At this stage in the web publishing game, you should have a topic and a domain name selected for your web site. The next step is to open an account with a web site hosting company. A web server is where your web site will "live" and a web host is a company that sells you space on a web server. Some web site owners act as their own web hosts, but it'll be easier and more cost-effective to simply sign up with a hosting company.

There are many web hosts, but most of them shouldn't even be considered. Once your site is generating revenue, you don't want to have your site go down because you signed up with a fly-by-night web host. You also need to consider the infrastructure that your web host provides. The two main options are Linux and Windows. Both pretty much provide the same functionality so go with whatever you have the most familiarity with.

I have more experience with Windows-based systems running Internet Information Server so I use CrystalTech. I do give up a few features by not using a Linux, but they're not important enough to me to care about. Note that I'm not affiliated with CrystalTech, I'm just a customer.

Although it'll cost you a few more dollars, I recommend that you register the domain name you selected at the same time you create an account with a web hosting company. This is the easiest approach I've found. You certainly can use one of the many discount registrars such as GoDaddy, but you'll need to take a few extra steps to get your site up and running if you do.

In terms of costs, they'll vary depending on your expected needs. A very basic hosting plan can cost as little as $2.95 a month. With such low-cost plans you'll be sharing a web server with others, but all of that is handled by the hosting company and completely transparent to you. If you do find yourself with a successful site on your hands, you may one day switch to a dedicated web server with prices starting around $80 a month. Obviously you wouldn't switch to a dedicated server unless your income exceeded the additional expense.