You asked:

Is the Internet free? If you want to make a website, will it cost you to put it online? — Jimmy, Mercer Island, Wash.

Marshall Brain Answered:

The Internet can, at times, be free. If you access the Internet at your local public library, it is free. At least it is free to you – taxpayers are paying for the connection and computers that you are using.

If you want to access the Internet at home, usually it is not free. You have to buy a computer, and pay an ISP for your connection to the Internet. Note, however, that it is possible to find an apartment complex that provides free WiFi for its residents, or you can take your computer to a restaurant that provides free WiFi, or you can use WiFi from a neighbor with an unsecured hotspot (the polite thing to do is ask your neighbor for permission).

Once you are connected to the Internet, you can create a web site. You have several options:

1) You can pay a web site hosting company a fee to host your web site. For a small site with normal small-site traffic, you can expect to pay something like $10 per month for hosting.

2) You can create a blog-style web site for free at a place like blogger.com.

3) You can host a web server in your home and use the Internet connection you are paying for to connect it to the Internet.

If your web site takes off in terms of traffic, you then start having to pay more and more to host the site. This was the gift/problem I faced after starting HowStuffWorks. As its traffic grew, the cost of hosting rose, until it could no longer be a “hobby” and had to turn into a business to pay for the hosting bills.