You can develop your site locally and then upload it once it's complete. Drupal is actually pretty easy to move (compared to wordpress).

All you'll need to do is modify your settings.php file (database settings), upload all the files, migrate your database and you should be able to flip the switch pretty quickly.

I have built sites locally in the past and then moved them. But ever since moving to Vista I have had problems with the localhost environment. I have used both WAMP and XAMPP, both of them give me PHP timeout errors 90% of the time when using a CMS (it happens with both Drupal and WordPress), many times before I install it. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling boht of the programs and I still get the same errors. Any suggestions about how to fix this?(besides getting a Mac)Or have another localhost program you have used on Windows Vista and recommend?

Humm, try this: http://blog.riff.org/2008_11_22_speeding_up_drupal...

That article was so helpful! Totally appears to have solved my problem with WAMP. Thanks.

Any suggestions for the best process of moving the Drupal install from locally to the server? I have done this in the past a couple times, but I always have run into problems in the move. Can you explain how this process is done best, or have any articles online I could reference? What about Backup and Migrate module (http://drupal.org/project/backup_migrate)? can this be used to simplify the process?

Thanks so much for your help.