Starting my own website
 

What's the best way to go about this? And the cheapest most reliable source to secure a webdomain and hosting? @-@

I really wish to get this project off the ground but I just don't know exactly where would be best to start

I wish i could help you but I'm not sure myself.

You're looking to do the same or something similar as well?

I have in the past thought about opening my own avi site
but that was a dead end
since I don't have anyone for pixels
and my coding is... well not up to par
so the dream is on a side road

I still wish i could help you though~~

Neither is mine ^^;; But I super willing to learn.. and I'm pretty good at learning ANYTHING when I'm interested. The default templates for websites just don't have what I want.. I need to figure out how to do it myself. *nods*

I'm sorry that you project ran into the ground and I thank you for the well wishes

Well for web domain, Godaddy.com is good. Hosting, it depends. There a bunch of ones you can get. I would offer you what my parents use, since they selling hosting space... but I don't know if there site is running yet. I will ask in the AM.

Ah~ thank you so much ^_^

I've seen GoDaddy around so I think I'll go check that out

I've been using 1&1 web hosting for years for both my domain and hosting. I've got a larger package so it's a bit pricier than the smaller stuff HOWEVER I've never had significant down time, they've got great customer service and it's fairly easy to use. I know they have some 'starter' stuff coding wise, but I've never used it. The package I have, the MSBusines I believe, comes with three domains and a slew of other stuff, so I'm currently in the process of setting up another domain besides my 'home' one.

Thank you as well Fey! ^_^ *hugs*

I'm starting to weigh the pro and cons between all the sites.

So far they all seem to have unlimited bandwidth. So that's good.

1&1 offers multiple domain names so I can do my portfolio as well as the website I want to on 2 separate domains.... but there's this limited about of space I'm getting 250 GB
There's also more email addresses.. but I'm not really going to be using those, so it's not all that important.

Yahoo Small Business hosting has unlimited storage though.. 500 subdomains compared to 1&1's 200... But I'm not sure if I can use multiple domains with this one. That could prove to be a problem. *bangs head* Also 1000 FTP acounts 1&1 only has 25... weird....

*bangs head* So.. hard.. Can't Think *sigh*

I need to organize @____@

Well the ftp accounts are only really helpful if you're going to turn around and offer webhosting to others. Then you might need more than, oh, one LOL. The same thing with the e-mail accounts, though I'll admit I have a bunch set up to go through to my main accounts so I can use different e-mails if I need too.

I guess the question is WHAT kind of website are you wanting to start? Just a personal portfolio? A community for multiple posters? etc. That might help others give you some good tips!

If it was just a personal portfolio.... I wouldn't be in the mess >_>

It's more of a community I'd say.....but not. Because I don't want the forums and stuff to be a main part of it.

I want to make a "school".... See.. I have main characters that are a part of a school. But I want to develop that school thing so that people can come in and sign up for "Courses" (which are actually mini games), create a student character(kinda like a dress up game with cutomization, etc) and watch a mini series featuring the aforementioned characters.

There'd also be like a main storyline game that would take long to complete, so there'd need to be usernames and passwords to log usage and progress as well as to communicate with other members for help.

It's.....complicated. My brain works weird.

Needless to say... i DO need help @__@ I just need to organise my thoughts somehow and start actively pursuing this.. or else it would forever be a dream.

then it sounds like you need to focus on bandwith, storage space, and on-line time/reliability. So, talk to people that have yahoo sites and read their fine print reeeeeeeally well. I looked over yahoo's terms over 'unlimited storage space' and they've got a lot of strings to that that promise. Also, talk to those whom maintain this sites space and ask how much they're using, that'll give you a good idea for how much you'll really need.

Thanks Fey! I need all the help and info I can get ^_^

no worries :) I like small text LOL Next find sites that do something at least vaguely similar and see how their coding looks...you'll get an idea for how you can set it up easiest. often if you ask they're more than willing to tell you general stuff...not anything proprietary though.

I've looked through all of that... They are not as customizable as I'd like them to be...

I'm actually starting by putting bits of Flash on dA and the art and the videos since I have a film submission pass.

But I do wish to start organizing things professionally sooner or later. Or at least start thinking about it.

A blog just doesn't fit my needs.. Maybe when it gets closer, I can use it to track my progress... But atm, it just doesn't cut it

http://www.webs.com/

try that one? O_o

See.. Template. =__= Customize the silly ole template.

I WANT NOT A TEMPLATE. Can I tell my hover to shift up 10 pixels and glow red with a template? NOPE. I use what they give me... and customize it. And they all suck. =__= I've also checked out Weebly since I've seen a few people using it. Not what I want

Can a template make my website look like this - http://www.monsterhigh.com/ - No? Then I don't want it. That's why I'm into flash and learning Actionscript. I don't want what their giving me.. That's not my vision :S

I want to make the kind of site that I LOVED playing and going on when I was younger. Not this basic looking baloney and has no appeal what's so ever.

Thanks for trying Lauv.. but that's not what I want :/

It's not you're fault ^^;; No need to apologize. I just have a very clear vision in my head of what I want.

I guess that makes me super hard to work with ._____.

Thanks Lauv! ^_^ I would need people to help with development and stuff in the future!

No no no no no. GoDaddy is not good. GoDaddy is one of the worst services on the face of the Internet. Their hosting service is mediocre, their customer support is poor, and they have evil practices with their domain names -- THEY own the domain name, not you.

If you're looking for free hosting, I was using Zymic for a while. They don't have the greatest uptime in the world but they're the least annoying free host I've ever used -- absolutely no ads. No free domain name but you do get a short name like "duchess.zxq.net" to use.

If you don't mind paid hosting, I wholeheartedly support Arvixe. They're Trisphee's hosting, and their rates (especially for small personal websites) are very reasonable ($7/mo for month-to-month, as low as $4/mo if you pay in advance). They offer free domain names for life with the purchase of any hosting plan -- and they mean it; you own the domain name and you're free to take it with you if you decide to switch hosting providers. And their tech support is AMAZING -- fast responses, real people, and helpful results, and both the phone line and the live chat support are open 24 hours.

Edit: Don't learn Flash and ActionScript for the purposes of making a website. Flash-based sites are the scourge of the Internet -- they don't come up in Google searches, they're hard to navigate, and the Flash plugin causes problems with computers and web browsers. Make your website attractive and usable using HTML and CSS; Flash should be reserved for animations, games, and other self-contained things that aren't going to ruin your site if someone has Flash disabled.

I know KNDHosting.com, is a nice one. There biggest offered package is "D" which is only 5$ a month.

I'm not learning it to make a website per say... I'm learning because the website i WANT to make is mainly games ^^;

I'm doing platformers, choose-your own adventure, maybe pvp sidescoller.. who knows. And my chosen profession is Animation..... Flash is a must for me~

That being said, I will try to limit my use based on your advice, but since my website -is- for a younger audience it still will be mostly flash. And my research shows that highly interactive children's websites, like the one I linked to, use flash as a base.

Anyways. Thanks for the info Coda! I appreciate it ^^

We have to make portfolio websites
Alot of my friends used Woobly or Wix.
I decided to buy my domain name and attach it to a blog. If you do that I recommend Wordpress because Blogger, well trying to edit the html is a pain.

Also if you buy the domain there's a website called Inexhibit where you can upload it and use that as a template.

Good luck, must be a pain.. Tell us when your finished!