Where Will Your Site "RESIDE" So Others Can Find It?
Hosting can be thought of as "parking" your website on a server where it's accessible to others. There are many hosting companies (usually called ISPs, which stands for Internet Service Provider), and multiple hosting plans, and we'll be looking at free or inexpensive sources for this component. We're going to mention two of the companies that also handle domain registrations, and a third one that doesn't handle registration of names, but which offers some services and capabilities the others can't match. Two of the services below will host sites developed offline, which offers much greater creativity ... it's more open-ended, more flexible, but there's a bigger learing curve.
There's much more about the online and offline design capability on the Design & Maintenance page.
www.Hostsite.com - Both registrar and hosting company, their hosting plans begin at costs a lemonade stand could afford, and at every level of service, their pricing is very competitive. They are solid and reliable, but don't offer the vast array of services that GoDaddy does, Their tech support is good, but staff is small and it's best to communicate via e-mail. Response time good. Upgrade to more capability at any time for minimal cost increment. There are online site development tools availablle, and you can also upload a site designed offline.
www.GoDaddy.com - Also both registrar and hosting provider, they're one of the biggest players in the industry. They offer online development tools, and there's a huge variety of service levels, and a vast array of options including very comprehensive commerce services. Costs are reasonable for simple sites. Their phone support generally doesn't require long wait times, and it's very good. You can upgrade services as needed, and you can upload a site you designed offline.
sites.Google.com (Google Sites) - this is a new venture for Google, and it's totally FREE. Like the others mentioned above, it provides online site design tools. Unlike the others, it has NO provision for hosting a site developed offline. Offers several unique capabilities for determining who can access the site, and who has rights to edit it.