This was the first question I had when I wanted to start my own website at that age. Without any way to get money from my parents in order to buy myself a hosting package (may it have been 5-10$ per month, or 17.99$ at that time), I had to find another solution.
When you don’t have money, you look for what is free. But how could free web host be possible if there’s a business for it? Well, because some people like to give for FREE. At that time, I went to my best friend, Google, and asked him “free hosting” please. Most of the free host you’d find would have a nasty side effect: “banners”. I didn’t want banners, but it seems it was the only possible option. I lived with that for a long moment, maybe one and a half year. Later, I found it was enough and went ahead to look for another host. That time, I found what I was looking for: a free hosting package with PHP and mySQL for free, without any banner.
5 years later, my needs in term of webhosting have changed. I have a much more broad understanding of how to manage web servers and for that reason I have different needs.
This article topic is on how to find that web host you’re looking for, at age 15. May it be to host a blog or to write on a specific topic, this should give you a general idea of what to do.
1. Find the topic you want to write on.
Do not begin to look for a web host before you have any idea about what to write on. If you’re doing this solely for the purpose of wasting time, reconsider that. If you could be doing something else more productive, do that instead.
2. Search on the topic to see if you can write a lot about it or not.
With some research you can see whether or not the topic you want to write about is interesting, broad and targeted. If you want to write about honey production in the mountains, maybe you’ll have to look again… (or not).
3. Start looking for web hosting.
Many websites have as primary task to help you find free hosting. For free, check out http://www.freewebhostingtalk.com/, and for paid services http://www.webhostingtalk.com/. Those forums allow you to get information about various hosts such as positive and negative reviews.
4. Register to the web host.
Go to their website, check out if you like how they look. A web host that takes time to make a good first impression is often a good host afterward, but not ALL the time. If the host you’re looking at look cheap, it probably is. When you’re decision is done, simply go to their sign up page and sign up!
5. Write/Design your web site.
This step could have been done before step 3 and 4. Here you write about what you want. You design your website the way you want it to look. If you’re having trouble, never hesitate to find help online, many forums are dedicated to that task.
6. Upload your web site.
Using one of the various softwares called ftp clients, upload your website (put the files from your computer onto the server).
7. ENJOY!
This is pretty self-explanatory.
