Unless you are looking for very large scale portals like yahoo, msn, here are the simple steps you gotta do to get a website up and running:
1. Buy a domain name e.g. .com, .net, .info, etc.
2. Buy a hosting account on a Linux server, linux hosting is cheap and reliable compared to windows coz of obvious reasons.
3. In your domain control panel, set the nameservers to be the one given by your web host.
4. Design a website, upload it and voila, you are ONLINE, baby!
My recommendations for a domain seller and a web host:
Domain: Buy it from
www.godaddy.com or
www.yahoo.com . GoDaddy offers great services but since yahoo is running a 50% off till September, my recommendation would be yahoo. Cost: $5 @ yahoo
Hosting: Well, i have been hosting with various big and small players since 2002 so i am da guy to answer this question. First off, let me say this: free hosting accounts just suck, never go with them unless you are poor to the extent of living in the footpath! If you are a student w/ limited pocket money, cut on your side/GF expenses and buy a proper hosting account. Okay, coming to the point, I have been hosting with
www.hostachio.com for a while now and think that they are just great - superb support so far. $20/year for 2 mySQL databases and all the bells and whistles is impressive. I think they are also one of the cheapest out there. They offer cPanel admin w/fantastico scripts to install many forums, blogs, chat applications in just a click! Cost: $20/year @ hostachio
Pardon me for any technical jargon but can't help it, it's all part of the game.
Peace.