To set up a website, there are three steps you will need to take:
*** Get Your Domain Name
A domain name is a name you want to call your website. For example, yahoo.com, google.com, wikipedia.org... . To obtain a domain name, you have to pay an annual fee to a registrar for the right to use that name. Take into consideration that you cannot buy a domain for life. You get it for a period of one to ten years. If you fail to renew the domain name at the end of its term, the registration of the domain will be revoked and the domain name may be acquired by another party.
*** Choose a Web Host and Sign Up For an Account
A web hosting service provides you with online space. This enables you to get your web pages online at your registered domain name.
*** Design Your Web Pages and Get Them Online
There are three ways to create and get your website online:
1- Some web hosts offer Easy-To-Use Site Builder that helps you build your web pages without difficulty, even if you are not skilled in using any website creating software. Their web builder is a WYSIWYG program (What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get). This means that the finished page will display exactly the way it was designed.
2- You can create the pages offline with your favorite program (DreamWeaver, FrontPage, Microsoft Publisher, iWeb, etc.), and then upload them to your web host. This is another easy way to get your website online.
3- Frontpage Extensions allow you to publish your site directly from the FrontPage application. This means that you will not have to upload files through FTP, or another method. Microsoft FrontPage is a popular WYSIWYG HTML editor and web site administration tool from Microsoft.
* How to Choose a Reliable Web Host? Where Can You Get Started? How Much Does It Cost?
First, take into consideration that web hosting is a global service. It does not matter what country you are located in; US, UK, Canada, Australia or India. It is good to note that the cost of hosting services in most countries is generally a little more expensive in comparison to the same services in Canada and the United States. Specifically, American web hosts offer a much better value for money than any local hosting.
If you want to start your website, I recommend getting your domain and web hosting plan from the same company. This way, it is often possible to get your domain for free, due to some web hosting services offering a domain as a free gift today. Moreover, these web hosts usually offer a free “Site Builder”' to create your website without paying any additional fees. By taking advantage of all of the aforementioned services, everything you need for setting up your website is provided just in one hosting package.
Don't trust dishonest claims like "Best web hosting only $1 /month" or "Get the cheapest web hosting without sacrificing quality and features!!". Take into consideration that some hosting companies are cheating and lying to their customers. It is very important that your service be uptime (functioning and available for use) . It means you can access your account whenever you want to update your web pages, and users can enter your website whenever they refer to your site address. If your hosting service is not uptime it can be catastrophic!
Take a look at:
http://www.threehosts.com/reviews
There you can reach the three reputable companies that are leaders in the website hosting industry.
And the best service available on the web:
http://www.threehosts.com/reviews/1st
Only $3.95 /month (with discount coupon)
And the easiest way to create a website is reachable here (using templates):
http://www.threehosts.com/business/3rd
Hope this helps.