You might also want to read some very important web design advice by Jakob Nielsen, a leading authority on the subject. One of the things he stresses is the importance of speedily downloads. (Smart Computing magazine reports that a survey conducted by the Georgia Institute of Technology's Graphic, Visualization & Usability Center found the top reason why web users abandon a site is slow loading times.) Click here to read Mr. Nielsen's suggestions. Two other annoying features that turn viewers off are opening pages - often with elaborate graphics - you have to get past to enter the site, and music or other audio content that starts up automatically when the site opens. The first seriously slows down download times and the later can interfere with other audio functions that the viewer is using.
A long-time Alexander Technique student and Internet Consultant, Margaret J. David, gives a very unflattering description of several Alexander Technique Web Sites in a very short article she's titled "Dying for an Alexander Lesson?" (Her remarks are directed at content, but it turns out the problems she identifies also seriously interfere with download times.) Click here to read her article.
If you want to design your own site (Click here to see what other Alexander Technique teachers have done) or have someone design it for you and then arrange for hosting yourself, you or your web designer will need to choose a web hosting company and a domain name registrar, or a company that does both. A web hosting company stores your website on their specialized computers (called "servers") and makes it available to anyone who wants to see your site. They also provide a mechanism for you to actually put your site on their servers and to modify it whenever you wish. Obviously reliability is a major concern when choosing a hosting company, as well as price. A domain name registrar's job is mainly to reserve a specific internet location for your site - somewhat analogous to reserving a specific post office box number. (Alternatively, you could have your site hosted by The Complete Guide to the Alexander Technique, in which case you would not need to find a hosting company or a domain name registrar. Contact me at this Email Contact if you wish to do this.)
HostMonster is an excellent choice to host your site. It also offers one free domain name registration with each account. It is regularly listed among the top 10 web hosting companies by independent surveys and hosts hundreds of thousands of websites around the world. The company is based in Utah and has been around since 1996. It combines very economical pricing and, in my experience, an extraordinary level of reliability with efficient, friendly 24/7 phone and email support. It also has the most intuitive, easy-to-use control panel I've seen anywhere. You can host an unlimited number of separate domain names on one account at no extra cost, making it ideal for web designers, webmasters or anyone who needs to host multiple domains. If a family member already has a website of their own, their site and yours- and anyone else's - could almost certainly be hosted for less than they are paying now. (If you plan to register more than one domain name, 1&1 - see below - is the best choice for the additional name registrations even if they are all hosted on your HostMonster account.)
You can learn more about HostMonster by clicking on the logo below. If you order web hosting from them using that link, I receive a commission which helps support this site.
Domain Name Registration: If you have a website with it's own domain name, you will need to register that name. Over the past decade, registration costs have dropped from $100/year to under $10/year for most domains. Yet many people are still paying $15-20/year or more for what is essentially a simple record-keeping process. If you are registering one domain name, and hosting it, HostMonster will register the name for you for free. If you are registering more than one name, I suggest you use 1&1 for the additional names. I've found 1&1 to be the least expensive registrar available, but without any sacrifice in convenience, control panel ease of use or customer service. Many special features, such as private registration, that you would normally pay extra for, are included for free.
If you click on the link below and order any service from them, I receive a small commission.
(Warning: Be very, very careful about letting anyone else - your web designer, for example - register the domain name you choose in their own name as it will then legally belong to them. And this can be a major problem for you later. Either register it online yourself - a very simple process with HostMonster or 1&1 - or, at the very least, have someone you know and trust completely register it in their name. Also, be sure the email address you use in the registration process is one you will always have access to - you will need to use that email address when you renew your registration, or make any changes in it.)
The Internet is chock full of web sites that enable you to add useful features to your web site, create free web sites of your own, and check on such things as how many other sites link to yours and how many people are visiting your site each day. New services of this kind appear every day and, for the most part, they are absolutely free. Below are listed a few that I’ve found helpful and it’s my hope that as more and more Alexander Technique teachers and students begin to explore the Internet, many more suggestions will be added to this list.
TheFreeSite.com maintains a current list, along with evaluations, of several companies that offer free web sites - almost always with advertising. This site also offers free counters, guestbooks etc. You can also type "free web sites" in the search box of any search engine (see a comprehensive search engine list below) to find such companies. Be forewarned, however, that these companies come and go and you could wake up one morning with no web site!
Most internet providers, like AOL and CompuServe, also offer free web sites and help getting started but bear in mind that if you change providers, you won’t be able to keep the site you’ve created. Changing an internet address once you’ve got started is a major headache. You're much better off getting a free web page and email account with someone other than your internet provider.
Click here to go to TheFreeSite.com
You could have an actual domain name site hosted for free if you're willing to have a banner advert or pop-up ad on each of your pages. See the Open Directory listing of these companies below. If you use one of these companies, your only cost is the $10 - $15 or so annual charge for domain name registration. But remember that many of these companies have gone out of business with the decline in web-related advertising revenue. Be very careful if selecting this option. You're almost certainly much better off paying a few dollars a year more for an advertising-free site.
Click here to go to the Open Directory list of companies that provide free domain name web hosting
You can also have a free email account at any one of a number of web sites. This enables you to send and receive email from any computer with an internet connection, including those at your local library, for instance. Two of the most popular sites offering this service are Hotmail and Yahoo.
Please help support this Website! Click here to learn
some ways that are easy and will cost your nothing.Submit Express allows you to submit your site to several search engines at the same time at no cost.
Click here to go to Submit Express
If you'd like to set up your own Email mailing list, discussion group or forum, you can do so for free, or at low cost, using the services of companies like Coollist. This means you can, for example, create your own Alexander Technique Newsletter or Discussion Forum - no need anymore to to be limited to the newsletters of professional societies. You can also establish an Email mailing list of your clients to let them know of developments that may be of interest.