I'm thinking of setting up an internet company that sells activeX controls and I want to design the site myself so I don't have to have a standard shop interface or banner ads that I'm not getting paid for etc, I've got a nice big book on how to design ASPs but I still don't know enough about web servers etc to get started.

Here's lot's of questions.

1 Do I use my own machine as a server or do I upload the site onto another server like you do with standard html.

2 If I have to use my own machine is a standard phoneline and 56k modem going to be fast enough or do I need lot's of expensive stuff.

3 Apparently I need IIS which comes with option pack 4 for windows NT and with windows 2000 server, I'm running Windows 2000 Professional do I need a new OS?

4 I've found lot's of places to buy a domain name but how do I go from that to getting a large enough bit of space on a server and one that can handle an ASP.

5 What's the best way to handle credit cards.

6 Do I need a firewall, if so where do I get one or can I write one myself.

7 Has anyone got any good tips for doing the whole thing on the cheap without making the site look unprofessional.

I know this is lots of questions and that If I don't know this sort of stuff I shouldn't be trying to write a fully functional e-commerce site (there's an overpopularized buzz-word for you) but please help anyway, I've had loads of Ideas for Marketable controls and I'd like to do something with them.