Free Domain Name and Webhost

There are two major free and absolutely necessary pieces of online equipment - Domain Name and Web Host. A number of ISPs offer free web space. You can set up something that looks like a website, but the link is often long and cumbersome. You can make these pages look pretty good and even very usable, but it's not as cool and the url doesn't roll off the tongue as nicely as, say, www.hhbeanbiz.com. (as I write this, hhbeanbiz.com is still available)

Microsoft has a product line for small business folks - Office Live.
www.OfficeLive.com

It currently comes in three flavors: Office Live Basics (free), Office Live Essentials ($19.95/month), and Office Live Premium ($39.95/month). Each level has increasing levels of benefits. Basics has the following listed:

· Free domain name and Web hosting (you get to pick your own domain name)
· Easy-to-use Web site design tools (you don't have to be a Web genius)
· 500 MB of Web site storage space
· 10 GB of bandwidth
· 25 company-branded e-mail accounts (2GB of email storage)
· Web site reports
· Search advertising tool with $50 credit
·
I need to qualify free - this is the monthly fee. When you open the account you will need a credit card, a debit credit card type also works. Microsoft will debit $1 to your account - evidently this is done to confirm that you are a serious upstanding internet citizen and not a spammer, phisher, or a person bent on mischief and deceit. It also provides a means for Microsoft to collect funds for services and upgrades you might want to add.

All around I don't think this is a bad deal. Of course there are limitations such as: you are tied to their templates and no business functions are provided. You are afforded some elbow room. You can use HTML to do all sorts of creative things. So many things are up to your own imagination and inventiveness.

If you are just starting out and your shoestring is frayed and broken off in places, this is a very workable solution. Tell me how many Web Hosting/Domain Name offerings are out there for $1 and no monthly fees?

Checkout the Office Live site: www.officelive.com
Decide for yourself.
Check out my wife's website: www.mmsuchanstudio.com Created with Office Live.