Before you can create a website you are going to need a domain name. You can register a domain name or purchase a name that is already registered by someone else. You can register a domain name for less than $10(USD)/year at Godaddy.com, there are cheaper registrars out there but Go daddy is one of the most trusted. If someone has already registered the name you want you can make them an offer on the domain. To find out who "owns" the name you want you can do a "who is" search. Be prepared for some sticker shock, as many names are registered by "domainers" in the hopes of selling them at inflated prices, but it never hurts to make an offer.

There are many "extensions" out there for domain names such as; .com, .net, .org. If you are just starting out it is a good idea to stick with the .com. The reason for this is if you register a name in some other extension and spend the time, money, and effort to develop it to the point the site is receiving traffic (visitors) the site will lose some of its traffic to the .com version of the name. This is because most people are accustomed to using the .com so if you have "mysite.org" there is a natural tendency for people to type in "mysite.com" out of habit.

There are a few exceptions to this and the most important one is that countries have a "country code" extension. For example, Spain has ".es" and Germany has ".de". For many countries, the country code extension is just as popular if not more so than the .com. The US has its own extension ".us", but most people in the US don't know of the extension and it is not widely used at present.

If you want more information on domain names you can go here for a great discussion forum with a wealth of information on the topic.

Once you have purchased your domain name it is time to find a hosting service.