There has been some discussion on the crit group forum lately about website setup, including domain name registration and hosting. This is something I've been researching for quite some time, but I've been hesitant to take action until today!

This morning I finally took the plunge and registered a couple of domain names: www.anicolle.com and www.andrewnicolle.com

I registered both through GoDaddy and added the Domains By Proxy privacy option. The fee for registering each domain name was $6.95 per year (that rate expires at the end of this month), and the privacy option (hiding WHOIS info) was an additional $9 per year (normally $12).

Both addresses are down at the moment while the details propagate around the net, but they should be active within the next 48 hours. For now I've got them pointing to this journal :)

I haven't decided exactly what I'll do with these domains just yet. I used to have a programming and PC demo themed site (which still seems to be up here, but probably won't be for much longer), so I know some basic HTML and shouldn't have any trouble cobbling something together once I have more of a plan. I would like to learn how to create something fancier, though.

It'll probably end up being a writing-based site, with the focus being either on my fiction, or on copywriting. The latter will only happen if I decide to launch a copywriting business once I'm done with the copywriting course. It's still too early to tell how that will pan out.

If anyone has any recommendations re web-hosting, I'm all ears :) I'm also eager for any advice about website design beyond basic HTML...