by Connie Cox

Many people avoid getting a website because they don't know where to start.  But without a web presence, you are loosing out on the most widespread way to promote both yourself and your book for the least cost.  You can either hire a professional to build your website or you can do it yourself.

Costs for websites range from $4.99/month for DIY sites to $2000+ and maintenance for real money-makers.  Keep reading to find out why the broad price range.

Hire a Professional

The median professional website like this one is around $1500-$2000 and is worth every penny, in my opinion.  A good website designer makes sure that the design is balanced and as all the subtle, unnoticed design elements built in that will showcase you and your book.  Placement, color choices, text to graphics ratios, and many more elements of your website make a big difference in how effective it is for promoting you and your book. 
Pros:  Exactly what you need.  Code is optimized so that search engines like Google can read it and tell what your site is about to list it in search results. (Websites w/ shopping carts will probably cost more--they have more security measures that need to be installed.)
Cons:  Price and having to figure out exactly what you want to explain in detail to your web designer.
Costs:  Initial design time.  Maintenance (could be monthly or as needed).  Hosting. (could be rolled into maintenance costs.)

To find a professional web designer, ask your friends for references.  This website is designed and maintainted by Websites for Growing Businessess.  I highly recommend them. The design websites I can update myself using a simple form, so the only maintenance I ever have to pay for is security maintenance.

Build it Yourself-Case 1

You can also build your own website.  If you are good at XHTML coding and/or using Open Source Content Management Systems, then this may be the way to go for you as long as you have the time, as well as the knowledge, to build your own website.  (this site is built on the Drupal platform) If the previous sentence sounds like it is written in a foreign langauge (it is!  It's written in Geek Speak) then go to the next sentence.
Pros:  If you can code your site yourself, you'll get exactly what you want.
Cons: Designing and building websites drains time fast.  If you don't know as much as you think you know, you can end up with nothing but frustration to show for all your time.
Costs: Hosting.  Your time (whatever you think you're worth.)

If you know how to build 'em, you know where to find the downloadable software or you can always Google it. And if you know how to speek geek, then you'll want to look into a VPS, too.  Here's one with the best price I've seen. 1&1 Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting. 50% Off ! Click Here.  Even at full price, it's a bargain. 
Again, this option is only if you know what you're doing. If you need hand-holding, keep reading.

Build it Yourself-Case 2

Many web hosts have click-and-design templates for websites and for blogs.  These range from cheesy to perfect for you.  Different hosting packages offer different bells and whistles, but they're all made for the do-it-yourselfer. Prices start as low as $4.99/month, but you get what you pay for.  You can also get template ecommerce stores, which seem to be very secure, even if they are a package!  If you only need to upload your own logo and you don't need a unique design, this looks like a good choice to me.
Pros:  You can build it yourself at the price you want to pay.  You can update at will. 
Cons:  The code is messy and these sites are often not included in searches because search engines can't make sense of what your site is trying to say.   You are limited in how many pages you can put up and your design will not be unique.
Costs:  As low as $4.99/month for hosting and templates.  Might be okay for getting your feet wet, but a successful business will soon outgrow this price range--which is a good thing! Really!

A good web host to check out is 1and.com  I use 1and1 myself.  Web hosting plans start from $4.99/mo. (Linux & Microsoft). Right now they have a sale, so you can click here to get an extra 50% Off!.  For packages, I like the $19.99/month package because it gives me more templates, more pages and a really good and easy-to-use newsletter builder that incorporates into the webpage for easy sign-up.

editor's note:  (I don't know how long this sale lasts, so if you click and it's over before I update these pages, my apologies.)

1and1 has easy packages for setting up ecommerce stores, too.  I found this deal from them: E-commerce shopping cart hosting! You can also build a PayPal and eBay ready online shop.  They're on sale at 50%, too. and if you want your own shop, no eBay

I've also heard that Lunarpages is a good choice.  I don't have personal experience with Lunarpages, but it's worth a click to check them out.  Here is the link. Lunarpages Web Hosting