Please tell me if I got it right: first I buy a domain name (let's say from Name.com) and then I sign up for a web hosting provider (let's say Hostgator.com) and that's it? Is there anything else? Thanks.
yep, I reccomend buying your domain and hostgator and getting hosting at hostgator. I learned this the hard way....
Another good registrar to get your domain at is godaddy.com. Sometimes complained about, but it really works. Avoid 1and1.com. Bad experience in the past.
I personally recommend namecheap.com if youre buying a domain for the first time. I think that GoDaddy has too much junk everywhere, theyre marketing techniques are painful.
One web host I've found amazing is www.one.com depending on what your doing. I don't know how they stand up to high bandwidth sites (they claim unlimited bandwidth) but I'm running a couple of projects through them at the moment and not having any trouble. They have a deal on at the moment for the cheapest package and basically you get your domain name, 1gb web space, 2 pop mail boxes, php, mysql and £50 voucher for google adsense for £10. ...thats per year.
upload ur content more info: http://www.web-source.net/ www.pixel2life.com do some seo for driving traffic, use marketing techniques and many many more.
Godaddy is probably the best when it comes to domain names / buying / selling, but I to did not like their hosting either. Way to cluttered and lacking some of the major things a host should have. I prefer bluehost/mt/hostgator.
Since everyone is tossing their favorite domain name registrars around like grenades in a war zone, I might as well go ahead and toss this link into the arena. This is REQUIRED READING for anyone who's considering purchasing a domain name or has already done so. http://www.domainwarning.com
its not that easy. you need so much more than you know. tools advertising how to get traffic some seo information knowledge of how to uplaod your pages edit them ftp accounts so the more you read the better youll be. you need knowledge first , then the domain and niche youll be jumping into.
Get a domain and hosting from the same provider it will be easyer to set up that way. Then pay someone to make you a site AND get them to upload the site for you. Siplest way.
And the most dangerous to boot - which is why I said that people need to read www.domainwarning.com Unless you don't mind your hosting provider being the legal owner of your domain name and saying you can't take it with you if you change hosting providers (or worse).
It is better to register your domain and host your site with different companies. That way if you later are not satisfied with either of them, you can change one without altering the other.