my own dilema with making a website., i really need some guidance on this. Options

[creole]

Okay. I'm inspired from sites like 99mockingbirds, outspoken-kate, and swimchick. I like their designs, their website layout, their neatness, and most importantly their generous contribution to the world of graphic designing. They also have personal blogs which I love to read.

The thing is..what can a newbie like me start on a path like this? My intentions of my website would be blogging, frequent graphic designing related posts, and a personal portfolio for photography and digital art. Many of cB members that I know already have sites like the one I want, but it would be really helpful if someone gave me the ropes. Most of these questions can be searched, but I want the members of cB's personal first experience or advice with their website. What hosting is reliable and worth the bang for the buck. (I'd like to know you guys buying policies and how much memory you use or bandwidth, like say, should a beginner like me go all out and buy the highest value of hosting there is?) Does it matter what type of domain I purchase? Should I use .com or .net? What are some good leads to get into web design besides classes, because I have no intentions of wasting an elective in high school. (Trying not to sound ignorant, but my scholarship program wants me to take rigorous academic classes instead) What are the benefits of having a website? How would I get more hits? Please vent out all your info here.


Oh and money isn't an issue for me..but the pricing should be somewhat reasonable.

[creole]

if you want a great host, check out brohoster. shit's cheap and high-quality.

thank you, i'll look into that.

Personally, I think this was probably my biggest downfall when it came to my graphics/resource site, and the biggest downfall of any graphics/resource site. You have to be willing to commit a lot to this site. I know I won't visit sites regularly unless they update often, so why should other webmasters be any different?

If you're really just starting out and want to get a feel of what it'll be like, may I suggest subdomain hosting? There are plenty of people out there who have more space than they use and are willing to give you a subdomain for free. I really wanted to get my own domain, but a) I had no money (still don't) and b) I wasn't sure if I would be able to stick through with it, so I went with a subdomain. Of course, that opens a whole new can of worms (I've had to deal with bad hosts who don't give a sh*t about you or your site), but I think it's worth it for the experience.

(But if you're set on it then I would say go ahead with the domain. + free host)

that sounds like a great idea. how would i approach someone if they wanted to subdomain host though?