Some of you already have your own web sight.

How do you go about getting this, and what are the costs involved.

Thanks in advance.

Diane,
Blues/Jazz/Rock/Boogie Piano Teacher

you mean 'web site', right?

you need to get a domain name first (from some domain name providers, such as godaddy.com) and then a web hosting service. some domain name providers would also offer hosting service, but you might find some better deals from some separated hosting services. domain name doesn't cost much, like $5-$10/year, depending on the provider and what domain you want (.com, .us, .bz, .net, etc). most web hosting services either charge a monthly fee or a yearly one, depending on the service providers and packages.

just give you an idea. you can search on internet for more information.

signa,

Yes thanks, I meant 'web site' not 'web sight'. We have been discussing sight reading and I just have that on the brain. Thanks for the correction. Let me just go and change that on the subject line. And thanks for the info too!

Diane,
Blues/Jazz/Rock/Boogie Piano Teacher

Hi Diane,

I've always used Yahoo Geocities. It's free. I'm told that ads show up in Windows, but on Mac, I've never had any advertisements show up on my website (which is a good thing!)

http://geocities.yahoo.com

You'll get a free address like http://www.geocities.com/pianojerome/

Do you know how to program a website? If yes, you can type it right into geocities; if not, I think there's some sort of built-in program to help. If you'd like to learn, just search google for "HTML tutorial" -- it's relatively easy to learn.

One more thing I would mention about yahoo/geocities or any free service, is that there is a bandwidth limit on those accounts. Once that limit is exceeded access to your site can be removed for anywhere from an hour to a full day.

If you want to avoid limitations/advertisements you're better off paying for the space. Many companies offer very reasonable monthly plans (as little as $2.99 a mo., look around) and some will even register your domain for free if you agree to a yearly contract.

Great subject!

Can anyone recommend a good inexpensive hosting service?

Me and my husband own a web development business together, so perhaps I can help you out. The real cost is in the actual web site production. The maintenance and hosting costs do you no good if there's nothing there . If you know a bit of programming, or know someone who does, you can purchase website templates that are relatively inexpensive that will make your site look nice. Then the programmer can just plug in the information for you (I know it's not as easy as that, but I'm simplfying for clarity). Unless you are a good graphic designer, I would steer clear from trying to design your own site on Yahoo, etc. You really need the site to look professional, because people will trust the information on a good-looking website more than they would a hodge-podge looking one (home-made is great for cookies, not websites ).

I would budget anywhere from $300-$500 for a website in this fashion (including domain & hosting costs). Check with local web development companies too. I'm sure they would give you a quote for free base don specifications you give them. A word to the wise: the more prepared you are before seeking a developer, the faster the process will be. If you organize your thoughts and information on a flow chart, the developer can more accurately quote the cost and get your site done. Also, any content you want on the site should be provided in electronic format (i.e., Word document) so that you aren't paying the developer to type up from your chicken scratch.

Just a very broad brush overview:

I picked a local internet service provider, ISP, but Yahoo small business services does it just fine. I pay for one domain and 5 email addresses and this gives me DSL service, which is plenty fast enough.

I used www.networksolutions.com to investigate available domain names, selected one and paid the fee. It certainly wasn't expensive. When I wanted a 2nd domain, I used Yahoo, because it was even less expensive.

I purchased SJ Namo web editing software at Office Depot, because it was not too pricey and I wanted something for non-computer types.

You can see the results of my efforts at my web site. I think it's okay for most parents and students.

I have my music school listed with www.tripod.com ; cost is $9.00 per month and it includes the domain name. Since I know just about NOTHING about designing a website, I went with Tripod because I can choose a template and just 'plug in' the info that I want to list. There's a lot of space and I have many photos. I think it's a great price. Someday I'll do something a little more 'slick' and customized but for now I'm thrilled with Tripod.

Diane,

Before you take the plunge to drop any money on a web site, you should ask yourself, "What do I need a website for?"

If you see yourself getting a lot of students through your web site and seeking to do some actual e-commerce to accept registrations and payments, then it might be worth the investment.

However, if all you want to do is communicate news to your students and their parents (such as notifying of upcoming recitals or vacations), then a free blog service like Blogger might be more suited to your needs. You can even upload photos of recent recitals to share with parents and family to dated blog posts.

If you were interested in putting audio in your blog posts (such as students' recordings), Blogger won't host the files for you. However, whoever is providing your home internet access (i.e. your cable company or DSL provider) probably has given you some free web server space where you can upload audio recordings in an mp3 format. Then in your blog, you can simply create a hyperlink to these mp3 files to share recordings with your students and their families.

If you wanted to get even fancier, you can even create a YouTube channel for free where you can upload videos of your students' performances (I would probably get parents' permission before doing this). You can embed these YouTube videos into your blog posts as you see appropriate.

I hope that wasn't too confusing. Let me know if you have any questions. I used to have a personal website to attract students, but I think the effectiveness of a static website is being diminished with the incorporation of what is sometimes called Web 2.0 technology (blogs, video sharing sites like YouTube, podcasts, social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace). Although, my opinion is that MySpace is probably the world's biggest cesspool of Internet activity, so I would avoid making a site there.

In a nutshell, I have recently found more professional success without creating a traditional website (if there is such a thing), but instead directing students, parents, and potential students to my blog , or my YouTube channel , or my podcast . And all of these were set up for free.

I think this bears repeating. Most people seem to be unaware of this, but most internet providers give you a free web page that you can use to get started. You won't get your own fancy domain name, but you usually do get a reasonable amount of storage space and often there is some website builder tool included as well. That would be a good place to start.

Mario posed the following: Before you take the plunge to drop any money on a web site, you should ask yourself, "What do I need a website for?"

I'm guessing you've already determined that you want one, and are now interested in procedure, costs, etc.

When prospective students call, one thing I can tell them immediately is check out my website and see if this is what they are looking for. That's a giant time saver and filter.

It saves on printing costs; I can update my calendar and post it on the web, etc. Of course, you can do all these things without your own domain, but having your own domain is just plain classier! If you're a class act teacher, why not show that to the world?

Likewise, I've had parents call and ask if I'm the only teacher in town, because I'm the only one with a website. If nothing else, it tells younger people I'm not afraid of technology.

Hi John,

I have to say I really like your web site. It is very professional looking, welcoming and easy to use, and organized with the links that you have.

I would love to have web site myself showing my students and their accomplishments. Are your parents okay with having you post their children's pictures on your site?

There are so many times I would love to share what my students are doing at lessons and how they play, etc... but I've felt a little uncomfortable asking parents if this would be okay.

I guess if it is just pictures of your students, it would be no different than having a brochure with your students pictures in it. This I do have.

Thanks for the kind words. My parents have had only positive comments - I think they like seeing their kids with awards or at the piano. Many of them refer to the web site frequently throughout the year, others are in a total fog.

I have recently made my own web site:

www.hallsmusic.moonfruit.com

Being a complete computer novice I had no idea where to start designing a site. I searched for a company which sells space and found 'moonfruit'. There are many like it. You pay a small fee (I think it's about £20 a year) and choose a template. It is very easy to just input your information using their site-building program with no knowledge of programming needed. The downside is the rather strange address and it won't come up if you do a search for the site. This means it is useless for advertising but that's not what I wanted it for. The purpose of the site is to relay information to students and parents and to direct people to it for fees, policy etc. It seems to have been very popular and has definitely been worth having.

Many musicians use Myspace. There is a separate section for musicians and bands. It is 100% free, and super easy to set up.

Many nationally famous artists and bands have a Myspace site in addition to their regular site. Check it out...here is one...

Myspace.com/Jerryleelewis

If you have a mac, their IWeb program is very easy to use and provides templates. I know nothing about computer programming and was able to build my website without any help from my computer programmer husband.

www.musicteaching.com is another tool for websites. I have seen a few of these and think they look very professional.

Good luck. It is definitely worth doing.

I would first follow Mario Ajero's advice: create your own blog. It's easy and it's quick. Then you will know if you need something more.

Chris H. - very nice job, very professional looking. It should serve you well.

Well, as for pricing, you can sign up with a myspace type host for free, but you'll have to put up with ads.

Or you can build your own, if you're willing to learn html and design and all that.
Hit godaddy.com and buy a url and buy a hosting account (a remote server that godaddy owns to put your html on).

the name costs you about 9$/yr and hosting costs you from $3/month and up.

You'll need to figure out how to use ftp and html.
Either that or how to use one of the wierd software packages that sit on top of these.

It helps to be a computer programmer.
But you don't HAVE to be one.
Just interested in it a bit.

Here's my site: http://shazware.com

So basically about $45/yr plus time to design the thing and make the html/etc.

...Steve

One word of caution if only doing a blog is to make sure all of your important information is always up front and center, especially if you are going to include the blog address in your advertising. Many teachers, including myself use their website as a more in-depth form of advertising as well as to keep students informed of studio updates. I have seen blogs where one has to wade through numerous pages of studio announcements and commentary to come to basic things like teacher creditials and studio policies. As interesting as the former is, policies, credentials and basic studio information is more important, not only for advertising to new students, but also for current students as policy sheets can easily be lost or forgotten.

http://www.hostcolor.com

Differing plans, starting at $25/year.

They'll do your registration also for an additional $10/year, but I recommend using a separate registrar in case you need to change webhosts - makes it easier. I've been with hostcolor for many years now.

I recommend namesecure.com for name registration.

I have used yahoo in the past. They will register a domain name for you, and if you pay the fee you don't have any ads (the free service has ads). There are probably cheaper options like godaddy.com, but yahoo is really easy to use.

You guys got me motivated to play around a bit on geocities. It's pretty easy, it's free, and it should do the trick for me!

OK it depends on what you want, do you want a website to show people and to tell your students about, like a business card, well then any of the free or cheep hosts will do.

But if you want a website that does what a website is meant to do, bring you hundreds and then thousands of visitors every day that click on your adds or buy your products, and you don't know anything about building websites then there's only one host that you need to worry about, it's the host that I use so if you want to see how I've made my website with no experience in the internet then check out SBI, you can find out more at my website...

One other thing you may want to consider. I find having lots of banner ads and logos on a website to be distracting. If you get a free site, chances are they will be there, and they may not even be sponsors you'd like to be associated with! By having your own domain and hiring someone to either customize a template or completely design a site for you, it will be money well spent. Just be sure to get plenty of bids from vendors first, and look at their portfolios. If their websites don't look like places you'd give your credit card to (meaning: if they don't look professional), then choose someone else. I'm working on my website and hope to have it done in a month or so.