So you have decided to stake your claim on the internet yet you don't know exactly where to start. Lets fill
you in on the process.

First every website has what is called a domain name. Like CNN.Com Your website will also have one. The
domain name is probably the most important decision you will have to make aside from site design and the
actual hosting plan.

Think Nike.com what does that make you think of, their shoes of course, your Domain name is your brand and
you need to carefully select it. Domain names are unrefundable no matter who you register with it is an
internet policy that's been around always.

Second you want to choose a hosting plan that will allow you to upload your website to a server so others
can view it.

Key Features you will want.

Apache - Apache web hosting is the software used on many hosting companies, and unless you need to do .net
web sites then it will work great.

PHP - Php is a scripting language that a majority of the web software for blogs, forums, commerce shopping
carts etc are written in. Version 5.3 is the latest as of this writing.

MySQL - This is what stores your data into a database so it can be easily retrieved. You want Mysql 5.5 5.6
will be available soon.

What these compromise is what we call a LAMP server which stands for Linux, Apache, Mysql, and Php. Most
shared hosting environments are LAMP setup's.

Space - do not get hung up on how much hard drive space. A few gigabytes of storage is plenty for most
beginning blogs, forums etc. Many plans allow you to upgrade based on your needs.

Bandwidth - Typically a good amount is needed, 25 gigabytes of transfer is common with many beginner plans
and many sites at first may not even break 1 gigabyte a month. So you can see how you have room to grow.

Price - do not go for the lowest price you can find, it is a mistake. The lower the price the higher the
volume of customers you will find on a web server. How many people do you think a dollar a month hosting has
to get to break even on the server, storage, bandwidth, and customer support costs? Thousands. Shared
hosting is not meant to pile thousands of customers onto a single server. Hundreds yes, but ever more than a
server can reasonably handle. Google unlimited hosting sucks, if you do not believe me.

With this information you can go out into the world and seek out a hosting company that meets your needs.
Do not forget to check their reputation, service policies, acceptable use policies, and terms of service pages
before selecting. You do not need a lawyer to read these and if you feel you do, then perhaps another company
is better.

Good Luck!

This Article was submitted by Front Range Hosting - If you found it useful, please consider them as your host