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MySpace Networking vs. Creating A Stand Alone Web Site.

November 3, 2006

People who know me and know that I'm a web developer and programmer ask me a lot of questions about web sites, web pages, HTML code, CSS, JavaScript code, ASP, PHP, and Databases like MS SQL and MySQL. Questions like: How do I create a web site? How do I start my own Internet business? How do I make money using the Internet? Is Internet Marketing and/or an Internet business valid? And it goes on and on.

One question I answer a lot is: Should I create my own web site or use a "free" site like MySpace? Sometimes instead of MySpace, it's the free web space that comes with their ISP account they're asking about.

Establishing a web presence with a professional image requires your own web site and your own domain name. MySpace is awesome, however, it's a social networking tool used to "network" or find people and stay in touch with them. Like most of the tools in your toolkit, it has a function and can be very useful. Use MySpace and other social networks as a marketing resource: to help people discover you or your business and to lead them to your main web site.

If you are in any type of business at all, or a serious amateur or hobbyist, you need your own web site. In addition, you can setup profiles on any or all of the social networking sites like MySpace and use those profiles to direct people to your web site. But you should have your own web site and domain name. Each site like MySpace has rules and restrictions and will sometimes delete accounts, either for breaking the rules, or by mistake. You don't want your only presence on the Internet exposed to this kind of risk. In addition, you want to look as professional as possible.

Once I tell this to someone, the next question is usually: How do I get started? How do I start my own web site?

I'll outline the steps.
1) Domain Names: You need to register a domain name. Select a name that is as short as possible and that reflects your site's function. There are sites on the Internet that you can use to help research this, such as the Suggestions tab on www.DomainTools.com. This tool, called a domain spinner, lets you type in a few words and it generates a list of available domain names based on various combination of those words and related words. Once you decide on a domain name that's available, you need to pay for it - this is called registering. You can register it for 1 year up to several years. I use www.RegisterFly.com for this, but there are a lot of sites where you can register a domain name for a reasonable price. RegisterFly also have a domain spinner tool that can help you find available domain names.

2) Web Hosting: You need to a place for your web site. There are a lot of hosting providers you can choose from. They all work in a similar fashion. You rent space on a web server and bandwidth (traffic to and from the server) by the month for your web site. Prices range from less than $20 per month all the way up to the sky depending on how much space and bandwidth you're using. I recommend this hosting service, www.1and1.com.

3) Putting #1 and #2 Together (your domain name + your hosting provider): If you registered your domain name with a different service than the hosting provider you selected, you'll have to tell the domain name registrar where your web site is located. You do this by telling the registrar the addresses of the "name servers" of the hosting facility. The hosting provider will usually setup your DNS (domain name server) records for your web site on their DNS server and you simply need to give the name server's address to the registrar of your domain name so that your domain name points to the correct DNS servers. It sounds complicated, but it's not. If you registered with the same service that you're using for a hosting provider, then this is usually done for you.

4) Create Your Web Site: Finally, you need to make your web site. You should spend time researching popular web sites of the same type or interest as the one you intend to build so that you get a good idea of what works in that area. One key to being successful is to follow the lead of someone who's already successful in the same area. Find successful sites by doing searches on Google and looking at the top sites that are returned. Even if you have no previous experience making web sites, you can still create a very nice looking web site. I offer online courses for beginners on how to create web sites - www.WebSiteTrainingOnline.com. I have other courses too, www.WebScriptingOnline.com and www.InternetMakeMoneyOnline.com. In a few hours you can have a nice looking, functional web site.

I hope this helps answer some of the questions about web sites, social networking sites like MySpace, and starting your own web site.

Sincerely,
Fred

About the Author

Fred Black is an experienced online business operator, programmer, web site developer, father, husband, musician, and songwriter. Visit his Internet Business Blog at: http://www.pqInternet.com.

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