If you are thinking of setting up your own website, using AWS is the best way to learn about the cloud – there is a free tier service level for one year!
Amazon also provides great tutorials on how to install Apache, PHP and MySQL (aka LAMP).
There are many hosting providers available, which can be more friendly to work with in the short term, but you will start seeing their limitations very quickly. By that time, it may be hard to migrate away from them…
Once you get your web server running, installing WordPress is another simple exercise, and then you are in business!
If you feel good about your technical skills, you can proceed to installing SSL (the encryption layer) on your website. This will boost your Google rankings and your customer’s confidence. There are cheap solutions available, such as domain validation only certificates, offered by companies like Comodo. While they are not suitable for an e-commerce site, they will do for your blog 🙂
Now you are a webmaster – next on to learning about how to manage your site and elevate your online profile, the wonderful world of search engine optimization (SEO)… This may be a full time job and you may want to hire a professional. Just be aware of the many scammers out there, and if they sound too good to be true they probably are. Ask them for results from other customers to be safe.
Using the web to grow your business is fantastic and it works, but it needs constant care and feeding…
Welcome to the virtual world!
Information Security Consulting and Virtual CISO Services