don’t want to do the leg work!
Discern If you just want one place for the domain AND website to be through (a “one-stop-shop”) consider: if you’re a service provider, shop, need credit card (CC) processing, or if you just want various information pages and examples.
- Research the various places you can register a domain and what they include with it.
Be mindful and careful to look at cost per year, some places will have an excellent and beyond cheap intro price but then that second year it could be anywhere between normal or above average!
- Go with an easy to read, say, and understand Top Level Domain.
There are beyond 20 TLD’s now, so you are not limited to only .com, .net, and .org. Pick one that is reflective of your website or what you’re promoting or providing and consider that after first year domain cost.
Typically, hosting pricing won’t change as frequently as domain names can and you can often save money by paying ahead for a year, two years, three years, or in some cases even longer.
Sometimes people get concerned with committing to a longer than month-to-month or a year at a time, that’s fine. Just know you won’t see as great of cost savings and you may want to consider how dedicated you are or how long of a commitment you can make to working and still get your site up and running.
The most important part is to start, take it step-by-step and don’t feel pressured that you have to have it all up at once. It can be a work in progress. Especially if it’s something you want to grow through time anyway, such as a blog or store.
- Other Options
Just like there had been other services in the past, there are “social media” sites that offer what are called “subdomains” or sometimes even for you your domain to be used, such as: WordPress, Facebook, LinkedIn, and others.
These can be helpful and cost effective options, as well. People sometimes prefer these because it allows for more of a “following” that isn’t reliant on web search results!
The Biggest Consideration
Be sure you’re not behind a paywall or subscription block. Sometimes this is an option (like with Facebook or LinkedIn) and other places it’s something you could do on a limited basis or pages or posts that you specify (like YouTube and WordPress).
If you want people to be able to find you, the information they seek and for them know enough you need to start somewhere! Just be sure it allows people to find you and that you like the way it looks and feels because if it’s not reflective of you, why have it?
Katie J. Rose 
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