If you want a website, then before you do anything else, you're going to need to get some web hosting.

You might not be too sure exactly how the web works, but don't worryit's quite complicated, and you don't really need to know about it until you want to make your own website. Basically, every time you go to a website, you connect to another computer (called a server) that sends you copies of that website's pages. Server have to be powerful, as thousands of people could be asking for those pages every second on the web's biggest sites.

For a small site, you don't need your own server. You could set your own computer up to run as a server, but you would have to leave it switched on and connected to the Internet all day long, and if your site got even a little bit popular then your connection probably wouldn't be able to handle it. Instead, what most people do is rent some space on one of those larger servers, paying a different monthly fee depending on how much data their visitors download and for any extra features they need.

If you want a website, then, the first thing you should do is find which one of these web hosts is best for youthat is, whose server you should rent space on. Much like looking to rent a home, this is really a matter of personal taste. Paying more is no guarantee of quality, as many hosts prey on their customers' lack of understanding to charge unjustifiably high prices. In general, the best way to find a good web hosting company is to ask around, read reviews, and ask on forums for people's experiences. You'll often find that what seemed like a good deal is actually a disaster, and be steered towards something much better.