Actually it is very easy to get online with your own web presence. Doing it well is not quite so easy so here are some of the basics to get you started.

Domain Names - A domain name is the name you give to your website or email facility. It will look something like www.your-domain.com and is the unique address by which other Internet users can find you.

In order to reserve a domain you have to register it and there are many websites offering this service. Some are more expensive than others but most domains can be had for about £8 per year or £8 for two years if it ends in .co.uk or .org.uk so choose carefully. If you buy web hosting, some hosting providers will actually give you a free domain.

Websites - Once you have decided on the name for your web presence, you should plan what your website will do and what it will look like. If you intend to provide information for customers such as a description of your services or display an online catalogue, your website can be fairly uncomplicated and easily managed. If you intend to sell good or services online, things become a little more complex.

You also need to consider what type of content you will use. If you just use text a small hosting package will suffice. If you intend to use lots of images, sounds or video, you will need more space. In the latter case you might consider using one of the free or inexpensive 'vault' type servers that are intended purely for storage and backup purposes without offering any web management facilities. The reasons for this will be explained later.

Email Accounts - Having registered a domain and planned a website, you will want to associate email accounts with it such as This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and you will normally do this when you decide how to 'host' your website. A popular and inexpensive type of hosting is 'shared' hosting which is effectively renting part of a huge server - a bit like having your own private folder on a disk drive.

Within your hosting package will be some very useful software such as cPanel which will let you manage the disk space, create email accounts, set up databases and do all kind of other tasks. Just remember that many hosting servers use an operating system such as Unix or Linux which is much faster and more efficient than the MS Windows that comes with a standard PC but the principals for use are very similar.

If you still like the idea of managing your own web presence, you should do a bit more research using our sister website www.community-webdesign.co.uk where you will find all the help you need without obligation.