It is better than not incorporating at all, but not as good as having an lawyer do it. The main idea is to not let anyone be able to sue you personally. Here's a short list of what you need to watch out for. ( I am not a lawyer)   -sign all checks, agreements, leases, etc using your name , title i.e CEO -keep all money separate never transfer money from your corp to your personal acct without a loan agreement in place -keep minutes of corporate meetings even if it's only with yourself -file annual updates with the state to make sure you're in good standing   there's more I am sure, this is just a short list.

The one rule of thumb is if you do it online, make sure you know what you are doing, its preety easy to just fill out a form, pay with a CC and thats it, but most of the time you really have to do your research, doing it online MAY be easier then going downtown or to meet in person, wait in line etc. But honestly, if you do it online, like the above posters said, about potential IRS problems, or making errors, you have to look at other peoples applications, make sure you understand everything, and are filling out the forms properly. I am a advocate of consulting with a lawyer. Once you have the form preety well all filled out, its best to run it by a lawyer to double check it, that way you are only paying them for an hour or two of work, which saves you a ton of cash.. It might take a little bit more time, but honestly, if you are going to do anything, do it right. Please!

If you understand all of the requirements for operating a corporation and your corporation is fairly straight forward it's a good way to go. If you are unfamiliar with it then I would recommend reading up on as much as possible first or speak with an attorney to make sure it's set up correctly. The last thing you want is someone to sue you or have the IRS telling you that it's not a valid corp and charge you money for unpaid taxes.

You are always better off protecting your perosnal assets in some way. LLC are essentially DBAs with liability protection. You can do it yourself - there are ven self-help books from Nolo or online. Pros and cons of each as already posted. Once in place - you should be able to have your state and/or the IRS (a local office) to review.

INFRADANT LLC just applied at the Florida Department of State Division of Corporations it was the best way if you do not have upfront money to play with. It was very easy.