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[Beeblebrox]

I'm ramping up to launch an online business in the near future and a big blind spot for me is the actual building of a website.  I'm very unsure of what is required in order to set onesself up on the web.  For instance, I found this information with one company but I don't understand the signifigance of most of it.

Package key Features
Disk space
   
5000 MB [ upgradeable ]
Monthly traffic
   
100 GB [ upgradeable ]
Server usage policy    maximum of 50 website per physical processor
Server loading policy in business packages:
Number of hosted domains per server is the most important factor for server speed and reliability, in Business web servers, we do not put more than 50 website (and less) per server physical processor (physical means real hardware processor, not virtual and not HyperThreading), so In dual xeon server we host no more than 100 websites which is very low number in shared hosting environment.
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Subdomains are a way of creating separate accounts within your main account. It is accessed through a separate URL in the form of 'http://somthing.domain.com'.
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Subdomains are often used to make the access to subdirectories easier by simply typing in a shorter domain name rather than the full domain name and directory names.
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Database    MySQL 5
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cPanel Available in the following languages [RVskin]:
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Server type    Centos [ Linux ] OS with Apache 1.x web server.
Price
   
$7.50/mo

Because I'm lazy (and cheap...very, very cheap) I'm going to do online retail with dropshippers as my suppliers.  I really have no clue about what I'll need in order to provide my customers with a non-frustrating experience on any potential site I might run.  Are there any techno-junkies or chipheads who would be kind enough to give this 18th century throwback some pointers?  I have to have some sort of site; I just don't want to take it hard in the shorts when I eventually pick one.

Thanks in advance for any hints, tips or suggestions that may be offered.

[Bonk]

My advice, for what it's worth, play with some free web hosts first to get a feel for what you are going to do and what you are going to need. You can get a lot of learning and research done at no cost but your own time that way.

I can recommend a few:
Byethost
Prohosting
Your own ISP (if they gave you space with your account, most do but it's usually very limited)

A handy comparison list (many are fly-by nights that may be data mining - stick to the bigger guys, like Prohosting):
http://www.webhosts4free.com/

Better yet, read the Apache docs, download and install a copy on your local machine on a high speed connection, use dydns for a subdomain name and practice away on your own machines where you are in full control. (most residential ISP accounts do not allow this though, so be careful, whenever I did it I always ran it on a different port than the usual for http - for example, port 30033 instead of port 80) If you make enough headway with Apache, then move on to scripting and databases and then you are ready to look at selecting an e-commerce platform. This approach will also cost you nothing but time. (and you can also upgrade to a commercial account with your ISP and go legit once you test everything out, again remaining in full control of the resources of your own business - though if hardware demands are large for your application then a hosting company may be more cost effective)

You could also give Abyss a try for quick prototyping and research, it is more user friendly than Apache but has fewer capabilities.

If you are not interested in researching the issue in either of those two ways, then you may want to hire someone to asses your situation and needs for you.

Another idea might be to rough out a business plan and approach the bank or credit union for a loan (whether you need one or not) and see what resources they might be able to point you towards. I bet they get plenty of such applications and know the financial pitfalls of these deals.

[SCM_SFHQ_XC]

Well these days, sites are becoming more and more complex as better and better features become avaliable to code into a site. A basic HTML only site still is good but these days you usually expect PHP, ColdFusion, Active Server Pages (ASP), Java Server Pages (JSP) to provide sites that can change based on information stored on the server (i.e. MySQL allowing the information to be stored in tables).

It really does depend on exactly what you hope to do with a site you want to create. Just providing some information that you aren't planning on changing at all? Probably a good HTML site will do.
If your hoping for some kinda interativity (i.e Changing information, Administrative back-ends to sites making it so you do not have to edit the HTML file, Tables that will grow, shrink, change over time, anything that requires change) then PHP with MySQL Server 5.0 is going to be best.
I am still weak on my ColdFusion pages, but ColdFusion supports programming languages other than CFML in a nutshell. So in dynamic pages that need to support ActionScript, then ColdFusion is probably a better choice when making websites.

I'd advise at least trying to learn what you can as best you can with HTML. Webmasters able to construct a site for you can get quite expensive.

As Bonk posted above, the best way for you to construct a site is to put in some good time to learn HTML, then move on to PHP, and other dynamic page scripts, as well as focusing on learning about how to operate Apache. They can take a bit of time but its worth it considering how much webmasters and webhosters can cost these days.

[Beeblebrox]

Sweet.  Thanks, guys.  Bonk, I'm definitely going to experiment in the manner you suggested.  It definitely can't hurt to get a feel for the nuts and bolts.  I know this will sound a lot like a stupid question but what is the difference between having someone host a web page/website and buying a domain?  I had a look at some of the prices for buying a domain and a number of them seem fairly reasonable.