WebMeister help?

[280plus]

This is probably a good place to ask. I want to develop a website that people can come to and download music. Any suggestions on how to proceed? What am I in for money wise? What does it cost to maintain a website like that?

Thanks...

[Bogie]

Depends on how much bandwidth you need - how many folks use it. Do you have a domain name yet? Any ideas?
 
Download kompozer - it's a decent HTML dealie.

[Harold Tuttle]

check out hosting at network solutions

http://ecommerce.networksolutions.com/

here are their service packages:
http://ecommerce.networksolutions.com/ecommerce_shopping_cart_pricing_small_business.asp

http://ecommerce.networksolutions.com/shopping_cart_features_menu.asp


the issue is going to be the data transfer

heres rackspace's small business deal:
Operating System:   Red Hat Enterprise Linux or Microsoft Windows Server 2003
Processor:   1 Dual Core AMD Opteron 1212HE
Installed RAM:   1GB DDR2
Hard Drive:   250GB SATA
Bandwidth:   500GB Monthly
Managed Backup:   25GB Weekly
Advanced Availability Monitoring:   1 URL, FTP or Mail monitor

http://www.rackspace.com/383/index.php

[Monkeyleg]

I wasn't pleased with Network Solutions, and switched hosting providers for a couple of sites years ago. Maybe they've gotten better now.

My two main sites are now with Hostmysite.com. I'm using 40 to 70 GB's of bandwidth and lots of server space and CPU. It's costing me about $60 a month, versus the $400 a month my previous host wanted from me. And I haven't seen any loss of page load speed or site slowdowns.

One thing I really like about Hostmysite.com is that they actually have 24/7 phone and tech support, and the support people speak English, know what they're doing, and are really helpful.

They helped me set up my shopping cart program by pinpointing the problems. They've done a lot of other things as well, at no extra charge.

I've heard a lot of complaints about Network Solutions, though.

Just my .02.

[280plus]

Thanks guys, first I'd have to know what bandwidth actually is before I can decide how much I'll need. 

[280plus]

OOOoohhhhh... 

http://www.findmyhosting.com/bandwidth.htm

[InfidelSerf]

Better yet don't suffer the expense of the high bandwidth such a site will create.
Just create torrents and let a proven and stable distribution system handle the for you for free.
Then just create a torrent tracker site for the music you want to offer.

In other words you pay for the bandwidth of one song to be uploaded ONCE  then let your consumers handle the redistribution.

[Finch]

I have four sites with glowhost.com, haven't had any problems with them.