hi everyone,
i'm going to be graduating in a year and wanted to start a website to display my portfolio. i've gone through some tips and had some questions.
1. because i'm going to be referring future employers to it in the next year would it be better to pay a host or try a free host?
2. also i've heard of this adense with google, is that something that would be good to put with my website or would it not get enough hits?
3. also what kind of webhost do i go with if i am creating a website that is not selling a product but is more professional than simply a blog or personal page.
i am just feeling very overwhelmed! there is alot of options and i've looked through some of these forums and i haven't seen anything that talks about a porfolio. so yeah......any help or tips would be appreciated! thanks!

horsefreak

Sounds like you are thinking of some of the right questions.

1. I would use a regular host (they can be quite reasonable for a simple site), not a free one. You are looking to present yourself as a professional. Free hosts typically offer you a free place to be so they have a place to advertise—your site. You would look more professional without the kind of ads you would likely have placed by them. Also your domain name would be theirs with an extension. Having your own name as a domain name, ie JohnDoe.com or something like that would be more impressive.

2. You should not be thinking about adsense or any kind of advertising at this point. If you decide to start adding content to the site and drawing traffic that way you might want to monetize it, but for a personal portfolio only you would be better to keep your content focused on your portfolio. If you are offering the right kind of services for it you might advertise elsewhere to bring prospective customers to your site of course.

3. Any reputable basic host provider is fine. Viewers won't know who you are using unless you tell them. Check on prices and recommendations. Personally I use Dreamhost because they have a lot of options, at least the ones I wanted when I started, but others may be less expensive.

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Good Success!
James
Douglas County Master Gardeners
"We don't always get what we want, but we always get what we expect."