I am sure that there is not a single person out there who hasn't dreamed of having their own website.
Just imagine it; your own space online where you can share your views with the world.
How nifty would that be? Well, I have to let you know now, running a website isn't all fun and games.
In fact, it is one of the most difficult things that you are going to do online...
if you want to make a success of it at least! On this page I want to run you through the basics of owning your own website.
I am unable to cover everything in depth here.
You should get an idea about what everything is all about though! Before we dive into the actual setting up of your website it is worth thinking a little bit about what your site is going to be all about.
This is VERY important.
I find that websites that are very specific in their topic are much easier to promote, and much easier to make money with.
Since this is most likely your first website you are probably going to want to start off with something that you know about.
Perhaps you want to share your passions in life.
If you have an interesting life you may even want to blog about yourself! I promise you though, it is very hard to attract people like that.
Firstly, if you want to have a website then you are going to need two things:

1. Your domain name - This is the thing that people will type into their address bar to find your website.
   
2. Your web hosting - This is your own little 'virtual space' online where your website will be stored.
   

There are plenty of providers out there and tons of reviews on these so I won't go into depth about where you should go.
Remember, since you are just starting out you only need a basic package here.
You shouldn't really be spending more than $5.
00 or so a month.
If you are running a business website then you may wish to spend a little bit more.
Once you have your domain name and web hosting in place it is time to get started.
If this is your first website and you want it to be content-orientated then I suggest you work with a platform such as WordPress.
This is a blogging platform which is going to make everything about running your website a doddle.
It is easy to get started with and there are plenty of guides out there.
If you are running a website then it is important that you remember to keep it updated regularly.
If you do not then people will not return.
When I start up a website I like to have a couple of blog posts a week about things that are worth discussing.
Make sure that they come out at EXACTLY the same time every single week! Great, so you have your content in place right? Fantastic! Now, it is time to get promoting.
This is to drive as many people as possible to your website.
There are many ways to do this, and I could write a whole book about it, so I just want to touch on some concepts that you can carry out more research into yourself:

• Search Engine Optimization
• Social Media Marketing
• Pay per Click Advertising
• Video Marketing
• Content Marketing
• Email Marketing

I am sure that once the traffic starts to roll in you will want to start to make some money.
Thankfully, with a steady stream of targeted traffic it is actually pretty simple.
There are a number of methods that you can look into.
You may have to experiment to ensure you do the right thing for your website.
For example, one website may benefit from affiliate marketing whilst another may benefit more from contextual advertising.
The choice is yours! This is just a VERY brief guide to running a website.
Hopefully it will give you an idea of the sort of work involved.
Remember, the more research you put into starting up a website, the greater the chance you have of being successful.