What is a Web Host?
A web host stores your web site and transmits it to the internet for you. To put a web site
on the internet you need three things: a domain name, a web site and a web
host account.
How it works is that your domain name
points to your web host's server which is where your site is physically
housed. When someone types in your domain name, the computer looks
to the domain record to see where it should go to find your site. It
then goes there and gets it. Here is what you should know:
Domain Names
A domain name is your address on the web. It's the
information that customers type in to find your website. It's what comes
after the www. in www.domain.com The
domain name for this site is webhosttutorial.com.
Don't buy
your domain name from your web host.
A lot of web hosts will offer to sell you a domain name with your web host
account or will suggest you transfer your domain to them. Although
it seems easier to keep them together,
don't do it.
You should always keep your domain names with a domain name registrar.
Why? Because this way you will always control your
domain name. If you let your web host register your name for you,
they control it. If the host turns out to be lousy, you won't be
able to go to another web host until your current web host releases your
domain. If you're leaving they have no
incentive to release your domain name and some hosts drag their feet and
keep it hostage. I've heard some real horror stories of bad
hosts taking weeks or months to release a domain name.
If you have access to your domain account it will take
you less than 5 minutes to change your domain name to a new host.
Basically, it's just a lot safer and less hassle to keep them separate.
Plus, you won't pay as much. Web hosts mark up their domain prices.
The domain registrar I use
is
Act Now Domains.
I think they are super.
They only charge $12.75 for 1 year domain registrations which is
cheap, they have great customer service and they are really easy to use.
I have over 45 domain names and all of them are there.
Please note: it
IS okay to keep your web hosting
account with your domain registrar because you control your domain
account. Act Now Domains
has really reliable web hosting and they are cheap so if you want to keep
your hosting and domain together use them.
Some web
hosts give free domain names with their accounts
- I strongly suggest that you do
NOT get one this way.
I love free stuff, but a
"free" domain can end up being bad news for you. Some web hosts that
give free domains retain ownership of the domain. This means that if
you don't like their service and want to go elsewhere you can't because
you would be leaving your domain behind. In other words, you're
stuck.
Other hosts that provide "free" domains
will let you take the domain with you when you leave but you have to pay
them for it. The fees I've seen for this run anywhere from $35-$100.
In my opinion, it's just safer to buy the domain yourself from a registrar
like Act Now Domains
so that
way no one can hold "your" domain hostage.
Building your
Web Site
To build your web site you are going to
need web site building software. You will need to decide whether you
want to use a web host's site builder or use your own. Your
choice will affect the web host you choose since some web hosts provide a
web site builder and others don't.
I usually recommend that if you are new to
web hosting or fairly new that you select a web host that has a site
builder and use it. The reason is that a software program like Front
Page (the most popular site building program) is expensive and complicated
to learn. You can always move up to it later but it's hard to start
out with it.
One thing to be aware of though - if you
use the web host's site builder it's even more important than it normally
is to make sure you go with a good host. Since your site is built
with your web host's software you won't be able to take it with you and
make changes if your host turns out to be bad.
The web host I recommend with a site
builder is
iPowerWeb.
They are a great host and their site builder is really easy to use.
They only offer one package and it's loaded with a lot of free web site
goodies. Plus, they are cheap.
Okay, now let's look at how to choose a
good web host and avoid a lousy one..
Click here for:
How to
Choose a Good Web Host
