Finding Inexpensive Web Hosting
Many people spend $20-$60 a month on hosting. While this is appropriate in some cases, for basic hosting there are cheaper options.
There are a huge number of hosting providers to choose from online, so it behooves you to shop around. Just go to Google and type in “inexpensive hosting” and you should get plenty to start with. Make a list of the features you need—consult with your web designer if need be, to make sure that the technology that makes your site run will be supported by the server.
Email your prospective web host with questions to see how quickly and thoroughly they respond. If you think you are going to need technical help, make sure they have a phone number you can call for support. But be warned: budget hosting providers can't afford to tutor you, so you'll have to be willing to learn on your own or be somewhat technically savvy.
Once you order hosting, your provider will send you an email with details on your FTP server. To upload your files, you will need an FTP program. There are a number of these out there—I use CuteFTP. Basically, you enter your login information, such as the host (usually ftp.yourdomain.com), username, and password you signed up with. Then you log in to your site and can transfer files which are on your home computer onto the web server. It's much like transferring files among folders on your own computer, except you have to log in to their computer first.
Remember to name your home page index.html, index.htm, index.php or so on, so the browser will be able to find it. Also, filenames should not have spaces in them, but underscores (“_”) and dashes (“-”) are OK.