Post by Stormdance on Feb 22, 2006 15:35:06 GMT
Once you've created some web pages, you'll want to publish them online for the world to see.
To publish and view a website online you need:
1. Web hosting, somewhere to publish your site to: Online web-space with FTP publishing access.
2. An address to easily browse the published site: A web address (domain name) e.g. www.google.com
(It is important to note that your www web address is not the same as your ftp publishing address. Your www address is for browsing your site online after it has been published. Your ftp address is used for publishing your website.)
So where do you go to get these?
----- Option 1 -----
"I want to launch my site with my own choice of domain name, and to have search engines index my site under that name. I want the freedom to move my site to another host in the future if I wish, while keeping the same domain name."
There are numerous companies offering web-hosting and domain name registration. Recommend you go with a company based in your own country. Prices and features vary widely, and a high price does not necessarily mean better service - so shop around. However if an offer seems too good to be true, it likely is.
It is often convenient to get domain registration and web-hosting from the same company - but you don't have to. Your web-hosting company will provide you with an FTP address to publish your website to (e.g. upload.hostingcompany.com) together with a username and password. Once you have registered a domain name, you will need to point it to the name-servers of your site hosting company, or ask the domain registration company to do it for you.
Questions to ask the web-hosting company:
- Does my web-space include FTP publishing access 24/7?
- Can your server handle UTF-8 Unicode web pages? (most can)
- What is your up-time? (99% up-time is not good - it's more than 3 days offline per year)
Questions to ask the domain-name registration company:
- How do I point my registered domain-name to my host's name-servers?
- Do you charge a release fee if I ever decide to move my registration to another company?
----- Option 2 -----
"I'm just experimenting at this point. I need somewhere to host my site, preferably for free and without adverts. The address itself is not that important, I don't want to register my own domain name at this point in time..."
Try: (free hosting option)
At the time of writing this they're offering (MB) of web-space and will automatically assign you an address based on their own domain name (e.g. username.example.com). They will only host websites that use the English language.
Note about search engines: At present you can not point your own registered domain name to your (free hosting) site. If your (free hosting) site is indexed by search engines, and you later decide to move your site, so that you can give it your own proper registered domain name, you are likely to lose your search engine position.
Cheers,
Stormdance
To publish and view a website online you need:
1. Web hosting, somewhere to publish your site to: Online web-space with FTP publishing access.
2. An address to easily browse the published site: A web address (domain name) e.g. www.google.com
(It is important to note that your www web address is not the same as your ftp publishing address. Your www address is for browsing your site online after it has been published. Your ftp address is used for publishing your website.)
So where do you go to get these?
----- Option 1 -----
"I want to launch my site with my own choice of domain name, and to have search engines index my site under that name. I want the freedom to move my site to another host in the future if I wish, while keeping the same domain name."
There are numerous companies offering web-hosting and domain name registration. Recommend you go with a company based in your own country. Prices and features vary widely, and a high price does not necessarily mean better service - so shop around. However if an offer seems too good to be true, it likely is.
It is often convenient to get domain registration and web-hosting from the same company - but you don't have to. Your web-hosting company will provide you with an FTP address to publish your website to (e.g. upload.hostingcompany.com) together with a username and password. Once you have registered a domain name, you will need to point it to the name-servers of your site hosting company, or ask the domain registration company to do it for you.
Questions to ask the web-hosting company:
- Does my web-space include FTP publishing access 24/7?
- Can your server handle UTF-8 Unicode web pages? (most can)
- What is your up-time? (99% up-time is not good - it's more than 3 days offline per year)
Questions to ask the domain-name registration company:
- How do I point my registered domain-name to my host's name-servers?
- Do you charge a release fee if I ever decide to move my registration to another company?
----- Option 2 -----
"I'm just experimenting at this point. I need somewhere to host my site, preferably for free and without adverts. The address itself is not that important, I don't want to register my own domain name at this point in time..."
Try: (free hosting option)
At the time of writing this they're offering (MB) of web-space and will automatically assign you an address based on their own domain name (e.g. username.example.com). They will only host websites that use the English language.
Note about search engines: At present you can not point your own registered domain name to your (free hosting) site. If your (free hosting) site is indexed by search engines, and you later decide to move your site, so that you can give it your own proper registered domain name, you are likely to lose your search engine position.
Cheers,
Stormdance