Hosting
For your website to be seen by everyone you have to follow some simple steps. These steps are discussed below:
- Domain name: Uniquely identifies your website
- Examples:
- Purchase domain name: You purchase a domain name through an Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) certified company, sometimes referred to a registrar.
- Most popular:
- http://godaddy.com
- Prices and support are certainly competitive
- Control panel is user friendly and easy to use
Once you purchase a domain name you need to purchase hosting space.
- Host: A host is a business or company that sells an amount of space, which is memory used to store html, images, style sheet files, etc. on their computer which is connected to the Internet
- Most popular:
- http://www.crystaltech.com
- Support includes UNIX and Windows
Which host do you choose?
You can determine which host you choose based on the following criteria:
- If you’re working with HTML, CSS, images, or JavaScript
- UNIX or Windows
- If you’re working with programming languages, then it gets divided on the following criteria:
- ASP, ASP.NET, Coldfusion
- Windows
- PHP
- UNIX
Some hosts support both, some don’t, you’ll need to research and come to a solution which works best for your need. Once this is complete, you need to inform the Internet where your website is located.
Name servers
Name servers are unique IP addresses which are set in your registrar’s control panel. They inform Internet Service Providers (ISP) databases where your website is located. They are usually in the following format:
- ns1.somedomain.com or .net
- ns2.somedomain.com or .net
When you enter these IP addresses in your registrar’s control panel, your websites is sent through a propagation period, which is the time it takes ISP’s to update their databases of domain names. When you request a change to be made, each ISP updates their databases to reflect where your website is located. Usually it takes 48-72 hours for this process to complete. If it takes longer than this time period, you need to contact your hosting company.
Where do I put my name servers IP addresses?
You enter your name server IP addresses in the registrar’s control panel. It varies for each registrar, but for Go Daddy, you can follow these steps:
- Visit: http://www.godaddy.com
- From the home page, enter your customer # or Login name, along with password in this text box:
- Left click Secure Login
- In this window which show, locate the main menu, select Domain>My Domain Names:
- This window shows:
Your domain name(s) will be listed. To enter your name server IP addresses, follow these steps:
- Select the domain that you wish to enter the name server IP addresses (1.)
- From the main navigation menu, left click Name servers (2.):
This window shows, type in the appropriate name servers:
Once completed, left click OK. You will be notified the changes are pending. Logout when finished.
Domain transfer
Recently, ICANN made a decision regarding the process of transferring your website domain to another hosting company. Essentially, the report stated anyone could initiate a transfer on your website domain without your knowledge or approval and it could succeed. It went on to say the only way to protect your website domain was to lock it. More information regarding this change can be viewed at:
You now have the knowledge to get your web site hosted and viewable to the world!
If you have questions, contact me .