I've purchased the rights to a domain name I like for my small (tiny)
business - now what do I do to actually create a functioning website?

I only have an AOL account right now, so I'll need someplace to host
the site, and I'm only starting my little business, so I don't have
much money, but I need the website to help my customers find me.  I'd
like to have a couple of actual pages, with some pictures and some
links to other sites, but it doesn't have to be real fancy.  I want to
use the .com address I bought, though - I don't want my web address to
be some long weird thing.

I need specific answers - potential hosts, how to actually create the
pages, etc.  Thanks!

Good morning!

Congratulations on getting your own domain!  Isn't it great to have a
web presence?

Nearly 4 years ago, my best friend and I decided to purchase a domain
name together, and we went searching for cheap web hosting, too. 
We've been satisfied with our current host, and they offer a super
deal for small pages - 50MB, unlimited monthly bandwidth and 5 e-mail
accounts for just $4.95/month, and they use UNIX servers for
stability.

FeaturePrice
[ http://www.featureprice.com ]

CP Hosting is currently offering a 20% discount on annual pre-pay for
their Linux hosting solution - $48/year for 50MB, 5 e-mail accounts,
and 1GB monthly bandwidth.  They also offer extra storage and
bandwidth for a reasonable monthly fee.

CP Hosting
[ http://www.cphosting.com/index.php?page=hostingplan ]

If you're really on a shoestring, Netfirms claims to offer "Free
Hosting For All Businesses".  It doesn't look like much of a deal,
though.  25MB storage, 1GB bandwidth, no mail account, and banner ads
on every page.  Their cheapest paid hosting package, however, isn't
terrible:  50MB storage, 2GB bandwidth, 2 Webmail accounts, POP mail
access, and no banners for $5/month.

NetFirms
[ http://www.netfirms.com/home ]

Obviously, that's just a small sampling of the thousands of web
hosting companies out there.  Searching on "web hosting" will give you
quite a bit more to choose from.  There's a great page just for
business owners that tells you what to look for in a host:

Choosing a Web Hosting Company
[ http://www.bizmove.com/topics/web-hosting.htm ]

Creating your web page can be a daunting task if you're not planning
to keep it simple.  Looks like you are, though, so here are my
favorite HTML editors:

CoffeeCup HTML Editor is terrific for people with only the barest
grasp of HTML basics - the tabbed toolbar to the left of the screen
contains a list of all HTML tags, pre-written JavaScript snippets for
things like drop-down menus and making a link open in a new window,
pre-written DHTML codes, CGI scripts for mail forms, guestbooks and
counters, and a collection of commonly used code snippets for easy
copying and pasting.  That's *just* in the tabbed toolbar.  CoffeeCup
also helps create tables and frames in just a few clicks, with an easy
to use graphical interface and - this is the best part - the ability
to preview *everything* as you go.  Write a little code, then click
the preview tab to see how it looks.  If you don't like it, you can
just click back to the editing pane and rearrange things until it
looks right. (Yes, I'm very biased.  CoffeeCup HTML is HTML for
Dummies, which makes it perfect for me.)

The price is a bit steep - $50! - but they do offer a 30 day free
trial.

CoffeeCup Software
[ http://www.coffeecup.com/software/ ]

GlobalScape's CuteHTML is a simple text editor for slightly more
advanced users.  If you're already fairly fluent in HTML, it's
wonderful for long nights spent squinting at  code - CuteHTML color
codes, so if you forget to close a tag, you know right away because
your line is grey instead of blue, red, or green.  It also suggests
tags as you write.  Unlike CoffeeCup, however, CuteHTML starts you out
with just a simple template containing only the basic header tags, and
opening and closing  BODY tags.  Everything in between is up to you,
and there is no "preview as you go".  I use CuteHTML for quick and
dirty editing, mostly to correct simple errors.  It's easy on the eyes
and quick to load.

GlobalScape has also released CuteSITEBuilder, the description of
which says you can use it to create a site with no knowledge of HTML
whatsoever.  I've not tried this, but I've been happy with other
GlobalScape products I've used (CuteHTML and CuteFTP Pro), so it's
definitely worth a look.  Thirty day trials are available for all of
these products.

GlobalScape
[ http://www.globalscape.com ]

There is also an enormous list of HTML editor reviews and downloads
here:

[ http://www.webdevelopersjournal.com/software/html_editors.html ]

The best way to learn HTML is to just write it.  Find a page you like,
have a look at the code, tear it apart and put it back together again.
 A little practice goes a long way toward creating a great site.  You
can also have a look at a few HTML primers to get familiar with basic
HTML tags and how they are used:

NCSA--A Beginner's Guide to HTML Home Page
[ http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimer.html ]

HTML Primer: HTML Tutorial and Resources
[ http://www.htmlprimer.com/ ]

Basic HTML: Introduction
[ http://www.htmlgoodies.com/primers/primer_1.html ]

Web66: Eight Minute HTML Primer
[ http://web66.coled.umn.edu/Cookbook/HTML/MinutePrimer.html ]

The Bare Bones Guide to HTML
[ http://werbach.com/barebones/ ]

I hope this helps you out!  Good luck!

missy-ga

Fantastic answer - great choices, really friendly and helpful - she
(I'm guessing "she" - "missy") really understood what I was asking
for, and answered it very thoroughly.  Easily worth the $10.50.  
Thanks!!!!

Prohosters (http://www.prohosters.com) has a very cheap hosting plan
with some real teeth.  For $15 a month, you get 500 megs of disk space
and 5 gigabytes of transfer per month.

This doesn't really apply to you, but they also all you to host an
unlimited number of domain names within that same amount of webspace. 
Personally this is my favorite feature, as most hosting companies that
I am familar with charge you an additional amount for each domain you
host through them.

Good luck with your website.

Thanks so much for the additional host plan!  You never know - I might
just need a different domain name sometime, too.  Thinking big!

There are numerous other possibilitiies:

such as http://www.poorrichard.com/ which has lots of information
about creating cheap websites, as well as some books in print.  One of
the books is "Poor Richard’s Web Site: Geek-Free, Commonsense Advice
On Building A Low-Cost Web Site", Second Edition by By Peter Kent,
ISBN 0-9661032-0-3 which can be ordered from the site in both soft
cover and electronic format at a savings. There is also an archive of
newsletters which has a lot of useful information.  I don't think he's
sent out a current newsletter in some time, but you may be able to
sign up for when he does.
 
http://www.bravenet.com/ provides lots of freebies to add to your site
such as guestbooks, greeting cards, forums, password protected pages,
and many more — all for free.

If you want a free HTML editor there are two that are excellent:
1)  Arachnophilia from http://www.arachnoid.com, and
2) 1st Page 2000 from http://www.evrsoft.com/

Additionally, there are several books available such "Cheap Web
Tricks! Build and Promote A Successful Web Site Without Spending A
Dime: by Anne Martinez from Osbourne/McGraw-Hill, 2001.  You might
also check the "For Dummies" series.

Damn good answer, it was vcomprehensive and the layout was clear.

Hello, I hope I'm not too late in commenting on this.

There is another service which hasn't been mentioned, and really does
a wonderful job, very professional, for a very tiny bit of money.

You should consider "My Assistant" 
You can find their web site here:
http://myassistant.bizhosting.com

Pricing on hosting is $30 per YEAR
includes 3 email addresses, 
and domain name registration for a year. 

Professional site design 
$150 for one good solid page. 
$200 for 2 pages. 
You could be up and running your business on line in days. 

Have a look. You won't be disappointed.  
Best of luck :)

Thanks for the additional comments - they're not too late - they're
very helpful, thanks!

asking -ga

Hi there,

Just in case you were still researching, I came across this site where
you can build a website online, choosing a look and color scheme for
your site then adding your text and images - they say you dont need
any knowledge of web code and dont have to worry about hosting your
site, just point your new domain at the site that you've built. You
can edit all of this afterwards as much as you like.

Hope this is of some help ..... 

the URL is http://www.element25.com

I would recomment nomonthlyfees.com. $200 for the first year, and $70
a year after that. I've been using them for a while. They have great
customer support and lots of nice features.