Guide - Launching Your Website on Internet
Guide - Launching Your Website on Internet
When you're ready
to launch your web site, you'll need to make two very important
decisions -- what your domain name will be and where you will host
your new site.
A domain name is used to locate a particular web site on the Internet.
It is a part of the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and instructs
the browser as to where to find a particular web page.
When a web address (http://www.domain.com) is typed into the browser,
the web server will look for a page called index. This page may
have different extensions, such as .htm, .html, or .shtml and will
be displayed when the URL is called.
Additional pages within the site are called by including the URL
followed by a forward slash and the page name. http://www.domain.com/page.htm
Selecting a quality domain name is of the utmost of importance.
Not only will it tell your potential customers what your business
is all about, but it will also play a role in branding.
A good domain name is one that will be immediately remembered by
your visitors, as it connects with something they're interested
in.
A great domain name is one that can be guessed by a potential visitor
looking for something in particular. For example, if someone is
looking for information on dog grooming, they might type in: http://www.doggrooming.com.
A great domain name will enable a potential visitor to guess the
web address and will contain your most relevant keyword phrase.
Here are some basic guidelines to assist you in selecting a great
domain name:
1) Select a domain name that contains your most relevant keyword
phrase.
2) Your domain name should be easily remembered.
3) Avoid using abbreviations or anything that will be difficult
for your visitors to remember.
4) Keep your domain name as short as possible.
5) Select a quality domain name that will grow with your business.
Although there are many new domain extensions available, dot.com
is still the best choice.
There are many companies online that will enable you to register
a domain name. Although Network Solutions is the original domain
name registrant, there are now many less expensive options available.
You may want to do some research to find a registrant that meets
your needs.
http://www.networksolutions.com
If you're just starting out, you may want to select a hosting company
prior to registering your domain name, as many hosting companies
will register the name for you when you set up your hosting account.
Web Hosts
A Web Host is a company that provides you with server space for
your web site. This includes all of your web pages, graphics, scripts
and files.
When your web address is typed into a browser, your web host is
being contacted to locate and display the requested page.
Free verses Professional Web Hosts
All Web Hosts are not created equally. There are a number of free
hosting services available on the Internet. However, if you're designing
a web site for business purposes, you should NEVER host your web
site with a free host.
In order to establish credibility, you must be willing to invest
in your own domain name and professional web hosting. Web sites
hosted on free servers are not taken seriously and will suffer a
serious loss of business.
Your visitors may feel that if you don't have your own domain, you
may not be a credible company. They'll simply take their business
elsewhere.
Not only is professional credibility a great reason not to host
with a free service, but many Search Engines won't even index a
site hosted on a free server.
If you're serious about your business and you have a sincere desire
to succeed, having your own domain name and professional hosting
is a must.
Selecting a Web Host
When selecting a professional web host, your first consideration
should be the company. Check out their background. Talk with some
of their customers and ask them if they've been satisfied with their
service.
Do some research:
• How many customers do they serve?
• What is their uptime percentage?
• Do they require you to make payments in advance?
• Do they charge set up fees?
• How is their customer support? Test them.
• Do they offer fast connections?
• How much daily transfer do they allow?
• Will you be charged additional fees if you exceed your daily transfer?
• Do they offer shopping cart software to process your orders?
• Do they offer secure servers?
• Will you be provided with your own CGI-bin?
• Can you upgrade free of charge?
Web hosting prices vary greatly. When selecting a host, make sure
you're getting exactly what you're paying for. Keep in mind, a lower
monthly rate will not benefit you if your site
is down a lot, slow, or customer service is poor.
Selecting a professional web host is a very important decision.
Make sure you do your homework and ensure the host you select offers
exactly what you need.
Here are some basic features you should look for when selecting
a web host:
1) 24/7 reliable tech support
2) Your own domain name (www.yourname.com)
3) At least 10GB of monthly transfer (traffic)
4) A minimum of 20MB - 50MB of server space
5) Unlimited true POP email accounts - name@yourdomain.com
6) Unlimited email aliases
7) Email forwarding
8) Unlimited autoresponders
9) Your own unrestricted CGI-Bin
10) Access to SSL Encryption for secure transactions
11) MySQL Database
12) PHP
13) Perl
14) htaccess password protection
15) Server Side Includes (SSI) support
16) Design (and upload to) your site using Netscape or other HTML
editing software
17) Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions for those utilizing FrontPage
18) Unlimited free access to your server via FTP/Telnet
19) Easy access to your log files
20) Statistics on visits to your site
Some additional features you may want are:
• Web control panel
• Custom error pages
• Ability to run Cron events
• Sub-domains
• Mailing list/newsletter support
• URL redirect
• Web mail
• Shopping cart
• Referral program
When selecting a domain name and hosting company, take your time
and do some research before making a decision. It will be well worth
your time and effort in the long run.
About the Author Copyright © Shelley
Lowery
Shelley Lowery is the author of the acclaimed web design course,
Web Design Mastery.
http://www.webdesignmastery.com And, Ebook Starter - Give Your
Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL book. http://www.ebookstarter.com
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