lazyhand

Are there any web sites I can use for free to start an Internet business?

March 10th, 2006

It depends on how you want to make your money. You might want to make your question clearer. What do you mean by “Internet business”? What do you mean by “web sites I can use for free” ?

1. Having your own website

If this is what you mean, you need a domain name and a web hosting.

Domain name is your Internet address, e.g. www.my-own-web-site.com

Some web hosting companies will include free domain name if you buy their hosting package, but don’t count on that. Domain name is cheap. You can get one for less than 10$ per year at http://www.godaddy.com . Good selection of a web hosting provider is more important.

Web hosting is where you store your files.

There are many websites providing free hosting, some will give you a sub-domain name, i.e. http://your-name-blah-blah-blah.freewebs.com .

These free hostings provide free hosting in exchange for exposure to their own website.

Some of the more popular ones are http://members.freewebs.com/ or http://www.bravenet.com/

For a good list of free web hosting providers, you can see

http://www.free-webhosts.com/best-free-webhosts.php

If you are serious about making money, I strongly recommend putting some investment. Paid hostings are more reliable, more presentable, easier to maintain, have less restriction, and load faster.

Addaction ( http://www.addaction.net )is a good start. If you are not expecting a lot of traffic (especially in starting months), you can use a starter package for less than 50$ /year. Their technical support is superb, and it comes with many good scripts built-in.

For example, if you are looking to have online store to sell things, you can install oscommerce in few clicks. After that, you need only enter your products details.

If you have good contents, you might consider putting Google advertisements ( https://www.google.com/adsense/ ) on your website to generate income.

2. Use other people’s website to sell your products/ services

Ebay ( http://www.ebay.com ) is the choice for many others selling in the Internet. You can create an account for free and start posting your items for sale immediately.

If you don’t have your own products but want your design to be included with other people’s product, you can try Cafepress ( http://www.cafepress.com/cp/info/ ).

3. Others

There are thousands other ways to make money in the Internet.

Whatever you are doing, there are good guides to read on:

http://onlinebusiness.about.com/

http://www.myownbusiness.org/

http://www.oncallgeeks.com/

http://www.internetbasedmoms.com/new-internet-business/

Wish you all the best

Entry Filed under: Money