Domain name – the things that look something like your-domain-name.com – are an essential part of having a website. They represent the “web address” of your website.

 

You will need your own domain name if you intend to create a website. You will also need to register a domain name if you intend to set up email accounts for your business. Before you create a website (or email accounts for your business), you will need to know how to register a domain name.

 

Without your own domain name, your website will always be attached to another website (with its own domain name). either that, or your users will only be able to access your website using its IP address (which looks something like 202.153.16.25).

 

What Is a Domain Name?

 

Domain names are a special name that you can apply to your website or MySpace page. Once you apply it to your website, users can reach your website by typing this domain name into the browser’s address bar.

 

Example of domain names ate Yahoo.com, great-woekout.com and google.com. You can reach the “great workout” website by typing its domain name (great-workout.com) into the address bar.

 

About “www”

 

Most websites have a www subdomain applied to their domain name so that you can reach the website by typing “www” followed by the domain name (eg, www.yahoo.com). This is done on the DNS server after you’ve registered the registered the domain name). You can also add other subdomains as you wish.

 

You can reach any page on a website by typing the domain name followed by the path to the page. For example, www.rgcsm.com.in

 

Only one person/company can own a domain name at any time. Therefore, if you want mycompany.com but someone else has it, you will need to either find another name, or offer to buy it from them. You could also wait for it to expire and hope they don’t re-register it…. but you could be waiting a long time!

 

Types of Domain Names

 

There are various types of domain names. The most common ones ate the generic domains (which include.com domains) and the country code domains (which use a two letter country code, such as.uk forUnited Kingdom).

 

You can tell which type a domain name is by its extension. To find out more about the various types of domain names see this list of domain extensions and definitions.

 

Top-Level Domains

 

The last segment of a domain name (eg.com) is referred to as the top-level domain.

 

There are many more top-level domains than just those with a .com suffix. There are many other suffixes that can be used, such as .net, .org, .biz, .info to name a few. Most of these have a general purpose, for example, .org was created for organizations, .info was created for information sites etc.

 

If the .com version of your chosen name is unavailable, another top-level domain could be available. These are seen as different domain names. For example, mycompany.com and mycompany.org are two different domain names- one company could register the .com and another could register the .org version. The same applies for company specific domain names. some countries have further criteria that you need to satisfy before they will allow you to register a domain name with that country’s suffix/domain extension.

 

Choosing a Domain Name

 

You should choose a domain name that truly reflects what your website is all about. You should try and keep your domain name concise. If it consists of multiple words consider separating each word with a hypen. This will largely depend on how the domain name looks with and without a hypen. It will also depend on the availability of your preferred domain name.

 

If you find that your preferred domain name has already been registered under all applicable suffixes, you might need to get creative and think of another domain name. At this point, you may also need to consider the name of your website. If this isn’t an option, you could try buying a domain name off the current owner.

 

 

Registering a Domain Name

 

You don’t actually buy a domain name, you register it. To do this, you need to register it with a domain name register. You can choose how long you’d like to register it for. Options typically include anywhere from 1 year to 10 years.

 

In a sense, you can buy a domain name. You can do this if someone else already has already registered the domain name. What you’re really doing though is buying the right to register it. You still need to keep the domain name registered with a registrar, otherwise someone else will be able to register it once it expires.

 

Many web hosting provides include domain registration in their hosting packages. In this case, you don’t need to register it through a separate domain name registrar.

 

You can register your domain name through ZappyHost.

 

You can also see this step by step guide for registering your domain name.

 

Hosting a Domain Name

 

Once you’ve registered a domain name, your domain name registrar will probably point it to a webpage that they’ve configured. This page may have ads on it – that way they can make money from your domain name!

 

If you need it to point to your website, you will need to update the authoritative DNS servers to be those of your website hosting provider. Your website hosting provider can provide you with these details. Once you’ve receiver them, you should be able to log in to a control panel via your domain name registrar’s website. This control panel should have an option for you to update the authoritative DNS servers of your domain name.

 

If you have a MySpace page, you may want your domain name to point to it. If so, see the “Domain Forwarding and MySpace Pages” section below.

 

Behind the Scenes

 

You may be wondering how on earth the domain name ends up pointing to your website.

 

When your hosting provider configures your website, they assign it an IP address. An IP address looks something like this: 202.45.22.13. Your IP address is unique – no other IP address on the Internet is the one given to your website. Now, what this means is that anyone could access your website by typing in the IP address. Technically, you don’t even need a domain name. Only problem with this is that IP address are hard to remember. It’s much easier to remember a nice catchy domain name.

 

Anyway, after your hosting provider assigns an IP address to your website, you have the option of having a domain name resolve to that IP address. When you enter in the details of an authoritative DNS server, you are specifying which server should be used to resolve that domain name. The authoritative DNS server links your domain name with an IP address. You could have as many domain names as you like pointing to the same IP address. Therefore, you could have mycompany.com, mycompany.org and mycompanys-product.com, all pointing to the same website.

 

Domain Forwarding and MySpace Pages

 

You can make your domain name “forward” to another web page if you so wish. This is where your domain name redirects to another web page instead of being mapped to a website.

 

Many people do this for their MySpace profiles. When a user types in their domain name, they are redirected to the MySpace page.

 

Domain Name Usage

 

Although most people register domain name to use with website, there are other reasons people register domain names.

 

Here are some of the most common uses for domain names.

 

Domain Name Extensions

 

A domain name extension is the last part of a domain name. it is the part that follows the “name” part of your domain.

 

For example, in the domain name yahoo.com the domain extension is .com

 

Web Hosting

 

Web hosting has become an enormous business world wide. There ate many companies providing a great web hosting service and many others who are just out for a quick buck. In choosing q web hosting provider, you need to have a basic understanding of what web hosting is about.

 

This tutorial covers all the basics of web hosting – what web hosting actually is, how to choose a web host, domain name and more.

 

This web hosting tutorial does not teach you about hosting your own website. It teachers you what you need to know in order to choose a good hosting provider and configure your website with them.

 

Web Site Hosting

 

Web site hosting refers to a service that makes your web site available to your users. In general, most web sites are intended to be viewed by anyone on the Internet, at any time. If you want anyone on the Internet to be able to view your web site at any time, you need to make sure your web site is running on a computer which is connected to he Internet 24 hours per day, 7 day per week (24/7).

 

To do this you have two options.

 

Option 1: Hosting the Web Site Yourself

 

Hosting the web site yourself means that you will need to have the right equipment, including a web server and a permanent connection to the Internet. You would need to ensure that your Internet service provider (ISP) allows this type of usage too. You would also need to have web site administration skills such as managing/configuring a web server, patch management, firewall, virus protection etc.

 

Most people don’t do their own web site hosting. Even if they have the skills or equipment, it often makes more sense to hand this task a third party who can monitor the web site 24/7.

 

Option 2: Find a Hosting Provider to Host your Web Site

 

This is the most common choice for web site hosting. Using a third party hosting provider allows you to concentrate on developing  your web site (or whatever else it is you may do ), and leave the hosting tasks up to a company who (presumably) specializes in web site hosting.

 

A good web site hosting company will provide at least the following services:

• 24/7 support
• 24/7 FTP access (so you can update your web site)
• A number of email accounts (i.e. yourName@yourDomain.com)
• Online control panel for managing your web site
• Online traffic statistics  (so you can see how much traffic your web site receivers)
• A robust database management system, such as MySQL or MS SQL. This is so you can add your own database if required.

 

If you require specialized server application software such as ColdFusion, SQL Server, or PHP, you will need to check that the hosting provider supports this.

 

Once you start looking for a web site hosting provider, you will notice there is a very large difference in how much they charge. You will also notice that most web hosts have multiple hosting plans, each at different prices. Any good web host will allow you to upgrade a plan later on if required, so don’t feel as though you need to start off on a plan that costs more then you need.

 

Types of Web Hosting

 

When searching for a hosting provider to host your website, you’ll probably notice that most hosting providers have more than one web hosting plan. The plan you choose will depend on your hosting needs.

 

If you’re just starting out with your own website, a shared hosting plan is usually fine. Shared hosting is usually much cheaper than other hosting plans. Unless you have a specify need to hire a dedicated server, a shared hosting plan should do web hosting:

 

Here’s more about the different types of web hosting:

 

• Shared Hosting

 

Shared hosting refers to when your web site is hosted on a server along with many other customers’ web sites. Don’t worry, your users won’t know this – your web site is still configured as a separate web site on the server and can still have its own domain name etc. It is simply sharing the server with other web sites.

 

The benefit of shared hosting is price. Having your own server (otherwise known as a “dedicated server”) costs a lot more. Unless you get lots of traffic, it doesn’t make sense to pay more for a dedicated server.

 

• Dedicated Servers

A dedicated server is a server that hosts only your web site (or web sites). This can give you more control over your web site. It can also help in ensuring that other customers’ web sites don’t impact on your web site. Using dedicated servers is much more expensive than shared hosting, but if your sit receiver lots of traffic or you have other requirements (such as extra security requirements), a dedicated server could be for you.

 

You are able to log in to your dedicated server just as you would log in to your own computer. Once logged in, you can install and configure software as you wish.

 

• Virtual Dedicated Servers

 

Virtual dedicated serves are a low-cost alternative to dedicated servers. The web host can put many virtual servers on each machine, therefore reducing costs. When you log in to the virtual server, it appears as thought you have your own dedicated server (even though other virtual servers are probably running on the same machine).

 

• Managed Hosting

 

A managed hosting solution is where you have a dedicated server and the web site hosting provider manages your server for you. Typically, the hosting provider will be responsible for the hardware, operating system, virus protection, patch management etc. You still have total control over the machine (depending onSLAarrangements), and you are still in charge of your own web site content. Managed hosting is usually a lot expensive, and in some cases, costs will be negotiated between the two parties.

 

Web Server

 

A web server is a piece of software that enables a website to be viewed using HTTP, HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) is the key protocol for the transfer of data on the web. You know when you’re using HTTP because thee website URL begins with http:// (for example, http://www.yahoo.com”).

 

You might be thinking “I always through a web server was a special, high- powered computer”. Well, you’d be right too. Some high-powered computers are referred to as web server as they have been built with web hosting in mind. But in most cases, when someone refers to a web server, they are referring to a piece of software that you install on a computer.

 

What Does a Web Server Look Like?

 

That depends on which web server you choose to install. Here’s an example of Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 5. 1 looks like.

The left pane represents the various websites, FTP sites, and SMTP virtual servers. When an item in the left pane is selected, the contents are displayed in pane on the right hand side.

 

In the above screenshot, there is one website (called “Default Web Site”), one FTP site (called “Default FTP Site”), and one SMTP virtual server (called “Default SMTP Virtual Server”).

 

You can right click on an item to display it’s properties. For example, you can right click on “Default Web Site” to display (and configure) the properties of that website.

 

Do I Need are Easy!

 

You might also be thinking that web servers are way too advanced for you – that they are only used by professional web developers and/or hosting companies. Please don’t think that!

 

Think of web server as simply another piece of software you can install on your machine. Once you install it, you can configure it to suit your needs.

 

And, depending on your computer set up, you may even find that you already have a web server on your machine.

 

Now, having declared that “web servers are easy!”, there are many advanced topics regarding web server. I won’t be going into any detail in this tutorial. You can get a web server up and running on your machine with a minimum of technical knowledge. Then once you’ve done that, you’ll start to become familiar with the various options available to you. Then if required, you can research the more advanced topics to suit your needs (such as security, load issues, logging etc)

 

How Websites Work:-

 

What is a website?

 

A website is a collection of web pages. These web pages are usually located on a web server that is connected to the Internet. The web server is a computer that has been built specifically to host websites, and contains web server software.

 

The web server is usually located with a web hosting provider (a company that provides web hosting to its customers).

 

What Happens When I view a Website?

 

The following diagram demonstrates what happens each time you view a website:

 

 

This diagram is only a simplistic version of what happens, but the key point is that, each time you view a web page in your browser, you initiate a request across the internet to a web server. This is true even if you view multiple pages from the same website – each new page is a new request.

 

Actually, in most cases, each web page results in multiple requests. This is because most web pages consist of more than one file (or “resource”). Therefore, if a page contains 3 images, there will be at least 4 requests; 1 for the web page, and 1 for each image.

 

So, for example, if you type www.natural-environment.com/index.cfm” into your browser, the following files might be requested:

• http://www.natural-environment.com/index.cfm
• http://www.natural-environment.com/images/image_1.gif
• http://www.natural-environment.com/images/image _2.gif
• http://www.natural-environment.com/images/image_3.gif

 

in this case there are 3 images (called “image_1.gir”, “image_2.gif”, and “image_3.gif”) located in a directory called “images”.

 

It’s important to note that each file – including the web page file (index.cfm) – needs to be downloaded to your computer before you can view it. That’s why you may something see a web page appear without the images first, then one by one, the images appear. Larger images will take longer to appear because they take longer to download. This is why the speed of your Internet connection is important – a slower connection will make many websites appear slower (especially those with lots of images).

 

Web Page Content

 

A web page is simply a text file. The text file contains text and markup code that specifies what should appear when viewed with a web browser. When you view the page with your web browser, the web browser renders the markup code (it displays as intended), instead of just outputting the code (browsers know to do this). Behind the scenes, the web page looks different to what you see in your browser. When you view the file with a text editor or HTML editor, you’ll see the HTML tags (as written by the programmer).

 

Below is an example of a what page looks like “behind the scenes”. This is what a web page looks like if you open it up using a text editor (such as Notepad, Simple Text, etc);

 

<html>

<head>

<title> Hello World!</title>

</head>

<h1> My First Webpage</h1>

<p> Welcome to my first webpage!</p>

<p> Here’s a new paragraph…</p>

</body>

</html>

 

And here’s what it looks like when you view it using a web browser (such as FireFox, Internet Explorer, etc):

 

 

The Website Creation Process

 

Now if you chose not to use a website builder, you are probably curious to know what is involved in making a website. Here I example the three main steps of creating a website.

 

Creating a website basically involves the following 3 steps:

 

Step 1>>	Step 2>>	Step 3>>
Register a Domain Name	Get a Web Host	Build your Website
A domain name is the thing that looks like mysite.com. You register these on an annual basis.     Domain names can cost anywhere between $10 and $50 per year. I’ll show you how to get one for $1.99 (below).	A web host is a compa -ny that enables your website to be viewed by the rest of the world 24/7   A good hosting plan can Be anywhere between $10 per month and many Thousands per month. Below, I ‘ll show you Excellent hosting plans Starting form $5.35 per Month.	You ca  either bulled it yourself or use a website builder.       Below, I’ll show you an online website builder that includes templates and hosting And the great thing is, it’s cheaper than most hosting plans!

 

A more detailed explanation of these 3 steps follows.

 

STEP 1: REGISTER A DOMAIN NAME

 

Before you even think about building your website, you should register a domain name. a domain name is the thing that looks this : “yourdomain.com “.

 

Your domain name represents the URL (or permanent web address) of your website. Therefore, when anyone types in “yourdomain.com” or www.yourdomain.com”, they will see your website.

 

http”//www.your-domain.com

 

 

 

 

 

Your register your domain name through a domain name register or hosting provider. You simply check that your preferred domain name is available, then register it (online).

 

Domain names are registered on an annual basis, and you can usually register it many years in advance (or set ‘auto-renew’).

 

Prices can range from between $10 to $15 up to as much as $35 or even $45 (this is for the sane product!).

 

STEP 2: GET A WEB HOST

 

A web host (or hosting provider), is a company that makes your website available for the world to see. They have the equipment and technical skills to make sure your website is available to the world, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

 

Choose your hosting provider carefully – a good host will have excellent support. A bad host can have almost no support at all! If you’re new to creating websites, good support can reduce the stress that comes from doing something for the first time.

 

Also, some web hosts have an online website builder. A good website builder can enable anyone to make a website – even complete novices.

 

If you like the idea of using an online website builder, check out the website builder below. This enables you to build a website virtually within minutes, and hosting is include as well as plenty of other extras).

 

If you don’t need a website builder (i.e. you prefer to build your website by yourself), you can find some great hosting plans here. Once you’ve built your website, simply upload it via FTP.

 

If you’d like to learn more about web hosts, check out my web hosting tutorial.

 

STEP 3: BUILD YOUR WEBSITE

 

This part can be as easy or as hard as you like it to be!

 

The easy way? The easiest way to build a website is to use your web host’s website builder (assuming they have one). As mentioned, ZappyHost provides Website Tonight which makes it extremely easy for you to make your website.

 

The hare way? OK, if you think a website builder sounds too much like cheating, you probably went to learn how to build a website the way the pros do it – by coding/programming. If this sounds like you, then see this introduction to making your own website.