| The process of creating a website and getting it | | | | from a hosting company. |
| online can be a tricky one, especially for the | | | | The process of putting your website on the |
| non-technical community. And this surely isn't | | | | internet is completed by the web hosting |
| helped by the common misconception that domain | | | | company you sign up with and will involve placing |
| registration and web hosting is one and the same | | | | your website on a web server which is then |
| thing. | | | | linked to the internet. The type of web server |
| So let's clear things up. Domain registration and | | | | your site is hosted on will depend on the |
| web hosting are two separate processes, both of | | | | requirements of your website. The most common |
| which need to be completed in order to create a | | | | web hosting plans are Shared Web Hosting and |
| website and make it live on the internet. | | | | Dedicated Server Web Hosting. |
| Put simply the process is as follows: a domain | | | | Shared Web Hosting |
| must be registered by a domain registration | | | | If you have a simple website which requires a |
| company and then that domain name must be | | | | regular amount of web space and bandwidth, then |
| hosted on the internet through a web hosting | | | | it is likely that your hosting company recommend |
| company. | | | | you choose a shared web hosting plan. |
| And here's where the confusion comes in. Many | | | | With this plan your website will be placed on one |
| companies will offer both domain registration and | | | | of the web hosting company's shared web |
| web hosting, whereas others will only offer either | | | | servers. Here your website will reside alongside a |
| web hosting or domain registration. Therefore you | | | | number of other similar sized websites where it |
| can choose to register your domain and host | | | | will share all the server's resources and features. |
| your website with the same company or register | | | | Each hosting company differs in the hosting |
| your domain with one company and host your | | | | features they offer with their shared hosting |
| site with another. | | | | plans. With many companies you will receive as |
| It really as simple as that, but is something that | | | | standard:o A specified amount of web space |
| causes a great deal of confusion and unnecessary | | | | depending on your chosen packageo Easy to use |
| stress to many people wanting to set up a | | | | web site control panelo Online account |
| website. | | | | management facilityo Full 24/7 ftp access to |
| Domain Registration | | | | upload your web fileso Free domain transfero |
| To use the Internet to communicate with others | | | | Unlimited domain aliaseso Webmailo Send and |
| or to look up information, you have to type an | | | | receive emails using Microsoft Outlook or other |
| address into your computer. These addresses are | | | | email programs |
| a name or a number and are more commonly | | | | Dedicated Server Web Hosting |
| known as domain names. Every domain name has | | | | If your website has grown to a size which cannot |
| to be completely unique so that the internet | | | | be accommodated on a shared server or if you |
| knows the correct website to bring up for the | | | | require the flexibility to add software or other |
| user. | | | | features to your site, then your web hosting |
| If you wish to create your own website, you | | | | company may recommend that you purchase a |
| need to devise a name you wish your website to | | | | dedicated server. |
| be known as. This name then needs to be | | | | With a dedicated server, you own the rights to |
| registered with a domain registration company to | | | | the whole server; thus giving you complete |
| ensure that it is unique and that you become the | | | | control over what is installed and run on your |
| legal owner of that domain name. | | | | server. Space and bandwidth usage will also no |
| You also need to pick a domain extension to | | | | longer be a problem as there will only be your site |
| attribute to your domain name. By this we | | | | (or sites) using the servers resources. |
| mean.com,.co.uk,.org,.net etc. You should give | | | | With a dedicated server you also have peace of |
| careful consideration to the domain extension you | | | | mind that your site(s) won't be at the mercy of |
| choose to ensure that your full domain name best | | | | other websites and their potentially corrupt code - |
| represents that of your business or project. For | | | | which could cause downtime and other problems |
| example if you are a UK business and are only | | | | to your site. |
| selling to the UK, it would be most effective to | | | | When choosing a dedicated server you can opt to |
| choose a.co.uk domain extension - especially for | | | | have your server managed or unmanaged by the |
| achieving good UK search engine rankings. | | | | web hosting company. With a managed server, |
| It is imperative that before registering a domain | | | | you may receive services such as site |
| name with a domain registrar that you check that | | | | administration, certain software installation, |
| they are a credible domain registration company. | | | | maintenance and upgrades. The major plus of |
| One method of doing this is to check that the | | | | having your dedicated server managed is that |
| domain registrar's website is featured on the | | | | you have an expert on hand should your server |
| ICANN (The Internet Corporation for Assigned | | | | suffer any failure - guaranteeing your site a high |
| Names and Numbers) Accredited Registrars list | | | | uptime percentage. Although significantly cheaper, |
| Web hosting | | | | unmanaged server hosting is only really |
| Once you have registered your unique domain | | | | recommended for those with a high degree of |
| name with an accredited domain registrar, you | | | | technical knowledge in server administration and |
| need to get your website live on the internet. To | | | | management. |
| do this, you need to buy a web hosting package | | | | |