Are you thinking about making a website and your not sure how to get started? Here is what you need to get started.

Six easy steps to starting a website.

1. You need a Domain Name:
A domain name like searchbliss.com. There are many available domain name extensions like .com, .net, .biz, etc. Choose a domain name that best fits what your site is about. You can purchase a domain name for as little as $10. There are many domain registrars on the Internet today to choose from. Note: the .com extension will be remembered by most, but finding good domain names with .com may be more difficult.

2. You Need Web Hosting:
Web hosting is where you "park your website". There are many web hosting companies out there...and some are free, but not the best, and support can be a nightmare. So paying will get you more "bang for your buck". You can find web hosting for as little as $7 per month. One great hosting company is web.com. Their support is terrific, however, they cost about $39 dollars a month...which may not be worth it for you.

3. You Need to Learn HTML:
HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. HTMLgoodies.com is a self paced easy to use tutorial on HTML and it is FREE. But if you're not patient enough to learn HTML from the bottom up, you can purchase software for website building...although good ones can be expensive. I would recommend Dreamweaver, but I'm sure there are cheaper ones out there. You can even use Microsoft Word, and publish the pages as HTML. It's not the best, but most of us have it on our PC's already.

4. You Need Website Content:
Create content from your own personal knowledge. Always write about what you know. As your creating your content, you should also optimize your website for search engines....this is called search engine optimization or SEO. If you plan to sell goods on your site, you can except credit cards and create shopping carts for free on PayPal, Google Checkout, etc.

5. You need to learn FTP (File Transfer Protocol):
You need to transfer your website files to your web hosting server. It is actually simple. There are many FREE ftp software providers. Here are two: Ace FTP (for Windows) and FTPclient (for Macs).

6. You Need Website Traffic:
The best traffic is free traffic. Most website traffic comes from search engines...and Google is tops, so submit your website to them. Submit to Google, Yahoo, and MSN. Most other search engines are powered by one of these, so if your site is indexed by them, they will show in other engines as well, like AltaVista, Alexa, etc. The fastest way to get indexed by SE's is to have a website that is indexed link to your website...it doesn't hurt to ask if their website content is relevant to yours...right? You can also contribute to forums having to do with your site's subject matter, and add your website link (URL) to your signature.