Suggestions for first time web builder

[Futzelman]

I have some many questions. Maybe you guys can help some:
I want to market my products via a website.

1) should I use Yahoo domain and web services or Verisign?
2) Yahoo is 11.95/montha nd Verisign is less. How about quality?
3) Should I use the web address forwarding? (what is this anyways?)
4) I will build the website using Fronpage 2000. Is this OK?
5) Any other suggestions or recommendations?

Thank you!

Futzelman

[Eric Legge]

You'll have to add a shopping cart and credit card facility, and FrontPage won't be able to provide either.

You need a merchant account to be able to process credit card transactions. Take care to only obtain a merchant account from a recommended bank.

See this site for excellent info and books on e-commerce. -

http://www.wilsonweb.com/

Make sure the host provides technical support 24/7, and the bandwidth offered is sufficient for your present and future needs.

Eric,

http://www.legge40.freeserve.co.uk/BuyerBeware.htm

[bassman]

Originally posted by Futzelman
4) I will build the website using Fronpage 2000. Is this OK?
5) Any other suggestions or recommendations?

Well, it'll only depend on what you want to do. Setting up an online store requires some serious knowledge on web programming, and managing computer resources for hosting the website. If you want to advertise your products on the Web, a simple page will do it, tough an attractive one is better, of course. Frontpage can accomplish this for you, if used to it's extent, but if you need any help, W3C Schools (http://www.w3schools.com) contain a world of info on Web design and programming. Also check Echo Echo (http://www.echoecho.com).

[Futzelman]

Thank you.

How many pages will I need? Does each time a "customer clicks on the product and a page appears with a more detailed picture and the option to buy" count as a page?
If I have 15 different products, do I need at least 15 pages?

Verisign offers a one page or a five page website. Is 5 pages enough? Should I go with yahoo instead?

Thanks for your time!
Futzelman

[bassman]

Well, like I said, it'll only depend on what you want to do. Nevertheless, are you sure you're only allowed to put 5 pages (5 files) on their server? I mean, you can put up a page on what you'll do everything, but any website must be easily comprehensible. Therefore, it's much better to have your website divided into various pages, according to your need. Remember, it will always depend on what you need. My advise is to surf the Web and browse a ton of e-commerce pages; check them out, see how they structure their pages, how they apply their design and funcionality.
Here's some good info on webdesign: http://www.echoecho.com/dzine006.htm
And here's a good introduction on how to start webdesigning/webprogramming: http://www.w3schools.com/site/default.asp
Like everything in life, start with the simple things, read their tutorials (http://www.w3schools.com/site/site_tutorials.asp), see their examples. You can always use a WYSIWYG editor like Frontpage2000 to help you with the templates (it has several pre-built design options) and to aid you on creating the whole webpage.