DOMAINS AND WEB HOSTING
There are two necessary components to getting a new website up and running – purchasing a domain name and purchasing a web hosting (or sometimes just called hosting) account. I recommend discussing both purchases with your web designer before making either puchase.
Domain Names
Domain name examples include www.allyourssolutions.com or www.myday.org. Your domain name is the word or group of words you want folks to type into the address bar of their internet browser to find your site. This is different from the word(s) you want people to type into the search engine and find your site – those are keywords and are a different topic.
Business owners often try to have their domain name the same as their business name. For instance Stone Studio may try to purchase www.stonestudio.com. If www.stonestudio.com is unavailable, that means somebody else already owns that domain name. You may want to try www.stonestudiodesigns.com or some business owners opt for www.stonestudio.net or .biz.
Checking Domain Name Availability
You check for domain name availability by going to www.domaintools.com or a similar domain search and typing in your preferred domain name. You can also check availability at any of the domain registrars (aka. the companies that sell domain names). Note that it is not sufficient to type your preferred domain name into your internet browser address bar and if a page comes up blank to assume that it is available. Domain names return blank pages (or Page Unavailable) for many reasons and it is not necessarily because they are unowned and available for purchase by you.
Purchasing a Domain Name through a Registrar
Domain names are purchased through companies called Registrars. Examples of registrars are GoDaddy, Bluehost, and Yahoo. Domains are purchased in increments of years with 1 year of registration being the minimum.
Whichever registrar you choose to purchase your domain name through, it will be the home of your domain name. Imagine that company as an apartment building and your domain name lives in one of the apartments. Should you choose to move your domain name to a different registrar in the future, you must wait 60 days – think of it as your minimum stay – before being able to transfer your domain name. Often, the time remaining on your registration transfers with the domain name. For example, if you purchase www.livinghealthy.org with GoDaddy on June 1, 2007 and decide to transfer, you must wait 60 days from June 1, then start the transfer. Your new registrar may ask you to pay for another year’s registration upfront so you’re domain name is now good through June 1, 2009.
But wait! Sometimes you’ll get a free domain name with the purchase of your hosting account so don’t go straight to GoDaddy and purchase your domain name yet…
Hosting Accounts
If your domain name lives with a registrar, where does the website live? The website/webpages live in a different apartment complex called a hosting account. Your domain name has a code called Domain Nameservers (DNS) that tells the internet where to find the webpages associated with that domain name. You can purchase your domain name at GoDaddy.com and your hosting through Yahoo. Then log into your GoDaddy domain name account and change the nameservers on the account to point to Yahoo for your website/webpages.
Oftentimes Registars offer hosting accounts in addition to domain names which is like going to an all-inclusive resort. Although domain ownership and hosting may seem like it’s one-in-the-same, in this case, the domain name is automatically coded to point to you’re their company’s hosting – no changes needed. These all-inclusives are convenient for managing your overall internet solution.
Many hosting accounts offer 500 or so free email accounts with your hosting package.
Security
To make any changes to your hosting account (including creating or updating your website) or registar, you’ll need to log in.
Always keep a record of your username and password for your registrar and hosting account. If your web designer signs up for the accounts on your behalf, insist that they provide you with this information.
