In the last couple of
years, prices in website hosting and domain names
have dropped dramatically. Now you can have a
full-featured website with all the bells and whistles
- and a domain name - for about $9/month. This
page covers the basics of what you should look
for in a host provider, and how exactly to go
about setting up such a service. but first things
first! Let's start with terms.
Terms
Website: A collection of files
on a server that together make up what
the end user receives in a browser.
Server: A computer with a high-speed
internet connection that holds the website
files, and sends them to browsers as
they're requested.
Browser: A program used to view
website files on a server. The most common
is Microsoft's Internet Explorer. Some others
are Firefox (second most popular), Opera, Safari
(Macintosh), and Netscape.
Domain name:The URL that you
type in to get to any given website. For example,
the domain name of this site is hsunlimited.com.
Hosting Account: You can actually
use your personal computer as the server for your
website, but doing so requires an expensive internet
connection and a fair bit of technical knowledge.
It's far more practical to pay a dedicated company
to serve your website. To do so, you must rent
space from the company to host your website
files.
Hosting Company: A company with
powerful computers and high-speed internet connections
to effectively serve website files to browsers.
Hosting companies vary widely in quality,
so do your homework!
Operating System: The fundamental
software on a computer that allows other software
to run. The two operating systems you will come
across are Microsoft Windows and Linux (or Unix
- both are basically the same for our purposes).
Uptime: A percentage measurement
of uptime to downtime. When the server is up,
people will be able to reach your site. When it's
down, they won't - usually because of technical
problems with the hosting company (i.e. the server
crashed and had to be rebooted, or was attacked
by hackers). Uptime should be pretty close to
99.9%.
Choosing a Host
Nearly any host you choose will provide more
than enough functionality for a typical website.
You don't need to be picky about exact features
unless you think you're going to be getting 5000
visitors a day (unlikely for a basic business
site).
What you DO need to be picky about is support
reputation and uptime. Search google or yahoo
for "company-name complaints." Uptime,
which is usually listed on the companies website,
should be 99.9% or better. Support should be 24/7/365.
Having a website go down frequently and being
unable to get support can be an incredibly frustrating
experience, particularly if you depend on the
site for income.
To simplify your search for a host, you'll find
to recommendations at the end of this article.
Both are hosts we've used for some time, and have
had good experiences with.
Finding a Domain Name
Most hosts will also let you search for a domain
name, and register it through them. It's convenient
to have the same company manage your hosting account
and domain name registration, so you have everything
in one place.
Finding an unclaimed domain name can be very
tricky. Due to the the recent price reductions
and surge in spammy ad sites, most of the obvious
names have been taken. You can use a "whois"
tool such as this
one to search for names.
Making the Purchase
After you've chosen a hosting company and a domain,
you're ready to purchase a hosting account. Most
hosts will have a very straightforward procedure
to follow. You'll choose a hosting period (usually
getting a bit of a price break for longer periods),
enter your chosen domain name, put in your personal
information, pay for it - and you're done. Within
24 hours you'll receive an email from the company
with all of the information you'll need to login
to the account, upload files, manage settings,
etc.
At some point in the process (usually the very
beginning) you'll be given the choice between
Linux and Windows. The rule generally is - if
you don't know the difference, then Linux is the
one you want. : ) You can always upgrade/switch
your account later if your needs change. For those
who are curious - the only thing Windows generally
provides that Linux doesn't is support for Active
Server Pages (.asp files) and Microsoft's database
software.
The Next Step
Now all you need is a ...
Website! That is the subject of another article
- Designing a Website.
Resources
Recommended Hosts:
- Lunar
Pages hosting is generally pretty
fast and reliable, and we've found support to
be quick to respond.
- Omnis
is very reliable, but they're a little bit slow
for database access. For a basic site, that
won't affect you. For an e-commerce site, or
anything that utilizes a database, you're better
off with Lunar Pages.
Domain look-up ("whois" service):
Alternative Browser Software:
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