Stories of wild riches being made overnight pervade the Internet. Memories of the .com bubble also pervade the Internet. The latter serving as a warning against those overly eager about the former.

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the term cost applies only in the narrowest sense, to money. In fact, just as important to consider when developing a website are the other two main costs - time and effort.

The short answer is yes! Whatever it is you want to do (within the laws of physics) can most likely be done. There is, however, a catch. Just because an idea is technically possible doesn't mean it is feasible.

It is possible to launch a website without even having your own computer. Provided you have Internet access at your local Internet cafe, you can now do a pretty good job of getting any type of website online.

If you aren't too crazy about putting in hours of work to beautify your site and are happy with a fairly plain look and feel (there's nothing wrong with this at all, and in fact, many big websites do this - i.e. google and craigslist) then all you need is a hosting service or Internet Service Provider (ISP) and a registered domain name and site prebuilder can take care of the rest.

Building a website can be a daunting prospect for novices and seasoned professionals alike. Software and technologies change all the time and as the Internet develops so your range of choices increases. This incredible freedom of choice is a double edged sword. On one hand you can do virtually anything. On the other hand, information overload makes it impossible to determine the best way to do things.