Ok, so you decided to do it. You're going to get a website and put your work online. Whether you just want a gallery to showcase your work, a blog, an ecommerce site, or some combination of the above, the first thing you need to do is find a domain name that works for you and isn't already taken. This can be a challenge.

Most webhosts have a search function you can use (see Lunarpages or something similar), but unless you get lucky you'll probably run out of ideas for domain names before you find one that isn't taken.

There is an easier way. There usually is. ;)

Try this site, but don't buy the domain through them since you will most likely get a freebie from your webhost:

DomainsBot

It lets you search by available domain names, filter the results, and makes suggestions for others. I might try some combination of your name and the words lampwork, jewelry, polymer or bead as appropriate for your work. Unless you are really lucky and your name isn't taken as a domain name. For instance, JosephineBrooks.com is taken by some older realtor who is not me! :)

Once you find one you like grab it! Don't wait. It may not be there tomorrow.

I've been having some really interesting conversations with a friend of mine. She has a physical store and would like to get her work online. The website person she had been talking to told her it would cost her $100-$200 per month to have an online store. I pay probably about $70 per year for my website and I could probably get it cheaper if I could remember to pick up the phone. Either the person she was talking to didn't have a clue, or that was their price for some sort of managed hosting and website development and maintenance package.

Seriously, this is not that hard.

If you can maintain a Myspace page with something other than the default template, you are capable of creating a website. You'll need to be able to download and upload files, unzip files, move around a little bit in a database, and not be afraid to try something new.

Here's what you need:

1. A good webhost. This is where your main cost will be but there are some really inexpensive and reliable webhosts out there. Select the most basic package which is usually some form of shared hosting. If your website needs more space/bandwidth later you can always upgrade. Generally, you can get one free domain registration with a hosting plan, so don't bother to get your domain somewhere else. I've used both IXwebhosting and Lunarpages. Personally, I prefer Lunarpages. Lunarpages also has Fantastico which makes installing certain content management systems super easy and so far they've been good to me.

2. Download Filezilla. This will make your life easier when you need to upload, delete, or edit files.

3. A decent content management system. Go with open source programs. They are free and have online communities that support and update them. When this site was an ecommerce site, I used Zencart. It worked great but was a little difficult to set up for a beginner and was not that easy to update. Wordpress is a blogging platform, but it is so easy to install, upgrade, and use that you might consider using it anyway. It also has some ecommerce plugins. I haven't tried those, but if you don't like it you can always delete it and start over with something else. The various programs will have step by step instructions on how to install and set them up. If you go with Lunarpages or another webhost that has Fantastico, it's even easier.

If those three things were still to scary for you, you can always try Yahoo's Merchant Solutions

Should you get a website? For less than $100 per year, it's kind of silly not to, even if it just gives you a nice gallery to show off your work and a website address where you can send interested people.

Sure, there's more, but I'll go into that in another post.